{"id":46212,"date":"2019-12-11T06:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T11:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=46212"},"modified":"2019-12-08T18:13:45","modified_gmt":"2019-12-08T23:13:45","slug":"give-art-for-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2019\/12\/give-art-for-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Give Art for Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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\"\"<\/a>One of the most successful Christmas presents\u2013in the sense of being truly surprising and appreciated\u2013that I have ever given was a work of art.\u00a0 We had just moved to the snowy tundra of Wisconsin and were missing our native Oklahoma.\u00a0 An art professor at Concordia Wisconsin where I was teaching, Gaylund Stone<\/a>, had come there from a stint at a college in Oklahoma, where he had painted some landscapes.\u00a0 One of them was just of a tractor in a field, but he perfectly captured Oklahoma\u2019s red dirt, big blue sky, and intense bright light of a hot summer day.\u00a0 That was Oklahoma!\u00a0 I bought the painting off Gaylund\u2013who is still at Mequon, by the way\u2013and gave it to my wife for Christmas.\u00a0 The gift was a big hit, and the painting became a treasured icon of our old home at our new home.<\/div>\n
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Works of art\u2013whether paintings or literature or crafts\u2013make outstanding Christmas presents.\u00a0 They are unique.\u00a0 They are personal.\u00a0 They are meaningful.\u00a0 And they typically show much more appreciation of the person you are getting them for than the typical electronic gadgets, fashion accessories, or gift cards that have become the norm.<\/div>\n
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Also, buying art\u2013especially good art, Christian art\u2013is a way to build up our culture.\u00a0 Christians interested in improving the aesthetic dimension of our increasingly ugly society tend to focus on the supply side:\u00a0 We need more Christian artists (filmmakers, entertainers, authors, painters, etc.).\u00a0 This is true.\u00a0 But we also need to focus on the demand side, and this is where all of us non-artistic types can make a major contribution.\u00a0 Ugliness, lack of creativity, and decadence pervade\u2013in Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and Main Street\u2013because this is what the public is buying.\u00a0<\/em> If the public were to hold out for something better, something better would appear.\u00a0 We do need Christian artists, but Christian artists need a market for their work.<\/div>\n
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In that spirit, I here offer you a very partial list of suggestions for your Christmas shopping consideration.\u00a0 These are all contemporary Christian artists of a Lutheran persuasion.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure I am leaving out some good ones\u2013please supplement this list with your own recommendations in the comments\u2013but here are a few to get us started.<\/div>\n

Literature<\/h3>\n

Obviously, books are always a great present.\u00a0 Check out Concordia Publishing House<\/a> for some wonderful theological, Bible Study, and devotional resources.\u00a0 But I am emphasizing here literary art, including novels that are primarily to be read for pleasure and delight, though you will find them edifying as well.\u00a0 And while you should read and give classics, such as Bo Giertz\u2019s Hammer of God<\/a>, I want to introduce you to some contemporary Lutheran writers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Mary J. Moerbe.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>I begin with my daughter!\u00a0 She has put out a volume of devotional verse entitled Ecclesial Poetry.<\/a><\/div>\n
\u00a0 Poetry, tragically, is in a state of decline, with modern writers reducing our highest literary art to a set of formless, obscure puzzles.\u00a0 Mary\u2019s poetry, though, is classic in form and as clear as a bell on a cold night.\u00a0 Her poetry is devotional, meditative, Biblical, and churchly.\u00a0 They are filled with penetrating insights and beautiful expressions.<\/div>\n
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And for the kids, get them one of Mary\u2019s children books, such as How Can I Help?:\u00a0 God\u2019s Calling for Kids<\/a>, which teaches children about their vocations.\u00a0 Also, her blog Meet, Write, and Salutary<\/a> will alert you to other Lutheran writers in addition to the few I list here.<\/div>\n
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Lars Walker.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Lars is a longtime reader and sometimes commenter on this blog.\u00a0 And he is an extremely gifted novelist.\u00a0 I think of him as a Christian magical realist.\u00a0 He combines historical elements with high fantasy to great effect.\u00a0 He has written a saga of novels about Erling\u00a0Skjalgsson<\/a>, one of the first Vikings to embrace Christianity, and the stories are exciting and wondrous.\u00a0 I also like his novels about Epsom, Minnesota, especially Wolf Time,<\/a> involving strange doings at a Lutheran college that has drifted to the liberal dark side.\u00a0 Another of his novels that combines realism, fantasy, and social satire is Death\u2019s Door<\/a>.\u00a0 Check out his website<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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Frederic W. Baue.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cFritz\u201d is a Renaissance man:\u00a0 An LCMS pastor.\u00a0 A notable guitarist and songwriter (note his recordings and YouTube presence\u2013he composed What Is This Bread<\/a> in the Lutheran Service Book).\u00a0 A fiction writer of highly textured stories.\u00a0 Try\u00a0The Pilgrim,<\/a>\u00a0which is about Perry County, the Sixties, music, baseball, and saving faith.\u00a0 (Caution:\u00a0 This book is realistic when it comes to sin.\u00a0 It\u2019s also realistic when it comes to God\u2019s grace.)\u00a0 Here is his website<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0There are lots more, from the symbolic tales<\/a> of Michael L. McCoy<\/a> to the thrillers of Ray Keating<\/a> (imagine James Bond becoming a pastor).\u00a0 For a comprehensive list of contemporary Lutheran authors, see this list<\/a> and follow the links.\u00a0 Also, you should know that Concordia Publishing House now has a whole line of fiction.<\/a>\u00a0 One of their most popular authors is Katie Schuermann, whose Anthem of Zion<\/a> series explores the dramas of small town parish life.<\/div>\n
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Visual Artists<\/h3>\n

