Makers & Mystics

Introduction to the themes and focus of Season Ten.

Ryan Diaz is a poet and writer from Queens, NY. He holds a BA in History from St. Johns University and is currently completing a MA in Biblical Studies. His work has been featured in publications like Ekstasis, Premier Christianity, Dappled Things, and Busted Halo. In this bonus episode, Ryan and I talk about the relationship between poetry and prayer, cynicism and the sacramental imagination. Patrons of the podcast can enjoy additional conversation segments featuring four book recommendations for poets as well as a recitation of Ryan’s poem For Those Wandering Along The Way.

Hannah Rose Thomas is a British artist and an UNESCO PhD Scholar at the University of Glasgow. She has previously organised art projects for Syrian refugees in Jordan; Yazidi women who escaped ISIS captivity in Iraqi Kurdistan; Rohingya refugees in Bangladeshi camps and Nigerian women survivors of Boko Haram. Her paintings of displaced women are a testament to their strength and dignity. These have been exhibited at places including the UK Houses of Parliament, European Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Buckingham Palace, GCHQ, FCO, Lambeth Palace, Westminster Abbey and The Saatchi Gallery. Her exhibition ‘Tears of Gold’ was featured in the virtual exhibition for the UN’s Official 75th Anniversary, ‘The Future is Unwritten: Artists for Tomorrow.’ Hannah was selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 2019 Art & Culture; shortlisted for the Women of the Future Award 2020 and selected for British Vogue Future Visionaries 2022.

In this season finale episode, Stephen Roach shares on how the past two years have impacted artists personally, socially and creatively. Drawing from his own journey of faith and art, Stephen tells how spiritual practice, community and imagination have played a significant role in re-integrating fragmented parts of himself into a deeper, lasting wholeness.

Laura Valentine is the Artistic Director and Choreographer for Numinous Flux Dance Company in Nashville, TN. The work she curates is sensory and riddled with humanity, telling stories thru the human form and searching for a shared inner movement between herself, those embodying the work, and those making sense of it. She has crafted and produced multiple full length productions over the past decade, exploring birth, loss and everything plot-worthy in between. A Numinous piece can take years to unveil and unravel, and the time invested with the human’s involved is a big part of the Numinous process. The relationships move the work where they will. In this episode, Stephen talks with Laura about what it means to be a contemplative dance company, the deeper motivations behind her creative work and what it means for a dancer to have conversations with space.

Pete Scazzero’s book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality has had a tremendous influence on our modern understanding of how emotional health intersects with contemplative spirituality. In this episode, our friend Luke Humbrecht talks with Pete about how the artist can live a more healthy emotional and spiritual life.

Chris White is an award-winning filmmaker who has spent over a decade writing, directing, and producing a variety of feature length and short films. His most recent project is the music-centric, coming of age comedy Electric Jesus, which explores the world of a fictional 1980's Christian hair metal band called 316. The film follows the band's journey from playing Bible camp talent shows to larger rock venues and gives an amusing look at youth culture during the time when heavy metal music was bathed in controversy. The film stars Brian Baumgartner (better known as Kevin from The Office), also Judd Nelson (from The Breakfast Club), and newcomers Shannon Hutchinson (Assassinaut) and Andrew Eakle (Creepshow, The Glorias). In addition to writing and directing Electric Jesus, Chris White also co-wrote original songs for the film, collaborating with composer/indie rock legend Daniel Smith of the Danielson Family. In this episode, I talk with Chris about the making of the film, the art of satire and why thinking about humor as a spiritual practice is not funny. Patrons of the podcast can enjoy additional segments of this conversation at: http://www.patreon.com/makersandmystics 

In this episode, I speak with one of today’s favorite mental health advocates, Dani Parks. Dani is a public speaker, author, minister and mentor of young adult girls. In our conversation, she shares her story about her struggles with depression, suicide attempts, and the mental suffering she endured for over ten years due to the incorrect treatment of her bipolar disorder.

In this episode, I talk with Author and Professor ,Mary McCampbell about her book, Imagining Our Neighbors As Ourselves: How Art Shapes Empathy. In our conversation, we discuss how narrative art serves as an invitation to awaken and expand our capacity for empathy. Featured music by: Jessamyn Day Interlude music by: Luke Vandergriff

Sho Baraka is a globally recognized recording artist, performer, culture curator, activist, and writer. His work combines his artistic platform with his academic history to contribute a unique perspective, elevating the contemporary conversation on faith, art, and culture. In this episode I talk with Sho about his book, He Saw That It Was Good Reimagining Your Creative Life to Repair a Broken World We discuss how art and imagination address the issues we face in today’s society in ways other forms of communication cannot. Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an additional interview segment with Sho Baraka as well as other guests of the podcast

In this Round Table Discussion, I talk with visual artist and performance speaker, Scott Erickson along with trauma therapist, ritual-maker and NYC-based artist, Heather Stringer. In this round table, we talk candidly about disorientation and the process of re-orienting after two years of social and personal upheaval.

Joshua Luke Smith is a British rapper, poet, and producer with a dramatic, socially conscious style rooted in explorations of the Christian faith. He was born in London raised in Pakistan, and holds a degree in philosophy, which informs his music with a unique perspective on the world both from his education and experience.  In this episode, I talk with Joshua about his upbringing, his creative process as well as well as philosophy and overcoming addiction. You can see the show notes of this episode for links to Joshua’s new book Something You Once Knew and for additional patron only interview segments in our creative collective.

Naming The Animals is a new podcast by Makers and Mystics! This eight episode series follows a chapter by chapter discussion of Stephen Roach’s book Naming The Animals: An Invitation To Creativity. Each week, Stephen will be joined by Square Halo's Creative Director, Ned Bustard and a variety of biblical scholars, professional artists and creative thought leaders on topics such as inspiration, contemplation and beauty. This podcast is an accompaniment to the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective Book Club, running June 8th - July 27th, 2022. To join the Book Club, sign up for the Maker tier of patronage at Patreon.com/makersandmystics

William Day is an American painter known for his large-scale compositions of colorful shapes and energetic marks. Day can often be found in his Boulder, Colorado studio working on multiple pieces at the same time. His process leads him to create paintings in series, each focusing on different nuances of the human experience. His works are comprised of textures and complex layers demonstrating his interaction with a canvas. These series of paintings all nod to certain periods of Day’s life that bring years of intensity, joy, spirituality, conflict, and resolution to the canvas. In this episode, Stephen talks with Will about his latest series titled Breakout which explores themes of reset and rebirth. This discussion includes topics such as: The impact of isolation, How to handle negative critique and living beyond fear.  Patrons of the podcast can enjoy additional interview segments with Will at patreon.com/makersandmystics

James K.A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University and serves as editor in chief of Image, a quarterly journal devoted to “art, mystery, and faith.” Trained as a philosopher with a focus on contemporary French thought, Smith has expanded on that scholarly platform to become an engaged public intellectual and cultural critic. As an award-winning author and widely-traveled speaker, he has emerged as a thought leader with a unique gift of translation, building bridges between the academy, society, and the church. In this episode I talk with James about the role of imagination in “re-storying” the narratives we believe about ourselves and society. James shares openly about his own bouts with depression and how poetry played a key role in his recovery. Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an additional interview segment on the attentiveness as a core tenet of creativity and the counter cultural practice of contemplation.