Ken Helser is a visual artist, storyteller, musician and founder of the 52-acre retreat center, A Place For The Heart in Sophia, North Carolina. For the past 30 years, Ken has mentored students from across the world, teaching them to hear and journal the voice of God through writing. Currently, Ken partners with his son and daughter-in-law, Jonathan David and Melissa Helser at their 18 Inch Journey School.

In this episode, Ken talks with Stephen about the core motives of the heart and how to navigate the deeper concerns facing many artists today. Ken shares from his own journey through rejection, imitation and the discovery of how "the key to discipline is desire."

Featured Music by Cageless Birds  

Tickets to The Breath & The Clay creative arts gathering

Christine Valters Paintner is a spiritual director and Benedictine Oblate living in Galway, Ireland. She authored the book, "The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom." The book is a 12-week journey exploring the interplay between contemplation and creativity. In this episode, Stephen talks with Christine about her thoughts on humility, radical generosity and what it means to be an urban monk and a part-time hermit.Featured Music by Latifah Alattas of Moda Spira. Visit http://www.makersandmystics.com for additional content by Moda Spira.

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Christine Valters Paintner is a spiritual director and Benedictine Oblate living in Galway, Ireland. She authored the book, "The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom." The book is a 12-week journey exploring the interplay between contemplation and creativity. In this episode, Stephen talks with Christine about her thoughts on humility, radical generosity and what it means to be an urban monk and a part-time hermit.

Featured Music by Latifah Alattas of Moda Spira. 

Visit http://www.makersandmystics.com for additional content by Moda Spira.

Milwaukee-based singer/songwriter, Jason Upton is a recording artist whose work is steeped in a prayerful and poetic sensibility.

In this season opener, Stephen Roach sits down with Jason in his Wisconsin studio and discusses the differences between linear and circular creative processes.

Jason shares insights into the lyrical intricacies of songs from his recent album "Table Full of Strangers Voume 1". This episode also features an unreleased poem, "Redwoods & Daisies" from Jason's upcoming release, "Table Full of Strangers: Volume 2".

Season 3 of Makers & Mystics opens Tuesday, October 10th! But, before we get started, I wanted to take a moment and share the dates for the next The Breath & The Clay creative arts gathering! Many of the guests who will be appearing in Season 3 of our podcast will be those coming to this next gathering. This season interlude also reveals who my first guest will be and gives a brief outline of what our new Patreon page is all about. 

If you would like to support the ongoing creation of these podcasts, you can contribute here. 

A special thanks goes out to our first supporters, Beth Herndon, Elisa Cox, Eloise Corlett and Dionne White. Thanks so much for your contributions!!!

Season 3 of Makers & Mystics opens Tuesday, October 10th! But, before we get started, I wanted to take a moment and share the dates for the next The Breath & The Clay creative arts gathering! Many of the guests who will be appearing in Season 3 of our podcast will be those coming to this next gathering. This season interlude also reveals who my first guest will be and gives a brief outline of what our new Patreon page is all about. 

If you would like to support the ongoing creation of these podcasts, you can contribute here. 

A special thanks goes out to our first supporters, Beth Herndon, Elisa Cox, Eloise Corlett and Dionne White. Thanks so much for your contributions!!!

Paul Benney is a London based visual artist who has worked in both the U.K. and in the U.S. He is represented in public collections world wide including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Australia, The National Portrait Gallery, and The Royal Collection. In this episode, Stephen talks with Paul about his painting Speaking in Tongues, which is now on exhibit in Venice, Italy. Paul describes his secularist approach to the Pentecost story and tells how his exploration of the human spirit led him to a modern interpretation of the biblical narrative. The Speaking In Tongues exhibition is accompanied by a "holophonic" sound installation of recorded narratives from each of the painting's subjects. You can hear each person depicted tell a personal, transformative story as you view the painting. See the video on http://www.makersandmystics.comThis episode concludes season two of the Makers & Mystics podcast! Please visit our Patreon page and consider partnering with us the production of these conversations. Thank you so much for listening!

Send us a text

Support the show

Paul Benney is a London based visual artist who has worked in both the U.K. and in the U.S. He is represented in public collections world wide including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Australia, The National Portrait Gallery, and The Royal Collection. 

In this episode, Stephen talks with Paul about his painting Speaking in Tongues, which is now on exhibit in Venice, Italy. Paul describes his secularist approach to the Pentecost story and tells how his exploration of the human spirit led him to a modern interpretation of the biblical narrative. 

The Speaking In Tongues exhibition is accompanied by a "holophonic" sound installation of recorded narratives from each of the painting's subjects. You can hear each person depicted tell a personal, transformative story as you view the painting. See the video on http://www.makersandmystics.com

This episode concludes season two of the Makers & Mystics podcast! Please visit our Patreon page and consider partnering with us the production of these conversations. Thank you so much for listening!

The Clang Quartet is an improvisational percussion/performance-art show, based metaphorically on the life of Jesus Christ. In this episode, Stephen talks with Clang Quartet founder, Scotty Irving about performance art as a vehicle of the gospel. The two discuss the need for resilience and tenacity in presenting uncommon or abstract forms of art. Scotty tells about his electrified crutch and the meaning behind the sound collages of his "harsh noise" genre of art. 

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