Michael Stoeber 9am-12; June 6-10; 13-15

Transcription

1 RGP3273HF Prayer Through Pencil, Pastel and Ink Sketching Spring/Summer 2011 Michael Stoeber 9am-12; June 6-10; Regis College, #206 Room: Classroom B m.stoeber@utoronto.ca 100 Wellesley Street office hours: by appointment M5S 2Z5 (416) (#255) Course Description Explores the theory and practice of various types of prayer through the artistic mediums of pencil, pastel and ink drawing, including critical reflection on the theology and spirituality of these art-forms and on their relevance to spiritual direction and emotional and spiritual healing. No previous training in art is required, though students will need to be open to learning about sketching and colouring in these mediums. Lecture, discussion, short reflection papers and drawing assignments. Tentatively, the course process will be as follows: between one and two hours of each class will be devoted to lecture and discussion of topics related to course-readings (see syllabus below pp. 4-5). The rest of the period will involve individual work on prayer-drawing assignments and some interpretive reflection on these works. Course Outcomes Students will be able to: 1. read and reflect upon specified discussion questions for each assigned reading. 2. structure and write three short reflection papers on themes on prayer and art. 3. compare critically and creatively the different contexts and effects of various art- prayer exercises. 4. describe and analyze various forms of prayer (petition, intercession, veneration, healing, gratitude, contemplative) related to artistic expression.

2 2 5. correlate various forms of prayer with visual art forms of pencil, pastel and ink sketching. 6. describe and analyze the relation of visual art to spirituality, religion, and theological ideas and practice. 7. explain how these visual art forms can function as prayers. 8. creatively relate art-prayer exercises to some of the major practices of spiritual direction and art therapy. 9. perform various drawing exercises within a prayerful context course intentions, resistances to prayer, introspective mandalas, imagining gospel healing narratives, mindfulness meditation and Jewish mantra mandala, contour drawing and shorthand expressions of nature. 10. reflect on the possible relevance of these drawing exercises to their own personal and spiritual well-being. 11. constructively review and support the art-prayer exercises of other students. 12. guide other people through these art-prayer exercises. Readings Jeri Gerding, Drawing to God: Art as Prayer; Prayer as Art, Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books, 2001 (This book is currently out of print. Some second-hand copies are available on-line and a copy is available on Reserve Reading in the Regis College library.) Also, some readings are drawn from books on Reserve Reading in the Regis College Library. See Reserve Reading list on p. 4, below. Art Materials: Graphite drawing pencil (no. 2 or higher and sharpener and eraser) Coloured pencils (Prismacolor Scholar or Premier or any other quality brand you like; at least six colours which you prefer) Paper (Newsprint for rough sketching; and White Drawing paper, at least 70 lb Weight; some 12x16; some 16x20; a few 18x24; and some sheets of large newsprint sheets) Oil Pastels (water soluble, Portfolio, Holbein or any other quality brand you like, set of 12 or more) Ink or coloured felt markers (optional). Scissors, mat or exacto knife, tape, tracing paper, compass (for

3 3 making circles), various kinds of colour and/or decorative paper, inexpensive dishtowel (for clean-up). Students can rent a locker through the Regis library. Area Art stores: Curry s Art Supplies, Yonge and Grosvenor; Toose Art and Graphic Supplies, 229 College Street; and DeSerres. Grading: A pass/fail will be given for each of the three reflection papers and four drawing exercises, with each assignment of equal value; and a pass/fail will then be assigned for the course. Assignments: Reflection Paper #1 due Thursday, June 9 (about 600 words). Reflect creatively and critically on the essay by Lynn Penney, Praying in Color or on the essay by Hieb The Prayer of Art Journaling or on chapters 1-3 of Stone, Image and Spirit, pp. 2-43, in light of your own experiences of spirituality in art. Reflection Paper #2 due Monday, June 13 (about 600 words). Reflect creatively and critically on the selections from Cathy Malchiodi, Art Therapy Sourcebook, with special attention to the question of the possible relation and differences between art therapy and prayer through art; or reflect creatively and critically on the selections from Marie Schwan,Come Home: A Prayer Journey to the Center Within, in light of your own experiences of prayer and art; or combine creatively your reflections on these two selections. Reflection Paper #3 due Monday, June 20 (about 600 words). Possible themes drawn from course readings and activities will be distributed by Monday, June 13. Four Drawing Exercises Two from Exercises#1-#4, due Wednesday, June 15. Two from Exercises #4-#7, due Monday, June 20.

