Tag Archives: Visual Arts

Top 2016 posts feature artists, musicians, playwrights and authors

29 Thursday Dec 2016

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This past year has been a busy year for Christians in the arts, complete with new works by new artists to new works by veteran artists. My personal favourites include: Faye Hall’s ART begets ART (which combined text and art), Mike Janzen’s Nudging Forever CD, Lost & Found Theatre’s production of Pocket Rocket, Barrie Doyle’s latest novel The Lucifer Scroll, the debut of the CBC comedy series Kim’s Convenience base on Ins Choi’s award-winning stage play and artist Josh Tiessen’s first monograph: Josh Tiessen: A Decade of Inspiration.

While these posts were my favourites, a few others gained the attention of my readers and became their favourites. So, in chronological order, here are the top read Arts Connection blog posts of 2016:

February 9, 2016

More “Hot Apple Cider” to warm the soul

Like a cup of hot apple cider warming the body on a cold day, the Hot Apple Cider with Cinnamon anthology will warm the soul.

The fourth in the Hot Apple Cider series, the latest volume contains 67 stories – some true, some fiction and a few are poems – all based around the theme, and subtitle, of “finding love in unexpected places…

 

February 17, 2016

Artist’s book a visual look at her inspirations

When interviewing artists for the Arts Connection radio show, I usually ask them “where do you get the inspiration for your art?”

Winnipeg-based artist Faye Hall’s new book ART begets ART is a 40-page answer to that question….

 

March 15, 2016

Film will move viewers close enough to hear God breathe

With the words “We waited until the last of my children arrived before taking my father off of life support…” Jason Hildebrand’s portrayal and Mike Janzen’s piano breathe life into Greg Paul’s words in Breathe…

Breathe… is a film version of the stage play co-created by Hildebrand and Tom Carson with music by Janzen. Inspired by Paul’s award-winning book, Close Enough to Hear God Breathe, the play explores the “story of a man who never heard ‘I love you’ from his father, searching through the characters of his life to find – ‘I love you’.”…

 

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Singer/songwriter Ali Matthews plumbs the depth of her spiritual experience for new CD

“I have travelled this road/I have wrestled these fears/I have carried this load/And cried a sea full of tears/Though I may rise, though I may fall/You are my hope, You are my all/Forever this be my song and my story/To God be all of the glory.”

With those touching words, and equally touching keyboard backing, Ali Matthews opens her latest CD: So Shall We Love: Songs of Worship and Faith…

 

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Young artist chronicles a decade of work

Artist Josh Tiessen has packed more into his 21 years than some of us have packed into two, three or four times as many.

The Stoney Creek, Ontario resident was born in Russia to missionary parents, moved to Canada and has traveled internationally…

 

Young artist chronicles a decade of work

30 Wednesday Nov 2016

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josh-tiessen-a-decade-of-inspiration-coverArtist Josh Tiessen has packed more into his 21 years than some of us have packed into two, three or four times as many.

The Stoney Creek, Ontario resident was born in Russia to missionary parents, moved to Canada and has traveled internationally.

He began creating art as a pre-schooler under the tutelage of his Russian nanny. After moving to Canada, Tiessen, mentored by a retired wildlife and pet portrait artist, created his first significant wildlife work at 10: a chalk portrait of Aslan from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. A year later, “Aslan” and other works were displayed the Artway on Two in Burlington’s Joseph Brant Hospital.

Tiessen how has a decade of exhibitions under his belt, along with a number of national and international accolades: at 15 he was mentored by esteemed Canadian wildlife artist Robert Bateman in a Master Artist Seminar, at 17 he was the youngest person juried into the International Guild of Realism (IGOR) and at 19 received IGOR’s “Creative Achievement Award.” With these accomplishments and a number of requests from friends and fans, Tiessen has put together and published his first monograph: Josh Tiessen: A Decade of Inspiration.

Josh Tiessen hopes people looking at his art will feel the sense of ‘wonder and awesomeness’ that is in the natural world all around us

About half of the book is an intimate and detailed biography which includes family photos, samples of his early work (including “Aslan”) and photos of Tiessen working at his craft or out in public. While someone might think this would be self-indulgent for a 21 year old, in Tiessens case it isn’t. I’ve had the chance to interview Tiessen on a number of occasions and reading through the book found myself learning even more about his life than I had in the interviews. By the time you’re finished reading these chapters, you find yourself amazed by a competent, intelligent and professional young artist.

