The Lake Loading Video . . . We are immensely pleased to present The Lake, a new artwork created in response to Psalm 139, painted by Shawn Yu. This painting dives into a new theme – Water – for Summer 2012 with Spark and Echo Arts. With a tension set between representational certainty and graphic overlay, Shawn intends his fantastic scenarios to be “read as both a visual game and a narrative.” Shawn’s visual and metaphorical language incorporates “Metallic Vessels” in each of his paintings along with stylized imagery and perspective. A voracious reader of philosophy including Vladimir Nabokov, Baudrilliard, Roland Barthes, and Marshall McLuhan(media studies), Shawn notes that his favorite writer Nabokov’s novels “are usually a collage of different styles which probe into different points of view.” Shawn is inspired to paint using a “collage-like visual language that is a mix match of elements from different medias.” With each new painting his own vocabulary revolves, writing his own narrative with a story line woven through his current strokes of paint. Characters of steel teapots, knights, “skin gloves,” and faces posture in hidden, contained – or appear in a sliver of selectively revealed – compositions in oil. Shawn’s painterly response to Psalm 139 zooms into the individual experience, perhaps sublime and terrifyingly isolated in the vast sea of “the unknown,” while anchoring the comfort contained in those verses. Psalms 139:9-10 The Lake By Shawn Yu ​ Credits: Artist Location: Richmond, Virginia Curated by: Charis 2012 18 x 24 inches Oil on canvas ​ Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ I placed a Metallic Vessel in my painting as both a visual motif and a symbol for containment; I really like the imagery of some one being lost and out of reach. I wanted my painting to have a feel of Dante-being-led-out-of-Purgatory. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ Shawn Yu is an itinerant painter who spend his time traveling between Beijing, New York, Washington D.C. and various places on the United States east coast. He holds a MFA in painting from the New York Academy of Art. He has recently accepted a teaching position in Richmond, VA. Website Shawn Yu About the Artist Shawn Yu Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art ​ View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . ​ Download Full Written Work

Vesper Stamper Haman's Last Meal Loading Video . . . Illustrator and storyteller Vesper Stamper returns to Spark+Echo Arts with this beautiful new work in response to the theme of "meals" and Esther 7:1-10, in which Haman is taken away to be hanged during a banquet. Esther 7:1-10 Haman's Last Meal By Vesper Stamper ​ Credits: ​ Curated by: ​ 2014 22"x15" ​ Watercolor Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ Growing up in a nominally Jewish home, the story of Esther was one of my favorites. In the celebration of Purim, Esther is commemorated as the liberator of the exiled Jews of Persia from the genocidal plot of Haman. The plot is uncovered at a meal that Esther hosts for King Ahashuerus (Xerxes) and Haman. Meals can be occasions of either comfort or tension among family and friends. In this important meal, tensions are high between Esther and her husband, while Haman is settling into what he believes to be a comfortable position in the Queen’s favor. However, these roles are reversed in a moment—Esther regains her husband’s trust, and Haman is revealed and sentenced to death on his own gallows. Any meal has the potential to be revelatory: when people are about the vulnerability of needing to eat food, or if alcohol is being consumed and guards are down, anything can be brought into the light. How many times can we trace a moment of relational revelation to a meal? This was certainly true when Jesus walked the earth, and it is true of all of us. In this painting, I chose to portray the moment just after the actors have left the scene. The rush of air from dragging out the schemer Haman causes the curtains to blow; Haman’s wine glass, a moment ago a symbol of comfort and merriment, is overturned, foreshadowing his blood that will shortly be spilt; the candle that represents his life has been snuffed out, while a candle representing the Jewish nation remains lit—a situation which moments before could have been the reverse. In all of our lives, the daily and mundane have the potential at any time to become extraordinary, even history-changing. Think about this next time you roast a chicken. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ My work draws on mysticism, by which I mean any person’s reconciling of their tangible surroundings and doings with the (I would argue) universal inner pull toward God’s personality. I respond deeply to archetypical story as found in dark and complex fairy tales, and the disparate impressions we see in our own nighttime dreams. I believe these can be seen as a window into the mystical nature of man. As with Biblical narrative, certain cultural symbols resonate with meaning, and I believe that at thirty-seven I am only at the beginning of my own understanding of them. In this sense my work is evolving with a guiding principle that I am only one person in a continuum of storytellers, and that I will be pursuing the meanings of these symbols well into my twilight years. As an illustrator and storyteller, I feel a profound responsibility to communicate to my audience, beyond purely personal self-expression. This communication can be either on a visceral