Art as Worship on Empower Radio

Author Walter Lawrence grew up in Texas, where his father practiced veterinary medicine and his mother taught nursing. He and his sister were raised in a family that valued the origin and meaning of words. He majored in English in college and later earned a Masters of Arts in Professional Writing. Walter has published numerous freelance magazine and newspaper articles, and both his poetry and short stories have won numerous awards.

Sharron Ragan is an entrepreneur, artist, business leader and visionary who literally throws herself into her work emotionally, physically and spiritually. She is an awarding winning artist and has commissioned work at several corporate offices including Coca-Cola, and private collections.

Stained glass artist Margery (Cunningham) Kellar grew up in Indiana and graduated from Ball State University with a BS in Art Education. After moving to Atlanta, she worked for the state of GA in Fulton County’s Adult Protective Services. Margery retired in 2011 and now has more time to create stained glass art.

Sunmoon Pie is an Atlanta-based Jewish music group, writing and performing a blend of spiritual and sometimes quirky songs that explore the human condition through the lens of Jewish & Kabbalistic themes—with a focus meditative Kirtan-style Hebrew chanting inspired by the Jewish liturgy. The artists of Sunmoon Pie say, “We take Jewish prayers and add melodies—hopefully adding a new spirit to these prayers that have been said by Jews around the world for centuries.”

During the past 30 years, Michael Belk’s photography has appeared in fashion publications including Vogue, Elle, GQ and Vanity Fair for clients that included Nautica, J.Crew and others. Combining his gift for photography with a natural sense for sales and marketing savvy, Michael created a boutique fashion-advertising agency, Michael Belk & Company. He says his work has primarily been about doing something he loved while traveling the world, working with many great models and crews in the industry. Michael later owned a fine art photography gallery in Florida. In 2008, Michael began a project to produce a collection of fine art photographs that would depict messages of Jesus and show His relevance in our modern world. Published in late 2009, Journeys with the Messiah, consists of 45 images and the “parable-like” messages they depict.

Currently living and working in Atlanta, Jeff Beach is a professional drummer who is quickly becoming a first call for live performance, recording sessions, and educational clinics all over the country. A graduate and former instructor of the Atlanta Institute of Music, Jeff has had the opportunity to share the stage with acts such as Maroon 5, Tonic, Ringo Starr, The Killers, George Thorogood, and many others.

Janine Hoefler is a painter, photographer, lecturer and teacher. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Arcadia University and has taught art classes to both children and adults.Along with her career as a painter, Janine is an award-winning photographer and a speaker. She teaches individuals to take emotionally meaningful photos and how to bring families together with photography.

Seth Casteel is an award-winning photographer and New York Times Best Selling Author. His series of Underwater Dogs photographs have been seen by hundreds of millions of people around the world and have become one of the most famous series of images in the past decade.

Crystal Slagley is an award-winning cake concept artist. She holds fifteen certificates in a variety of cake decorating techniques, including a master’s certificate in sugarpaste, royal icing, and sugar flowers. Crystal is one of only ten people in the United States to have this exclusive certification. She shares her inspiration, creative process, and why she believes her cakes "represent joy" on this edition of Art As Worship on Empower Radio.

Burke Ingraffia is a southern singer/songwriter who writes jazzy folk music, or perhaps folky jazz music. He grew up in New Orleans and now gets his mail a couple of hours away in Alabama. He plays and writes using the jazz structures commonly found in New Orleans and emphasizes that feel with the leisurely wisdom of the Deep South. He also has a folk/Americana side with less 7th chords and more story lines.

Adrienne Lynch was born on the cusp of dawn in the wake of Niagara Falls, New York’s infamous Blizzard of ’77. Things she recalls from her nomadic childhood include: cicada carcasses clinging to the tree outside the kitchen window, too-small home grown watermelons too-sweet as candy, a neighbor girl’s torn toenail, the strange feelings grown-ups gave her, and how much her terrier mutt, Harvey, loved chasing cars and rolling in dead fish.

Join Vanessa Lowry as she sits down with ice carver Jim Duggan. Jim has been carving ice in the Atlanta area for twenty years. He started his sculpting career after graduating from the Culinary Art program at the Art Institute of Atlanta in 1991, the first graduating class of the school. Jim worked with chefs who allowed him to study the field of ice sculpture. He soon left the kitchen to work full time in the art of ice sculpture.

