Don’t Be Afraid of Art and Spirituality

Before I begin, I wanted to tack on something I should have mentioned in my blog on summer reading published a few weeks ago. I am privileged to be friends with two authors whose writing I encourage you to explore. First, my pal, Sr. Melannie Svoboda, is a wonderful writer of spirituality and presents it in a format easy to understand and really like! She also has a blog which I have mentioned in the past. Her books are written under the theme and sometimes subtitle of “Everyday Spirituality.” You cannot go wrong reading an approach to spirituality that is as down-home as blueberry pie on a summer’s afternoon. My other friend is Kim Novak, a writer whose best-selling children’s book on faith and yes, spirituality, is another writer I recommend. Her book, Bella’s Beautiful Miracle, is a delightful read for children around 8 years of age and an excellent ‘read to’ children’s book for youngsters under the age of 8. Kim also has a blog. Bella is a traveling little caterpillar who is seeking transformation after her peaceful life has been upended by a storm that threw her off course. She meets other insects along the way who help her as she matures into what God wants her to be. It’s a great little book about befriending and helping others and finding God at the end of one’s efforts.

I have been friends with these women for many years and I am an excited bystander of their success and most of all, their sense of mission in the art of writing.

Which brings me to my subject today: art and spirituality. Every June for the past six years, the Jesuit Retreat Center in Parma, Ohio, offers a weekend Art Retreat which fills quickly to our limited capacity on the retreat. We can handle no more than 18 people and we fill the seats quickly. I have noticed that people who are seeking peace, a deeper relationship with God, or a need to find themselves from under the clutter of daily life, have been turning to this retreat for direction. The retreat is designed for anyone—no art talent required. Our objective is to reach inside the soul by activity not usually indulged in and bring out the “imago Dei,” the God in whose image we are all created. My artist friend, Barb Hubbell, provides the art activities and I provide the talks on spirituality. 

With the advance of AI (artificial intelligence), some scholars are presenting a frightening possibility that AI can be a harbinger of dangerous things to come. “Certain leaders in (the AI industry) genuinely believe that they’re creating an artificial sentience that will be godlike,” says Kate Crawford, professor and researcher at U.S.C. Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism. She added, “Are they building a vengeful god or a beneficent god?” 

A group of very young artists in New York have been working on a modern art expression to confront this reality and suggest that spirituality is something deeper, something AI can never reach and thus never bring out true art or spirituality. Their work is in small galleries in Chinatown, the Lower East Side, mid Manhattan. They are tech savvy, so they do not eschew the power for good in technology; some explore the intersections of religion and technology. You won’t find a handsome Jesus or a beautiful Mary in their work. You won’t find anything close to traditionally interpreted characters or Biblical stories. You will have to let your mind think outside-the-box as they say, to appreciate this kind of art. And maybe you will find a place in your soul that will speak to you. These artists are Chris Lloyd, Brian Oakes, Rachel Rossin, Harris Rosenblum. (New York Times. “Inspired by Faith to Pose Big Questions.” Pp. 12-13.)

Reflection

Since summer is a looser time, why not do some exploring that will bring the inner artist out in you? I have sketch books that I try to fill on personal nature walks. Try it. Get a book and pencils and backpack. Take off for nature centers around you and observe. Sketch something. Here is what will happen.

1. You will sharpen your observation skills. You may say things like, I never knew this flower had five petals or this weed was so beautiful. Notice color, shape, how the light changes the color and texture. 
2. You will hear movement and songs you never heard before. As you sketch, a rustle of weeds or wildflowers will move nearby, and you will notice the accompaniment of another friend maybe a grasshopper or a butterfly or a noisy squirrel. Say hi to them; they may want to be part of the exploration.
3. Write down what you experienced spiritually as you engaged in this activity. Reverence the message God gave you. What exactly did you hear God say to you? Write in the sketchbook all the beautiful things you experienced in noticing the lines, circles, colors of what you have observed. 

Here is a lovely poem to add to your reverie of being a summer artist.

Look and See  by Mary Oliver

This morning, at waterside, a sparrow flew

to a water rock and landed, by error, on the back

of an eider duck: lightly it fluttered off, amused.

The duck, too, was not provoked, but you might say, was

laughing.

This afternoon a gull sailing over

our house was casually scratching

its stomach of white feathers with one

pink foot as it flew.

Oh Lord, how shining and festive is your gift to us, if we

only look and see.