Steve Scott: Run with the Fire interview

Transpositions has today published an interview with Steve Scott about Run with the Fire. Run With The Fire  is an arts project for the London 2012 Olympics year organized by CANA, commission4mission and Veritasse. Designed to exhibit in churches, Transpositions say that Run with the Fire is an interesting synergistic example of what happens when art, culture, and the church come together. Click here to read the interview.

Steve Scott is a British writer, poet, and musician whose songs have been recorded by artists including the 77s and Larry Norman. His musical and spoken word projects include Love in the Western World, Lost Horizon, Magnificent Obsession, More Than a Dream, The Butterfly Effect, Empty Orchestra, We Dreamed That We Were Strangers, and Crossing the Boundaries, in conjunction with painter Gaylen Stewart. In 2012, his songs became available on MP3 format, coincident with the release of a limited edition CD, Emotional Tourist: A Steve Scott Retrospective. He writes and speaks often on the arts in the UK and US, and is the author of Like a House on Fire: Renewal of the Arts in a Post-modern Culture, The Boundaries, and Crying for a Vision and Other Essays: The Collected Steve Scott Vol. One. He holds an MA in global leadership.

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Steve Scott - This Sad Music.

Painting, poetry and presentations at 'Run with the Fire' exhibition

Next week I'll be exhibiting together with other commission4mission and invited artists showing in the Run with the Fire exhibition at the Strand Gallery (32 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6BP) from 22nd - 27th May (11.00am - 6.00pm, Sunday 11.00am - 2.00pm), as part of the Pentecost Festival. I'll also be performing poetry at the Launch Night for the exhibition on Monday 21st May, 6.00 - 8.00pm as well as speaking on Christian influences on modern & contemporary art at 5.00pm on Saturday 26th May.

The Run with the Fire exhibition includes Ken James Ashby, Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Christopher Clack, Christine Garwood, Jim Insole, Miriam Kendrick, Glenn Lowcock, Bradley Lucas, Henry Shelton, Sergiy Shkanov, Joy Rousell Stone, Esther Tidy, Mike Thomas, Rachel Watson and Peter Webb.

Original work by the above artists will complement the Run with the Fire digital exhibition (featuring the work of 25 international artists) to create a stimulating and exciting show with an eclectic mix of styles and media and exploring the broad theme of running life's race with passion and spirit.

Run with the Fire is an arts project for churches in the 2012 Olympics year organized by CANA, commission4mission and Veritasse based on the image of fire which links the Church’s Pentecost celebration with that of the Olympic runner. Run with the Fire aims to celebrate creativity, cultural exchange and hope for the future by providing a virtual exhibition of international artwork for use in Olympics-themed events organised by churches in 2012.
Run with the Fire provides a virtual exhibition of international artwork available on DVD, for display on large scale HD TV or monitor, or for projection using a digital projector. This digital exhibition can be presented as part of Olympics-themed events organised by churches in 2012 plus arts events or exhibitions organized by local churches. Copies of the Run with the Fire DVD can be purchased via http://www.veritasse.co.uk/cards-prints/most-popular/run-with-the-fire-dvd-pack/ or at the exhibition. A preview of the Run with the Fire digital exhibition can be seen at http://youtu.be/nFBGZDgFaw4, while for up-to-date news of the project see http://runwiththefire.blogspot.com/.
A Launch Night on Monday 21st May, 6.00 - 8.00pm, will provide the first opportunity to see the exhibition and will also include music and poetry exploring the exhibition theme. Those performing include singer-songwriter and poet Malcolm Guite, artist-musician Colin Burns, musician-poet Steve Scott and performance poet Tamsin Kendrick. Refreshments will be available. Cost - £2.00, pay on the door.

On Saturday 26th May there will be an additional programme of art talks and painting demonstrations:

• Painting demonstration – Harvey Bradley, ongoing throughout the day. See Harvey work on a painting and discuss his approach with him.
• The Spiritual Image in Modern Art - Mark Lewis, 11.30am. A broad overview of the spiritual impulse in the art forms of the modern world and their potential to turn our minds to higher things.
• Run with the Fire – Steve Scott, 12.30pm. A talk about the ‘Run with the Fire’ project and DVD.
• Stanley Spencer – A Visionary of our Time – Mark Lewis, 2.00pm. A talk which examines the life and work of one of Britain’s most renowned and eccentric 20th Century painters. The main themes include Spencer’s time as a war artist, and his extraordinary paintings which envision the Christian Gospels played out by the people in his beloved home town of Cookham.

