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Art & Spirituality Interfaith Forum, meeting monthly in Ipswich
Why not come along and join our monthly Ipswich-based Interfaith "Art & Spirituality" discussion forum: a friendly, informal, inclusive group that exists to share ideas about the expression of spirituality through visual art and poetry.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtandSpirituality
Our next Art & Spirituality group discussion will take place on Tuesday 11th April 2017, 10.30 am - 12.00 noon, when Charlotte Stewart will present a richly illustrated talk: Colour in the context of Art and Spirituality.
"Colour is beyond words. In the same way that many of our spiritual awarenesses are literally indescribable, so the relationships between colours can be deeply meaningful. For me a colour relationship can have a great significance, in the same way that music can reach into our souls, without words. I will look briefly at the science of colour in relation to vision, because at the time when I began to look seriously at the way colour works in our vision and brains and souls, that is what I studied. Then I hope we can just enjoy looking at images and discussing the idea of colour and spirituality."
10.30 am - 12.00 noon, at the beautifully refurbished Quay Place (St Mary at the Quay Church), Key Street, Ipswich IP4 1BZ.
A warm welcome awaits you!
The Ipswich based Art and Spirituality forum was founded in Autumn 2013 by Cynthia Capey, affiliated to SIFRE (Suffolk Inter-Faith REsource).
We meet on the second Tuesday of the month, 10.00 am - 12.00 noon, at Quay Place (St Mary at the Quay Church), Key Street, Ipswich IP4 1BZ. Tel. 01473 569696
We welcome anyone who would join us in this open-minded, non-judgemental spirit. Please contact the group facilitator Loïs Cordelia (contact details below) to be kept informed of monthly meetings, proposed topics for discussion, and special group lectures and events.
We meet shortly before 10.30 am in the cafe area (White's Cafe), inside Quay Place, before moving to one of the available rooms.
Parking is available (pay and display: £1.40 for 2 hours) in the car park outside the church, accessible via Foundation Street, from Star Lane.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtandSpirituality
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Group Coordinator: Charlotte Stewart
Group Facilitator: Loïs Cordelia - [email protected] 07949042115 www.LoisCordelia.com
Recent topics of discussion and guest lectures:
Tuesday 14th March 2017: Robert Kensit presented part 2 of his illustrated talk: Journey of a Pagan Artist - Fylfots and other shapes.
"Starting with the ancient design most people know as the swastika, for the past few months I have experimented with designs to reclaim it as a good and fruitful symbol. This has led me to creating increasingly fluid and abstracted images, drawing inspiration from Jackson Pollock, psychedelia and fractal geometry." ~ Robert Kensit
Tuesday, 10th January 2017: Stars, Planets and Constellations in the context of Art and Spirituality.
Why has humankind always been so fascinated by the stars and planets? How have different cultures and their artists interpreted them, and how have these images prevailed and transformed in the modern "scientific" consciousness? How relevant are they to us today?
Tuesday, 13th December 2016: Caroline Mackenzie (artist and sculptor) presented a talk: The Trinity – an interfaith approach.
Caroline will bring a terracotta sculpture in which she interprets the doctrine of the Trinity from a Christian perspective that draws on insights from psychology and Hinduism. Caroline will then speak about the sculpture in relation to Sarah Coakley’s book “God Sexuality and the Self: an essay on the Trinity”. This will be followed by general discussion on triads, triangles, triptyches and so on and their significance in the context of art and spirituality.
Tuesday 11th October, 2016: Our guest speaker Robert Kensit presented a talk: Journey of a Pagan Artist (part 1)
Tuesday, 14th June 2016: "The Spirit of Paper-Cutting" - a richly illustrated talk by Lois Cordelia
"A piece of paper can be a powerful presence."
Tuesday, 10th May 2016: Dance in the context of Art and Spirituality.
How do we define "dance", and in what ways do we connect it with spirituality? How have artists across the centuries and in different parts of the world interpreted dance through visual art? What does dance mean to us on a personal level?
"I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance."
(- Friedrich Nietszche.)
Tuesday, 12th April 2016, 1.30 - 3.00 pm: Change, Metamorphosis, Transformation, Transfiguration
Do we personally embrace or resist the fluidity of change? How does art on the theme of metamorphosis affect us on an emotional level, and why? How have artists over the centuries evoked dynamic processes of transformation and transfiguration through static visual art mediums?
"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
(- Anon.)
Tuesday, 9th February 2016: Guest speaker Norman Sanders speaks on the theme of "Mathematics and Art - How Renaissance Artists found the Sacred in the Maths and Geometry of the Ancient Greeks".
How do artists use mathematics, mathematical tools and symbols in their work, and how do we respond, emotionally and intellectually? How does mathematical art inspire the viewer to perceive beauty and order, to question the levels of reality, to contemplate the place of the human being in relation to the rest of the universe, and to evoke the sacred and the infinite?
"Are you really sure that a floor can't also be a ceiling?"
(- M. C. Escher)
Tuesday 12th January, 2016: "Sun, Moon and Stars: Cosmic and Celestial Imagery in Art"
How have artists responded to this theme across the centuries? What colours, symbols and imagery have they chosen to convey their visions, and what feelings do these inspire in us? How do such interpretations of the cosmos relate to our personal or universal world view, and to the world of modern science?
"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star."
(- Friedrich Nietzsche)
Tuesday 10th November 2015: The Macabre in Art
What do we understand by "the macabre"? What fascinates and/or repels us about the macabre? How do artists respond to this theme through visual art, imagery, symbols and poetry, and what emotions do these evoke in us?
"There is no exquisite beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion."
(~ Francis Bacon, Essays (1625), Of Beauty.)
Tuesday 13th October 2015: Angels in Art
What do we understand or mean by "Angels"? How have artists' depictions of angels evolved across the centuries, and why? What is special about angels (wings, haloes, light, colour, etc), and why do they fascinate artists? How are contemporary artists reinterpreting angels for postmodern, post-religious viewers?
Tuesday, 9th June 2015: Heaven and Hell
The concepts of Heaven and Hell seem to exist in many religions, and have been depicted by artists across the centuries. How does this imagery relate to our own faith, if we have one? Is it still relevant to us today? What sort of emotive response does it produce in us? How do contemporary artists interpret such themes? Please feel free to bring along some images, pictures, artwork, and so on, to share with us all.
“The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven”
~ John Milton (from Paradise Lost)
Tuesday, 12th May 2015: Special Guest Lecture by Dr. Chinmayi Nath: "Self-help, self-realisation and self-stabilisation in Spirituality".
Tuesday, 14th April 2015: Sacred Places
What makes a place sacred? We will consider churches, temples, trees, mountains, henges, ... the human mind and heart - what are your ideas? Feel free to bring relevant imagery, artwork, and poetry to share and discuss.
"Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again."
(~ Joseph Campbell)
Tuesday, 10th March 2015: Special Talk and Presentation by collage artist Dale Mann: “Eve as Victim, Icon and Superstar”
Tuesday, 10th February 2015: Special Guest Lecture by Caroline Mackenzie, "The Boundaries of the Sacred" - The Image of Woman in Hindu, Christian and Secular (Western) Art.
Tuesday, 13th January 2015: "New Beginnings"
With the start of a new year, we will be discussing the interrelated themes of new beginnings and rebirth, with a particular focus on the symbols that different cultures have chosen to express these ideas, including, but not limited to: The Phoenix, Janus ("January"), the Butterfly, Celtic Knots, Lotus Flowers, and so on.
