What is the calling of a Christian artist? What is beauty? How does one get unstuck in your creative process? How can art express spiritual values such as justice, compassion, and community? Several forthcoming books from religion publishers, painters, sculptors, writers, and other artists offer examinations of all these questions.
Bruce Herman, an internationally renowned painter and longtime art educator, takes on such questions in a book of fictionalized letters from a senior statesman to young artists, Makers by Nature: Letters from a Master Painter on Faith, Hope, and Art (IVP Academic, out now). “Herman looks at faith through the lens of art and art through the lens of faith,” said Jon Boyd, associate publisher and academic editorial director for IVP. “He realizes that art is about big, hard questions—the questions Christianity is also dealing with. Herman gropes for answers in his studio. While primarily oriented toward the visual arts, anyone in the performing or literary arts will find his thoughts easily transmittable.”
IVP Academic will also publish a deep dive by theologians, scholars, and artists into pneumatology, the theological study of the Holy Spirit, in September, Naming the Spirit: Pneumatology Through the Arts, edited by W. David O. Taylor and Daniel Train. Boyd said that “the book asks, how can art be better if we understand the theology of the Holy Spirit, and how can our theology of the Holy Spirit be better understood through the arts?”
Those looking to make art and advocate for justice to the world at the same time might consider picking up a copy of Just Making: A Guide for Compassionate Creatives by Mitali Perkins (Broadleaf, May). In it, the Christianity Today award–winning author of picture books and novels for young readers explores what justice looks like in creative expressions, offering examples of practices that help artists keep going, such as embracing vulnerability and pursuing community.
“There are lots of books about creativity and lots of books about justice, but Perkins brings the two ideals into conversation with each other in her singularly delightful and profound way,” said Valerie Weaver-Zercher, acquisitions editor at Broadleaf. “Creative people are often deeply empathic people, so many are feeling overwhelmed by the weight of despair and the level of injustice at our doorsteps. Perkins is a wise guide who introduces us to other wise guides who help us make both justice and art.”
Broadleaf will also publish In Defense of Dabbling: The Brilliance of Being a Total Amateur (Sep.) by Karen Walrond, author of the 2023 title Radiant Rebellion: Reclaim Aging, Practice Joy, and Raise a Little Hell. “Readers of faith and those attuned to spiritual practices will recognize in Karen’s work the way that dabbling in a variety of creative pursuits can lead us to transcendence—a connection to God,” Weaver-Zercher said.
The prolific author Carey Wallace writes about where inspiration comes from and how to harness it in one’s life and work in The Discipline of Inspiration: The Mysterious Encounter with God at the Heart of Creativity (Eerdmans, out now). In it, Wallace considers how artists found new ideas and approaches across genres and throughout history, suggesting that inspiration can be found in such classic spiritual disciplines as manual labor, meditation, and silent contemplation.
Calling the book "a philosophical treatise with practical application,” Lisa Ann Cockrel, acquisitions editor at Eerdmans, said that “Wallace develops a theology of inspiration—that moment is God inspiring humans.” She added: “Lots of different kinds of spiritual readers can imagine God in that role. Wallace says that instead of doing more or something different to get more inspiration, our fundamental posture is receptivity to inspiration, so you’re available when it comes to you.”
