Matt Tommey is a woven sculpture artist living in Asheville, North Carolina. Matt has authored several books including "Unlocking The Heart of The Artist" and "Crafting Your Brand: 

Simple Strategies for Cultivating a Successful Creative Career".  In this episode, Matt and Stephen discuss Matt's process of utilizing natural materials for his sculptural works. The two talk through differentiations between process and product and how artists can move from concepts and ideas to a lifestyle of creative expression.  *This episode features music by Zach Winters from the album "To Have You Around".

This episode is Part 2 of a conversation with Josh Garrels. In this episode, Stephen Roach discusses Josh's honest lyricism, how our families and cultural environments inform the art we make.

Send us a text

Support the show

Join the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective

Get Tickets to The Breath and The Clay 2026 featuring Malcolm Guite, Jon Guerra, and Jonathan Pageau! March 20-22 in Winston Salem, NC.

This episode is Part 2 of a conversation with Josh Garrels. In this episode, Stephen Roach discusses Josh's honest lyricism, how our families and cultural environments inform the art we make.

Josh Garrels is a Portland, Oregon-based singer/songwriter who combines elements of hip-hop, world music and folk in his songwriting. His lyrics are characterized by a raw honesty in exploring themes of faith, hope and compassion. In this episode, Josh discusses his background in music and the pathway which led him to a vocation as a professional, independent musician. Josh talks with Stephen about balancing family life and touring as well as how the choices of our personal lives inform the art we create. This episode is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. 

Send us a text

Support the show

Join the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective

Get Tickets to The Breath and The Clay 2026 featuring Malcolm Guite, Jon Guerra, and Jonathan Pageau! March 20-22 in Winston Salem, NC.

Josh Garrels is a Portland, Oregon-based singer/songwriter who combines elements of hip-hop, world music and folk in his songwriting. His lyrics are characterized by a raw honesty in exploring themes of faith, hope and compassion. 

In this episode, Josh discusses his background in music and the pathway which led him to a vocation as a professional, independent musician. Josh talks with Stephen about balancing family life and touring as well as how the choices of our personal lives inform the art we create. This episode is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

In this keynote, worship leader and founder of the Burn 24/7 prayer movement, Sean Feucht challenges artists to live and create from an "ethos of amazement." Drawing from his work among refugees in Iraq, Sean calls upon artists to have imaginations which will "challenge the dominant reality" and offer hope instead of despair. This keynote was given at the 2017 The Breath & The Clay Creative Arts gathering in Winston-Salem, NC.

Send us a text

Support the show

Join the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective

Get Tickets to The Breath and The Clay 2026 featuring Malcolm Guite, Jon Guerra, and Jonathan Pageau! March 20-22 in Winston Salem, NC.

In this keynote, worship leader and founder of the Burn 24/7 prayer movement, Sean Feucht challenges artists to live and create from an "ethos of amazement." Drawing from his work among refugees in Iraq, Sean calls upon artists to have imaginations which will "challenge the dominant reality" and offer hope instead of despair. This keynote was given at the 2017 The Breath & The Clay Creative Arts gathering in Winston-Salem, NC.

Art is often viewed as being inherently spiritual. But what does it mean to describe an experience of art or beauty as "spiritual"? Is there a relationship between the spiritual experience a person has in the presence of a work of art and the Holy Spirit of Christian faith? In this episode, Stephen interviews theologian and author Steven Guthrie about these ideas as examined in Dr. Guthrie's book, Creator Spirit: The Holy Spirit & The Art Of Becoming Human.

Send us a text

Support the show

Join the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective

Get Tickets to The Breath and The Clay 2026 featuring Malcolm Guite, Jon Guerra, and Jonathan Pageau! March 20-22 in Winston Salem, NC.

Art is often viewed as being inherently spiritual. But what does it mean to describe an experience of art or beauty as "spiritual"? Is there a relationship between the spiritual experience a person has in the presence of a work of art and the Holy Spirit of Christian faith?

In this episode, Stephen interviews theologian and author Steven Guthrie about these ideas as examined in Dr. Guthrie's book, Creator Spirit: The Holy Spirit & The Art Of Becoming Human.

In the month of February 2017, Stephen Roach composed and posted a new poem each day of the month. These poems were written in response to the "artless and often contemptible mood" found within social media. Stephen set out to offer "choreography instead of industry", beauty instead of hostility and to place "a carnation in the barrels of loaded guns".  In observance of National Poetry Month, Stephen shares several of his poems from this collection of writings featuring music by Timbre, Songs of Water, Loudharp and Brandon Willet. #poetryismyprotest  Joining Stephen in this episode is artist, Melina Daniels of Overflow Studios in Boone, NC. Melina shares a story of how she and her husband Jacob responded to the 2016 Charlotte protests surrounding the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by setting up an outdoor art studio in the midst of the uprising.  Poetry is a vehicle of transcendence and social change. It is both protest and praise, a means of lifting the spirit and calling for action. In this episode, Stephen turns to the “ancient and analog” art of poetry as a means of response to the current challenges of our day. **Special thanks goes out to Timbre, Loudharp, Songs of Water, and Brandon Willet for providing musical landscapes accompanying the poetry of this episode. Also, a special thanks to Elisa Cox, Eloise Corlett, Catherine Mi-Sook Roemer and Sarah Roach for voiceover contributions. You can purchase a copy of Stephen's February poems at: stephenroach.org