Ad Crucem.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>This website<\/a> is a treasure trove of, as they say, \u201cChristian gifts, art, and collectibles.\u201d\u00a0 You may recall a\u00a0\u00a0blog post<\/a>\u00a0I wrote about this collaboration of a number of Lutheran artists.\u00a0 In addition to Christian paintings and prints<\/a>, you can find unique jewelry,\u00a0<\/a>cards<\/a>, and\u00a0\u00a0Christmas decorations.<\/a>\u00a0 See the Collections<\/a> for various seasons of the church year and the works drawn from various Lutheran Christian artists, including the multi-media works of\u00a0Kelly Klages<\/a>, Judy Greenlees<\/a> with her contemporary illuminated manuscripts, and Jonathan Mayer<\/a>\u2018s liturgical arts.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Agnus Dei Liturgical Arts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>A project of artist Kelly Schumacher, this site<\/a> offers a wealth of original, magnificent work, particularly for churches.\u00a0 See the altarpieces<\/a>, paintings<\/a>, and sculptures<\/a>.\u00a0 Some of them are breathtaking.\u00a0 Here<\/a>, though, are some prints, some already framed, that are quite inexpensive and that would make great gifts.<\/div>\n
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Edward Riojas.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>An artist and illustrator of considerable chops, Ed Riojas has a substantial and wide-ranging body of work that you can see at his website.<\/a>\u00a0 His prints are quite affordable (available through Ad Crucem, above).\u00a0 Notice that he, as well as other artists listed here, take commissions.\u00a0 So if you would like a particular kind of piece for your sanctuary, they would collaborate with you to create an original installation.\u00a0 (But before buying a Christmas present for your church, check with your pastor first.)<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Cary Schwarz<\/strong>.\u00a0 He is a leatherworker<\/a> whose saddles are exhibited like the fine art they are in places like the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.\u00a0 The intricacy of these designs is staggeringly beautiful.\u00a0 Functional art is art too.\u00a0 He also makes items<\/a> that are smaller than saddles that would make cool gifts.<\/div>\n
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There are lots more, Lutherans being more open to the arts than some other Christian traditions.\u00a0 For a more comprehensive list , go to\u00a0Confessional Lutheran Ecclesiastical Art Resources.<\/a><\/div>\n
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Another useful list, which includes crafts\u2013woodwork, clothing, vestments, etc.\u2013as well we fine arts, is here.<\/a><\/div>\n
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Illustration from the Ad Crucem website<\/a>.<\/em><\/div>\n
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Works of art–whether paintings or literature or crafts–make outstanding Christmas presents.\u00a0 They are unique.\u00a0 They are personal.\u00a0 They are meaningful.\u00a0 Here are some contemporary Lutheran authors and artists who deserve your patronage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":46236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,21,28],"tags":[8706,458,8979,8982,1337,5659,5546],"class_list":["post-46212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-holidays","category-literature","tag-christian-artists","tag-christianity-and-the-arts","tag-christmas-gifts","tag-contemporary-christian-literature","tag-lutheran-artists","tag-lutheran-authors","tag-lutheranism-and-the-arts"],"yoast_head":"\nGive Art for Christmas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Works of art--whether paintings or 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