• Praying with our eyes open – Glenn Lowcock, 3.00pm. A talk on using images as an aid to prayer.
• Emotional Tourist – Steve Scott, 4.00pm. What I am learning about art, life, spirituality, Trinity, and relational aesthetics from my travels in Bali and elsewhere.
• Christian influences on modern & contemporary art – Jonathan Evens, 5.00pm. A broad overview of modern and contemporary art and artists which engage with Christianity.

The event listing for the exhibition and launch night can be found at: http://www.pentecostfestival.co.uk/ai1ec_event/run-with-the-fire-exhibition/?instance_id=873. Directions to the gallery are at: https://www.proudonline.co.uk/contact.aspx. The programme for art talks and demonstrations on Saturday 26th May is at: http://commissionformission.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/pentecost-festival-exhibition-saturday.html.

Hard copies of programmes for the Pentecost Festival can be ordered from: http://www.pentecostfestival.co.uk/contact/order-programmes/. The promo for the Festival can be viewed at: http://www.pentecostfestival.co.uk/promo/.

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Ty Tabor - Room For Me.

'Run with the Fire' on YouTube

A promotional presentation for 'Run with the Fire', a partnership project for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics by CANA, commission4mission and Veritasse, is now available to be viewed on YouTube. The presentation outlines the project, shows examples of work included and gives information for ordering copies of the 'Run with the Fire' pack.

  

Every 'Run with the Fire' pack includes:

·        a digital exhibition on DVD with a 2 year licence for use in the purchasing church

·        an electronic book and planning aid produced by three experienced Christian event organisers, with samples and templates to save you time and effort

·        telephone, skype or e-mail support to help you use the pack effectively

·        access to a large pool of Christian artists who you may wish to involve in your project   

Each 'Run with the Fire' pack costs £50.00 (any profits, go to Oxfam) and can be bought from http://www.veritasse.co.uk/ or by contacting Sue Newham on 01686 626228

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U2 - The Unforgettable Fire.

Run with the Fire

Run with the Fire is an arts project for the London 2012 Olympics organized by CANA, commission4mission and Veritasse based on the image of fire which links the Church’s Pentecost celebration with that of the Olympic runner.

Run with the Fire aims to celebrate creativity, cultural exchange and hope for the future by providing a virtual exhibition of international artwork for use in Olympics-themed events organised by churches in 2012.

Run with the Fire will provide a virtual exhibition of international artwork available on DVD, for display on large scale HD TV or monitor, or for projection using a digital projector. This digital exhibition can be presented as part of Olympics-themed events organised by churches in 2012 plus arts events or exhibitions organized by local churches.

The Run with the Fire DVD will come with an electronic resource package, to accompany the virtual exhibition, which will give ideas for churches on how to organize and facilitate community/arts events.

The Run with the Fire resources (virtual exhibition DVD & electronic resources package) cost £50.00 and can be ordered by contacting Jonathan Evens on 020 8599 2170 or jonathan.evens@btinternet.com.

 

Latest news of Run with the Fire can be found on our blog at http://runwiththefire.blogspot.com/. Two recent articles about the project can be found at: http://www.artway.eu/content.asp?id=1043&lang=en&action=show and http://www.artway.eu/artway.asp?id=225&lang=en&action=show&type=current.

 

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The Call - You Run.

Planting the Seeds, Spreading the Flames

Steve Scott has written an article for ArtWay about the ideas behind Run With The Fire, the joint Olympics-themed art project organised by CANA, commission4mission, and Veritasse. Steve concludes the article by writing: 

"We are compiling the results [of the artist's work] into a digital video presentation for projection on screen or monitor in a local church or community settings. The exhibition organizers will also put a show of local artwork on display to accompany the digital display. This combination of virtual presentation and real local art can open in multiple locations at the same time. Each exhibition combines the global with the truly local. Some churches and organizations have already expressed an interest in being part of this. We are hoping that, along with the complementary global and local aspects of the display, the overall ‘image’ of a digitally created network can be seen as part of the larger, all inclusive ‘art work.’

