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Artist
of the Month: Erica Grimm-Vance
In
Erica Grimm-Vance's paintings, the human figure swims in a sea of Being:
each gesture, each pose is richly evocative of the ancient but neglected
idea of the unity of body and soul. Both her exquisite rendering of the
figure and her encaustic technique (employing melted wax) bring a sense
of warmth and affirmation to these works. But if Grimm-Vance sees creation
as good, she also understands it as subject to sin and mortality. Her
figures know suffering, limitation, longing. So it is no surprise that
her muse is Simone Weil, the French mystic who wrote so compellingly about
the spirituality of "affliction." These are images that take
up residence in your heart...and stay there.
Go to the AoM page on Erica Grimm-Vance here.
Announcing
the Glen Workshop 2004
"The Generations in the Bones:
The Artist and Tradition"
August 1-8, 2004
Image's annual Glen Workshop is an innovative and enriching program
combining the best elements of a workshop, an arts festival, and a conference.
Add to this the intimate setting at St. John's College and the rich cultural,
spiritual, and natural resources of northern New Mexico and the result
is an unforgettable experience. This year's theme—"The Generations
in the Bones: The Artist and Tradition"-—will provide a focal point
for reflection over the course of the week. The incredibly talented faculty
includes America's most distinguished illustrator, Barry Moser, poets
Andrew Hudgins and Paul Mariani, calligrapher Timothy Botts, and many
others. Daily classes are small enough to allow the faculty to give close
attention to each participant-—to beginners as well as those advanced
in their craft. The Glen also offers a retreat option for those who wish
to join us for meals, readings, and worship, but prefer to spend mornings
working, exploring the area, or in contemplation, instead of attending
a workshop. Each participant selects either a workshop or the retreat
option. Workshops are held concurrently each morning. Afternoons and evenings
feature readings, lectures, and concerts. Each day will conclude with
a worship service incorporating the arts. Free time (including a full
free day) will offer all participants opportunities for conversation,
hiking, visiting the many museums and sights in and around Santa Fe, and
exploring the stunning scenery around the St. John's campus. Here in the
foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, you will encounter a stimulating
and inspiring environment saturated with the spirituality of Hispanic
and Native American cultures.
In future issues of Image Update we will present short features on individual workshops/faculty and other aspects of the Glen — stay tuned!
You can now register for the Glen through our website! For more info, start with the link below.
NOTE: Please be aware that certain workshops will fill rather quickly. We're not just using marketing language when we urge you to register early!!!
For more information, workshop descriptions, and to register online, visit
the Glen page on the Image
website.
Living
Next Door to the Death House
Virginia
Stem Owens and David Owens
Though the death penalty is one of the most contentious issues in America today, for most people it remains an abstraction that rarely affects their lives. This is not the case, however, for residents of Huntsville , Texas , home to the most active death chamber in the United States . There, the ultimate punishment is dealt out almost every week, and citizens must constantly live with the paradox of going on about their lives while knowing that death lurks only a few blocks away. Virginia Stem Owens and her husband David Owens chronicle this phenomenon in their book Living Next Door to the Death House , which carefully explores, person-by-person, the influence that sharing a town with an execution chamber can have. From judges to lawyers, parents to priests, churchgoers to the technicians who "prepare the syringe and prick the vein," everyone has a story to tell about the way the death penalty has affected their lives. Of particular resonance is the book's religious element-a transcript of "A Liturgy on the Day of an Execution" contains a plea "for the people of Huntsville , that we may remain distressed and avoid complacency." It is from within that tension-between distress and complacency-that the Owens write, giving voice to the human aspect of the death penalty that is so rarely acknowledged. As a result, the book offers a unique and truly sobering look at one of the most divisive issues of our time.
To read what a couple readers have said in response to this book, click here.
 Water
Lines by Luci Shaw
Supple, buoyant language brims and spills over like a blessing in Luci Shaw's newest book of poetry, Water Lines, a collection of old and new lyric vignettes all meditating on the evocative nature of water. Shaw has a knack for molding spare language into images familiar yet startling in their dense sensuousness, a talent that especially suits her explorations of the natural world. Her words take hold of the simplicity of the brush of wind, a spider constructing a web, and the detritus of a beachscape, expanding each detail until it reverberates with a transcendence that pierces sense and soul. In Water Lines, Shaw discovers water in all its appearances, literal and otherwise, and traces out the links between the tactile and symbolic. She chooses a particularly suggestive image. As Shaw comments, "I think it's the fluidity of water-the way it constantly renews itself-that reminds me of the possibility, and the need, for change and renewal." Manifest in the yawning ocean, in stream merging with stream, the "hush" of rain, or even the ripple of clothesline shadows across the lawn, water fills these poems with an offering of life, sound, and uncontainable movement. It is from within that offering that Shaw plumbs the depths of metaphor. In "Raining," she unites sound and the notion of becoming: "Thin ropes / of crystal beads / their shining drops / (each singing its own syncopated sounds / into the pail we set to catch the drips) / have raised the level so the pitch / climbs higher every hour . Like rain or sorrow, loving takes its time / to name its music / or to find a rhyme." Throughout Shaw's new collection, physical water turns into spiritual refreshment as it is poured out, "pooling as it has in the Creator's hand and falling, like blessing, on all of our heads."
Luci Shaw is a best-selling author, poet, and regular contributor to Image. Currently, she is Writer in Residence at Regent College . For more on Luci Shaw, click here, or read her poetry in Image issues #1, 6, 14, and 25.
 Nextbook: Continuing
a Tradition of Reading
For those whose faith rests on the word, the holiday season is a time to reflect on the recorded promises of God to his people. But for the Nextbook program, being Jewish means more than looking back to what has been written to nurture spiritual and cultural identity, essential as that might be. The first People of the Book must continue to write (and be read) in the context of contemporary culture. Founded by Keren Keshet of the New York-based Rainbow Foundation in 1999, Nextbook seeks to explore the growing literary heritage of Jewish culture, rooted in over 3,000 years of continuing tradition. Sensitive to the air of pluralism in most American, European, and Israeli cities, Nextbook remains mindful of other religious traditions and backgrounds while trying to foster strong ties among Jews both secular and religious. Its special aim is to deepen the understanding of Judaism in American culture at large. Already, Nextbook has set up primary programs in Chicago , Washington , D.C., and Seattle, making contact with literature-friendly resources to promote Jewish awareness. Its projects include compiling an annotated reading list-composed of books for all ages-and hosting cultural programs along the lines of arts events, conversations with authors, and book discussion groups. Nextbook especially pursues partnerships with public libraries to encourage them to bring more Jewish work into their collections. According to director of Nextbook Julie Sandorf, in the same way immigrant Jews at the beginning of the twentieth century learned to be Americans by going to libraries, now Jews and non-Jews will be able to learn about the Jewish heritage in the same way.
Nextbook has an extensive website with links to news, stories, and other resources. For more information on Nextbook programs in your city or elsewhere, click here.
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