The Breath and The Clay 2025!!

The Breath and The Clay is returning to Winston Salem, NC!! Join us March 21-23rd, 2025, for our annual creative arts gathering!

This event will feature musical performances, an immersive art gallery, keynote talks, various workshops, and community discussions.

Participating artists include Sho Baraka, Kendra Adachi, John Mark McMillan, Molly Parden, Justin McRoberts, and many, many others.

You can find out more about the event and reserve your spot today at thebreathandtheclay.com.

Visual Artists and Film-makers! Submit your works for inclusion in our immersive art gallery here.

Follow the event on Instagram for regular updates @thebreathandtheclay

live event, Live EventsStephen RoachDecember 17, 2024The Breath and the Clay

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.

S13 E06: Creativity And Community Live at Square Halo Conference

I recently traveled to Lancaster, Pennsylvania where I participated in THE 2024 SQUARE HALO CONFERENCE:

RETURN TO NARNIA—CREATIVITY, COLLABORATION, AND COMMUNITY.

As part of the event, I hosted a live podcast recording on the topic of creativity and community. Joining me for this conversation is graphic designer, children’s book illustrator, author, and printmaker, Ned Bustard. Ned is the creative director at Square Halo Books and co-author of my book Naming The Animals.

Joining us alongside of Ned, is author and community leader, Brian Brown. Brian is the founder and director of the Anselm Society, a Colorado-based organization dedicated to a renaissance of the Christian imagination.

In our conversation, we address the questions, why does community matter to the artist and what are its challenges? How can we foster healthier relationships between artists and communities of faith and how can we move beyond the impact of social disruption into new experiences of communal life.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy my live discussion from Square Halo on The Mischief of God In Art—Exploring Subversive Themes in Scripture and Creative Practice:

Visit Patreon.com/makersandmystics to learn more.

S13 E05: Why Community Matters with Stephen Roach

This week's episode is a collaboration with Lisa Smith of the Be. Make. Do. Podcast!

We are flipping the mic around for this one and inviting fellow podcaster, Lisa Smith to ask MM host, Stephen Roach a few questions about the importance of community in the life of the artist and why gathering together now is such an important part of our creative work and the process of healing from social isolation.

You can learn more about Lisa’s community of artists at soulmakers.org or see the show notes of this episode.

In just a few weeks Lisa and several of the artists from her community will be joining us at The Breath and The Clay creative arts gathering to host a workshop on Curating Wholeness: Building A purposeful world through Art.

Join the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective

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 Bonus: Abundance & Scarcity: Live at The Guild

This year I’ve had the opportunity to participate in several creative arts gatherings including Loom, Hope Words writer’s conference and here recently, the Guild in Raleigh NC.

The talk I gave at the Guild is a call to take a look at the mindsets we are cultivating in our lives and a reminder that what we feed is what will grow. Are we feeding a mindset of abundance or one of scarcity? Is our inner framework one of hope or one of negative anticipation?

I wanted to share this live talk with you as an encouragement to consider how the mindsets we keep determine the quality of art we make and the lives we live.

- Stephen

Get Tickets to BC24

keynotes, live event, Live EventsStephen RoachNovember 8, 2023Stephen Roach, live events, keynote talk

The Breath & the Clay 2024: Let There Be

What do we make of the world we have been given? How do we bring order from chaos, beauty from ashes and flourishing from what is formless and void? Echoing the words first spoken by the Great Artist in the Genesis narrative, we, too, have been invited to bring forth, to give birth, to call life into being.

At this year‘s The Breath & the Clay creative arts gathering, we are extending this invitation to you. Come. Participate in the unfolding of your creative inheritance.

As artists and creators, we are called upon to be the architects of hope for our generation and for the generations to come. Lend your voice to the transformation, and liberate the creative spark.

Let there be.

Each year since 2014, The Breath and the Clay has gathered in Winston Salem, North Carolina for a 3-day experience curated to inspire, challenge and transform your creative and spiritual journey. The event consists of live performances, keynote talks, an immersive art gallery and instructional workshops.

Whether you are a working artist, a curious observer, a newfound experimentalist or a lifelong explorer, this interactive environment will liberate the creative spark within you and set you on a course of creative discovery.

Live EventsStephen RoachOctober 18, 2023The Breath and the Clay

Porchlight Series 02: Singer/Songwriter Gabrielle Grace

Gabrielle Grace is a singer-songwriter committed to telling stories. She believes that authenticity is one of the most important qualities when it comes to music.

Gabrielle was born & raised in a small town in southeast Texas before moving to Nashville TN. Her indie/pop-folk/acoustic sound developed as she made her way into the scene, playing show after show and growing as a touring musician.

In this episode, Gabrielle joins Porchlight facilitator, Justus Stout and concert host, Cary Brege for a conversation on house shows, community building through shared beauty and the transcendent power of intimate musical settings.

Become a Patron of Makers & Mystics podcast!

Porchight Series 01: Singer/Songwriter Carly Taich

In this episode, our friend and fellow arts advocate Justus Stout interviews songwriter Carly Taich and introduces Porchlight Art + Hospitality Network.

Carly Taich is a storyteller with the ability to lasso the darkest parts of the soul and deliver them with a smile. Her lyrics, often framed by swooning violins and barbershop harmonies, take us to another era, or dimension, where forgiveness is free and honesty, commonplace. There is a storybook mysticism to all Taich produces with one foot planted firmly in this reality. The paradox between the two worlds leaves listeners wondering if she is inviting them into a dream, or attempting to wake them up.

