Stations of the Cross by Valerie Dean

An exhibition of 'Stations of the Cross' by Valerie Dean is currently at the Diocesan Office for the Chelmsford Diocese (53 New Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1AT). Valerie's 'Stations' will be in the Boardroom at Guy Harlings until Friday 26th June. Visits are by arrangement during normal office hours, as the boardroom is in regular use. Please check access before you visit by ringing 01245 294400. Valerie is keen to discuss ways of making these Stations available for any church that would be interested in having them. For more information see http://commissionformission.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/art-in-boardroom-valerie-dean.html.

 

Valerie came back to England, in the summer of 2007, after living for 27 years in Belgium. There, she studied art for six years and had various exhibitions, in and around Brussels. On returning to England, she became involved in the Kent arts scene and exhibits, regularly, in the Francis Iles gallery, in Rochester. She work in acrylics and her technique is usually to put materials and colours on canvas or board, to see what emerges. It is a dialogue between the artist and her materials. Because of her background, this often consists of figures around a religious theme. They just appear! Very often, people seem to want to appear in her paintings, a little like the pictures in the fire that she used to see in her childhood. At other times, she finds that buildings and places she knows inspire her.

 

In addition, commission4mission will be exhibiting at 20 Broadwalk  Harlow Town Centre CM20 1HT from 1.00pm tomorrow until 4.00pm on Monday 27th May as part of the Arts Festival for the Barking Episcopal Area (http://commissionformission.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/commission4mission-in-harlow.html). This exhibition which features work by 11 of our artists is a pop-up in a vacant shop giving us a High Street location for work which both explores and celebrates our faith. On Saturday 25th May we are hosting a lunchtime reception at the exhibition to which you would be most welcome. The reception follows on from the morning of Art Talks being held at St Paul's Harlow (http://www.stpaulsharlow.org.uk/) where Bishop Stephen Cottrell and commission4mission member Mark Lewis will speak about the work of Stanley Spencer and John Piper.

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Switchfoot - More Than Fine. 

Art Pilgrimage and Jean Cocteau

A further article has been published by ArtWay in the series that I will be writing following visits to sites which are of interest in exploring the relationship between modern/contemporary art and faith.

This series began with a report of visits to sites in the South of France and has continued with visits to  St Christopher's Hospice to see the work of Marian Bohusz-Szyszko and to Notre Dame de France to see their murals by Jean Cocteau. My Art Pilgrimage will continue next year as the focus of the sabbatical I will take then.

Other pieces I have contributed to ArtWay include:

• Ascension;
• Christopher Clack: Descent II;
• Albert Houthuesen; and
• Run With The Fire.

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Ed Sheeran - Lego House.

Windows on the world (245)

Boulogne, 2012

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Bob Dylan - Caribbean Wind.

Timelines covering philosophy, bible, history, theology

Click here for a post about Tim Hull, the creative genius behind the St John's Timeline Project. Tim is producing a series of Timelines covering philosophy, bible, history, theology and populating these timelines with some serious videos from the best scholars across the country.

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Albert Ayler - Truth Is Marching In.

Originality: a misnomer inhibiting creativity

Ken Robinson makes an excellent case in today's Guardian for his argument that Michael Gove values creativity but doesn't understand it.

The nub of his argument is that: "creativity is not a linear process, in which you have to learn all the necessary skills before you get started. It is true that creative work in any field involves a growing mastery of skills and concepts. It is not true that they have to be mastered before the creative work can begin. Focusing on skills in isolation can kill interest in any discipline. Many people have been put off mathematics for life by endless rote tasks that did nothing to inspire them with the beauty of numbers. Many have spent years grudgingly practicing scales for music examinations only to abandon the instrument altogether once they've made the grade.

The real driver of creativity is an appetite for discovery and a passion for the work itself. When students are motivated to learn, they naturally acquire the skills they need to get the work done."

Where I disagree with him, however, is when he defines creativity "as the process of having original ideas that have value." The idea that we have original ideas is, I think, a misnomer which inhibits widespread creativity; a view which has been enhanced by reading the brilliant little book by Austin Kleon called Steal Like An Artist. Some of Kleon's arguments against the notion of originality can be read here.

Giles Fraser is, as ever, also well worth reading arguing that art and religion are too important to be placed in the hands of those who seek reductionist explanations of their value and taking issue with Maria Miller's argument that our focus must be on culture's economic impact. He compares this with the sort of realist propaganda with which communism specialised saying they both want to turn art into advertising.

He quotes Herbert Marcuse saying, "The power of art lies in its power to break the monopoly of established reality." His fascination with religion is its ability to do precisely the same:

"That it is able to suggest there is more to reality than the flat-footed empiricism of those who believe that if you can't count it, touch it or weigh it, it doesn't exist. In an age where religion has made itself look so foolish, art carries the torch for the sort of transcendence that art and faith once shared."

The essence of art and religion is not in trying to be original but, "to say things that cannot be said."

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Thea Gilmore - I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine.

Community Information Day / Plant & Table-top Sale

We had a very successful Community Information Day combined with a Plant and Table-top Sale today at St John's Seven Kings which, as can be seen from the above photos, was a way of bringing our diverse local community together over Pentecost weekend as part of the Pentecost Festival's Biggest Birthday Party Ever initiative. Despite dire weather forecasts earlier in the week we had a dry morning in our Community Garden, with occasional glimpses of sunshine for good measure.

The Community Information Day was organised by the Seven Kings & Newbury Park Resident's Association (SKNPRA) and featured information stalls for: 5th Seven Kings Brownies, ASNET, Downshall Pre-School Playgroup, local churches, Goodmayes Quranic Study group, Kumon, National Blood Service, Newbury Park & Seven Kings Ward Councillors, Redbridge Labour Party, Redbridge Swimmers Association/Barkingside 21/Ilford Historical Society, Redbridge Voluntary Care, Scouts & Rangers, Seven Kings Conservatives, Seven Kings Park User's Group, Seven Kings Safer Neighbourhood Team, Shine Dance Class, SKNPRA, Sophia Hubs and St Johns Road Neighbourhood Watch.

The Plant and Table-top Sale, ably organised by the Social and Fundraising Committee at St John's, had a wide range of stalls, excellent refreshments and was packed throughout the morning.

The event enabled the local community to support the ongoing work of St John's whilst enjoying the event as a whole. The Community Information Day brought our community together strengthening existing relationships and, for many of the groups present, introducing them to new users or volunteers.

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Noah And The Whale - Give A Little Love.

I AM triptych

I'm taking several works on paper to Harlow for the next commission4mission exhibition including the I AM triptych above. This finds its original inspiration in Colin McCahon's Victory over death 2 and is painted on used sheets of flipchart paper allows the original text to permeate the over painting plus collaging of I AM meditations by Alan Stewart and myself.

Click here for more about this exhibition and the Arts Festival of which it is part.

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Bruce Cockburn - Creation Dream.