Art & Faith Conversations

Lori Putnam is a Contemporary American Impressionist who sees harmony, rhythms, patterns, color and shapes as her subject matter. She has served as an Artist Faculty Demonstrator for the Annual Plein Air Convention for six years and has been a keynote speaker and guest lecturer at many notable events. Lori teaches to sold out workshops and has received numerous awards and accolades for her work. ...

Lauren Midgley is a conceptual fine art photographer who creates evocative and thought provoking imagery. Her photographs blur the line between reality and a dream scape and provide a safe space for conversations about faith, doubt, trauma and healing. To pre-order the book https://www.artserveint.org/rota Visit Lauren's website https://www.iamwonderandlight.com  

Mat Barber Kennedy is a painter who uses primarily watercolour. He represents daily life through depictions of aging machines, tools, and buildings that are constructed in layers, adapting over generations and decaying in pieces. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours and of The American Impressionists Society. In 2008 he was...

Tram Colwin is an artist and designer of custom prints, art work and stationary goods. Tram creates out of a desire to capture beauty in nature and everyday life. Born in Vietnam, her family immigrated in 1996 and found their home in Bentonville, Arkansas where she grew up. With a love for art, Tram got her degree in Fine Art and eventually launched her now full-time business, Tram Colwin Art. Her...

Allison Streett is a sculptor who works with the human figure. She describes in her bio that she hopes to provoke insights into ourselves and those around us, challenge us to acknowledge our true relationship to each other, and invite us to imagine a more just future. To pre-order the book https://www.artserveint.org/rota To connect with Allison https://www.allisonstreettstudios.com    

Freedom Rodriguez is a visual artist who along with his wife, Nancy, run ArtServe International which serves under resourced populations through art and empowers youth to dream beyond poverty and find hope for the future. Freedom joins me to tell us about his vision for his newest project, Revelations of the Artist. It's a collaborative book of over 20 artists works and statements about their fait...

I give a wrap up summary of season 5 highlights and reveal an exciting announcement about a current creative endeavor.  As I look ahead to Season 6, I talk about the powerful impact creativity can have as a mediator in these divisive times in our world. Art serves as a bridge to connect people and places that would otherwise remain divided. Listen and share the episode! Connect with the podcast  h...

Singer/songwriter, Melanie Penn, has experience in various realms of music from classic voice training to Broadway musicals to independent recording artist. Compelled to write her own songs, she overcame her own lack of confidence and challenges and recorded her first album in 2010 which received critical acclaim. She has since released several albums and singles including her Immanuel project in...

Kris Camealy talks about her newest book, Everything is Yours , an intimate and honest journey of how the art of letting go led her to the depths of God's love. As well as a writer, Kris is founder of Refine(the retreat) and the Refinery artists guild. She hosts an annual retreat for women and curates space for creative and spiritual practices.  Click the links to out more about her work or to ord...

Artist, Hannah Rose Thomas, began a journey of healing when she was asked to organize an art project for Syrian refugees in 2014. She went on to continue this humanitarian work of art and empathy and had the privilege to hear the stories of women in Northern Iraq and Nigeria who had survived incredible trauma and violence. She taught them to paint their own portraits which became a process of heal...

Julianna Rubio Slager is co-founder and artistic director of professional dance company, Ballet 5:8 based out of Chicago. Her vision in establishing the company was to bring more dialogue of hope to the Chicago art scene. She serves as resident choreographer with a mission bring something significant to the audience that would otherwise remain veiled through thought provoking and breath taking dan...

Makoto Fujimura is an internationally renowned artist, writer and speaker. He has written three books including Culture Care and has served as Presedential appointee to the National Council on the Arts from 2003-2009. His work has been featured in galleries worldwide and he continues to be recognized as a cultural influencer. A graduate of Bucknell University he is also the recipient of four Docto...

