Lacey Sturm is a Grammy-nominated queen of hard rock who secured a place in rock history as the first solo woman to top the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart with her debut album Life Screams. With a career spanning songs like “All Around Me,” “I’m So Sick,” “Again,” “Impossible,” “State of Me'' and most recently “Awaken Love,”

Lacey Sturm has proven herself as one of the most powerful and enduring voices in hard rock. She is also a sought-after speaker and author, penning the autobiographical books The Reason, The Mystery and The Return. Also a dedicated wife and mother, Lacey tours with her family, supported on stage by her guitarist husband Josh Sturm. You can connect with Lacey at www.laceysturm.com

In this episode, Lacey shares openly about walking through devastating experiences early in life and the role music played in helping her find healing. She shares about her life now and how changing seasons bring out unexpected encounters with beauty and hope.

*Also, just a heads up, our talk today includes sensitive subject matter, including mental health, abuse, and domestic violence.

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The Value of A Dream with Stephen Roach (Recorded Live in Urbana Illinois)

In this live talk, recorded at the Audiofeed Festival in Urbana, Illinois, Stephen Roach encourages listeners that the value of a dream is not contingent upon its coming to pass. The value of a dream, he says, is in the dreaming.

For anyone, who has grappled with the death of a dream or the pain of letting go, this talk will encourage you that a dream can take many shapes and forms and that nothing is wasted.

S12 Finale: Detachment and Desire with Stephen Roach

This season. On the podcast, we have featured quite an array of perspectives on this topic of art and identity. We've talked about how family and heritage informs our sense of self. We've discussed how our belief systems, our childhood memories, even the places we live, each contribute to our identity. We talked about how our bodies, our ethnicity, our relationships to others, our vocations, and of course, how the creative works we make each become identity markers for how we show up in the world. We even discussed the role of emerging technology and how social media shapes the way we think of ourselves and of others.

In this season finale episode, podcast host, Stephen Roach shares how desire informs our sense of self and how the practice of detachment can help us navigate the journey from a false self to embracing our true identity as the beloved of God.

EPISODE SPONSOR: Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary is offering a Doctor of Ministry degree in The Arts, Ministry, and Mission as a part of a new initiative in theology, the arts, and gospel witness. Follow this link to learn more and apply.

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S12 E15: Returning To Eden with Heather Hamilton

One of the core markers of a person’s identity are the beliefs they hold to be true. A person’s faith becomes a fixed point from which they view and understand the world. But what happens when those beliefs are shaken? Or what happens when a person is confronted with a difficult truth that collides with or even contradicts their view of the world?

Our guest today is storyteller and best-selling author of Returning to Eden: A Field Guide for the Spiritual Journey, Heather Hamilton. In this episode, Heather shares what it was like to undergo a nervous breakdown and a subsequent mystical experience that re-ordered her understanding of the universe.

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S12 E14: Our Virtual Reflection with Sam Rad

Ours is a fast-paced digital world where technology has become such a personalized part of our daily lives, it’s hard to imagine who we are without it.

Social media, augmented reality, and AI-driven personalization each contribute to the formation of a digital identity which impacts the way we connect with others and how we present ourselves online.

We’ve grown accustomed to how our smartphones and smartwatches intertwine physical and digital experiences. We’ve become accustomed to the ways technology influences the way we perceive ourselves and others but what happens when these technologies progress toward a seeming agency of their own? Or what about when our likeness is replicable in a virtual rendering or when the creative works we make are easily emulated by AI?

For many artists, these capabilities bring up real concerns about intellectual property and the ethics of what constitutes our identity.

Joining us for this discussion today is someone whose creative work intersects the worlds of art, technology and the future in ways that offer a positive look into the influence of emerging technologies on the artist’s life.

Sam Rad is a lifelong student of humanity, storyteller, performer, and musician. She was trained in anthropology, theatre, and movement/embodiment at New York University, British American Drama Academy at Oxford University, and Lee Strasberg Institute in NYC. She started her career as a theater director -- before founding 4 technology companies.

Today, Sam Rad is considered a futurist, one who looks into emerging technologies and helps us understand the coming impacts these tools will have on our lives. She is a published author and highly sought after motivational speaker who merges spirit and science through consciousness, connection, and creativity.

technology, Art & IdentityStephen RoachDecember 5, 2023Sam Rad, AI, Emerging Technology, art and identity

S12 Bonus: Artist's Roundtable: Live at Loom

This Artist’s roundtable discussion was recorded live at Loom creative arts event in Spruce Pines, NC. The conversation centers on the importance of building creative community, the embodiment of the creative process and what it means to be an artist of faith amidst a culture in crisis.