Join Vanessa and guest Suzanne Halvorson, who is a textile studio artist and partner in By Hand Gallery in Indiana. In 2012, Halvorson was a Visiting Lecturer at Indiana University School of Fine Arts, and at Earlham College (Indiana). She will be teaching at Purdue University for the 2013 fall semester. She has taught weaving workshops at Penland School of Craft (North Carolina), Ghost Ranch (New Mexico), Grunewald Guild (Washington), and at HGA's Convergence (California) and for countless weaver's guilds and conferences.

Join Vanessa as she sits down with ceramic artist, Beth Tarkington. Beth J. Tarkington grew up and resides in the Atlanta area. She earned degrees from the University of Georgia and Georgia State University with emphasis on drawing & painting and surface design. Beth is now a full-time ceramic artist. Today, she applies her painterly techniques on handbuilt clay forms to create one-of-a-kind pieces.

This episode of Art as Worship is an encore of the interview with Entura artist Patricia Hayes from March 7, 2012. Patricia and Art as Worship host Vanessa Lowry, along with 23 other co-authors, just published a collaborative book titled The 28-Day Thought Diet. Patricia Hayes is an international lecturer, teacher, author and artist. She is the author of five books and has been a pioneer in intuitive and spiritual development for over 45 years. Patricia and her husband Marshall Smith are the founders of Delphi University in McCaysville, G

Rev. Michael Radford Sullivan is the rector of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church, an author and a sculptor. Michael is the author of Windows into the Soul and Windows into the Light. The books explore the place of art in spirituality and how creativity can contribute to the richness of the Christian journey. He has been a featured writer for Episcopal Café and Explorefaith.com.

Woodturner Matt Moulthrop's work has been displayed in galleries and museums around the country, including the Smithsonian Institution, Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.; The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA; and The Carter Center in Atlanta, GA.

Join Vanessa as she sits down with Jessyca Holland, co-founder and executive director of C4 Atlanta an arts nonprofit that helps artists with the business of being creative. The classes and workshops provided by C4 Atlanta bring artists of different generations and a variety of mediums together.

Beverly Molander is an intuitive artist. Her abstract compositions form almost automatically on the canvas. Each person coming in contact with her work seems to find something different to interpret and understand.

Jewelry artist Melanie Rilling was born and reared in Mississippi, where the very land seems to be steeped in the eccentricities and literature of the Faulkner and Welty tradition. Love of the written word was ingrained from an early age. While she will always be a storyteller and writer, finding the more tactile art of jewelry-making has enriched her life and her appreciation of the beauty this world holds.

Betty Humphrey Fowler is a Feng Shui Consultant and Certified Interior Re-Designer. She has been helping people transform their lives by improving the energy flow of their homes and work spaces for almost 12 years. Betty is trained in Essential Feng Shui by internationally recognized Feng Shui expert, Terah Kathryn Collins, at the Western School of Feng Shui.

Mal McEwen is a north Georgia chainsaw artist with family roots in the area dating back to 1746. He has always enjoyed working with his hands and creating works of beauty, including being a mechanic, machinist and trim carpenter. Mal picked up a chainsaw for the first time in 2002 and has never looked back. What started as a hobby has transformed into a livelihood, with commissioned projects coming from as far away as California. Known as the Malhatter (for the colorful top hat he wears while performing), Mal has carved from Florida to Pennsylvania to Washington State and many points in between.

Asha Lightbearer has been writing and performing music since the age of six. The question she is asked most often is, "From what tribe are you?" The answer is, "None, officially," although she does participate in activities with Thunderbird Nation, a mixed group of Native American and non-native people who believe in ceremony and the sacredness of the ancestors, the earth and the Great Spirit.

Jennifer Bull is a violinist, teacher and author. She was born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio and grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia. Raised by parents who believed in encouraging their children to follow their dreams, Jennifer received a bachelor of violin performance from Furman University and also worked as a sous chef in a French restaurant.

Virginia Dupre is an artist, art therapist and a former ordained minister. Virginia works with adult individuals, couples and groups for art therapy and spiritual formation. She says, “What I love about art therapy is that an image comes out of the person and is the source for healing and growth. The art, in a very concrete way, points people back to their own knowing.” She makes personal art with found objects and recycled objects. Currently Virginia is making snake bone pendant necklaces — made from bones of snakes that were killed in farm management practices on a farm in South Georgia.

Harry Boone is a pottery artist. A native of Georgia, Harry grew up in the Atlanta area, attended Georgia Tech and served in the Navy. He worked in the building and development industry for 38 years. Now, Harry spends several days a week either in class or working independently in the studio. He’s particularly interested in firing stoneware pieces in wood, salt and ruku kilns.

