Dust, Love and Art

Last weekend I went to the opening of Love Bristol's gallery in Stoke's Croft. Greg Thompson and the Love Bristol team have done an amazing job in making the basement of 1b (Love Bristol's community house and shop) into an attractive and vibrant art space with exhibitions from some of the talented artists in the Love Bristol/Woodlands community as well as other local artists. Creativity, Care and Community are three key Love Bristol values, and Christmas is a great time to celebrate all of these. There's immense creativity in our Christmas services which start tomorrow with family laserlight at 5pm and an adult version at 7pm. Last week there was a remarkable 'Christmas Trail' at woodlands, using theatrical presentations and tableaus to celebrate the nativity. Over two hundred school children visited the trail. Tomorrow Esther Green (with a very small team) will be decorating the Church building and there's music of all sorts in our Christmas mix of services.

I think it's great that God's people can use the gifts he has given them both to be creative and inspire others, but also point to God in subtle or overt ways. Europe's artistic heritage was driven by the faith of its artists and the patronage of the Church. Today, the arts and media are increasingly being driven by values unconnected from that Christian heritage. I want to support and encourage our artists, and it was great (on a brief visit to Cornwall this week) to encounter Jane & Kelvin Reeves in Padstow with a vision to 'curate' art, theirs and others in a gallery setting which allows the cure of souls to be linked to artistic exploration.

I can't finish this theme without allowing Robin to introduce his Christmas EP released this week called 'Dust'

Dust is my collection of festive fireside sketches for 2014, written while on tour in China towards the end of summer. 'Dust' refers to simplicity and to fragility, a dusting of snow, the dust of the woodshed (or the stable, if you prefer...)

The EP examines mortality and human limitations. I wanted the songs to feel as simple and as bare as I could muster. I wanted you to be able to hear the raw imperfections in my singing and playing, because these embody the fragility about which I'm writing.

As always, my fireside sketches are meant for you to be able to close your eyes and imagine that my feathered friends and I have set up around you and started busking in that late-night, mid-winter style. I hope you enjoy the experience.

Our launch party gig/Christmas shindig will be at The Folk House on Saturday 20th December, more info available at https://www.facebook.com/events/1579690528921561 - I'd love to see you there!