While it has been a journey of adventures, detours and surprising connections so far, I still view this very much as a beginning. Who knows where a global/local conversation about art, imagination and peace might go in this chaotic, digitally connected world?"

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Steve Scott - No Memory of You.

Valuing local and regional arts

The focus of commission4mission (c4m) is primarily on encouraging local churches to commission contemporary art. While the extent to which cathedrals and city centre churches commission contemporary art is not as well known or documented as should be the case, a fairly consistent level of commissions have been undertaken at that level since the pioneering work of George Bell and Walter Hussey. Such commissions rightly focus on artists with national and international reputations.

Much of what receives publicity in the field is, understandably but not exclusively, what it is feasible for cathedrals and city centre churches to commission and exhibit. One effect of this focus can then be that local churches look at commissions/exhibitions featuring national and international artists and the sums of money involved and think both that that kind of engagement with the arts is entirely out of their league and that their engagement, where it exists, with local/regional artists and/or community arts initiatives is viewed as lacking in quality and of little significance.

The unintended effect, therefore, is to give the impression to local churches that commissioning contemporary art requires considerable budgets and access to the art establishment. Neither are true, but by focussing primarily on such major commissions what church art coverage there is can easily give local churches the impression that the visual arts are not for the likes of us. What is needed, therefore, is a both/and; a public focus on a varied range of interesting commission/exhibitions/installations/projects involving local churches set alongside the national and internationally significant work undertaken through some cathedrals and city centre churches.

c4m seeks to address this situation, firstly by providing a support network and brokerage for artists with regional and local reputations who wish to be commissioned by churches and secondly by countering objections which are likely to made in relation to contemporary commissions within local churches i.e. that such commissions will be unaffordable (which we counter both by realistic charges and by suggesting funding comes through donations made in memory of loved ones) and that the money would be better spent on other pressing needs (which we counter by including a charitable element in the overall cost of each commission). Our experience has been that these approaches open up opportunities for commissions in ways that would not otherwise have been the case.

We recognise that there are legitimate questions that can be asked of our approach and that not all artists would wish to be join our group as a result. We understand and accept that but also ask for a reciprocal acknowledgement that the work of artists with regional or local reputations has value, that community arts initiatives have value, and that opening up new opportunities for original commissions also has real value.

A similar issue arises in relation to use of the term 'Christian Art'. We use this term because we are principally a group of artists who have a Christian faith and who are actively seeking Church commissions. c4m primarily exists to promote and obtain contemporary art commissions in churches and with this limited remit, it seems to us to be accurate to label what we do through c4m as being 'Christian Art' i.e. art produced by Christians for a Christian context. Applying that term to what we do is in no sense intended to be determinative or restrictive for any other artists or groups working within the mainstream arts.

Again, we recognise the debate that exists over the use and validity of the term. God is in the wider conversation going on in the art world, the Church needs to participate in that conversation, and work of all kinds of artists are needed within our churches. That is principally what goes on through the commissions and exhibitions organised by cathedrals and city centre churches ably supported by Art and Christianity Enquiry (ACE) and the academy. However, if that is the only engagement that the Church has with the visual arts, it will continue to exclude as much as it includes. It will exclude by overlooking the value of local and regional artists/arts initiatives and by overlooking work which is not at the cutting edge of contemporary art or which utilises more traditional Christian iconography.

Art's power to challenge, subvert and disturb is not going to be affected in any measureable way by either the engagement or lack of engagement of the Church in a predominantly secular culture and where our resources for patronage are greatly reduced from that of Christendom. The question is, therefore, not whether our actions will reduce art's power to challenge, subvert or disturb but firstly of the extent to which we open ourselves to that power and secondly of the extent to which we nurture artists that, like Georges Rouault, can genuinely tap art's power to challenge, subvert or disturb secular culture (including that of the art establishment) from a Christian perspective.