level or a clear exposition of subject matter, but as a Christian I believe I must be on guard against oversimplified dichotomies or propagandistic message-making. The best stories are those that have the most breathability—hence the fact that I am reinterpreting a passage which is around five thousand years old. Currently I am about to enter the Master of Fine Arts program in Illustration as Visual Essay at School of Visual Arts, and am seeking agency representation. I am working on two illustrated novels, both of which draw on Celtic and Anglo-Saxon myth as the reality of the lives of ordinary women and girls who are reconciling tragedy with their own agency and identity. Hopelessly lost among the wintry wardrobes of Pauline Baynes’ Narnia, Shaun Tan’s mysterious foreign lands, and the watery open spaces in Lisbeth Zwerger’s illustrations, Vesper Stamper’s calling as an illustrator began as soon as she cracked open Hilary Knight’s Cinderella and spent the rest of her childhood meticulously copying each graceful page. She earned an Honors degree in Illustration from Parsons School of Design, and, woven in with her visual work, Vesper is also a recording artist in the indie rock band Ben + Vesper, on the Sounds Familyre record label. Her career has spanned fifteen years, dozens of album covers, four picture books and countless other exciting projects. She brings a refined style and emotional depth to her work that goes beyond mere decoration to pay homage to the rich illustrative tradition from which she comes. Vesper was named the recipient of the 2012 Lincoln City Fellowship for her upcoming graphic novel "The Sea-King’s Children," which will take her to the Outer Hebrides of Scotland this spring (2013) to research the book’s setting and folklore, and to write and paint for the book at the “edge of the world.” She lives in Jersey City, NJ with her husband, filmmaker Ben Stamper, and her two fairy children, who are grabbing the baton and can take an urban backyard full of dirt and recreate it as a world of wonders. Website Vesper Stamper About the Artist This is Not My Vineyard Vesper Stamper Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art ​ View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . ​ Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Spark and Echo Arts is pleased to feature the work David, a sculpture by artist Ebitenyefa Baralaye. Mr. Baralaye captures and reflects on the complexities of David's life with a special focus on Psalm 27:1-5. Psalms 27:1-5. David By Ebitenyefa Baralaye ​ Credits: ​ Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2011 5 in x 11 in x 18 in Nickel-plated polished bronze Sculpture Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ David, an ancestor of Jesus Christ, was the second king anointed through the prophet Samuel to oversee Judah and all Israel. He came to his reign tensely under service of the then denounced first king, Saul, who, in fear of being usurped, continuously sought to take David's life. A skilled warrior, David's life was marked by warfare and victory, tragedy and praise. In his intimate devotion to God he was known as a man after God's own heart. The stature of the piece reflects David's masculinity and strength. The deepened cracks and inflamed sheared edges reflect his fearless mettle on the battlefield and yet vulnerably broken humanity, while the more elegant curvatures and sinuous planes embody his confident tact as a strategist, diplomat and man of bold faith. The overall energetically outward gestures of the piece capture David's earnest dependence and need for the presence, provision, leadership and love of God in his life. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ Ebitenyefa Baralaye is a ceramicist, sculptor and designer. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, raised in Antigua and lives in the United States. Ebitenyefa received his BFA in Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design. His studio bases have included Long Island City, Queens; the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York City; and Bloomfield Hills, MI where he is currently enrolled as a Ceramics MFA candidate at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He has exhibited in various solo and group shows domestically and internationally including the 2011 Gyeonggi International Ceramix Biennale in Icheon, South Korea and the 2016 Toronto Design Festival. He has held residencies at the Peters Valley Crafts Center in Layton, NJ and most recently, Talking Dolls in Detroit, MI. Website Ebitenyefa Baralaye About the Artist Artist in Residence 2016, Ebitenyefa Baralaye – Part 3 Artist in Residence 2016, Ebitenyefa Baralaye – Part 2 Artist in Residence 2016, Ebitenyefa Baralaye – Part 1 Abram Artist in Residence 2016: Ebitenyefa Baralaye – "Bam Bam" Ebitenyefa Baralaye Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art ​ View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . ​ Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Composer and musician Will Healy explores ways in which to survive and overcome oppression through his emotive work reflecting on Ecclesiastes 4:1-2. Ecclesiastes 4:1-2 Ecclesiastes 4:1-2 By Will Healy ​ Credits: Composed and Performed By Will Healy Curated by: Aaron Beaumont 2017 ​ ​ ​ Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ Given how much has changed over the last 2,000 years, it is always fascinating to read Bible passages that are relevant to the modern world. In Ecclesiastes 4:1-2, Solomon