Makers & Mystics

Leonardo Da Vinci was an artist, scientist and inventor. His capacity to metaphorically dream while awake, through the use of his imagination, enabled him to perceive the natural world as a playground for investigation, exploration, discovery and invention. This mentality would lead him to creative innovations in various fields of study including painting, architecture, mathematics, engineering, a...

Kimbra Lee Johnson is a singer, songwriter, producer + musician from New Zealand, now based in New York City. Her award-winning, debut album Vows was released in 2011. In 2012, she appeared on Gotye’s multi-platinum single, Somebody I Used To Know. Kimbra’s music pushes the boundaries of genre and style juxtaposing pop sensibilities with influences in Jazz, R & B, and electronic music. Lyrical...

Carey Wallace is the author of Stories of the Saints, The Blind Contessa’s New Machine, The Ghost in the Glass House, Choose, New Thing, and the forthcoming Discipline of Inspiration. Her work has appeared in Time, the Awl, The New Decameron, and Detroit’s Metro Times. She has spoken to students at Princeton, Yale, Julliard, Pratt, Emory’s Candler School of Theology, and the Festival of Faith and...

Cynthia Newland is an artist, educator, speaker and wellness consultant. She is the founder of Alible3 – Nourishing the Body, Soul and Spirit, providing educational resources and equipping tools for holistic health. With her work in the area of wellness, she partners with the Health Made Simple community. Cynthia is the founding Director of Feet Speak Dance, a dance company whose mission aims to u...

Social distancing can feel a bit destabilizing. All of our habits and routines and normal ways of functioning are suspended and we have to adopt new daily rhythms, ways of doing life and finding work. For the artist, this can lead to questions about the validity of our work and where art-making and creativity belong in a time of global crisis. But it is vital for our own mental and emotional healt...

Heather Stringer is a therapist, artist, and ritual maker. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Seattle, WA and a Fellow with the Allender Center. She completed her M.A. in Counseling Psychology at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology and the Externship Program at The Allender Center. Heather has a practice of creating narrative informed trauma therapy as well as creating ritual...

We are calling all creative arts communities, individuals, seekers, believers, skeptics, doubters, craftsmen and bakers, tongue talkers and Quakers, anyone who needs community in the midst of quarantine. Come hang with us this Friday night at 7 pm Eastern time.  The communion time will be hosted by our  Makers and Mystics creative collective  along with Justin McRoberts and members of The Breath a...

Vincent van Gogh was a leading postimpressionist painter of the late nineteenth century, known for his thick, swirling brushstrokes and radical use of color. Before he was an artist, though, he was a pastor to a village of destitute coal miners in Belgium, an experience that shaped him deeply. Vincent was full of compassion and wonder, anguish and hope. “Sorrowful yet always rejoicing” was one of...

In this episode, Stephen talks with Producer of Marketing and Distribution for Aspiration Entertainment, Erik Lokkesmoe. The two discuss Erik's vision for individuals, families and churches who want to support artists and the arts. Erik's charge to "democratize patronage" and create local communities of patrons is an important idea for our time. “I encourage everyone to listen...

In this Season opening episode, Stephen talks with singer-songwriter John Mark McMillan about the creative process behind his new album Peopled With Dreams John Mark McMillan If you’ve been inspired by the Makers & Mystics podcast please consider joining our tribe of monthly supporters. For the cost of a cup of coffee to a date night at the movies, you can partner with us in creating and susta...

John Eldredge is a New York Times bestselling author, a counselor, and a teacher. His latest book, Get Your Life Back, examines the breakneck pace at which we force our souls to exist—a pace that far exceeds God’s original design. In his book, John argues that a constant absorption of others’ worries through social media, paired with our own burdens and stresses, has left people overwhelmed and we...

Cinelle Barnes is a memoirist, essayist, and educator from Manila, Philippines, and is the author of MONSOON MANSION: A MEMOIR (Little A, 2018) and MALAYA: ESSAYS ON FREEDOM (Little A, 2019), and the editor of a forthcoming anthology of essays about the American South (Hub City Press, 2020). In this episode, Stephen talks with Cinelle about memoir as an agent of healing and how her process of writ...

Salvador Dali remains one of the most complex and controversial figures within art history. His artistic mediums range from film-making, design, clothing and jewelry making, writing, even what he called an “erotic cookbook” which featured enticing recipes such as Thousand Year Old Eggs and Toffee with Pine Cones.  Over the course of his lifelong career as an artist, he collaborated with other well...

