Makers & Mystics

In this episode, I share highlights from some of my favorite conversations from the year. Highlights include my interviews with Kimbra, Elephant Heart, Padraig O’ Tuama, John Eldredge and others. Support the podcast! Join our creative collective! Tickets to BC21 Send us Fan Mail Support the show Sign Up for Our Newsletter! http://eepurl.com/g49Ks1 Connect with Makers & Mystics Website: https:/...

Sarah Hempel Irani has been sculpting expressive figures in clay and stone for nearly twenty years. Originally from Michigan, she moved to Maryland to apprentice with Jay Hall Carpenter, former Artist-in-Residence at the Washington National Cathedral. Sarah has contributed sculptures to national shows and received several notable awards, including the Maryland Arts Council Individual Artist Award...

One of the growing problems of our society that started long before but has been agitated by the COVID-19 pandemic is isolationism or the sense of loneliness and lack of meaningful social connections. Too much isolationism leads to individuals feeling a decreasing sense of responsibility or belonging to a group or a family. Therefore everything from littering to mass shootings could be rooted in t...

Thea Matthews is a San Francisco born poet, orator and activist whose work centers on the complexities of humanity, grief, and resiliency. In this episode, Stephen Roach to talks with Thea about her debut poetry collection published by Red Light Lit titled, Unearth [The Flowers] and about her journey of finding healing and resiliency through poetry. Thea's empowering poems provide a path to h...

Julian of Norwich was a Medieval English mystic born around year 1342 and who died around year 1420. Much of Julian’s life remains unknown to us but what we do know of Julian comes from biographical passages in her book Revelations of Divine Love. This book, now considered a classic of contemplative literature, is the first known book to have been written in the English language by a woman.  The b...

Rivers & Robots is an independent band from Manchester, UK whose sound explores acoustic and electronic elements beneath layers of devotional lyrics and worship themed motifs. In this episode, Stephen talks with founding members Jonathan Ogden and Nathan Stirling about the creative exploration within their music and how context influences the art we make. Rivers & Robots Set Sail (Rivers &...

In this live, keynote talk, Makers & Mystics host, Stephen Roach shares with The Well Collab in Frederick, Maryland. This talk discusses what sociologist, Max Weber coined as “disenchantment” and the human need for reverence. What does it mean to sit with the mystery and what is the artist’s role in bringing “re-enchantment” to a world devoid of ecstatic experience? Listen to this keynote for...

JUURI is a Tokyo-born muralist currently working from Oklahoma City. Her vibrant, figure-driven work fuses traditional Japanese imagery with modern, pop motifs. Juuri’s large scale murals frequently serve in city-wide revitalization efforts and can be seen in cities across America and overseas in Israel. Her realistic watercolor faces surrounded by cultural elements, patterns or flora contain deep...

Jennifer Dasal is the curator of modern and contemporary art at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina, and she is the host of the independent podcast ArtCurious, which she started in 2016 and was named one of the best podcasts by O, The Oprah Magazine and PC Magazine. Jennifer’s book ARTCURIOUS: Stories of the Unexpected, Slightly Odd, and Strangely Wonderful in Art History t...

Pádraig Ó Tuama is an Irish poet and theologian whose work centers around themes of language, power, conflict and religion. His poetry and prose has been published widely across Ireland, the US and the UK. For Ó Tuama, religion, conflict, power and poetry all circle around language, that original sacrament. In the context of public theology, he takes the received form of biblical texts and explore...

This Season Premiere Episode features a conversation with writer and director, Ryan Daniel Dobson of the feature film HOSEA, along with the film’s music composer, Michael Gungor of Gungor music and The Liturgists podcast. After studying theology in college, Ryan turned his attention to the entertainment industry with a focus on marrying theological and philosophical concepts to powerful visual sto...

Visit Khalisa Rae’s Website Visit Co-host, Ashley Blake’s Website Read the Winning Poems Become a Patron of the Podcast, join our creative collective and enable us to continue lifting up the voices of makers and mystics across the globe. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Sign Up for Our Newsletter! http://eepurl.com/g49Ks1 Connect with Makers & Mystics Website: https://makersandmystics.com Pat...