reflects upon sorrow and inequity, and in doing so he reveals a universal truth about being human–we all long for someone to comfort us. To this day, not only is there still the pain and inequality that Solomon is describing, there is also that same desire for someone to alleviate the pain inherent in human existence. Solomon is so pained by this that he praises the dead for being dead. There are certain people and eras that have truly endured the kind of hardship he is describing, and they have often used music to get them through it. The Negro Spirituals of 19th century America are a beautiful example of this–melodies that could serve as a comforter to the oppressed when there were no others to comfort them. In my musical reflection, I start with an imagined Spiritual melody. Because Solomon is addressing the dead and picturing a comforting afterlife for his ancestors, I felt that the music needed an ethereal, somewhat eerie quality. The Spiritual melody is juxtaposed with sweeping, emotive runs as Solomon imagines the dead. As the piece progresses, the melody becomes increasingly distorted, almost unrecognizable. I end with the melody in the highest range of the piano, in dissonant, painful major 7ths. In today’s world, we face many of the same inequalities and sorrows that existed in Biblical times. It is tempting to become nihilistic about them, as Solomon is in this passage. We can look to the shared pains in every era of human existence, however, and learn from the many ways the oppressed faced their oppressors. In many cases that was through artistic expression, especially music. Perhaps through the universal language of music we can reach new understanding between the oppressors and the oppressed, honoring the dead by reflecting upon their words. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ Will Healy is a composer and pianist based in New York. Known for his “lushly bluesy” sound and “adroitly blended… textures” (New York Times), he is the artistic director of ShoutHouse, an ensemble of 15 hip-hop, jazz, and classical musicians. After playing trumpet in an Afrobeat band for a few years, he grew interested in collaborating with performers from many corners of the New York music scene. In addition, he is an accomplished pianist specializing in Bach, with a repertoire that includes the complete Goldberg Variations and WTC Book 1. Healy is the recipient of the Richard Rodgers Scholarship at The Juilliard School, where he studies with John Corigliano. He has also studied with Samuel Adler, Steven Stucky, Kevin Puts, Harold Meltzer, Richard Wilson, George Tsontakis, Stephen Hartke, John Harbison, and many others. Recent awards include a 2017 Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an ASCAP Morton Gould Award, the W.K. Rose Fellowship, and prizes in the Juilliard and Kaleidoscope Orchestra Composition Competitions. He was a composition fellow at the Aspen Music Festival in 2013. Healy’s work has appeared at The Apollo Theater, on the NY Philharmonic’s Biennial series,on “New Sounds” with John Schaefer (WNYC) and “Making Music” (WBAI), and the I Care if You Listen Mixtape. His commissions include harpist Nancy Allen, the Great Lakes Chamber Festival, Novus New Music, Kyo Shin-An Arts, Robert Fleitz and Carrie Frey, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. He studied piano for many years with Dennis Malone at the Crestwood Music School. Website Will Healy About the Artist Will Healy Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art ​ View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . ​ Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Fools for Christ is a composition for saxophone quartet, voice, and electronics setting some of Apostle Paul's more intense words, primarily from his letter to the Corinthians. It is part of the larger theatrical production, Project Paul. 1 Corinthians 4:8-21 1 Corinthians 4:3 1 Corinthians 6:12 Acts 26:24 Acts 20:31 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Galatians 4:12–16 Galatians 5:15 Fools for Christ By Jonathon Roberts ​ Credits: Saxophone Quartet: Chris Clouthier, Allison Davis, Mark Determan, Kim Reece // Voice (Apostle Paul): Jonathon Roberts // Additional Voices: Jacob Allen, Paris Brown, Charlie Christenson, Anneliese DeDiemar, Brendan Marshall-Rashid, Maryl McNally, Aram Monisoff, Emma Sweet, Delilah the Guinea Pig // Image: Scott Baye // Additional Text: Christy Bagasao // Artist Location: Wisconsin Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2005 ​ ​ Music (Saxophone Quartet, Vocals, Effects), theater, performance Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ Fools for Christ was originally composed for saxophone quartet and voice, setting part of the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. It was then reworked through electronic processing as part of my multimedia theater piece Project Paul . In his travels Paul used a variety of methods to speak to different groups of people depending on what he thought they needed to hear. Sometimes he used kind words of encouragement, other times sarcasm and humor. In the case of “Fools for Christ”, he spoke with intensity, frustration, discipline and even anger. It’s important to remember that at the root of all is his words is love. He loved the Corinthians and was trying to reach them in any way possible with the hope and love of Jesus that had been shown to him. The piece begins with a montage of Paul’s more intense words. The driving sounds accompanying the first half of the piece are a combination of sampled instruments, vocal effects, toys and one guinea pig named Delilah. Excerpts from a choral setting of Psalm 46, a jazz ensemble version of the hymn “Oh, Sacred Head Now Wounded”, and some of my other compositions are woven together in this collage. The soundtrack of the second half of the piece features a recording of saxophone quartet (playing the original live concert version of “Fools for Christ”) that has been distorted. As Paul’s stern message warms in love, so the saxophones’ distortion is stripped away revealing pure tones. