A Letter from the Guild Director

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Bill Thielker and Heather Peterson who started the Arts Guild last year. They set a  foundation of encouragement and purposeful engagement that continues to define our monthly gatherings.

It has been such a delight to discover the gifted artists that reside right here in our own backyard. The purpose of the guild is to flesh out the vision of the Anselm Society; as artists we want to be creating the renaissance that we are all thinking about.

The guild is made up of gifted novelists, visual artists, nonfiction writers, a classical violinist, songwriter, illustrator, poets, bloggers, painters, and photographers. This past year several of our members have published work (Curio, Beneath Wandering Stars, At Play In God’s Creation, Embracing the Body). Others are playing concerts regularly and displaying their art around the community. If you are seriously pursuing a call as an artist we would love to have you join us! 

Our artists gather monthly to share food, life, creative works, and inspirations. We have fallen into a couple of values for these meetings. First, we become better by sharing across disciplines. Writers learn from the process of painters; songwriters grow from the experiences of novelists, etc. Second, prayer is a powerful salve that artist’s crave. Most of our artists had been working alone prior to joining the Guild, and they are hungry for prayerful encouragement. This is why we take time to pray for the art that is shared in our meetings.  

My great desire is to connect our artists with audience. The pub nights will give opportunity for some of that public expression. We are also available for house concerts/readings/showings. We are working to develop a podcast that will connect our artists with great thinkers in our local area. It’s been a great beginning, but the best is yet to come!

Under the Mercy,

Marcus Robinson

Arts Guild Director