The second half of the book chronicles Tiessen’s art from some of his early still life images, beginning wildlife paintings (his specialty) to his latest works which combine realism, fantasy and metaphor. Tiessen accompanies each image with a note about it’s development and, in many cases, the spiritual meaning that can be drawn from it. As he states at one point in the biography:

“Although Josh’s art is not necessarily religious in subject matter, he tries to illustrate the beauty and diversity of creation and the image of God in human creativity. He sees his artistic ability as a gift from God. As a contemporary artist in the 21st century, he would like to be a positive and uplifting presence in the art world. Josh says that he hopes people looking at his art will feel the sense of ‘wonder and awesomeness’ that is in the natural world all around us.

As he begins each painting Josh prays, asking God to work through the process. As a result, just like the little penguin family, metaphorical and spiritual meaning seem to be infused into his paintings and people often comment on the analogies they draw from them.”

While I only had a chance to view an electronic version of Josh Tiessen: A Decade of Excellence, I can only imagine what the print product will look like. I’ve watched, through social media and his e-mail newsletters, the progress of some of Josh’s works. This monograph is a fitting tribute to the life of a young artist who has just begun a lifelong journey.

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For more about Josh Tiessen and A Decade of Excellence go to http://www.joshtiessen.com/

To listen to the latest Arts Connection interview with Josh Tiessen, go to http://tinyurl.com/hyjcmez

 

 

Artist’s book a visual look at her inspirations

17 Wednesday Feb 2016

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Art begets Art - coverWhen interviewing artists for the Arts Connection radio show, I usually ask them “where do you get the inspiration for your art?”

Winnipeg-based artist Faye Hall’s new book ART begets ART is a 40-page answer to that question.

As a child, one of Hall’s teachers recognized her artistic ability and suggested Hall’s parents encourage her. Which they did, leading her to a 20-year career in advertising design. Eventually, for various reasons that she mentions in the book, Hall turned to other pursuits – which included putting paintbrush to canvas.

Hall’s art is visually stunning. And when you begin to look at the details – the use of colour and meticulous brush strokes –  you’ll marvel at the amount of time and effort Hall must spend on each painting. Some of them are so realistic, they could be mistaken for the photographs which originally inspired the art.Art begets Art - Sunglasses

Which brings me to the book’s subtitle: “One Artist’s Inspiration.” Accompanying many of her paintings are the stories behind the art.

Sometimes, in the case of the image to the right, titled “Steve’s Sunglasses,” it’s a photo. In this case, one taken by singer/songwriter Steve Bell on a Canadian Foodgrains Bank-sponsored trip to Ethiopia.

Inspiration, Hall writes, “is like the presence of God. It can manifest in the texture of a tangle of branches in the woods, it can be an image that appears in my mind upon hearing the words of a poet or pastor – it can be the dapple of light reflected in the eyes of a loved child.”

Art begets Art - GuiteIn the case of “In Coleridge’s Wake” (left), inspiration came from a photo on social media of U.K. songwriter/poet/vicar Malcom Guite, which grabbed her attention.

“The image hit me like a pail of lake water thrown in my face – here was my next painting – and I was helpless to resist,” writes Hall of an image which has become one of my favourites in the book.

Each story, helps readers delve deeper into the heart and mind of an artist. The reader of ART begets ART comes away with a greater appreciation for the art Hall has crafted from her varied inspirations.

ART begets ART is a short book, but it’s a full book. Hall’s art and the reflections on her inspirations will keep readers coming back to the book again and again. I know that each time I’ve looked through it, I’ve come away with a new insight from her stories of inspiration or a new appreciation for one of her paintings.

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For more information about Faye Hall, check http://fayehall.com/.

For information on ART begets ART check http://www.friesenpress.com/bookstore/title/119734000022127417

Watch for details about an upcoming Arts Connection interview with Faye Hall

Church features students’ art as part of Art in Worship ministry

10 Wednesday Jun 2015

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Phil Irish, Puddicombe - edited cropped The Art in Worship ministry at New Life Christian Reformed Church intentionally incorporates a variety of artistic expressions into its worship experience. An element of this ministry are the regular exhibits of visual art on the walls of the northeast Guelph church’s sanctuary.

“In a sense we’re crafting a multi-sensory worship worship space,” says worship ministry coordinator Nicole Ensing in a media release announcing the most recent exhibit: The Temple Project

What’s unique about The Temple Project exhibit is that it features the work of nine students in Redeemer University College’s “intermediate painting” class. Six of the students and painting professor Phil Irish (pictured above) were on hand on Sunday, June 7 for a reception following the regular worship service.

Puddicombe - edited

Redeemer University College art student Jessica Puddicombe talks about her art.

