Art & Faith Conversations

Chris Soal is a visual artist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He graduated from the university there in 2017 and won the PPC Imgainarium award in 2018. He is known for creating large bodies of work out of ordinary objects such as toothpicks and bottle caps. With his sculptures of found objects, Chris finds that it challenges the viewer's perception of the ordinary materials and leads them to deeper questions about what and who we ascribe value to and why. He describes his practice as being concerned with the materiality of objects so common that they have become invisible to us.

Chris gives us an idea of the art and faith culture of Johannesburg and how it's different than other parts of the world. He also describes the story of how his fascination with these ordinary materials began with a moment of disappointment but has led him to meaningful discoveries in his faith and creativity.

See photos of these amazing sculptures on Chris's website:

http://chrissoalart.tumblr.com

Tickets:

Live Podcast Event April 18th

Justin Wells is a documentary filmmaker and a camera technician. He studied philosophy at California State Long Beach, theology and art and Fuller Seminary and received his MFA at the Art Center College of Design. Throughout the course of his interdisciplinary studies, he discovered the power of documentary film in revealing deeper truths about our humanity and spirituality. He compiled his discovering in his recent book, How to Film Truth, in which he explores the history and evolution of documentary film but also dives deeper into the act of documenting our reality and the beauty hidden within that vulnerable process. Justin describes the five spiritual genres of documentary film and how choosing a specific one can narrow your focus and help your creativity thrive.

You can learn more about Justin's work and order his book at:

https://justinwellsfilms.com

Also, I give details about our first live podcast event coming up April 18th. Get tickets here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/art-faith-conversations-live-podcast-tickets-58496709232

Lectio Divina and observing the beginning of Lent with my guest, Summer Gross. Summer is an Anglican priest, a spiritual director and an inner healing minster. She describes her spiritual training and the desire for mystery that fueled her. We talk about the importance of creating space for silence and slow scripture reading in order to allow room for God to speak. In observance of Ash Wednesday, she shares with us a reading from the book of Hosea and we practice long pauses of silence. Join us on this special episode where we take a break from our normal rhythms and carve out intentional space and time for our hearts and minds to practice hearing the voice of God and practicing his presence.

For more information on Summer and her meditations and teachings go to

http://www.athirstforgod.com

She also shares readings and teaching on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/revsummerjoy/

For the prayer she shares for artists and to participate in the Lent readings and contemplative video series, go to:

http://libbyjohnartandsong.org/lent-study-introduction/

You can find all 6 weeks including the introduction to the Lent series I published

Robia Scott, leading actor in the upcoming film, Unplanned,joins me. We talk about her return to acting with this intense role after leaving the entertainment industry several years ago. Unplanned is about the true story of former Planned Parenthood worker, Abby Johnson, who experienced a life transformation after witness an abortion procedure in an exam room one day. Robia and I discuss the power of storytelling even with such a divisive issue such as abortion and the way art can lift the veil on how we view the world.

Robia is a speaker, author and minister. She started dancing professionally as a teen and toured with musician, Prince. She starred in television including her most well known role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As well as returning to acting, Robia coaches and helps people experience real life spiritual transformation through her ministry. Find out more on her website or find her on Facebook and Instagram.

Unplanned releases in theaters March 29th, 2019.

http://robiascott.com

Singer/Songwriter, Joy Ike, shares her story about the turning point in her adult life when she felt the urgency to pursue music and songwriting. Born of Nigerian descent, her childhood musical influences included gatherings in her home of other African immigrant families who would join in playing and singing diverse rhythms and songs together. She believes this contributed to her eclectic styles of gospel, r&b, jazz and pop that you hear throughout her music. She shares about overcoming her fears about her own creativity, defying categories and genres, and finding her true voice as a musician throughout the years. You can find her music on all digital platforms and find out more on her website about upcoming concerts.

https://www.instagram.com/joyikemusic/

https://www.joyike.com

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1a8rRSu8LCSLXynHYKDYVi?si=GkLfASK_TCSaZnd1TJhtWg

I'm joined by Alisha Siemens and Adam Goldstein, Minnesota founders of the global company, Shema. They started Shema to be an apparel brand and company that addresses and alleviates poverty and human trafficking. Hear their inspiring story behind the vision and calling they received to provide restoration and sustainable employment through sewing co-ops to women being rescued out of human trafficking. Alisha and Adam have been working for the last few years with clothing designers to come up with apparel items that are ethically sourced and are competitive in the fashion market today. They share with us the many obstacles they've faced, including not being able to take a salary for the past 3 years. In the midst of it all, they've seen miracles as well as they continue to say yes to this calling and mission.

Visit their website to learn more, donate and sign up for their newsletter. Follow them on Instagram to stay up to date on the new

t-shirt and hoodie they are unveiling in their first ever pre-sale event titled PREFACE.

http://www.shema.global

https://www.instagram.com/shema.global/

Renew the Arts is a nonprofit organization that is passionate about liberating creativity in Christian artists. President and CEO, Justus Stout, joins me to tell us about how Renew the Arts is influencing cultural transformation by enabling artists to create lasting art for the common good. Hear what fueled Justus to go from politics to instead dedicating his life to supporting and enabling artists after he lost his brother, a songwriter, to cancer.

https://renewthearts.org

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/renew-the-arts-podcast/id1358917338?mt=2

Songwriter/Musician, John Mark McMillan, talks about his first ever Christmas album, Smile in the Mystery. We talk about the story behind the album title and also behind the songs. We also talk about how God surprised John Mark with a fresh perspective on the wonder of Christmas when he was writing the song,Baby Son.

Smile in the Mysteryis full of nostalgia and timeless sounds but at the same time surprise melodies and song choices.

Find out more at

https://www.johnmarkmcmillan.com

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/smile-in-the-mystery/1441151264

My guest, Tim Briggs, is a pastor in North Carolina who decided to gather other songwriters and musicians to help him record a collection of songs that he had on his heart. He felt his own limitations as a musician would hinder his dreams of bringing these songs to life but he and the artists worked together as a collective to create what has become the album, Folk Hymnal.

I talk with Tim about what this process was like, how a communal project like this has shaped his faith, and how sometimes we need to be the biggest risk takers of all because our identity is secure in our relationship with Christ.

You can find the music on all digital platforms including iTunes and Spotify

https://fanlink.to/folkhymnal

You can also find two lyric videos to the songs here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgxAcw9T4_Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GblIT7tTzY

Michael Wright works on the editorial team for Fuller Studio and magazine at Fuller Seminary where he received an MA in theology and the arts. He is is a storyteller and lectures on spirituality, facilitates poetry spiritual formation groups and teaches on faith and art. Michael publishes his writings and features different artistic works in his newsletter called "Still Life" which you can read and subscribe to here:

http://tinyletter.com/still-life