Tinasha LaRayé is a poet, actress, and filmmaker who has an intense passion to see nations transformed through storytelling. As a spoken word artist, she incorporates her theatrical world of acting to elevate poetry from the page to an encounter. From working with inner city kids, to young women, to budding creatives, she loves empowering individuals to move in their God-given voice, purpose, and...

David Kinnaman is president of Barna Group, a leading research company based in Atlanta, Georgia. David’s work as a researcher and as a “professional listener” has led him and his team to interview nearly 1.5 million individuals since he began working for Barna in 1995. In this episode, Stephen is joined by Storybrand consultant and pastor, Luke Humbrecht of Boulder, Colorado. Stephen and Luke tal...

In this bonus episode, Stephen highlights several of the presenters for the 2020 The Breath & the Clay creative arts gathering, who have appeared on the podcast. Listen in for conversation segments with Jeremy Cowart, Lanecia Rouse Tinsely, Matthew Perryman Jones and Lauren Midgley. OPENING MUSIC BY: C’est Lis CLOSING MUSIC BY: https://www.ianrandallthornton.com/ Ian Randall Thornton Join our...

Aimee Semple McPherson was a celebrity personality and pioneering religious figure active during the 1920’s and 30’s.  She is perhaps most remembered for her larger than life theatrical presentations of the gospel and for establishing one of the world’s first recognized mega churches. At the height of her fame, Aimee’s services filled 5300 seats three times every Sunday. She appointed two massive...

Matthew Perryman Jones is performing songwriter by trade, though at heart, he is actually a seeker. With each entry into his discography, his musical and moral compass points toward an artistic horizon he has yet to explore. Sometimes, he turns his gaze to examine his own inner world. Other times, he looks to the inspirations found in the letters Vincent Van Gogh penned to his brother Theo, or in...

John Fluevog  is a celebrated Canadian shoe designer known for his witty and unconventional style. Colourful, Art Deco-inspired and inscribed with uplifting messages, his distinctive footwear has graced dance floors and boardrooms alike and are worn by everyone from Alice Cooper to Lady Gaga to nurses, teachers, lawyers, bikers, baristas and someone down your street. Today, John Fluevog owns 27 st...

William Blake was an English poet, printmaker and painter born November 28, 1757 in London, England. Today, he is considered one of the most important figures in English poetry and art, although during his lifetime, his work remained largely overlooked. His writings were spiritually and politically lethal and publishers shunned his works for fear of being accused of inciting insurrection. Contempo...

Ashley Mary is a Minnesota-based muralist and abstract artist whose paintings tap into concepts of youth and playfulness and curiosity through the use of thick textures, vibrant colors, and organic and familiar shapes. Her process is influenced heavily by her collage work, patterns, vintage ephemera, and her background in graphic design. Ashley’s work pays attention to the unintentional and leaves...

Jeremy Cowart is an award-winning photographer, artist, and entrepreneur whose mission in life is to "explore the intersection of creativity and empathy." He was named the “Most Influential Photographer on the Internet” by Huffington Post, Forbes and Yahoo in 2014. Jeremy has published four books including his latest release titled I’m possible: Jumping into fear and discovering a life o...

Rebekah Lyons is a national speaker and bestselling author of  You Are Free: Be Who You Already Are  and  Freefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning . Rebekah has been described as an old soul with a contemporary, honest voice, revealing her own battles to overcome anxiety and depression— Her work has been featured on Good Morning America, CNN,  Huffington Post , Publisher’s...

Andrew Peterson   is an award-winning singer-songwriter and author. The second book in his Wingfeather Saga,  North! Or Be Eaten  won the Christy Award for Young Adult Fiction, and the fourth,  The Warden and the Wolf King won  World Magazine ’s Children’s Book of the Year in 2015. In 2008, Andrew founded a creative arts community called The Rabbit Room, which led to a yearly conference, countless...

The artist known as Propaganda, is a Los Angeles based poet, political activist, academic & emcee.  His body of work challenges listeners with difficult and sometimes controversial topics such as systemic injustice and racism. With musical roots ranging from aggressive battle raps to smooth introspective rhythms, Propaganda’s music crosses cultural spectrums while his deep lyrical prowess appe...