Visual artist, Jenedy Paige, paints in the representational tradition of art and describes herself as a realist in every sense of the word. Beginning with prayer and journaling, she then paints the things she's experiencing such as joy, loss, sorrow and ambition. Her stunning imagery draws the viewer in to experience these things as well. Her book, Coming Full Circle , is a journey of loss and the...

Illustrator, Jared Boggess, joins me to talk about the reorientation of what we deem essential in response to COVID-19. We are waking up to a new normal and finding that what we need and crave is human contact, religious practice and art. These are strange and uncertain times, but how we respond will be a marker on history. Join me for conversations that draw you out of isolation and into communal...

A meditative practice for Lent. A 5 min episode that includes a short prayer to reset our daily rhythms and focus our very breath on freedom. Included is a poem designed to listen to daily as you set your mind and heart on slower living, remembering what is most important. https://www.patreon.com/artandfaithpodcast

Jae Jin is an independent singer/songwriter based out of Baltimore, MD. After a relapse with a terminal illness while in college, Jae was compelled to give up everything and change the course of his life from pursuing a medical degree to pursuing music. In the last 5 years he has released four albums, auditioned for The Voice, played over 500 shows and is the 2019 winner of the John Lennon songwri...

Marguerite Anglin is an acrylic trained finger painting artist based in Philadelphia, PA. She creates skycapes filled with vibrant colors that evoke mystery, wonder and inspire a spiritual connection. She once used traditional brushes but after a bout with writer's block she took a hiatus from painting. When she returned to the canvas, she used only her fingers and began to create more abstract im...

Licensed professional counselor, Meredith McDaniel, talks about her new book,  In Want & Plenty, releasing later January 2020. Through guided journaling, Meredith walks alongside readers as a voice of healing and an encouragement to wake up to God's provision even when life hasn't gone as expected.  We talk about the importance of engaging with disappointments or pain in order to move forward and...

Sandra McCracken is a singer/songwriter with a folk gospel sound that has a way of captivating audiences to sing along no matter the setting. I talk with her about her new collection of Christmas songs that is a mix of originals, familiar tunes and an old gospel favorite that she describes as the centerpiece of the album. We also discuss her spiritual practices as an artist and how she's developed...

Sara Groves is a singer/songwriter from St. Paul, MN. She has been nominated for 7 Dove Awards and written and recorded several albums over the years. Her and her husband run Art House North, a 110 yr old church they have renovated to serve as a space that cultivates creativity for the common good.  Sara also has a passion for justice and partners with International Justice Mission(IJM) as an advo...

A commissioning benediction prayer for artists written and read by host, Libby John. Artists are often undervalued or overlooked  by their faith communities and as a result don't receive the  blessing of prayer that they need. However, it's the artists who are willing to reside in the tension between the dark and the light, the now and the not yet. These are not easy places to dwell in but it's th...

Host, Libby John, talks about creativity being the great interruption that shakes us awake from the numb distractions of the world. We often think of it as the other way around. That scrolling through our phone or streaming our favorite show is what interrupts our creative thinking. Instead, Libby brings to light that creativity is a gift of mercy that we need to be interrupted by in order to live...

Host, Libby John, discusses art and the promise of the new creation. With each creative act, we sow into the beauty of the earth and participate in God's promise to make all things new. We bear the distinct signature of a creative God with the gift of our imagination and creativity. It's when our imagination wanes that we get discouraged and apathetic and forget our true identity as bearers of bea...

Authors, Scott Erickson and Justin McRoberts join us to talk about their newest book, May It Be So: 40 Days Through the Lord's Prayer. Scott's powerful, contemplative imagery is paird with Justin's, distilled thoughts and prayers designed to help us become aware of our conversations with God.  Justin is an author, musician, and retreat leader. He is also the curator and host of The @Sea Podcast. H...

Returning guest, David Taylor, professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, theologian and pastor, just released his latest book, Glimpses of a New Creation-Worship and the Formative Power of the Arts.  I invited him to talk about the chapter he wrote specifically on the kinetic arts as part two of the podcast's mini series on dance and the human body. We discuss the conflict and negative perspective...