Joining us for this discussion is long time friend of the podcast, author/illustrator Vesper Stamper, photographer and founder of JHS pedals Josh Scott, conversation host Corey Frey and myself, Stephen Roach.

As we prepare for The Breath and Clay 2024 I wanted to share this live discussion to highlight some of the vital community discussions we will be hosting.

S12 E12: Remixing The Grand Narrative with Tara Isabella Burton

At one time, religious identity and the Christian narrative formed the social imaginary of our western world. To be a part of a local church or to identify with some aspect of the values of traditional faith was an assumed part of American life. But today, autonomy, self-fulfillment and individual expression seem to have taken the forefront of how a generation defines themselves and lives out the search for meaning and deeper purpose.

My guest today is novelist and prolific writer, Tara Isabella Burton. Tara Isabella Burton is the author of the novels Social Creature, The World Cannot Give, and the forthcoming Here in Avalon (S&S, January 2024), and the nonfiction Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World and Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians.

She has written on religion and culture for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and more. She received her doctorate in Theology from Oxford in 2017, and is currently a Visiting Fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center.

In our conversation, Tara shares about how modern society has not so much abandoned it’s yearning for transcendence in favor of a secular world view but has rather simply re-mixed the grand narrative to fit the values of expressive individualism. Tara also shares about fiction as a catalyst of embodying truth and how fandom, religious affiliation and art play into the shaping of identity.

You can pre-order Tara’s upcoming novel here.

You can join the Makers & Mystics creative collective here

You can get tickets to The Breath & the Clay creative arts gathering here! March 22-24, 2024 in Winston Salem, NC.

Artist Profile Series 38: Hugo Ball featuring Jonathan Anderson

Hugo Ball was a German sound poet, theatrical performer and mystic. He and his partner Emmy Hennings were the original catalysts of the infamous Dadaist art movement which they started in Zurich, Switzerland around 1916.

What may be surprising to learn is that Hugo Ball was a Catholic and his bizarre forms of art were deeply informed by his theology.

Joining me for this episode is visual artist, writer and art critic Jonathan Anderson. Jonathan writes about Hugo in his book, Modern Art & the Life of A Culture.

S12 E11: Tell Me The Dream Again with Tasha Jun

Tasha Jun is a Korean American melancholy dreamer, wife, and mom, who grew up in a multicultural and biracial home. She’s spent her life navigating the space between worlds: American and Korean, faith and doubt, family devotion and fierce independence. As a Korean American, she wandered between seemingly opposing worlds, struggling to find a voice to speak and a firm place for her feet to land.

In today’s episode, as we continue our exploration of art and identity, Tasha talks with me about her journey from self-rejection to self-acceptance and how writing her memoir Tell Me The Dream Again served as a means of integrating the multi-faceted parts of her identity.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy a deeper dive into this topic with Tasha on our Patreon.

Art & Identity, Author, authors, Faith and Art, soul care, storytelling, WholenessStephen RoachOctober 10, 2023Tasha Jun, Memoir

S12 E10: The Adjacent Possible with Joshua Heath Scott

After accidentally fixing a broken guitar pedal in 2007, Joshua Heath Scott’s natural curiosity pulled him into the rabbit hole of electrical engineering and circuit design-- from this experience, his company, JHS Pedals was born.

Today, JHS pedals has become one of the most influential pedal companies in the world, preferred by recording artists such as Beck, John Mayer, Madison Cunningham and many others.

Josh’s YouTube series, The JHS Show, has garnered millions of views from audiences spanning the globe and often expands into documentaries on musical technology, invention and music history.

Aside from his guitar-related work, Josh is an accomplished published photographer who focuses on photographic essays of Midwestern America.

Much like his pedal company, Josh tells us he accidentally fell in love with photography, riding his bicycle throughout Kansas farmlands and documenting what he saw.

In today’s episode, recorded live at the Loom creative arts event, Josh talks about the curiosity that drives his creative work as well as ‘the adjacent possible,’ a term describing creative and innovative possibilities that grow as they are explored.

Following our theme of art and identity, Josh shares about finding reflections of ourselves in others and in the way we see the world around us.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an additional interview segment with Josh at patreon.com/makersandmystics

S12 E09: Heritage and Innovation with Qais Essar

Qais Essar is a contemporary Afghan composer, instrumentalist, and producer who channels his melodic designs through the rabab, a 2,500 year old instrument from Afghanistan. He has toured extensively, sharing his new genre of music nationally and internationally. He has contributed original music to feature film and television also, composing for 2021’s Oscar-nominated film, Three Songs for Benazir. In 2017, Qais was recruited by director Nora Twomey to compose an original song for her Oscar-nominated film, The Breadwinner (produced by Angelina Jolie). He earned a Canadian Screen Award for “Best Original Song” for his piece, The Crown Sleeps.