My view is again that we need a both/and. To ally art too closely with a Christian variety or with mission will limit us in our engagement with the world but to only engage with the world and thereby fail to nurture artists within the Christian community is also a real and present danger. My sense is that most published writing on the arts from, in some fashion, within the Church is skewed towards the former and away from the latter. Within the visual arts, we need to find the balance which seems to exist more equably within music. Classical music continues to utilise liturgical forms in mainstream music making and also to value the specialist field of Church music, while popular music draws heavily on its roots in both Black Gospel and Country Gospel, acknowledging both in relation to its history and to the current forms taken by these genres. There are no equivalents found within contemporary visual art, despite the enormous Christian heritage that exists within the history of art.

My perception of the number of organisations, projects and initiatives which encourage a dialogue between the arts and the church is that while small, they have grown in number and range within more recent years. Insufficient co-ordination or dialogue exists between these groups. The Forum for Art and Religion seems to be have been an attempt to bring some such co-ordination or dialogue while ACE has more recently sought to establish a regional network that engages many of the groups which do exist. c4m has written to all the groups of which we are aware and is in discussion at different levels with several such groups. As a first step, we have been involved in initiating Run With The Fire, an Olympic-themed art project with CANA and Veritasse. We see a clear need for a national network or conference.

I think there are potentially at least three levels at which such networking could be useful as an ongoing activity. First, information exchange - simply keeping each other up-to-date with what we are each doing. Second, specific shared projects, some of which might involve the whole network and others a smaller selection of those in the network. Third, shared support services. This third level is probably a longer term possibility to be considered once relationships have grown within the network but could involve a shared support person or team undertaking administrative, developmental, fundraising and/or publicity activities on behalf of all those in the network.

Our experience suggests that there is considerable interest in engaging with the visual arts in churches but that the national/academic dialogue which does occur often seems a world away from local churches. Our experience also suggests that there are significant numbers of artists wishing to engage with local churches but, again, that existing structures or approaches have not reached such artists. It is for these reasons that we feel that groups such as c4m have a valid and significant place and role within the wider range of organisations, projects and initiatives which encourage a dialogue between the arts and the church.

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The Jam - Art School.

Greenbelt diary (3): a coda

I spent a pleasant part of the evening at the Veritasse tent where Veritasse Artisan and commission4mission member Harvey Bradley was helping on the stall and exhibiting his paintings.

While there I also spoke with Aidan Meller, the founder of Veritasse, who told me about the growth of the company in the UK and US. We also spoke about the artist John Reilly who has been seriously ill recently. It was good to hear that he is recovering and to find from the latest Veritasse Newsletter that he has begun painting again. By synchronicity or coincidence, my review of Reilly's book, The Painted Word, appears in the current edition of the Church Times, something I wasn't aware of at the time I spoke to Aidan.

I also met up with Tricia Hillas, with whom I trained at NTMTC, who was exploring ideas for art-related initiatives around the development of their church garden, something that we are also exploring at St John's Seven Kings. Again, there seemed some sychronicity about this and Tricia was pleased to hear a little about commission4mission.

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John Tavener - New Jerusalem (Upanishad Hymn).

C4M webpage update (11)

It's been a busy week on the commission4mission webpage beginning with a post on the Art in Religious Spaces consultation which we attended midweek at the Wallspace Gallery. Then there was a post of an article about commission4 mission that was published in the Veritasse Artisan's newsletter and two posts of photos and reports from our Art Installation workshop at the 'Fun in the Park' event for Barkingside.

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Delirious? - Majesty (Here I Am).

C4M webpage update (3)

This week on the commission4mission webpage you can find information about a Veritasse exhibition at Chichester Cathedral which will feature Harvey Bradley, among others, together with a profile of commission4mission's founder and Chair, Henry Shelton.

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Duke Special - Portrait.

The Painted Word

The Veritasse Friends Newsletter has information on a new book entitled, The Painted Word - Paintings by John Reilly:

"Many people will be familiar with the paintings of John Reilly through exhibitions in cathedrals and churches, art centres and galleries throughout the south of England.

His subtle and jewel-like colours and his use of geometric patterning are immediately recognisable and captivating. Figures appear to be part of the pattern of the painting, yet stand out from it with grace and eloquence. His works, painted in oils, depict a modern take on the timeless stories of the Old and New Testaments. The paintings give the Bible themes a new relevance for today's world.

The works reproduced in the book are A4 size and in full colour. They are accompanied by the Bible passages that inspired them.