4 4 Tentative Syllabus (All The readings and assignments are available from books on Reserve Reading at Regis College Library, listed below.) Monday, June 6 Introduction; defining art. Introductions/ course outline. Lecture/Discussion: Stone, Image and Spirit, pp Setting up your art space; Reserve Reading; Art materials shopping. Tuesday, June 7 Defining prayer; prayer and art; key aspects of drawing. Lecture/Discussion: William Johnston, Being in Love, Ways of Praying, pp ; Penney, Praying in Color, pp ; Gerding, Drawing to God, Introduction and Working Guidelines, pp Drawing Exercise #1: Course Intentions Automatic Drawing/Scribbling Wednesday, June 8 Prayer and Art Journaling and Spiritual Direction; Readings: Hieb The Prayer of Art Journaling and Spiritual Direction, pp. 5-17; In class video and discussion: Hieb, Art Journaling ; Sullivan, Windows into the Soul, pp. xiii-9. Drawing Exercise #2: exploring resistance through pastel Thursday, June 9 Recollection and Centering Prayer through Mandalas. Readings: Gerding, Drawing to God, Increased Awareness of the Inner Self, chapter 3, pp ; St Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, pp Schwan, Come Home, pp Sullivan, Windows into the Soul, pp Drawing Exercise #3: introspective mandalas. Friday, June 10 Healing Prayer and Art. Readings: Malchiodi, The Art Therapy Sourcebook, chapters 1-4, pp. 1-62; Gerding, Drawing to God, Increased Awareness of God, chapter 5, pp Jane E. Vennard, Praying with the Body and the Soul, Praying with our Imaginations, pp

5 5 Drawing Exercise #4: narrative imagination: the healing power of Jesus. Monday, June 13 Healing Prayer and Art in Judaism. Readings: Edit Zaphir-Chasman, Art Therapy from a Jewish Perspective in Farelly-Hansen, Spirituality and Art Therapy, pp ; and all of The Book of Tobit (you can skim much of it but read carefully chapters 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12. Drawing Exercise #5: themes of healing in The Book of Tobit. Tuesday, June 14 Prayer, Art and the Environment. Readings, Gerding, Drawing to God, Chapter 4, pp ; Farrelly- Hansen, Nature: Art Therapy and Partnership with the Earth, in Farelly-Hansen, Spirituality and Art Therapy, pp Drawing Exercise #6: contour drawing and shorthand expressions of nature. Wednesday, June 15 Intercessory Prayer, Sacrament, and Spiritual Transformation. Readings: Gerding, Drawing to God, Chapter 6, pp ; Catherine Moon, Prayer, Sacraments, Grace, in Farilly-Hansen, Spirituality and Art Therapy, pp Drawing Exercise #7: intercessory portrait and examining conscience RGP3273HF Prayer Through Pencil, Pastel and Ink Sketching Books on Reserve Reading in the Regis College Library: Pat B. Allen, Art is a Spiritual Path: Engaging the Sacred Through the Practice of Art and Writing, Boston: Shambhala Publications, Regina Coupar, The Art of Soul: An Artist s Guide to Spirituality, St. Paul University: Novalis, Marian Cowan, The Art of Prayer The Prayer of Art, Presence: The Journal of Spiritual Directors International, Vol. 7, No. 1 (January 2001) pp

6 Betty Edwards, The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Jeremy P Tarcher/Putnam, Madelaine L Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Press, Mimi Farelly-Hansen, Spirituality and Art Therapy, Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Jeri Gerding, Drawing to God: Art as Prayer; Prayer as Art, Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books, Marianne Hieb, The Prayer of Art-Journaling and Spiritual Direction, Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction, Vol. 2, No. 1 (January 1996) pp William Johnston, Being in Love: The Practice of Christian Prayer, San Francisco: Harper & Row, Cathy Malchiodi, Art Therapy Sourcebook, 2 nd ed., NY: McGraw Hill, Shaun McNiff, Art Heals: How Creativity Cures the Soul, Boston: Shambala, 2004, Bruce L. Moon, Art and Soul: Reflections on an Artistic Psychology, Springfield, Illinois, Charles C. Thomas, Lynn Penney, Praying in Color, Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction, Vol. 13, No. 4 (December 2007) pp Marie Schwan, Come Home: A Prayer Journey to the Center Within (Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, Karen Stone, Image and Spirit: Finding Meaning in Visual Art, Minneapolis: Augsberg Press, Michael Sullivan, Windows into the Soul: Art as Spiritual Expression, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Morehouse, Saint Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, Mirabai Starr, tr., New York: Riverhead Books, Jane E. Vennard, Praying with the Body and the Soul: A Way to Intimacy with God, Minneapolis: Augsburg, Richard Viladesau, Theology and the Arts: Encountering God through Music, Art and Rhetoric, New York: Paulist Press,