About 10 years ago, Laura Strickler bought a few beads and a little bit of bead wire, hoping to replicate a key chain she admired at a craft fair. She quickly learned that you only need to know how to do a couple of things — crimping and wire wrapping, to be exact — to make just about anything you want with beads. The very short learning curve, the dazzling assortment of beads out there in the world and the utilitarian nature of the final product kept her going. Finding an intersection where beading and spirituality meet has been the most gratifying part of Laura’s hobby. Laura lives in Atlanta and indulges her creative passions as an antidote to her "real" job in corporate communications at The Coca-Cola Company. Laura has owned her own business, Design & Copy, Inc., for 16 years, providing writing, editing and marketing communications services to a broad range of clients.

Sybil MacBeth is a dancer, a doodler, and a former community college mathematics professor. When she moved to Memphis in 2004, author Phyllis Tickle nudged Sybil to write about her prayer frustrations and the visual and active prayer practice she developed as the result of them. She now combines her experience in the mathematics classroom with her lifelong love of prayer to offer workshops that engage differing learning styles. As the author of Praying in Color Drawing a New Path to God, she has lead over 100 workshops and retreats.

Alice Ball is an explorer in the art of papermaking — gathering raw materials, sometimes embedding things in the wet paper before it dries and creating small collages.

Cartoonist and author Patrick McDonnell is the creator of the award-winning MUTTS comic strip. Syndicated in 1994, MUTTS now appears in over 700 print newspapers worldwide, and has its home on the web at muttscomics.com.

Matt Tommey is a basketry artist, a musician, author and worship leader. Now an Asheville, North Carolina resident, Matt's handcrafted baskets are a whimsical collaboration of traditional Appalachian forms and wild, rustic, natural materials including natural vines (kudzu, wisteria, grapevine), branches (birch, oak, ash & poplar), long leaf pine needles and poplar bark. His interpretation of rib baskets and other traditional shapes offer a heartfelt nod to his roots in Appalachian basketry while offering a contemporary expression that is all his own.

Bernie Kida graduated with a Master's Degree from the University of California San Francisco in 1987. He launched his career in medical illustration with the first edition of the Atlas of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery authored by Raymond T. Morrissy, M.D. Kida now works out of his home studio where he has more flexibility and a far shorter commute. He enjoys the challenges that each new assignment brings and the resulting relationships that develop while working with art directors, editors and publishers, physicians, surgeons and other allied health professionals.

Laura Biering, Owner and President of True Voices, is a certified Authentic Life and Leadership Coach. A 12-year veteran of the coaching profession, she has been around the block, as they say, when it comes to careers. Laura is the author of The RiskADay Journal: 28 Days to Being You Out Loud with Courage, Creativity and Confidence. She is currently working on several writing projects, including a book of essays with the working title, Good Girl Gone Gay: Some Not So Random Thoughts on Authenticity and Life.

Led by a vision, the answer to a prayer, 24 year old Tom Bird put into play what he saw that night 31 years ago, and the results were miraculous, instantaneous. Within six weeks, Tom sold his very first book to the third largest publisher in the world for an amount equivalent to three times his salary at the time as a publicist for the big league's Pittsburgh Pirates. Tom has written twenty-three books and led tens of thousands to live their literary and personal writing dreams through over 4,200 lectures at the top colleges and universities in the country and by conducting hundreds of retreats.

Artist and teacher Whitney Ferre' believes that the key to our (r)evolution lies within our creative mind and it’s only when we embrace and amplify our creative power that we can truly align with our Higher Self, which is INFINITELY creative. Her creative & spiritual JOURNEY began in 1996 when she opened an art center with NO art training. As she became Creatively Fit, along with her clients, she also found her spirituality awakening on new levels. In 2012 she launched The SPIRIT Project 2012 and The Journey Retreats that unifies her two favorite pursuits: CREATIVITY & SPIRITUALITY.

The career of multi-media artist Kyle Young has been a composite of creativity and commerce. After earning a BFA from the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia, she utilized her artistic training working in design and education in publishing for several years. With the addition of this business experience, she founded her own design boutique firm in 1978, growing it through the years to become one of Atlanta's top 50 ad agencies, with clients in the U.S. and Canada. It was not until after the birth of her son in 1996, that she decided to return to the roots of her artistic experience and turn her attention to her personal creativity. Selling her interest in the firm she had founded, she established her marketing consulting, writing and coaching practices so she could also spend time with her studio work once again.