In this episode, Qais shares his deep connections to this ancient instrument and how the rebab has become an extension of his own voice.

Following our theme of Art & Identity, this conversation offers a beautiful perspective on how culture, tradition and innovation shape the people we become.

S12 E08: Chasing Rabbits with S.D. Smith

In today’s episode we’re going to hear from a young adult fiction writer whose creative work is fueled by the inspiration of family and who gains tremendous creative energy both from his children and by writing for children.

Our guest is S.D. Smith, author of The Green Ember Series, a bestselling middle-grade adventure saga. The Green Ember has reached hundreds of thousands of readers and spent time as the number one bestselling audiobook in the world on Audible. Smith’s stories are captivating readers across the globe who are hungry for “new stories with an old soul.” Enthusiastic families can’t get enough of these tales.

In our conversation, S.D. (Sam) shares why family and community are important to him as a writer.

This conversation continues the season 12 theme of Art & Identity, offering a meditation on how family and community shape the people we become and the art we make.

We will be talking in greater detail about this relationship between art and family in the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective. If you’d love to go deeper with us in these conversations, I want to invite you to visit Patreon and sign up today.

And since this episode features the work of a children’s book writer, it seems appropriate to tell you here that starting the first Wednesday in October, our collective will begin reading through The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

S12 E07: Landscape of The Body with David Taylor

Today on the podcast, we are continuing our discussion of art and identity by taking a look at the vital role of our relationship to our bodies.

Why is it important that we honor and understand our bodies? Why is having a right relationship to our bodies imperative to the quest of art and knowing our true selves?

Joining us for this discussion is Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, David O. Taylor.

David Taylor has long been a voice and an advocate for the arts within academia and faith contexts.

In 2016, he produced a short film on the Psalms with Bono and Eugene Peterson. His previous books include: Open and Unafraid: The Psalms As A Guide to Life, and Glimpses of The New Creation: Worship and The Formative Power of The Arts.

In this episode David discusses his latest book, A Body of Praise: The Role of Our Physical Bodies in Worship.

Art & Identity, authors, Author, choreography, dance, theologian, theologyStephen RoachSeptember 13, 2023David Taylor, Theology, The Body

S12 E06: Confronting The Empty Page with Andy Squyres

Andy Squyres is a singer-songwriter born and raised in the mountains of Northern California but after moving east in the late 1990’s, he’s spent the last few decades carving songs out of the foothills of his North Carolina home.

Andy is Heavily influenced by the poetics of Leonard Cohen and the lyrical tradition of artists like Bob Dylan and The National. His passion for words convey a raw and unmatched honesty that bring listeners face to face with overlooked parts of our own humanity and weave together a tapestry of heartbreak and hope.

In this episode, Andy and Stephen talk backstage at the Loom creative arts gathering about Andy's creative process, confronting the empty page and what it takes to build a sustainable lifestyle of making music and making a living.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an additional interview segment with Andy of the making of his latest release Death Defying Joy which you’re hearing throughout this episode.

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S12 E05: Finding Your Place with Esau McCaulley

When we think of identity, we often point to our distinguishing characteristics and individual preferences. But what about our sense of place? How does place impact the people we become and the art we make?

In today’s episode, award-winning author and professor Esau McCaulley talks with me about the impact of place on his life and how growing up in a poverty-stricken Alabama town informs the writing of his upcoming memoir, How Far To The Promised Land.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an additional interview segment with Professor McCaulley on finding your voice as an artist.

S12 E04: From Self, With Love | Lowland Hum

Lowland Hum is the musical work of husband and wife duo Daniel and Lauren Goans of Charlottesville, Virginia. Their indie-folk sound is characterized by winsome haronies, poetic songwriting and raw, authentic craftsmanship.

The band has spent the past eleven years touring the nation and sharing stages with artists just as Josh Ritter, Oh Hellos and Penny and Sparrow.

Today on the podcast, Daniel and Lauren talk with Stephen Roach about their collaborative process, how changing seasons impact the creative process and our sense of self.

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S12 E03: Artist's Roundtable: Roots and Branches

Artistic expression and the creative process profoundly shape our sense of self, culture, and belonging. In our first roundtable of season 12, author Rachel Kang, visual artist Corey Frey and podcast host Stephen Roach to explore the transformative relationship between between art and identity.

