On Making: Awareness, Abundance, and Art with Makoto Fujimura

Sacred Ordinary Days with Jenn Giles Kemper

World-renowned artist Makoto Fujimura, author of “Art + Faith: A Theology of Making,” draws from his deep well of reflections on creativity and the spiritual aspects of “making” in this poetic, inviting conversation with Jenn Giles Kemper. Experienced in the Japanese art of Kintsugi (mending broken ceramic with lacquer and gold to create something new) Makoto (Mako) talks with Jenn about what he’s learned about the very nature of our Maker God through this process of being “not only restored, but made new.”

On this episode of Sacred Ordinary Days with Jenn Giles Kemper, Mako explores:

• Why art is an outpouring of God’s grace
• How the trauma of living near Ground Zero on Sept, 11, 2001 has been reflected in all of our lives during the 2020-21 global pandemic
• The generativity of humanity
• How art asks more questions than it answers
• His journey in Christ through different denominations and traditions
• How art is a gift but not a commodity, and how that reflects God’s grace

About the guest: Makoto Fujimura, an artist, arts advocate, writer, and speaker, is the founder of the International Arts Movement and the Fujimura Institute, and co-founder of the Kintsugi Academy. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey and is a leading contemporary artist whose “slow art” has been described by David Brooks of the New York Times as “a small rebellion against the quickening of time”.

Mako’s art has been featured widely in galleries and museums around the world, and is collected by notable collections including The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, The Huntington Library, and the Tikotin Museum in Israel. He is one of the first artists to paint live on stage at New York City’s legendary Carnegie Hall as part of an ongoing collaboration with composer and percussionist, Susie Ibarra.

We’re proud to carry his books Culture Care and Art + Faith in our spiritual formation bookshop.

Reflection point: In Art + Faith, Mako writes that “To be effective messengers of hope we must trust our inner voice, our intuition that speaks into the vast wastelands of our time.” When is a time you have not trusted your inner voice? What was at stake? And in the episode, Jenn mentions that Mako says that the book of Psalms, God’s poetry, gives us an ecosystem of metaphors and a garden of words to describe the thriving offered to us in the New Creation. What would it look like for you to spend some time in a Psalm this week? What might God have to tell you through the Psalm you read, as it relates to new creation?

Links:

• Art + Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura
• Makoto Fujimura
• Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life by Makoto Fujimura

About Sacred Ordinary Days with Jenn Giles Kemper: Sacred Ordinary Days with Jenn Giles Kemper explores faith where it hits the pavement of work, relationships, creativity, and real life. Inspired by Jenn’s curiosity and faith (and her work as a minister and spiritual director) we’re crafting a show to help you meaningfully explore your own life with Christ — and ultimately lead you to become more wholly human and more fully faithful. On Tuesdays, join us for a conversation with folks whose words, work, and witness have shaped our team’s understanding of God and practice of faith. (Plus, we’re featuring lots of good music, prompts for your reflection and practice, and plenty of invitations into a community of kindred spirits!)

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.