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Tristan Kaarid talks about his piece “The Carpenter and the Universe”

“Their task was simple and open: reflect on the connotations of the word ‘the temple,’ and create an oil painting that brings size, materiality, imagery, and visual language to bear on the theme,” writes Irish in a brochure explaining the project.

At the reception, he expanded on that statement, describing the various techniques the students used to bring the theme to life. The students were also given a chance to describe the journey they took in creating their works.

The art is stunning. Bethany Kenyon’s abstract “Immanence” combines gold leaf and oils. Irish explained how Maria Wagler used a pour technique for “Reaching,” a work my wife said was her favourite of the exhibit.

I was particularly struck by Nathasha Van Gurp’s work “Boundless.” The deep, rich colours used in her landscape captured the vastness of God she wanted to depict.

“My portrayal of the ‘temple’ is centred on the idea that His temple exists through all of creation as everything is created by Him and done in and through Him,” Van Gurp explains in a note accompanying the painting.

I came away with a couple of take-away thoughts that morning.

First: the willingness of New Life CRC to incorporate visual art as part of its worship expression. I’ve had the chance to see the works of at least three different artists at New Life CRC and have been moved by each.

“Our goals are to integrate visual arts more purposefully into congregational worship, and to create a space to host the art of our extended community” says the exhibit brochure. This is a model other churches might be interested in exploring and replicating.

Second: the sheer joy of witnessing a new generation of artists who have responded to that divine calling to express their faith in art.

“The opportunity to show art is second only to the opportunity to glorify God,” says Tristan Kaarid in the media release. “The capacity of art to represent the godly in creation is uncanny. To me, the calling to create art is of utmost importance.”

And just as significant was the welcome of both the art and the artists by the receptive congregation.

“We’re so pleased to finally host students of the Redeemer art department,” says Ensing. “This has been a goal of ours for a number of years.”

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The Temple Project exhibit continues until June 14. For details and contact information go to www.newlifecrc.net

Book takes “Subway Stations of the Cross” from the stage to the page

01 Wednesday Apr 2015

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Subway Stations cover

A year ago, during the one of the runs of the award-winning play Kim’s Convenience, I had the chance to talk to Ins Choi about one of his other works: Subway Stations of the Cross.

Subway Stations of the Cross has its roots in a conversation Ins had with a homeless man in a park in downtown Toronto. Puzzled by what seemed to be ramblings at the time, Ins eventually found himself intrigued by what was said and began writing poems and songs based on it. By 2009 he began performing a song or poem in church services during Lent, a project that ultimately grew into a 20-minute performance.

“Over the years it started to grow and grow and now it at about an hour long,” said Ins in the interview.

Now, this work of the stage has been transformed into a work of the written page with the House of Anansi Press publication of Ins’ spoken-word poems and songs, beautifully illustrated by artist Guno Park.

The book opens with an illustration of Ins in character as the play’s nameless vagabond who is both beggar and seer. The poem “Repent” sets the tone for the book with lines that seamlessly meld social comment, humour and theology:

“Compare/Laissez-faire/Up in the air/On a whim and a prayer/Neither here nor there/Neither hide nor hair/Multi-million dollar home five car garage private jet plane mega-billionaire/MDiv PhD summa cum laud professor director member fellow published text book nicky picky air tight I’m right doctrinaire ye the way of the Lord.”

My personal favorites are “Bread” and “Wine” (two poems that look, separately, at the elements of the Last Supper), “Birkenstock Jesus” (which asks “If Jesus came to visit us today/How would he react to the church?”) and “A Field” (the parable of the hidden treasure from Matthew 13). But I also find a new “favourite” every time I read through the book again.

The beauty of Ins’ words is matched by Guno Park’s wonderful illustrations. “Guno and I grew up in the same church in Toronto, Toronto Korean Bethel Church,” writes Ins in the Author’s Note. “For an immigrant Korean church, or any church for that matter, it had an unusually disproportionate amount of artists.” In the same note, Ins says Guno’s drawings were “the perfect visual companion to my poems and songs.”

And they are. The publisher has formatted the book so that Guno’s pen and ink subway scenes can fold out in a panorama of human drama. Or as Ins writes: “like lost travellers on a holy pilgrimage who, after many years, forgot where they were going and why.”

While Subway Stations of the Cross can be a quick read, its complexities will draw the readers back to it time and time again for new insights into human and divine natures. It’s going to be in my re-read pile for a long time.

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For the complete interview with Ins Choi, which looks at Kim’s Convenience and Subway Stations of the Cross go to: http://selawministries.ca/content/arts-connection-monday-april-7-2014-ins-choi-kims-convenience-and-subway-stations-cross