The book is published by Cross Publishing at £19.95 and is available in most Isle of Wight book shops or directly from John Reilly. Those wishing to have the book sent to them will pay an additional £2 in postage, for UK addresses. For further details, email:
jilljohnreilly@uwclub.net."


I first came across Reilly's work many years ago while on holiday in the Isle of Wight when I saw some prints of his paintings and a book of his wife Jill's poetry in a local shop. I was so impressed with his work that I found where he lived and went to visit on spec. He was kind enough to welcome me and show me some of his works from that period.

What I loved about his work then and still love now is his unitive vision. Using lessons, it seems to me, learnt from Orphism and Rayonism he constructs patterns of rippling rays emanating from a central source of light. Within this structure he sets objects and figures composed of abstract shapes and colours that are indicative of their spiritual qualities. So, for example, a rock-like formation, an animal, a human figure and a plant shape can all be held together, underpinned, in eternal circulation by the central point, which may be seen both as a pictorial device structuring a work of beauty and as symbolic of God.

In Universal Power - The Fourth Day of Creation (one of the prints I initially purchased) he shows us a snapshot of creation, of the first reconciliation of shape and form. As abstract shapes spiral out from the central point they again coalesce into those same fundamental, elemental shapes of bird, plant and human life.

Reilly has written of his work:

"My paintings are not concerned with the surface appearance of people or things but try to express something of the fundamental spiritual reality behind this surface appearance. I try to express in visible form the oneness and unity of this invisible power, binding all things into one whole."

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Evan Dando - Frying Pan.

artslove.com

Daniel Choe from the artslove organisation in Korea has posted photos from the commission4mission launch on the artslove website together with photos from his other meetings with Christian artists including ACE and Veritasse along with meetings in Bulgaria, France and Hungary.

Artslove is the website for Christian University Student Art Camp (CuSAC). CuSAC is designed for young artists in Korea and all nations, especially campus students who major in the visual arts to guide them to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their personal Lord & Saviour. Then, as the disciples of Christ, to help them develop their skills and talents to be more effective as cultural ministers in this present world.

In Bulgaria, Daniel visited Ellion Arts Foundation which has been active since 2001 with members in the the following disciplines: visual arts painting, sculpture, photography, textile, design, fashion; literature; music: both classical and contemporary music, and multimedia. Their goal is to influence every area of social and cultural life with Christian morals and ethics and to show the meaning of Christianity in contemporary life. They are helping Bulgarian Christian artists to promote their art works and participate in different art events in Bulgaria and Europe. The organization works for European integration through Christian culture, organizing art events, exhibitions, classical music concerts, seminars, workshops and publishing. Presently they are working on developing an Internet Gallery for Fine Arts and on a project for an Annual Festival of Fine Arts and Music.

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Jemin Roh - Climb Like an Eagle.

commission4mission launch and articles

Interior of St Albans Romford, where the launch of commission4mission is to be held

Joy Rousell Stone

Peter Shorer

Harvey Bradley

The launch of commission4mission this weekend (Saturday 7th March, 2.00pm, St Albans Romford) features in the current editions of the Ilford Recorder and the Yellow Advertiser. The launch has also been advertised in Art & Christianity and the newsletters of the Arts Centre Group and Veritasse.

Membership of commission4mission has grown in the run up to the launch with images from some of our artists featuring above and with the following disciplines now being represented among our membership: drawing, jewellery making, music, painting, sculpture, and silversmithing.

Of the artists with images displayed above:

• Harvey Bradley: My creative work includes: Stoneware and Porcelain pottery (domestic with ecclesiastical commissions); Oil Paintings (reflective, figurative subjects that are open to prayerful interpretation); and Designs for banners (carried out by Emmanuel banner group).
• Peter Shorer: Museum trained Conservator and Archeologist commissioned to mould original antiquities for reproduction in bronze, gold, silver and pewter.
• Joy Rousell Stone: Studied under John Nash, Edward Bawden, Stanley Spencer, Edward Ardizzone at Royal College of Art. Many one man shows. Favourite subject matters: The Holy Land, Egypt, Greece, Italy (especially Assisi) and USA. All media. Retiired Head of Art & Design at The Plume School, Maldon, Essex.