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ J onathon Roberts is a composer and sound designer for games, film, theatre, and ensembles. His style grew out of classical and jazz training, and evolved through quality life adventures: touring the country in an RV with a one person theater piece on the Apostle Paul, living in Brooklyn with an improv music ensemble, performing in a downtown NYC absurdist comedy band, and a long stint writing music for the renowned slot machine company, High 5 Games. He has released four albums including the latest, Cities a song cycle personifying biblical cities. He created the popular podcast/web series ComposerDad Vs. Bible , in which ComposerDad accepts intense compositional challenges from a mysterious Bible while out with his kids. He frequently collaborates on music and theater projects with his wife, actor Emily Clare Zempel. They live in Beacon, NY, with their two boys and a tangled box of electrical cords. www.jonathonroberts.com Website Jonathon Roberts About the Artist Loving Arms I Make Tents The Sower Response There Is Room These are My Sons Consider Me a Partner Weakness The Day Is Almost Here Surrogate Babbler Remember Me Prayer How Beautiful I Am a Fool The Constant Ecclesiastes Cows Blessing More Than Rubies Only a Few Years Will Pass Dear Friend Jonathon Roberts Other Works By Fools for Christ I care very little if I am judged. (1 Corinthians 4:3) “Everything is permissible”—but not everything beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but I will not be mastered— (1 Corinthians 6:12) Festus shouts, “You are out of your mind, Paul!” “Your great learning is driving you insane.” (Acts 26:24) “Everything is permissible” but I will not be mastered by anything! (1 Corinthians 10:23) So I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I have not yet taken hold of it. (Philippians 3:12) Be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each you night and day with tears! (Acts 20:31) Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. (1 Thes. 5:19) By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people. (Romans 16:18) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph 6:12) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, (Gal 3:13) I plead with you brothers, become like me, for I became like you. What has happened to all your joy? If you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? (Gal. 4:12-16) You were running a good race. (Gal 5:7) Who cut in on you? Who has bewitched you? (Gal 3:1) You bite and devour each other. You bite and devour each other and serve your own appetite. (Gal 5:15) Where are we without God? The most powerful man will one day be dust. The highest mountain beneath the torrent ocean. The highest mountain beneath the torrent ocean. The highest mountain beneath the torrent ocean. (Christy Bagasao) ________ Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings—and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you! For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of a procession like men condemned to die in the arena…like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me, for this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus. Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip… or in love and with a gentle spirit? (1 Corinthians 4:8-21) Related Information View More Art Make More Art ​ View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . ​ Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . White Robe is a musical response to beautiful imagery in Revelation 7, composed for a couple to celebrate their anniversary. Revelation 7:9-17 White Robe By The Spark & Echo Band ​ Credits: Composer: Jonathon Roberts Musicians: Jonathon Roberts, piano/vocal; Emily Clare Zempel melodica/vocal; Jay Foote, bass; Mason Neely, drums Mixing by Alexander Foote Mastering by Matt Shane at Masterdisk NYC Curated by: Commission 2011 ​ ​ ​ Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ White Robe is a love song commissioned by Amanda Bourman for her husband, Timothy Bourman in celebration of their 3rd wedding anniversary on May 31st, 2011. Revelation 7:9-17 was their 'engagement verse' that Tim read to Amanda after he proposed to her in the Conservatory Gardens in Central Park, NYC. Tim Bourman is a pastor at Sure Foundation Lutheran Church in Woodside, Queens. We are very grateful for this commission, their friendship, and their generosity to Spark and Echo Arts. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ The Spark & Echo Band is a family outfit of songwriting-storytellers led by husband and wife duo Jonathon Roberts and Emily Clare Zempel. Their music brings forgotten poetry and wild stories from the Bible to life: visions of sparkling wheels in the sky, hunger and thirst, and legends of love as strong as death weave with memorable melodies and captivating rhythms. Drawing from a classical background, influenced by the pianism of Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds, and emulating Paul Simon’s narratival techniques, Spark & Echo sings epic tales of love and adventure. The duo has collaborated on three full lengths albums (Spark&Echo, Inheritance, Cities Project), one video album (In the Clocktower), in addition to many theatrical collaborations, this very nonprofit, and two children. They live in beautiful Beacon, New York, with all of the above. Website The Spark & Echo Band About the Artist What a Day Deep Calls to Deep Yo Sé Do You Love Me? Where Can I Go? How to Be Free Flesh Lifeblood Artist in Residence 2015: Spark & Echo Band Take to Heart The Wheels Frogs Ruined Inheritance The Spark & Echo Band Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art ​ View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . ​ Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Author Lancelot Schaubert offers the final release from his inventive three-part mini-series, presented as a small newspaper in response to a collection of Scripture passages. This section focuses on the theme of "kings" as found in Judges 9:7-21 in addition to a summation of the series. Judges 9:7-21 Dragonsmaw Daily | 3 By Lancelot Schaubert ​ Credits: ​ Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2020 ​ ​ Creative Writing Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ I wanted to literalize the story of the trees electing a king, so I featured some of the tree creatures of Gergia and their recent conclave to elect a new Woodward. I think you'll find that the sort of thing spoken of in Judges is quite literal in Gergia. The Dragonsmaw daily is a paper circulating on LOMEDAY of the month of BLAGUROEDD 47 in the year 1109 P.T. on Gergia, one of the Vale Universe ( short story series here ). It may seem like a high-shelf sort of entry for the average reader, something that takes a herculean effort to embrace in terms of the suspension of disbelief or secondary belief in my created world. However, I think it's quite easy: if you'll trust me, it'll read as a wonderfully foreign paper from a wonderfully foreign world. It's ephemera: something like an in-world artifact I happened to pick up from a newsboy who was hawking EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA copies in order to have enough ₮ to get his sister through the week on an onion (actually it's more like a leek) based soup. She beat the fever, in case you were wondering. But I brought it back from Gergia and gave it to my friends at Spark and Echo that it might supplement the stories I've written here and elsewhere about these fantastic worlds I travel so frequently. For those that have followed along in any capacity, this paper tells of events taking place prior to the events in the Moon Boys series from my artist residency and quite far in the past from the other commissions here at Spark and Echo. It occupies the region around the Imperial Crescent in Gergia (top left of the main land mass on that false map I drew of the world) . Each of the events recorded in this paper feature major workings in the region. All together I wanted to bind up the themes of extinction, of power dynamics, and of being lost and found into one piece. So I stitched together three commissions in a more unified form than normal. Of course some parts of the paper will remain out of reach for some time — like any foreign country, Gergian customs and economics and politics only make sense after you've lived there for quite some time. But one day the times, dates, seasons, and currency will make perfect sense to you. And then the dread realization of what the paper really reveals will come all too clear, as clear as a Bell Hammer. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ Lancelot has sold work to The New Haven Review (The Institute Library), The Anglican Theological Review, TOR (MacMillan), McSweeney's, The Poet's Market, Writer's Digest, and many, many similar markets. (His favorite, a rather risqué piece, illuminated bankroll management by prison inmates in the World Series Edition of Poker Pro). Publisher's Weekly called his debut novel BELL HAMMERS "a hoot." He has lectured on these at academic conferences, graduate classes, and nerd conventions in Nashville, Portland, Baltimore, Tarrytown, NYC, Joplin, and elsewhere. The Missouri Tourism Bureau, WRKR, Flying Treasure, 9art, The Brooklyn Film Festival, NYC Indie Film Fest, Spiva Center for the Arts, The Institute of the North in Alaska, and the Chicago Museum of Photography have all worked with him as a film producer and director in various capacities. Website Lancelot Schaubert About the Artist Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert - Part 3 Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert - Part 2 Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert - Part 1 Posh Girls As Waters Cover Artist in Residence 2019: Lancelot Schaubert Dragonsmaw Daily | 1 Dragonsmaw Daily | 2 Watchtower Stripped to the Bonemeal Metaphysical Insurance Claim 0075A: The Delphic Oracle Philadelphia Bloodlines Lancelot Schaubert Other Works By As with most shared newspapers, some of the pages have been pulled out and are out of order, so you will have to piece them together as the project is released. You may find the other parts of the project at Dragonsmaw Daily | 1 and Dragonsmaw Daily | 2 . You may also view the entirety of the project, here — as a brand new newspaper. Related Information View More Art Make More Art FANCY FEAST has returned to Dragonsmaw! View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . FANCY FEAST has returned to Dragonsmaw! Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . His second work for Spark+Echo Arts, composer Aaron Kruziki created "Ezekiel's Bread" in response to Ezekiel 22:29 and the theme of "poverty." Ezekiel 22:29 Ezekiel's Bread By Aaron Kruziki ​ Credits: Music & Lyrics by Aaron Kruziki Recorded & Mixed by Aaron Kruziki Artist Location: Astoria, Queens Curated by: Jonathon Roberts 2014 ​ ​ ​ Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ “Ezekiel’s Bread” is a song composed in response to Bible passage Ezekiel 22:29- The people of the land have used oppression And exercised robbery And have vexed the poor and needy: Yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully It is a passage that spoke to me because we are all people of the land and simultaneous strangers. We oppress ourselves and are then quick to oppress our neighbor, the stranger. I see it every day as I commute on the Q69 bus in Astoria, Queens. I am constantly reminded of this as the bus departs from my neighborhood and goes through others of different affluence. I hear, see and taste oppression as people flow on and off the bus. The oppression is layered as different strangers come on and off. This song is a trip on the Q69. The text and the lyrics are aligned as one. The song follows a 19 measure chord progression that is repeated again and again, building momentum each time the listener is brought to the top of the form. The lyrics are repeated again and again, as instrumentation is added. Sound is used from a daily commute aboard the Q69. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ Born and bred in Wisconsin, Aaron Kruziki is a dynamic musician and composer, educator and producer. Currently employed by Steinway & Sons, as part of the Steinway Hall sales team, Manhattan, Aaron’s artistic output includes jazz, rock, pop, and the avant-garde. As a saxophonist and clarinetist, Aaron has received consecutive degrees in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory and Western Michigan University, studying with George Garzone and Trent Kynaston respectively. Aaron is a member of “Dapp Theory”, Andy Milne’s M-base ensemble, and is an active member of the Brooklyn and Queens DIY rock, pop and jazz scenes, performing at venues such as Rockwood Music Hall, Glasslands and The Blue Note. His voice moves fluidly from woodwinds to synths and vocoder, performing in genres ranging from synth-pop to world beat. In 2012 Aaron was commissioned by the Chelsea Music Festival to compose music based on John Cage’s “Lectures on Nothing” and is proud to be twice commissioned by “Spark and Echo Arts”. Website Aaron Kruziki About the Artist When We Lie Aaron Kruziki Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art ​ View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . ​ Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Poet Philip Metres created this meditation on suffering, pain, and release in response to the theme of healing and Matthew 8:5-13. Matthew 8:5-13 For the Prison of Skin (A Prayer Triptych) By Philip Metres ​ Credits: Artist Location: Cleveland, Ohio Curated by: Hayan Charara 2014 ​ ​ Poetry Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ For nearly all of 2010, after a muscle tear, I was flung into the hell of chronic pain. The months of pain felt like a divinely-inspired torment, and I could not understand why it was happening to me. Everything I thought I knew about myself, my body, and life was cast into the fires of that suffering. At the time, I read somewhere that mathematics of suffering could be described as pain, times our psychic resistance to this pain. My resistance to that pain was Job’s: Why do I deserve this? Why has God done this to me? What is the meaning of this meaningless abyss? After having written many poems about the War on Terror for the book Sand Opera, I wondered if somehow I had taken inside myself the suffering to which I was mere witness; it was if that now I could no longer separate myself from the physical and psychic torments of the abused at Abu Ghraib or in black sites. The usual suspects of Western medicine could not help me. I turned to prayer, to meditation, to acupuncture, to physical therapy, to acupuncture, to spiritual direction. I owe my healing to many people—my wife Amy, my kids, my parents, Doctor Lui, Father Don Cozzens—all of whom stroked or stoked me back to me. The poem “For the Prison of Skin” (an early version of which was published in Poems of Devotion) draws on that particular personal odyssey/theodicy, and also reflects on Matthew’s story of the centurion, a soldier of empire, who asks Jesus to heal his servant; he knows he is unworthy of hosting Jesus, but he believes and is healed. