


	Whitehouse Mountain en plein air By Michael Chesley Johnson (Pastel on Wallis Paper)

A Better Understanding

If we truly enjoy something, would it not be normal instinct to want to learn more about it? Would it not be true that the more we learn and understand about a subject, the more fully we can appreciate it? Would this not be true in the arts as well?

A friend of mine loved opera. He actually took voice lessons not because he wanted to be a singer, but to have a better understanding of the music and the dedication and talent required to produce it. I myself learned to read music and to play the guitar because of my love for the instrument and music in general. Although I no longer play today, does this knowledge not drive my appreciation of music and in particular my preference for guitar music?

If there is an aspect of the arts that we really enjoy or admire, why not try our hand at it. The worst that could happen is that in the end, we would have a better appreciation of the artistic effort. Many times it is this quest for learning, for understanding, that increases the enjoyment of the arts.

After attending an exhibition of white-line woodblock prints several years ago, I became fascinated with the medium. Later, I attempted to teach myself the technique. After much reading and observation of work by other artists; after the trial and error of trying to perfect the craftsmanship of carving the block and developing the technique of printing the individual colors; after many failures and hours of frustration – success. But whether or not I ever create another white-line woodblock print, I now have a greater understanding and appreciation of the process – as well as a sense of accomplishment.

Poet Luci Shaw has said, “Everybody's born with the ability to create in one form or the other. If that can be restored or be reborn, it will heal. … If we could just reawaken that freedom to express ourselves in those creative ways, a lot of healing would come, because it's making us whole people again. It's not just this practical, left-brained, functional person, who's able to make a living and keep body and soul together. If we only had a functional world that would be enough; but God, in his grace, has given us this wonderful extra, beauty, which shouldn't just be an extra, it should be integral to our psyche.”

God, please give my eyes the vision to see Your creation fully and give my hands the skill to honor it. I pray that through my own works, others will come to know Yours.

The Plein Air Painter's Prayer
— Michael Chesley Johnson

Dan Hardison
Editor, The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts
editor@ecva.org

Just Added

Current Exhibition

Venite Adoremus

Join us in a celebration of the church year from Advent through Christmastide to Epiphany. "The hymns we sing during these seasons are so much a part of our experience of the church year as their words and music have settled into our bones through years of singing in anticipation and joyful celebration and deeper awareness which comes through this time of the year." Artists were asked to respond to these hymns and provide works of art to guide us into worship of our Lord during this wondrous time of the year. Venite Adoremus—O come let us adore him. More . . .

From the ECVA Registry:

Mourning Bench
By Diane Walker
Bainbridge Island, Washington
(photograph)

Remarques
The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts now has its own weblog or blog, "Remarques", online at www.ecva.blogspot.com. Remarques provides a welcoming place for discussion without having to receive a flurry of email messages. For more information, please click here.

RSS Feed
ECVA now offers a RSS feed for use in news reader programs. By subscribing, you will automatically be notified when a new ECVA newsletter is available at our Web site. Use the XML-based information linked to the button below and follow the instructions in your news reader to add a new channel. For more information, please click here.

Registry
If you are an artist, part of an organization, or just an individual with an interest in the arts, please join our registry. ECVA Registry

The Worship Well
Church Publishing Incorporated has partnered with ECVA, the Office of Liturgy and Music, and the All Saints Company to provide an online community for conversation, collaboration, education, and the sharing of liturgies, images, music, art, multimedia, scripture tools, and more. The goals for ECVA are to increase visibility of ECVA and ECVA artists through The Worship Well; support increased use of art and image in worship and liturgy; and create support for ECVA artists in the areas of how to use art in church situations and how to ask for remuneration for the use of their art in church situations.
www.theworshipwell.org.

Submissions
ECVA is seeking submissions from artists and writers within the Episcopal community. The work should be based on the topics listed to the right. All submissions can be sent by email to editor@ecva.org or by postal mail to:

ECVA
PO Box 4765
Wilmington, NC 28406

Please include your name, desired contact information, local ECVA Chapter (if applicable), parish or other Episcopal Church community, and concise biographical information (optional).

Events and Books
Send us your news releases and information on upcoming events at editor@ecva.org. We will list the announcement on the Events webpage and in the News section of the eNewsletter.

Congregations
We are seeking stories about congregations with works of art. Please include information on the artwork, artist, the church, and photos.

Community Arts
We are seeking stories about congregations using the visual art as part of their community outreach or projects that incorporates the visual arts in the church. Please include information on how the work was developed and those involved, and photos.

Articles
We would like essays reflecting on the visual arts and its intersection with church life. Please include images on the topic.

Visual Essays
The concept is to feature an artist's work that was created as a series based on a single theme where the images tell the story. The theme is the choice of the artist and could be anything related to the church, worship, or that is inspirational. We would prefer five or more images and an artist statement reflecting the work and the theme.

Illustrated Word
Writers are invited to submit poems for consideration. Send up to 3 poems at a time. No limit in length, though the shorter, the better. Previously published poems are accepted. After a poem has been selected, a Call will be issued for artists to submit a work of art as an illustration for the poem. After an illustration is selected, the poem and image will be posted at the Web site.

Multimedia
We are seeking multimedia presentations that bring together image, word and/or sound. These could be videos or Flash graphics.

	About ECVA
	The mission of The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts (ECVA) is to encourage artists, individuals, congregations, and scholars to engage the visual arts in the spiritual life of the church. ECVA values the significance of visual imagery in spiritual formation and the development of faith, and creates programs to support those who are engaged in using the visual arts in spiritual life. To learn more about ECVA, please visit www.ecva.org.		If you know someone who might enjoy our newsletter, please forward this issue to them so they can learn what is happening at ECVA. To subscribe, visit www.ecva.org/newsletter.htm for information.