S14 E05: Postures of Attentiveness with Mary McCampbell and Joe Kickasola

Philosopher, Simone Weil said that attentiveness is the heart of prayer. In this episode, we discuss postures of attentiveness as gateways to wonder.

Guests: Dr. Mary McCampbell is an author, educator, and speaker whose publications span the worlds of literature, film, and popular music. She is the author of Imagining Our Neighbors as Ourselves: How Art Shapes Empathy.

Dr. Joe Kickasola is a Professor of Film and Digital Media at Baylor University. He is the author of The Films of Krzysztof Kieślowski: The Liminal Image, and has published in numerous academic venues and anthologies, including Film Quarterly, The Quarterly Review of Film and Video, and The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and Film.

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Topics: Attentiveness, cynicism, receptivity, humility, consumerism, experiencing wonder during times of upheaval,

Art Forms: filmmaking, photography, literature.

Name Drops: Douglas Copeland, G.K. Chesterton, Jim Jarmusch, Terrence Malick, T.S.Eliot, Wallace Stevens, Andrei Tarkovsky, Andrey Rublev, Rothko, Stan Brakhage, Virginia Wolfe, David Foster Wallace,

Movie References: Patterson, Tree of Life, Zabriskie Point

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S10 E08: Exit The Cave with Blaine Hogan

Blaine hogan is a writer, film and creative director and actor. He is the former creative director for Willow Creek Community Church and is currently a full-time filmmaker living in Atlanta, Georgia.

His recent memoir titled Exit The Cave: Embracing A Life of Courage, Creativity and Radical Imagination is a brutally honest recounting of his struggle with addiction and the unexpected gift of hitting rock bottom.

In this episode, Blaine and I talk about his background as an actor, the relationship between creativity and his journey of recovery and the ongoing process of finding wholeness.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy additional interview segments at http://www.patreon.com/makersandmystics

Acting, Art As Healing, Author, Honesty, restoration, WholenessStephen RoachNovember 8, 2022Blaine Hogan, Filmmaker, Author, Restoration, recovery, addiction

S9 E13: Electric Jesus with Chris White

Chris White is an award-winning filmmaker who has spent over a decade writing, directing, and producing a variety of feature length and short films. His most recent project is the music-centric, coming of age comedy Electric Jesus, which explores the world of a fictional 1980's Christian hair metal band called 316.

The film follows the band's journey from playing Bible camp talent shows to larger rock venues and gives an amusing look at youth culture during the time when heavy metal music was bathed in controversy.

The film stars Brian Baumgartner (better known as Kevin from The Office), also Judd Nelson (from The Breakfast Club), and newcomers Shannon Hutchinson (Assassinaut) and Andrew Eakle (Creepshow, The Glorias).

In addition to writing and directing Electric Jesus, Chris White also co-wrote original songs for the film, collaborating with composer/indie rock legend Daniel Smith of the Danielson Family.

In this episode, I talk with Chris about the making of the film, the art of satire and why thinking about humor as a spiritual practice is not funny.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy additional segments of this conversation at: http://www.patreon.com/makersandmystics

S8 E12: The Aesthetic Universe with J.F. Martel

J.F. Martel is a Canadian writer, filmmaker, and podcaster. He has directed a number of French and English documentaries for Canadian television as well as created several dramatic short films. His writing has appeared on Reality Sandwich, The Finch, Metapsychosis, and in anthologies published by Tarcher-Penguin, North Atlantic Books, and Intellect Books.

His book Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice was published in 2015 by Evolver Editions;

The back cover tells us the book is an essential reading for visual artists, musicians, writers, actors, dancers, filmmakers, poets, anyone who has ever been deeply moved by a work of art.

I’ve read the book and I have to agree, J.F.’s ideas about art as an inborn human phenomenon that precedes the formation of culture resonates with own thoughts on creativity as an inherent part of our spiritual and human experience.

In this episode, I speak with J.F. about many of the concepts in his book including his thoughts on viewing the universe primarily as an aesthetic universe.

I’m excited to announce that J.F. will be one of our keynote presenters for this year’s The Breath & The Clay virtual experience taking place March 17-21, 2021. You can find out more about The Breath & The Clay and our theme of Re-enchantment at http://www.thebreathandtheclay.com/theme21