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ Philip Metres is the author and translator of a number of books and chapbooks, including Sand Opera (2015), A Concordance of Leaves(2013) , abu ghraib arias (2011), and To See the Earth (2008). His work has garnered two NEA fellowships, the Watson Fellowship, five Ohio Arts Council Grants, the Beatrice Hawley Award, two Arab American Book Awards, and the Cleveland Arts Prize. In 2014, he received a Creative Workforce Fellowship, thanks to the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, residents of Cuyahoga County, and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. He is professor of English at John Carroll University in Cleveland. Website Philip Metres About the Artist Philip Metres Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art You threw me down, Lord, on the bed I did not know I was making, unmade. View Full Written Work For the Prison of Skin (A Prayer Triptych) 1. You threw me down, Lord, on the bed I did not know I was making, unmade. Your arms held me down until I could feel the panic of prey, could taste the bitter of ends, the tunnel stripped of light, Lord, you pressed your terrible weight against the length of my indivisible body, your invisible inexorable weight, your hands around my neck until I could see nothing but the black in front of me, your hurting whole behind me, in me now shivering, praying for this prison of skin to release this voice to air, that these needle nerves unshackle the this I am, the this you are. 2. Lord, I am not worthy, I am unweal- thy without you, but I am not unwilled, am not still in you. Yes, my soul is rest- less and does not rest in you, my Lord, and I’m not ready to be seized by you in receiving you. Unsteady in swells of you, I’m unmasted in the squall of you in the sea of you, cannot outlast you. But only say the word and I shall be hurled from all hurt, thrown beyond shoals, unswal- lowed in shallows. Say the word and I shall be held, will the world and I shall be born, say it and I shall be beheld and hold you, my Lord, say it with my mouth, I’m yours. 3. Lord, in the fracture of the bleakest black, under this roof, in the dying dark, let me turn and slide my aching hips up to the back of this day, curl my arm beneath the still-dreaming side of this day, Lord, let me cup the soft breast of this day, tender as the tender child who opened its door with loving suck, let me bury my face in the fragrant scalp of this day, then turn this day toward me, open my eyes to eyes now leading everything to light, and stroke the dream- flung hair that frames the lovely face of this day that breaks into waking. Close Loading Video . . . You threw me down, Lord, on the bed I did not know I was making, unmade. Download Full Written Work

Ebitenyefa Baralaye Abram B Big Abram_a-big.jpg Abram_b-big.jpg Loading Video . . . Spark and Echo Arts is pleased to feature the work Abram, a sculpture by artist Ebitenyefa Baralaye. This captivating piece is Mr. Baralaye's reflection on the life of Abram, especially what is told in Genesis 12:2-3 and Acts 7:3. Genesis 12:2-3 Acts 7:3 Abram By Ebitenyefa Baralaye ​ Credits: Artist Location: New York City Curated by: ​ 2011 8.5 x 10 x 21 inches Nickel-plated polished bronze Sculpture Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ This piece was modeled from water clay, fired and then cast in bronze. Its textured surface and gestural form reflects the clay's original malleability under aggressive tactile and tooled handling. It was composed from two main sections that were complimentarily stacked and worked together. In the Old Testament, Abram is ordained by God as the lineage father of all of God's body of chosen people, Israel. He is blessed, sent on a journey to a Promised Land and later receives the name Abraham, "father of many nations." This form loosely reflects: at its top, Abram's faithfully singular focus of mind, further down, the dispersion of his lineage to descendants of many nations, and from mid-section to base, the challenges endured and overcome through his life's steadfast journey. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ Ebitenyefa Baralaye is a ceramicist, sculptor and designer. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, raised in Antigua and lives in the United States. Ebitenyefa received his BFA in Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design. His studio bases have included Long Island City, Queens; the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts in New York City; and Bloomfield Hills, MI where he is currently enrolled as a Ceramics MFA candidate at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He has exhibited in various solo and group shows domestically and internationally including the 2011 Gyeonggi International Ceramix Biennale in Icheon, South Korea and the 2016 Toronto Design Festival. He has held residencies at the Peters Valley Crafts Center in Layton, NJ and most recently, Talking Dolls in Detroit, MI. Website Ebitenyefa Baralaye About the Artist Artist in Residence 2016, Ebitenyefa Baralaye – Part 3 Artist in Residence 2016, Ebitenyefa Baralaye – Part 2 Artist in Residence 2016, Ebitenyefa Baralaye – Part 1 David Artist in Residence 2016: Ebitenyefa Baralaye – "Bam Bam" Ebitenyefa Baralaye Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art ​ View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . ​ Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . This work of poet and Christian theologian Jerome Blanco holds the tension of devastation in the world with the promise of God's restoration from Joel 3. Joel 3 The Day of the Lord By Jerome Blanco ​ Credits: Photo by Matthew Jones Curated by: Rebecca Testrake 2017 ​ ​ Poetry Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ Prophetic passages on God's eventual judgment and restoration of the world can feel very distant for me. As I wrestled with the third chapter of Joel, I couldn't help but think these coming mysteries were lifetimes away, especially considering all the weight of what is happening in the world today. Despite God's dual promises of vengeance and restoration, I wonder about what good those promises have for those suffering now. Are the promises