Exhibition at DSPT

The exhibit at DSPT is being well received! The first reception Cot. 9, was a hit! Maybe the delicious fudge made by the monks , or the wine made and donated by my brother, who is the proprietor of Sentinel Oaks vineyard, contributed greatly to the afternoon. The next reception will be Nov 6, and I will be showing a film about Thomas Merton, along with more goodies. If you are in the area of Vine and Arch in Berkeley, please come by, 2-4.
Also, I have a mosaic that I fabricated while in Ravenna, Italy. It is part of a wonderful exhibit at the Pacific Art League- Norton Gallery , Palo Alto, til Oct 28.

Abbey of Gethsemani visit

I just returned from 11 days at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. If you don’t know about this monastery it was the home of the famous spiritual writer, Thomas Merton. I went there to spend time writing about the project that I had spent the last 5 and a half years working on. That project was their original historic stained glass windows that were left for “dead” Some of the windows are now on exhibit at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, CA. The reception will be on a Sunday afternoon in September on the 18th.

Arts of the Covenant Meeting in Menlo Park

Last night I attended an Arts in the Covenant meeting held at the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. Wow, lots of wonderful talented artists, 16 of whom displayed an example of work (painting, photography, bookbinding and poetry) It was an impressive amount of accomplished work in an informal setting. Doris Arrington gave a detailed report on the CIVA conference. It was a fast moving hour and a half, which made me want to go immediately to my studio and get to work! It was heartening also, that the Covenant members vocalize their spiritual beliefs in relation to God, and their work as a way to be of service to God and neighbor.

Christians in the Visual Arts Conference

I returned from a wonderful conference held at BIOLA U yesterday, the campus is located in La Mirada, in the Los Angeles area.  The school is situated on lovely landscaped grounds, and the curriculum features courses on art along with scripture.  The conference itself, was in impressive gathering of foolks from as far away as India.  The quality of the exhibited art work was professional, accomplished, edgy and inspiring.   I came away impressed by the amount of artists who are involved in making art to facilitate heightened spirituality in others.  Both in and beyond the framework of their respective places of worship.

The conference featured panels discussing ways to engage with the arts, through digital technology, films, installation work, and the written media.   The organization’s formal name is CIVA but, I was happy to see members of the Jewish, Catholic, and Eastern Rite, also in attendance.  

If anyone reading this, would like more information regarding the literature that I picked up there, or any particulars for what I learned, please email or phone me.  Blessings, Joan