Forthcoming commission4mission events include:

• exhibiting in the Pentecost Festival Art Exhibition at Westminster Central Hall on Saturday 30th May; and
• an exhibition and Study Day at Chelmsford Cathedral in November 2009.

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Pierce Pettis - Song of Songs.

Sculptural pupil & teacher

Visiting the Veritasse website today meant that I found information about two sculptors, Shawn Williamson and Josephina de Vasconcellos.

Williamson, who was once a pupil of de Vasconcellos, recently had a huge, carved figure of Raphael unveiled at Rydal Hall (Ambleside, Cumbria) to honour the memory of de Vasconcellos, who died in 2005 at the age of 100.

Williamson draws the inspiration for his work from his deep connection with the ancient past. Most of his pieces have a spiritual dimension, whether a statue of Madonna and Child, Pictish rock art or a carving of a bird. Often this involves interpreting the vision of his clients into stone.

He has carried out commissions for all kinds of organisations, from town and parish councils, charities and trusts to universities, churches and corporate bodies. His work is divided into four main areas: monolithic stone sculpture, sculptural functional features, smaller stone sculptures and sketch models (small pieces in plaster of paris or plastiline for casting in bronze resin).

Born in England in 1904, the only child of a Brazilian diplomat and an English Quaker mother, de Vasconcellos was a younger contemporary of Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. In the years following the First World War she studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic, then in Paris with Bourdelle, then in Florence with Andreotti. But as an artist she followed her own individual path, always believing that sculpture has a role to play as an inspirational force in society. She faced many challenges and disappointments, yet, sustained by her sincere Christian beliefs, managed to continue working into great old age. She died on 20 July 2005.

Obituaries were published in The Independent (by Margaret Lewis) and The Guardian (by Linda Clifford). More information about a book on her life and art can be found by clicking here: Josefina de Vasconcellos, Her Life and Art.

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Albert Ayler - Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.

Gallery info

Here are a couple of interesting items from arts newsletters:

Wallspace will be holding an evening with Ana Maria Pacheco on Thursday 23rd October from 7.00pm. Ana Maria will take participants around the Memória Roubada exhibition and talk about her work, its background and inspiration. RSVP to info@wallspace.org.uk. Pacheco is featured artist in Melvyn Bragg's Faith in The Frame ITV 1 series broadcast on 2 November 2008.

Veritasse are featured on the Brits at their Best website. Sculptor and writer Shawn Williamson put the site in touch with Veritasse and their entry includes the news that St. Andrew's bookshop in Maidenhead has teamed up with Veritasse to create a new gallery in a refurbished area of the bookshop bringing Christian art onto the high street.

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Nu Colours - Yes, I Will.

Greenbelt diary (2) & Windows on the world (14)

Greenbelt, 2008

Day 2 for me began with an interlude in the form of a search for works by the artist Greg Tricker. I first came across Tricker's work in Images of Earth and Spirit: A "Resurgence" Art Anthology and knew that he has been involved with the Ruskin Mill College at Nailsworth. Through the kindness of Diana and Peter Crook during Greenbelt we were staying in the picturesque village of Uley which is just down the road from Nailsworth. So I headed off early in the morning to see what I could find of Tricker's work.

My quick detour to Ruskin Mill failed to uncover any definitive examplesof Tricker's work, although I saw a carving of an angel that looked as though it could well have been his work and did establish that he lives in the town. On one occasion in the past I have cold called an artist - the very wonderful John Reilly on the Isle of Wight - but on this occasion didn't have the time to do so as I wanted to arrive at Greenbelt in time to hear Chris Dingle's talk on the faith and spirituality of Olivier Messiaen.

Dingle is the author of The Life of Messiaen and gave a worthwhile summary of Messiaen's life that highlighted pieces to listen to beyond the well known Quartet for the End of Time. Another thing that Greenbelt is great for is broadening knowledge of the large number of artists expressing spirituality in their work and, in the case of a massive body of work like that of Messiaen's, highlighting some accessible ways in.

My daughters arrived and we listened to a great set by Ed Sheeran; so good that Emma bought his cd. Following Ed's set we mooched around the site catching up with other familiar faces as we did so. Michelle Gillam-Hull's stall was one place where we stopped, shopped and caught up. I also introduced myself to Aidan Mellor, the impresario responsible for Veritasse. I am a Veritasse artisan and my artwork can be found on their website, so it was good to meet the man responsible and to hear about their expansion with a new gallery opening in Maidenhead and increasing use being made of the download facility on their website.