of abundant milk and wine (3:18) satisfying enough? What about the promises of God's vengeance on the wicked (3:21)? The prophecies of Joel certainly deliver a sense of hope, but that hope that comes from a promised future sits in tension with the painful realities of the present. In this poem, I recall the refugees that I met during a brief time I spent in Europe. Many expressed a hope in God despite terrible circumstances, but who were of course also weighed down with unimaginable despair. God was often what kept them going, but they weren't without fear. In the text, I specifically refer to a man I met from Homs, Syria, who spoke to me about both these things. The poem's form is modeled on this not-yet-ness of God's restoration. Excluding the final line, the poem is written in six stanzas of six lines each. Six, here, exemplifies that longing for completion‚ seven being the satisfying number of wholeness in God's creation. The final line acts as a promised seventh line to the final stanza, and as a promised seventh stanza to the poem as a whole. The prophecies in Joel are already in our hands. Christians can hold to the truth that God's promises will be fulfilled. And yet we are forced to wait restlessly for them in the meantime, as we wait for the day of the Lord‚ the day of judgment and restoration that is yet to come. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ Jerome Blanco is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary and is an MFA candidate at New York University’s Writers Workshop in Paris, where he is studying fiction writing. He was born in Manila but currently calls Southern California home. Website Jerome Blanco About the Artist Jerome Blanco Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art As for the sinners, so they say, the hand of God will someday descend from heaven to pick hem off like forked lightning. View Full Written Work The Day of the Lord Jerome Blanco As for the sinners, so they say, the hand of God will someday descend from heaven to pick them off like forked lightning. The promise for saints: streams of wine, water for life, a heaven-land of flowing milk—but all this a long time from now. Today, we watch good men murdered in the streets, hear cries of wounded women wrecked, see children made orphans at the bomb’s thunderclap. Once, I met a man who feared the Lord, who hailed from hell-torn Syria and showed me pictures of his rubble home—nothing left but stones on stones. I trust in God, he said with hope in the words of the prophets. But the weight of exile can bring a man’s shoulders low, pull his head down towards the foreign ground—like he might sink into the earth, slowly first, then suddenly, like a shot. When I go, I swear, he is ankle-deep. What good the promised justice eternities away, that a man’s short life cannot stretch to reach? What help is heaven milk while killers dance in dusty Homs? If God withholds the wine, then it had better be sweet, overflowing so that it pours back in waves, cascading over all the years that my friend is made to wait. When God smites with his left, I’d like to see his right dig deep, pulling the buried from the dirt, raising them high like the acacias in the Lord’s green valley Close Loading Video . . . As for the sinners, so they say, the hand of God will someday descend from heaven to pick hem off like forked lightning. Download Full Written Work

Nicora Gangi Psalm 18 Loading Video . . . We are delighted to feature this image of Psalm 18, a vivid collage by renowned visual artist Nicora Gangi. Psalms 18:1-17 Psalms 18:29-50 Psalm 18 By Nicora Gangi ​ Credits: ​ Curated by: Jonathon Roberts 2011 ​ Paper collage, digital media ​ Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link ​ David gives praise for all of the deliverances God has given him. He takes comfort that his integrity is restored. He gives to God the glory for all of his achievements and encourages himself with the expectations of what God would further do for him. To create this collage I used magazine clips to illustrate the colors which were inspired by the different themes of this psalm: holy faith, love, joy, praise and hope. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ​ Nicora Gangi was educated at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA (BFA 1974 and MFA 1976). She was a Professor of Art at Syracuse University for 29 years. Gangi has been awarded many Grand Prize and First Place awards and grants. She has been and continues to be published in numerous artist’s books on pastel paintings. She has lectured regionally and nationally as a visiting artist at universities and artist’s guilds. She is represented by: Edgewood Gallery (Syracuse, NY), and Gangi Studio (Winter Garden, FL ). Website Nicora Gangi About the Artist The Mountain of the House of The Lord I See Him but Not Now So Shall Your Descendants Be This One The Body without the Spirit | 1 The Body without the Spirit | 2 The Body without the Spirit | 3 The Sealed Ones Peace with God The Everlasting Protective Love of God Our Father When the Lord Gives Us The Land I See Him but Not Now The Mountain of the House of The Lord Paneled and Ruins Series The Harvest Spirit of God-The Spirit Hovering Memories Lies Fool Dance Your Truth from the Great Congregation Sound of Their Wings Psalm 16 Kiss the Son EAST, WEST, NORTH & SOUTH AT HIS TABLE Nicora Gangi Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art ​ View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . ​ Download Full Written Work