Artists Aflame

Art as a 'spiritual ministry' is all about looking at things more deeply. Artists who contribute their spiritual gifts and skills to help people in the church and the wider community try to help us all better relate to God, social concerns, and motivate us to act - to better serve, care, and love. We believe that God is the original master artist and who gave us the gift of creativity. Many individuals and religious organizations would like to become more fluent in the use of the arts to communicate truths about God more effectively–a truly worthy goal. God designed the arts to help jump over barriers, slip past our intellect, and penetrate our hearts and souls. Through art, we’ve seen people be pulled into conversations they wouldn’t normally have had in the church.   Artists played a critical role in the early history of the Church—their work evoking longing and enhancing worship for many years. However, the Protestant Reformation in the 16t...

The 'Business of Art' involves dealing and handling art as though it is a commercial commodity. It encompasses the buying and selling of art, the valuing of art through appraisal, and working with galleries, art fairs, and dealers that market works of art. For those who study art for its aesthetic appeal or its reflection of society, the business end of the art world is somewhat unnerving. There are currently 673,656 businesses in the US involved in the creation or distribution of the arts, employing 3.4 million people. This represents 4.1 percent of all businesses in the US and 2.15 percent of all employees. Art is big business.   Creative Industries Report Here at ‘Artists Aflame’ we’re just starting out with our family business and are having to learn all about the art business world. Maybe you are in the same boat. If so, you might want to check out the following selected links we have collected and explored so far on the ...

Healing and the Arts involves t he integration of any art form to provide healing and proven therapeutic healthcare to many patients, their families, and their caregivers. See Expressive Arts Therapy in Wikipedia The following are some selected links to web sites devoted to the healing power and activities of the Arts that you might want to explore: Americans for the Arts & Healing - Supporting the arts in health and healing to patients and providers in a wide variety of healthcare and community settings for therapeutic purposes. American Art Therapy Association - Advocates for access to professional art therapists and the advancement of art therapy. Art for Healing Foundation - Bringing the healing power of art to patients, providers, hospitals, and wellness facilities. Healing Power of Art & Artists (HPAA) - A global community of artists dedicated to raising awareness on how art can enhance the well-being of individuals, society and the environment. National Initiat...

Collaboration, Open Solutions, and Innovation (COSI) are key strategies individuals and organizations ought to embrace in order to compete and succeed in the 21st century. The adoption and application of these strategies is spreading across most industries and fields of study - including the Creative Arts community. When combined, these COSI strategies create a robust model for accelerating synergy, creativity, and continuous change.  Collaborative development efforts to create innovative, 'open' software tools and applications for use in the Creative Arts is rapidly accelerating. Creative Arts encompasses the fields of visual and performing arts, e.g. painting, sculpture, graphic design, printmaking, photography, music, theatre, film, interactive media, and more.   Many of the innovative 'open' solutions used in the Creative Arts are being released under one or more open source license arrangements that allow higher individuals and instit...