At the Artist's Forum I listened to Phill Hopkins speak about his onsite installation Seven Drunken Nights and performance piece Wine & Beer/Oak & Bread. The evening saw more shuttling between mainstage and the Performance Cafe to take in the likes of Julie Lee, Helen J. Hicks and Cathy Burton. I made a detour to Underground to catch the electro-rock of This Morning Call before settling down to hear the whole of Edwina Hayes' set at the Performance Cafe. With her engaging personality and beautiful voice, this was a real treat. Having enjoyed the Hummingbird album on which she sings with Cathy Burton and Amy Wadge I was anticipating something special and wasn't disappointed. A great conclusion to a full day.

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Edwina Hayes - Pour Me A Drink.

Pleshey photos

I've been at Pleshey, the Diocesan Retreat House, for much of this week on the second part of a course to become a training incumbent. While there I took the photos above. More photos (including more from Pleshey) plus additional paintings will be found shortly as new items on my Artisans pages at Veritasse.

While there, Sam Norton gave an ad-hoc talk on peak oil which was both fascinating and chilling. The global crisis that is peak oil and a Christian response has been the topic of many of Sam's blogs. A useful introduction can be found here and Sam's more in-depth materials here. I will be reading these in more depth myself and recommend others to do so as well.

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Iona - Matthew the Man.

Updated artwork

I have recently updated my Artisan pages at the Veritasse website to show additional photographs and paintings for purchase through this site.

I now have seven pages of photographs and paintings including photographs from the Hertford stns project and a recent landscape series taken at Boyden Wood. Sin, the photograph selected for the Pentecost Festival photographic display, can also be seen and purchased.

I am also involved in several exciting arts projects currently in the planning stage including: a Patronal Festival exhibition at St John's; an Advent art installation for Redbridge churches; and an artists forum with Henry Shelton. I'll post more information about each of these as they take shape.

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Willard Grant Conspiracy - Beyond The Shore.

Images for Easter

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Pops Staples - Nobody's Fault But Mine.

Poems of bereavement

I've just had a short piece about the poems I posted on this blog, which were inspired by my recent experience of bereavement, published in the Artisans Newsletter from Veritasse.

These poems, which some regular readers of this blog have described as "powerful" and "beautiful", have already proved helpful to others facing bereavement. Written in a confessional style, the pain of waiting for death and the remembrance of the one who has died are two of themes that emerge from the sequence.

As regular readers of this blog know, my father suffered a cardiac arrest following brain surgery and never regained consciousness over the six weeks from that event to his death. In one sense we lost him from the moment he had the cardiac arrest but waited with him for the inevitable end. We experienced the onset of grief while he was physically still with us and prayed for his death to be peaceful and swift. One of the ways in which I coped with the extremes of emotion we felt, as a family and individually, was to write these poems about my experience and to post them on my blog together with information about the inspirational person my father had been. I know that these posts and poems have already been of help to at least one other person in similar circumstances and hope that others will also be able to identify with them.

My father was a pioneer of community work in the UK who, in later life, applied this knowledge and experience in urban ministry. He was a man of commitment and integrity throughout his life and is, without doubt, the person from whom I have learnt the most. It is my hope that through these poems and posts his life and death will continue to inspire and minister to others.

The article was accompanied by The Stature of Waiting and Our Lives Contracted. Both of which can be read in their original contexts by clicking here and here.

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Henryk Górecki - Amen.

Viewing my paintings

A selection of my paintings can now be viewed and purchased through the Veritasse website. Click here for a link to the page containing my images.

The aim of Veritasse is to glorify God through the arts and serve Him with the talents He has given. Veritasse are committed to:

• Encouraging and supporting Christian artists and organisations, establishing links and forging friendships.
• Promoting Christian arts at conferences, exhibitions, festivals and events, initially in the Christian field but also moving into the secular.
• Playing an active role in spreading information about Christian arts, enabling artists to speak out God's message to their communities and the wider world.
• Supporting suffering communities in India through their charity work.

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Check out Aretha Franklin singing Never Grow Old.