Art History 101 with Dr. Hannah Wong
Do you ever wish you’d taken an art history course? Do you wish you could RE-take the one from college? Experience the joy and discovery of a university art history class, minus the exams!
Join art historian and Christ Church member Dr. Hannah Wong, a frequent Blanton Museum of Art lecturer with 10 years of higher ed teaching experience, and a community of other thoughtful learners for this globe-trotting, time-traveling art adventure! Modeled on the traditional “Intro to the Visual Arts” university survey, this online course spans three chronological, thematic units, beginning with prehistoric cave paintings and ending with the Impressionists’ plein air sketches. We’ll also focus on the theme of power in art.
This course offers accessible pricing, lunchtime lectures, and registration for all or part of the semester. Please see the course website for more details.
Laity Lodge Home Delivery: The Risk of Love
If you’ve ever had the joy of attending a retreat at Laity Lodge – or if you’ve never been there! – you will be blessed by this 24 minute video they recently produced in response to the pandemic. The video features Adam Neder, Ellen Davis, Sandra McCracken, and Peter Harris, and their reflections on the risks of love. I’d recommend finding a quiet space, taking some deep breaths, and opening your heart and mind to the word God may have for you here.
Hutchmoot: Homebound | October 9-11
Hutchmoot is an annual gathering of artists of all kinds, born out of the ministry of The Rabbit Room and artist Andrew Peterson. Like so many other gatherings in 2020, this one has gone online, too, but the silver lining to its online manifestation is that the price has dropped significantly, and attendance is unlimited! Local artist Phaedra Taylor and her husband, professor and author David Taylor, are two of the many talented session leaders. Find out more on the Hutchmoot: Homebound website.
Ordinary Saints: an immersive online arts experience
Originally created to be a live experience, “Ordinary Saints” is a collaboration between poet Malcolm Guite, artist Bruce Herman, and composer J.A.C. Redford. Rather than attempting to explain this gorgeous and thought-provoking meditation on humanity, I encourage you to explore it for yourself. Here is the introductory poem, to whet your appetite for more.
Ordinary Saints
The ordinary saints, the ones we know,
Our too-familiar family and friends,
When shall we see them? Who can truly show
Whilst still rough-hewn, the God who shapes our ends?
Who will unveil the presence, glimpse the gold
That is and always was our common ground,
Stretch out a finger, feel, along the fold
To find the flaw, to touch and search that wound
From which the light we never noticed fell
Into our lives? Remember how we turned
To look at them, and they looked back? That full-
-eyed love unselved us, and we turned around,
Unready for the wrench and reach of grace.
But one day we will see them face to face.
The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Creative Process
Finally, I recommend this excellent article from Christianity Today: a conversation between musician Sara Groves and author/professor David Taylor, on the role of the Holy Spirit in art. As Sara Groves put it: “Not less of me, more of God; but all of me, all of God—a profound mystery.”
