RUMINATE Blog

Works with Soul: Christina Saj, Modern Icons

Last year I had the opportunity to interview Christina Saj, a painter fascinated with geometric abstraction, a preference for modernism, and an acute awareness of historical context. Early in her career, she mastered the technique of Byzantine icon painting, and now uses those formal and structural elements as a springboard for paintings in which symbols are recognized and reinvented, reflecting the character of the time in which they have been created.

Sometimes Mistakes Lead to Great Discoveries

Sometimes mistakes lead to great discoveries. My friend was sent a message meant for me, though the sender did not know that. It was an honest mistake. My friend forwarded the message to me, as he is an honest man. At the end of the message he tacked on, “Have you heard of Hymns From Ninevah? They’re doing quite well in their homeland of Denmark.”

A Quest For Faith

David Downing’s novel Looking for the King: An Inklings Novel pays homage to the Inklings (a literary group connected with the University of Oxford and made up of friends and scholars such as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams) and entertains the reader with a quest that includes a holy artifact, a conversion, and love.

Works with Soul: Gary Glazner & the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project

Pain and Poetry

Some people are built to describe things prosaically, others poetically. For the most part, this is a function of our personalities. You know the drill: you’re an engineer, I’m an artist. But when it comes to giving expression to the deepest crevices of suffering and pain in our lives, poetry seems uniquely suited as a medium of expression.