The three strands of art, faith and culture encompass the ethos of Makers & Mystics and provide the guidelines for our topics and discussions. We believe that the path of the maker and the path of the mystic are one and the same. The creative life is inherently spiritual and healthy spirituality will always be expressed through creativity. Makers & Mystics is committed to asking the questi...

Elephant Heart is the husband and wife musical collaborative of Jason and Victoria Evigan.  Jason Evigan is an award-winning producer and songwriter responsible for some of today’s biggest hits from artists such as Maroon 5, Madonna, Ellie Goulding, and Rufus Du Sol. Victoria Evigan is a musician, visual artist, set designer and stylist known for using make up, hair, environments, and fashion to c...

Marcel Duchamp was a visual artist, writer and avid chess player born July 28, 1887 near Blainville, France. His works are characterized by irony, movement and the dissolution of pre-conceived notions about art. Duchamp was an artist who defied categorization. He sent shock waves through the art world with the premiere of his line of found, manufactured objects called Readymades. In this episode,...

A Boy & His Kite is the music project by Colorado singer-songwriter and producer, Dave Wilton. In this episode, Stephen talks with Dave about the silence of God, expressing joy and grief through art, and the creative process behind his latest release, The Path Became A Ghost . A Boy & His Kite Join The Makers & Mystics Creative Collective. Gain Access to our monthly book club, private...

Ben Chung is a freestyle dancer, choreographer and one of the co-founders of the Kinjaz American dance crew in Los Angeles, California. He is a former member of the famous Jabbawockeez male dance troupe and is the winner of the first season of America's Best Dance Crew. In this episode Stephen talks with Ben about his creative process, collaboration and the art of finding flow. Connect with B...

Turtledoves is the musical project of husband and wife duo, Ashley and Alex McGrath. Their inventive sound explores the balance between lo-fi electronics and acoustic instruments to create harmonically rich soundscapes, labyrinthine melodies, ambient textures, and layered vocals. Turtledoves exist in the liminal spaces – as their biography tells us, they are messengers between the seen and the uns...

Howard Washington Thurman was a poet, mystic, philosopher and spiritual activist. He authored more than twenty books in his lifetime and played a leading role in The Civil Rights Movement where he served as a spiritual mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Learn More About Howard Thurman Follow Makers & Mystics on Instagram Support the Podcast! Become a Monthly Patron and help us continue creat...

This episode is our third release from the Makers and Mystics LIVE series. This conversation comes to you from Denver, Colorado and highlights our panel discussion on Art As Incarnation. You’ll hear from a diverse panel of voices including Master Penman, Jake Weidmann , Graphic Novelist, R. Alan Brooks and Printmaker, Kim Morski . This live event was hosted by QRZ Denver and The Gallery at FDC . A...

The 27 Club is a cultural phenomenon that recognized how a large number of famous artists, actors and musicians all died at the age of 27. Although there is no scientific evidence to back up the connections, the tendency to rise to fame and die young is baked into the tropes of Western culture. In this live keynote talk, given at The Breath & the Clay 2020, Stephen Roach invites listeners to g...

This bonus Episode features a live performance and interview with spoken word artist La’Tasha Strother. La’Tasha threads her relationship with God throughout her life and work and creates poignant imagery about her life experiences. The poem performed in this episode is titled Love Is Not Blind and was performed live at our Art As Healing Podcast in Charlottesville Virginia.  Become a Patron of th...

This episode is our second release from the Makers and Mystics LIVE series. This conversation comes to you from Charlottesville, Virginia and highlights excerpts from our discussion on Art As Healing. You’ll hear from a diverse panel of voices including Farm House community founder, Lauren Stonestreet, Philosopher, Bernard Hankins, Pastor and songwriter, Brendan Jamieson, Neuroscientist and Jazz m...

Vàclav Havel was a Czech playwright, political dissident, and consistent moral voice on human rights who went on to be elected President of the newly democratic Czech Republic. His life is a shining example of what artists can achieve when they have a robust sense of the time in which they have been placed in the world. Guest host Vesper Stamper talks about Havel’s life, work and spiritual perspec...

When it comes to spiritual formation, our individual temperament plays a large role in how we connect to God, one another and the world around us. There is not a one size fits all for how we approach the spiritual life. In fact, the same systems that bring us clarity and definition can also leave us frustrated or feeling confined to search for God in a manner contrary to our natural temperament. B...