Drawing from their own unique journeys with the written word and visual art, we discuss how these forms become powerful conduits for personal and collective narratives.

Rachel Kang is an author, poet and founder of The Fallow House online creative community. A mixed woman of African American, Native American (Ramapough Lenape Nation), Irish, and Dutch descent, she is a graduate of Alliance College with a Bachelor of Arts in English with Creative Writing and a minor in Bible.

You may recall our previous episode with Rachel on her book, Let There Be Art.

Corey Frey s a visual artist, poet and musician. He and his wife Christy are the founders of The Well Collaborative, a community in Frederick Maryland, dedicated to wonder, hospitality and creativity. Corey works as the Exhibitions Manager at The Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick’s downtown area. He is also the co-hosts of the Makers and Mystics podcast’s creative collective book clubs.

Join us as we explore the intricate tapestry of human identity and gain fresh insights into understanding the transformative relationship between art and identity.

S12 E02: A Social Imaginary with Karen Swallow Prior

What role does the imagination play in shaping the identity of a culture?

Our collective imagination provides metaphors, stories and symbols that bind people groups together and create a common understanding of the world.

But what happens when those metaphors no longer carry the same meanings? Or even worse, when those stories and metaphors no longer create unity but bring division and harm?

Professor and writer Karen Swallow Prior addresses these concerns in her book The Evangelical Imagination.

She tells us, contemporary American evangelicalism is suffering from an identity crisis - and a lot of bad press.

In this episode, Karen discusses what Charles Taylor called ‘A social imaginary’ and how artists and creatives can respond to the evangelical crisis of identity and bring healing to our cultural fractures.

Transcript

S12 E01: The Glorious Dark with Victory

Victory Boyd is a Grammy award winning singer/songwriter from Detroit Michigan. She is one of nine siblings who got her start singing in the Boys & Girls Choir of Detroit, founded by her father, John Boyd.

Victory made her first solo recording on Jay Z’s Roc Nation label and went on to collaborate with Kanye West for his 2019 album Jesus is King.

Her most recent album, Glory Hour is an inspirational 18-track collection marking her first gospel album.

In this episode, Victory shares about her upbringing in a vibrant musical family, the discipline of spontaneity, along with the deep spiritual roots that inform her work as an artist.

Speaking to our season theme of Art & Identity, Victory shares about the journey of finding her identity rooted in inheritance rather than in striving after acceptance.

Unscripted Night: A Poem by Stephen Roach

Not only are we artists, but we are art

sculpted of love,

and brought forth to reflect, to resound, to embody

the beauty that bore the world.

with roots, dug deep in solitude enmeshed within the web of all that we see,

and all that is seen,

we become the blood and flesh of dreams.

composed of light and shadow of stillness and motion

Flung forward from the womb of life like the Stardust we are,

and we are the resonance of unscripted night

lost between laughter, and lament

of eternal gain

of time spent

the self we see

the self we dream

the self You imagined us to be

Art & IdentityStephen RoachJuly 31, 2023s12, poem

S12 Trailer: Art & Identity

Like our art, our sense of identity is never static. It is ever changing, ever evolving, ever growing and ever becoming. Our identity is composed of the heritage we are given, the relationships we foster, the places we live, our beliefs, interests and experiences. Our sense of identity is reflected back to us through the mirroring lens of what we behold.

On one level, you could say identity is a library of memories and desires that form the narrative arc of our lives. But what are roots of identity? What is the soil from which it grows? Is there something deeper that constitutes a pure and unchanging self? One perhaps that has existed from eternity. And who are we apart from these outer layers that clothe the naked soul and form our personalities?

For the maker our creative works are intimately woven into the fabric of our being and for the mystic, the core of our identity is rooted in the unchanging love of God.

What then is the relationship between our art and our sense of self? How does our art-making shape our sense of self? Does our well being depend upon the success or public reception of our creations? Does the praise or indifference of an audience determine our self worth?

For the artist of faith, what is the proper way to understand this relationship between our art and our identity? Is our art separate from our core, spiritual identity? Or is our art as an overflow of who we are, budding forth but attached like a flowering stem?

These are among the questions we will be exploring in Season 12 of the podcast.

We’ll be hearing from well-known artists and musicians, theologians, and creative thinkers from a wide variety of disciplines. Be sure to subscribe and follow along to be a part of the conversations.

Series Starts Tuesday August 1st

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Art & IdentityStephen RoachJuly 25, 2023season 12, S12