Artistic Afternoons: What would it be for the artistic process itself to participate in resurrection? Consider this image C.S. Lewis offers of baptism (which rehearses the death & resurrection of Christ in each of our own lives): “Or one may think of a diver, first reducing himself to nakedness, then glancing in mid-air, then gone with a splash, vanished, rushing down through green and warm water into black and cold water, down through increasing pressure into the death-like region of ooze and slime and old decay; then up again, back to colour and light, his lungs almost bursting, till suddenly he breaks the surface again, holding in his hand the dripping, precious thing that he went down to recover.” – C.S. Lewis, Miracles What is it, then, to reach deep, through the muck, into the deep dark places of death, and pull up something that is valuable, beautiful, alive? Could that be part of the process with much artmaking? Is this one of the ways we imitate Christ? Consider embodying this for a bit this afternoon with a big piece of playdough. “Dive” in, plunging your hand down deep into the sticky dark depths of that material. Attentive to the Spirit and what God might be wanting to birth through you today, pull your hand back up with *something* in it. You may have an idea as you remove your hand from the rest of the mass of dough what that is, or it may still be unformed in your imagination. Take some time with that bit of clay you pulled up, attending to what may be wanting to come to form this afternoon. What is it like to think of art and creativity in this way—as actually participating in resurrection? As working alongside the life-giving Artist to birth something new in the world?

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2023-05-17 20:26:40 UTC