I have just returned from an incredible week in New Mexico attending the Glen Workshop. It is an annual event sponsored by Image Magazine, a journal of art and faith. It is co sponsored by CIVA (Christians in the visual arts), and Christians in the Theater Arts.
How fitting that the closing fell on the Feast of the Transfiguration. Being on that mountain top in Santa Fe, I saw and felt the face and presence of Christ in word, song, image, and fellowship.
After spending weeks blurry-eyed in front of my computer, looking for indications of what the ELCA churchwide Assembly would do, facing questions that could destroy or save the church, depending on who you asked, it was a blessed reprieve. I did not take my laptop or even purchase a pass to the computer lab. I immersed myself in my art, and in the gifted artists that gathered to teach, learn and share their vision and faith.
One of the highlights was getting to meet and talk with artists and writers, who at first, I must say I felt a bit star struck just casually being able to just sit at the same cafeteria table and discuss faith, art, our families, or anything else. But the Unity of the Body of Christ was in such spirit, I feel I can take Paul's word where he says "there is neither Jew or Greek, slave or free.........." and add there is neither published or unpublished, professional or novice, insider artist or outsider artist, wordcrafter or imagemaker. I did not even realize the reputation or carers of many of the artists that I worked side by side with until I came home and googled some of them and found that they were already icons in their fields (these were the students I worked with, the teachers I had an inkling after looking over the book table and seeing that some had volumes already published.
The only one I was very familiar with at first was Luci Shaw, and I had to double check to make sure it was THE Luci Shaw whose book I recently read that was a collaboration with Madelyn L'Engle called "Friends for the Journey". Many of us asked about Madelyn, and Luci shared, because she knew we asked out of love not curiosity, about her failing health and the trials of aging, yet she spoke of hope, in a way only a Believer can, and we shed tears with her at the painful sorrow at watching the consequences of our fallen humanity and mortality enveloped her dearest friend, and in a way, one of our dearest friends. Madelyn L'Engle and Luci Shaw have nourished my faith, my children's faith for over 20 years. There is a bond in Christ that goes beyond mystery.
My particular class was mixed media, a bit of a misnomer. I thought the collage and mixing textile, photographs, paint, and techniques was mixed media, but we did something called "assemblage".
Some people would call it finding the most unlikely objects, natural, man-made, broken or whole gleaned from God only knows where (yes we did go through garbage bins, beg, borrow and steal (appropriated for use other than intended) everything under the sun and what we made was more like sculpture. Some of the things used by students: old wooden, broken window, part of a trunk pulled from the river, parts of dolls, stuffed animals (yes, it was strange taking a hammer to a baby dolls leg), disposable plastic communion cups, a Michael Jackson doll outfit, chicken bones, empty miniature liquor bottles, every kind of print/picture/magazine/pages of books, bibles, hymnals. I could go on, and not even make a dent in materials used. And then we did violence and altered them. It got to be a joke about "rusting " everything. Our Instructor was "rust happy". He a a special finish that could rust anything from metal, wood, paper to doll parts. Some of us started hiding things so he wouldn't make us rust them. Though by midweek we got comfortable saying "no" to some of his suggestions--pretty brave--compare it to telling Van Gogh that no we didn't want to use all that thick paint.
I did finish my piece, in spite of the love hate relationship I had with it. It began as as shrine/tribute to my sister who died a little over a year ago. I found every excuse to work on something else, or lay it aside when it became to painful, which was about every 5 minutes. It turned into something completely different. While she was the inspiration it became a much more universal piece reflecting eternal questions of suffering, unanswered prayers, loss, and the essence of faith. In a fit of non stop work I completed (sort of, art is never finished, only abandoned) my work about 4AM on Friday. We were doing a showing and critique at 9AM. Working side by side with other artists, whose faith is a major influence, is an experience that cannot be described. We played off one another, inspired, suggested, comforted, laughed till we cried-and the finished work that came out of that experience was incarnational (small i). The showing and critique was more like a divine liturgy that closed with a circle of benedictions and a sending forth that reminded me of ordination services I have attended. Much love was spent, lavishly spent among our small class of 10, and our fearless leader (a bent reed he would not break. Love and gentleness were the tools he used to make us want to achieve excellence and clarity of vision.)
(NOTE:The picture of St. Sebastian, though similar, but by a different artist, was a major part of my assemblage piece. I am going to try to photograph it and will post it if it turns out.)
for more information on Image Magazine, now in print for 15 years, and currently the 4th largest Literary Journal published today (among all , not just Christian, Literary journals). It is a beautiful publication, with the best writers and artists editing and contributing, including Annie Dillard, Joyce Carol Oats, Ann Lamont, Kathleen Norris, Martin Marty, Barry Moser, Scott Cairns, Luci Shaw, and many more that you would know and others that you SHOULD know.
http://www.imagejournal.org/index.asp