Sarah Hunt Engsberg is a jewelry artist, painter and a professional farrier. Sarah has been serving the needs of horses and equestrians in the sports of Three-day Eventing, Combined Training, Dressage, and Endurance for nearly two decades. When her horseshoeing business was curtailed due to back issues, it was a natural progression for her to transfer from blacksmithing to metalsmithing. Sarah’s Art Jewelry is created for independent-minded wearers who wish to express their personalities through jewelry. Her jewelry incorporates traditional metalsmithing, with precious gems and semi-precious stones as well as natural and man-made found objects. Her pieces are one-of-a-kind originals.

Rebecca Ewing hallucinates for a living. She is a designer and colorist who imagines how this color will look there; how that fabric will look on this sofa, and how these roof shingles will look that with that brick. Rebecca taught color and design at the Art Institute of Atlanta, and taught color workshops from Canada to New Zealand (bungy jumped, too). She forecasts color trends—helping determine what color toothbrush or waste basket you’ll be able to buy in two years

Bonsai Artist Michael Redgrave has been the owner of Full Moon Bonsai in Marietta, Georgia for 24 years. In that time, he has become one of the premier next generation, bonsai artists in the South and has become known for high quality traditional Japanese Bonsai. His bonsai art has appeared at corporate events, art galleries and in major motion pictures and commercials. “Bonsai has a quiet spiritual nature of its own. In the Shinto religion, bonsai trees are still used in the ceremony. The triangle that the bonsai forms in Japanese spirituality is a connection between Heaven, God and Man — the three corners of the triangle. The art of bonsai puts you in touch with the turn of the seasons and the rhythm of flowering trees. There is a stillness that puts you in touch with Source.” ~Mike Redgrave

Martin C. Dawe is a sculptor who works primarily as a commissioned artist in a variety of mediums. Martin has become well known for his figurative and representational work, which ranges from loose, impressionist work to traditional sculptures with a late 19th century style. From the World Athletes Monument in Midtown Atlanta to his contemporary site installations, Marty has developed a very personal style of collaboration from his work with private, public and corporate clients. Marty was awarded the Honors Award for Arts by the American Institute of Architects, AIA Georgia, artist of the year in 2001.

Dr. Cherilynn Morrow has been a professor of Physics & Astronomy at Georgia State University (GSU) with a focus on innovative instruction and education research. Her primary roles have been working with colleagues to re-vitalize introductory physics teaching in a collaborative, integrated lecture/lab environment called Studio Physics, and to make physics more accessible and engaging for future educators as well as for pre-professionals in medicine, law, and business. In addition, Cherilynn serves as Principal Investigator for a NASA grant ($500,000) to enhance Global Climate Change education in the state of Georgia.As of August 1st, 2012, she is leaving her professorship to put greater focus on the pursuit of her artistic dreams. In addition to her passion for developing the minds and hearts of students and teachers in the context of science education, Dr. Morrow is also a singer and budding songwriter. She is a strong advocate and practitioner of integrating music and the arts in service to science education and loves to communicate in ways that “transform rather than inform.”

Street photographer Juliette Mansour is a first generation American raised in the 1970s when other concerns besides artistic expression took precedence. After having completed graduate school studies, it made sense for Juliette to use her strength in learning languages and her ease with communicating with other cultures as a start to her professional history. She devoted her time as an English as a Second Language teacher – until an unexpected left turn inspired her toward self-taught web design, which turned into a career in Information Technology and web marketing projects. As the founder and owner of Casa Dresden, Juliette found a way to blend her love for languages, the written word, and cultural diversity with her career experience in IT, graphics and web development. Juliette Mansour Photography was created as the artistic branch of Casa Dresden. Today Juliette enjoys a comfortable balance as a sub-contractor by day, continuing her web design and marketing experience, while at night she hones her passion for her photography work. Juliette actively grooms herself in the genre called street photography, using both film and digital mediums.

Kathleen Kurre is an accomplished executive and entrepreneur, with a broad range of experience on the leading edge of technology adoption and organizational change where people, process and technology intersect for success. Kathleen has served as CEO of two venture capital backed healthcare technology services companies and of a social entrepreneurship, technology services nonprofit. Currently, Kathleen is President of Fusion Advisors LLC, which focuses on organizational change and adoption of new technologies. She is on the faculty group for the Graduate Leadership Program at Georgia Tech for BioMed Engineering PhD students. Kathleen has served on the board of several companies and contributed to the start-up of new organizations.

