"Beholding is a countercultural act—it requires us to stop, to receive, and to fully see.” — Makoto Fujimura

"Slow art is an invitation to linger, to notice, and to let the world unfold before us." — Makoto Fujimura

You are a beautiful masterpiece. But the practice of living artfully comes slowly, often through brokenness, weakness, or failure. Contemporary artist Makoto Fujimura integrates traditional Japanese styles with abstract expressionism and Christian theology, to explore the beauty that can emerge from the ashes pain and suffering. Both his art and his writing call us to behold the gift of creation, participate in its redemption, accentuating the cracks and fractures in our lives, so that grace might abound.

Makoto Fujimura—renowned artist, writer, and theologian—joins Dr. Pam King to explore the deep connections between art, faith, and flourishing. Fujimura shares how his Japanese heritage and study of traditional Nihonga painting have shaped his understanding of creativity as a sacred act. Through themes of brokenness, beauty, and slow art, he challenges us to rethink success, embrace imperfection, and create from a place of love and abundance. Whether you're an artist, a person of faith, or someone seeking meaning in a hurried world, this conversation will invite you to slow down, behold, and embrace the mystery and beauty of life.

Mako Fujimura integrates his artmaking, theology, and culture care advocacy into a beautiful expression of thriving and spiritual health. Through his breathtaking expressionist style, distinctively Japanese methods, and his rooted Christian convictions, he’s bringing beauty into being, and inviting us to do the same.

In this conversation with Mako Fujimura, we discuss:

• What art is, what creativity means, and the human capacity for making beauty
• How we can live artfully through imperfection, brokenness, trauma, and suffering
• How the practice of a gift economy can lead to mutual thriving
• The slow art of pausing, stopping, and beholding that contributes to our mental and spiritual health
• And the connection between knowledge and love in a life of creativity and artmaking.

Helpful Links and Resources

• Follow Makoto Fujimura on X @iamfujimura
• View Mako’s art at makotofujimura.com
• Makoto Fujimura’s Writings
• Makoto Fujimura’s Books
• Nihonga Art and its Traditions
• Refractions: A Journey of Art, Faith, & Culture
• Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life
• Silence and Beauty: Hidden Faith Born of Suffering
• Art and Faith: A Theology of Making

Episode Highlights

"Art is fundamentally what human beings create—it is our capacity to make, and in making, we come to know."

"Beholding is a countercultural act—it requires us to stop, to receive, and to fully see.”

"We worship a wounded, glorified human being—our brokenness is not something to escape but something to offer."

"Creativity is not about self-expression alone—it is about giving yourself away in love."

"Slow art is an invitation to linger, to notice, and to let the world unfold before us."

Show Notes

• Makoto Fujimura discusses the intersection of art, faith, and flourishing
• The importance of beholding in a fast-paced world
• How brokenness and imperfection reveal deeper beauty
• Nihonga painting and the wisdom of traditional Japanese art
• Creativity as an act of love and gift-giving

The Art of Beholding

• Why slowing down is essential for creativity and spiritual growth
• The practice of beholding as a way of seeing the world more deeply
• How art invites us to be present and pay attention
• The connection between contemplation, creativity, and flourishing
• "Beholding is a countercultural act—it requires us to stop, to receive, and to fully see."

Creativity, Faith, and Human Flourishing

• How art and faith are intertwined in human thriving
• The spiritual discipline of making and creating
• Why true knowledge is connected to love and experience
• "Art is fundamentally what human beings create—it is our capacity to make, and in making, we come to know."
• How community fosters creativity and growth

Brokenness, Beauty, and the Theology of Making

• The Japanese tradition of Kintsugi and embracing imperfection
• How Jesus’ wounds and resurrection shape our view of brokenness
• The gift economy vs. the transactional economy in art
• "We worship a wounded, glorified human being—our brokenness is not something to escape but something to offer."
• Learning to see beauty in what is discarded or overlooked

The Practice of Slow Art

• Why slowing down is essential for deep engagement with art
• How layers in Nihonga painting reveal new depths over time
• "Slow art is an invitation to linger, to notice, and to let the world unfold before us."
• How slowing down fosters healing and deeper connection
• The role of patience and attentiveness in both art and life

Living a Creative and Generous Life

• How to cultivate creativity in daily life, even outside traditional arts
• The role of community in sustaining creative work
• Why generosity and self-giving are essential to true creativity
• "Creativity is not about self-expression alone—it is about giving yourself away in love."
• Practical steps for integrating creativity into everyday living

Pam King’s Key Takeaways

• Whether you think of yourself as artist, we’re all creative. Mako’s message is intentionally not just for artists, but is an invitation for all of us to live artfully—no matter what we do for a living.
• Because creativity comes in so many different ways, from leadership, to scientific research, to parenting, to cooking, we all have the daily creative capacity to add beauty to the world.
• And to that end, remember your first love, the playfulness and creativity of giving beauty to the world
• A gift economy of beauty offers a radical resistance to consumerism, competition, and comparison.
• Art and the making of beauty is a part of thriving. And the invitation to live artfully starts with a daily practice of slowing down: pause, stop, and behold. Smell the roses. Consider the lilies.
• And finally, there’s a path to beauty through brokenness. Grace comes to us through failure. And strength is made perfect in weakness.
• And finally, though the wind may be blowing through our lives, may we all learn to behold the moonlight leaking between the roof planks.

About Makoto Fujimura

Contemporary artist Makoto Fujimura is a painter, an author, a speaker, and an imaginative maker with a gift for theological integration.

Mako’s message is intentionally not just for artists, because creativity comes in so many different ways, from leadership, to scientific research, to parenting, to cooking, we all have the daily creative capacity to add beauty to the world. Working out of his Princeton, New Jersey studio, his work has been described by David Brooks as “a small rebellion against the quickening of time.” Art critic Robert Kushner placed Mako’s art at the forefront of a contemporary movement about “hope, healing, redemption, and refuge, while maintaining visual sophistication and intellectual integrity.”

A blend of fine art and abstract expressionism, Mako describes his work as “slow art,” being influenced directly by the distinctively Japanese Nihonga style, which is patient and methodical, using slow drying pigments from ground minerals.

Mako’s art has been featured in galleries and museums around the world, as well as notable collections in The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, The Huntington Library in California, and the Tikotin Museum in Israel.

From 2012 to 2017, he served as vision director of the Brehm Center here at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Mako is the author of several books, including Refractions: A Journey of Art, Faith, & Culture, Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life, and Silence and Beauty: Hidden Faith Born of Suffering. His most recent is entitled Art and Faith: A Theology of Making. And his next book will be available soon—titled, Art Is: A Journey into the Light. And with his wife Haejin, he’s producing a new work on Beauty and Justice.

Follow him on X @iamfujimura, and view his beautiful work at makotofujimura.com.

About the Thrive Center

• Learn more at thethrivecenter.org.
• Follow us on Instagram @thrivecenter
• Follow us on X @thrivecenter
• Follow us on LinkedIn @thethrivecenter

About Dr. Pam King

Dr. Pam King is Executive Director the Thrive Center and is Peter L. Benson Professor of Applied Developmental Science at Fuller School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy.  Follow her @drpamking.

About With & For

• Host: Pam King
• Senior Director and Producer: Jill Westbrook
• Operations Manager: Lauren Kim
• Social Media Graphic Designer: Wren Juergensen
• Consulting Producer: Evan Rosa

Special thanks to the team at Fuller Studio and the Fuller School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy.