Art as Prayer

July 30, 2010

"Art is a medium for prayer."

Making art on our day of silence

The “Praying with Imagination” retreat allowed time for making art, both alone and in groups led by our artist-in-residence, Peggy. Art can be another contemplative practice for enlivening our senses and deepening our spirituality. Peggy taught us how to make bound blank books, which she described as “containers.”

I made these blank books as containers for the expression of my art.

One of my goals for the retreat was to practice portrait photography. I wanted to make a photograph of each participant, portraits that would reveal (not steal) a small slice of their souls and spirits. I find it very challenging to make compelling photographs of people. It’s difficult to intrude with your camera and still be sensitive to the subject’s privacy. I’m sure I tread on a few toes. I still have a lot to learn about portrait photography, but I was pleased with the way I captured the depth of character of some of my retreat colleagues.

My “final” art project was a slide show of photos documenting my experiences during the week-long retreat. I presented it after our farewell banquet. But I wanted to explore painting and drawing, too, and I did find some time to do some sketches and watercolor paintings.