A multi-award winning songwriter, Taich has become a known name in her hometown of Asheville, NC and beyond. Her most recent EP It Tends to Glow, featured by NPR and American Songwriter, explores the many lenses through which one experiences Love. Blurt Magazine named her previous record, Reverie, “a start-to-finish, no-filler/all-killer gem—a veritable calling card to greatness if enough ears find it.”

S7 E11: Art As Incarnation Live in Denver, Colorado

This episode is our third release from the Makers and Mystics LIVE series. This conversation comes to you from Denver, Colorado and highlights our panel discussion on Art As Incarnation. You’ll hear from a diverse panel of voices including Master Penman, Jake Weidmann, Graphic Novelist, R. Alan Brooks and Printmaker, Kim Morski.

This live event was hosted by QRZ Denver and The Gallery at FDC. Additional contributing artists include Chadash Contemporary Dance Movement, Composer Matthew Langford and Visual Artist, Jeremy Grant of The Remnants Film Project. Music in this episode is provided by Adam Anglin.

S7 E10: The 27 Club: On Greatness & The Pursuit of Fame

The 27 Club is a cultural phenomenon that recognized how a large number of famous artists, actors and musicians all died at the age of 27. Although there is no scientific evidence to back up the connections, the tendency to rise to fame and die young is baked into the tropes of Western culture. In this live keynote talk, given at The Breath & the Clay 2020, Stephen Roach invites listeners to go beyond a pursuit of fame into the pursuit of greatness.

Bonus Episode: Spoken Word Artist La'Tasha Strother

This bonus Episode features a live performance and interview with spoken word artist La’Tasha Strother. La’Tasha threads her relationship with God throughout her life and work and creates poignant imagery about her life experiences. The poem performed in this episode is titled Love Is Not Blind and was performed live at our Art As Healing Podcast in Charlottesville Virginia.

S7 E06: The Discipline of Inspiration with Carey Wallace

Carey Wallace is the author of Stories of the Saints, The Blind Contessa’s New Machine, The Ghost in the Glass House, Choose, New Thing, and the forthcoming Discipline of Inspiration. Her work has appeared in Time, the Awl, The New Decameron, and Detroit’s Metro Times. She has spoken to students at Princeton, Yale, Julliard, Pratt, Emory’s Candler School of Theology, and the Festival of Faith and Writing, and taught at The Glen Workshop. She has released a dozen records with her brother as The Wallace Bros., and shown her fine artwork in Detroit and Brooklyn. She is the founder of the Working Artist’s Initiative, which helps emerging artists establish strong creative habits, and the Hillbilly Underground, which draws nationally-recognized filmmakers, writers, fine artists, and musicians to rural Michigan each summer. She lives and works in Brooklyn with her poorly-behaved Appenzeller, Bandit.

In this episode, Stephen talks with Carey LIVE in New York City (recorded October 2019) about the nature, the origins and discipline of inspiration.

The Breath & the Clay: Communion (Online Gathering)

Join our global community online Friday night March 20th for a time of communion and creative conversations. Click here to sign up.

Live EventsStephen RoachMarch 19, 2020live events, communion

Art As Healing: Live in Charlottesville, VA

In 2019, I took the Makers and Mystics podcast on the road and partnered with creative communities around the country. Together, we facilitated conversations on subjects that were close to the heart of each community and featured hand-picked, local performers and influencers from each city.

The production of this series is raw and remains largely unedited much like the conversations themselves. The length of these episodes will extend beyond our usual thirty-minute format and will highlight the work of community leaders as well as panel discussions.

I’m excited to share this series with our larger community via our Patreon page and open the door for everyone to join the discussions.

Our first conversation takes place in Charlottesville, Virginia on the two-year anniversary of the Charlottesville riots. The subject is appropriately titled, art as healing. My guests include community founder, Lauren Stonestreet, Spoken-Word Artist, La'Tasha Strother, Philosopher, Bernard Hankins, Pastor, Brendan Jamison, Neuroscientist and Jazz musician, Nadine Michel and Doctor of Osteopathy, Dr. David McDonald.

This video was produced by: Micah Lindstrom

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE

S6 Bonus Episode: Sneak Peak Into The Breath and the Clay 2020

In this bonus episode, Stephen highlights several of the presenters for the 2020 The Breath & the Clay creative arts gathering, who have appeared on the podcast. Listen in for conversation segments with Jeremy Cowart, Lanecia Rouse Tinsely, Matthew Perryman Jones and Lauren Midgley. **This episode offers a Christmas gift from us to you, our listeners! Listen in for a discount registration code to The Breath & the Clay creative arts gathering, March 20-22, 2020 in Winston-Salem, NC.

S5 E15: The Soul vs. the Business of Creativity *Live

This LIVE Season Finale episode features the perspectives of diverse voices you’ve heard on the podcast; Amena Brown, Josh Garrels, Vesper Stamper, Cole NeSmith and CJ Casciotta. In today’s panel discussion, these five discuss the tension between the soul and the business of creativity.

In the realm of art-making, there can seem to be a tension between our desire to create authentic works, works which remain true to the artist’s creative vision, while at the same time creating works which are either commercially viable or which resonate with the communities where we have influence.

Join the Creative Collective

Makers & Mystics Live Events

The Breath & the Clay 2019

The Breath & the Clay is a creative arts gathering hosted by Stephen Roach of the Makers & Mystics Podcast. This weekend event explores the intersections of art, faith & culture in a communal setting.

The event includes performances, a curated art gallery and keynote talks from various creative voices from the Makers & Mystics podcast.

Join us March 22-24th 2019 in Winston-Salem, NC for a weekend connecting with other artists from around the world on this journey of art and faith.

Tickets and details here.

***Early Bird Prices until December 31st***

***Student Discounts and Group Rates Available.***