3 Art Events Worth Noting

1. Waxing Poetic: Painting the Psalms -- a workshop at the Grunewald Guild in central Washington State.

Shannon Newby and Phaedra will be co-leading this workshop that makes use both of beeswax and the Psalter. As Phaedra puts it in her blog entry:

"There are only eight spots available and I know it has already started filling up. I think it is going to be a really rich few days. The Grunewald Guild is a retreat center located just outside of beautiful Leavenworth, Washington. The Wenatchee River Valley holds some of the most glorious landscape in the country. The setting alone is incredibly inspiring."

See here for full description of workshop. See for here registration at the Grunewald Guild.

2. FLATLAND the movie at Azusa Pacific University.

My good friend Jeffrey Travis will be presenting his film FLATLAND at Azusa Pacific's conference, "Cling To What is Good."

Other guest speakers include Dallas Willard and folks like Dean Batali (creator/writer of "That 70s Show"). It's a one-day event happening on March 3.

The event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. And it's in southern California, where the weather is perpetually fine.

3. Duke Divinity's Center for Reconciliation: Art & Reconciliation.

Once again Chris Rice and company are putting together a marvelous week-long event for people interested in a conversation between the church and racial reconciliation. This summer the title of the event is "The Ministry of Reconciliation in a Divided World.” The date is May 31 – June 5, 2010. One of the cohort groups will focus on the arts and reconciliation. It will be led by the fabulously charming poet, theologian and Englishman Malcolm Guite. Here is the info for his cohort:

"The Shaping Spirit of Imagination: the Arts and Reconciliation"

"‘Where there is no vision the people perish’ (Prov.29:18). How can we restore the biblical vision of wholeness when we are still in the midst of our divisions? This seminar will explore how the arts can embody a vision that sustains hope and how artistic intuition can sometimes show us the only way out of dilemmas that, rationally, seem blocked and hopeless. Four artists who will be especially helpful to us include Shakespeare, Seamus Heaney, Marc Chagall, and Bob Dylan. We will explore not only how the inspired imagination of these three artists can change our vision and renew our hope, but also share with each other the different arts and artists that have been transformative for us."

See here for more info.

This a pic from last year: Malcolm's the other bushy-looking guy, John Perkins stands to his right; the other guy is a pal of Malcolm's.