“Man is a creative being, as “sub-creator,” he shares in the creative power of God.” Man as Sub-Creator J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, “Man, Sub-creator, the refracted light through whom is splintered from a single White to many hues, and endlessly combined in living shapes that move from mind to mind. ThoughContinue Reading
“We are made in the image and likeness of the Creator of all things and as such, we share in His creative power. Man is, in effect, as J.R.R. Tolkien put it, a sub-creator.” The Parable of the Painter There was once an artist, a painter of consummate skill whoContinue Reading
“The Christian Artist uses their gifts to lift the hearts and minds of people to God,” What is the true vocation of a Christian Artist? Living as we do in a post-Christian age, the answer to this question has become confused and muddled. The word vocation comes from the Latin “vocare,”Continue Reading
“Geometric pattern is the abstract art of Christianity.” We tend to think of abstract as something that has come about only within the last one hundred years. But liturgical artists have had their own form of abstract art for nearly two thousand years. Geometric pattern is the abstract art ofContinue Reading
Rejection and failure are facts of our existence. When an artist’s work is rejected or negatively critiqued, he or she is often told “don’t take it personally, they are not rejecting you, just your work.” This is a reflection of post-enlightenment thinking that considers art an end unto itself. ItContinue Reading
One of the greatest Christian artists is Giovanni Fiesole, better known to the world as Blessed Fra Angelico, the “Angelic Brother.” Fra Angelico is a patron saint for artists. His style of painting beautifully bridges the iconographic and gothic traditions. Giorgio Vasari, author of “Lives of the Artists,” referred toContinue Reading
What is the purpose of artistic talent? I am sure most, if not all of us, are familiar with the opening of a movie produced by MGM Studios. It depicts a roaring lion surrounded by the words “Ars Gratia Artis.” This is the Latin translation of the phrase “art forContinue Reading
In his “Letter to Artists,” Pope John Paul II put liturgical art as perhaps the highest expression of the creative gift. But he noted that all art has value as it pursues the artist’s vocation of bringing beauty to the world. He even noted that “bad art” has a place,Continue Reading
What does sacrifice mean to a Christian Artist? Before His Ascension into heaven, Jesus gave His followers a new commandment, to love one another as He has loved us. No longer are we called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, now we are to love each other asContinue Reading
In his 1999 “Letter to Artists,” Pope Saint John Paul II said this. “Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term. Yet, as Genesis has it, all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain sense,Continue Reading