Matt Janke is a glassblower. He loves the medium, the craft and building the equipment. Matt has been on one mission for nearly 20 years… to expose and promote the art of glassblowing throughout the Southeast. Matt built a glass blowing studio in his basement. In July of 1996, Matt and his wife Kim opened Janke Studios – Atlanta’s first glassblowing studio

Jo Crawford is an artist, teacher and intuitive reader based in Berkeley, California. Through her business, Crafting the Sacred, she works with women to access their intuitive wisdom and express their creativity. In 2007, she took a leap of faith to leave her full-time office job and focus on her creative and spiritual path. Jo cashed out her 401(K) and embraced a year of self-discovery where she studied massage, herbs and tarot more deeply, went on spiritual retreats, meditated, slept late, made art, traveled home to South Africa, spent time with her loved ones, and delved into personal growth work. It was during this time that Jo birthed her business, Crafting the Sacred, and recommitted to her creative passions of visual journaling, fiber and mixed media arts. She is currently working on the themes of Art as a Sacred Expression; Home and Belonging; and Fertility and Birth.

Writer, director and producer Kevis Antonio has worked on numerous films and is founder of Rising Faith Productions. His documentary, Bread of Life, received rave reviews, was officially selected into the John Paul II International Film Festival and was syndicated on an international TV network. Kevis’ current movie project, Five Blocks Away, is his first feature film.

Robert Hovey began dancing as a teenager in St. Paul, Minnesota. At the age of 18 he traveled to Europe to join the Royal Ballet of Belgium. He then toured in the United States as principal dancer with the Tennessee Festival Ballet and Nevada Dance Theater. Robert now lives in Minnesota where he occasionally teaches and choreographs and is attempting to improve as an artist by painting. He has a son, Liam, and a daughter, Olivia.

Lisa Black has entrepreneur blood flowing through her veins and is the Founder of Fields of Gold Farm and Greenhouse. “I know everything radiates from within me. It doesn't matter what's going on in the environment around me — as long as I stay crystal clear, I feel strong and empowered. My main focus is keeping my radiance where it needs to be and my frequency high so these beautiful things can come in when they're needed.” ~Lisa Black After graduating college with degrees in Nuclear Medicine and Business/Marketing from Bowman-Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest, NC and USC-Columbia, SC, Lisa took off to explore the fields of conventional health and wellness along with starting her own business in Marketing, Advertising, Graphic Design and Public Relations in both Griffin and Atlanta, GA. Her dual passions of health and marketing led her on a wonderful journey. While working in the Atlanta area, she gleaned from a wide variety of interests including fitness, nutrition, agriculture, alternative health therapies, networking, food, conferences, seminars, and body-mind energetics. After almost 20 years in the marketing world, Lisa returned to the family farm in Hendersonville, NC to 'cultivate' a new project, Fields of Gold Farm and Greenhouse. All of life's roads have culminated to birth this latest project — making great health through incredible food, a major priority. Through this passion-filled 'God Project', Lisa has found heaven on earth unfolding the symphony that nature offers in bringing nutritious superfood from farm to table. Lisa says, “It’s an artist's palette to have the creative juices flowing and roll out a project with the depth and breadth of Fields of Gold. When I came back to the family farm in 2004, I received this inspiration of possibilities. I kept hearing a voice saying ‘feed my people, feed my people, feed my people.’ That really guided me down the path. It's certainly not just me — I’ve had a lot of guidance and support from all different angles.” About detours and roadblocks, Lisa says, “Everything is a blessing. If we can look at those bumps in the road with different eyes and listen to the stories surrounding them with different ears, all of a sudden you’ll get the inspiration as to why that fell into place to either strengthen you or get you back on the right path.” Find out more at ArtasWorship.net or “like” the Art as Worship Facebook page and get a daily boost of inspiration and creativity.

Claire Paul is an instructor of art at Georgia Perimeter College. A graduate of Georgia State University, Claire completed her MFA in Drawing and Painting. While her art intends for the viewer to explore the unseen, her interests in music and sound performance also shape the content of her visual art. “ I start with impulses, then I narrow from there — sketching, gathering thoughts, writing down ideas. Creativity is a lot of play.” ~Claire Paul She goes on to say, “The beauty in making art is the mystery. I search for this quiet area where things recur, patterns happen and then I expand on that idea.” Through her spirituality, she taps into the “cloud area of unconscious workings.” She says, “Whatever quiet wanderings or whisperings are happening in my life, I stop and record them. Whether or not that becomes artwork is on the side. I have a lot of work that never gets shown because it’s more about the process of making art and listening to that voice.” In addition to her visual art, Claire holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in music and continues to perform music. Find out more at ArtasWorship.net or “like” the Art as Worship Facebook page and get a daily boost of inspiration and creativity.