Contemplative Artists Guild – A central site for the Contemplative Artists Guild with art and resources

WELCOME

WELCOME TO THE CONTEMPLATIVE ARTISTS GUILD SITE
We are an ecumenical group of artists who value the contemplative approach to our art and life. We find expression of our spirituality in the process of making art. We find connection to the divine in artistic creation of all kinds: painting, photography, sculpture, drawing, quilting and writing. Some of us do explicitly religious art and commissions, but many of us express our contemplative orientation in ways beyond religious content. All of these approaches are welcome.

If you are new to the group, or interested in posting your art or joining our Zoom meetings, please send us a brief description of you—a few sentences—and we will set up a page for you and send out an invitation to you before our meetings. Also if you would like to join the group, please do the same. Send the information and your email to Margaret Amada.

We are hoping to make this a space to share art and ideas that emerge from our Zoom calls and interactions or simply art that you would like us to see. The goal of our group is to have a place to support one another as contemplative artists.

UPCOMING MEETING
Our next meeting will take place on the third Monday of the month, January 19, 2026 at 6:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 Central, 4:00 Mountain, and 3:00 Pacific. A Zoom link will be sent out to members prior to each meeting.

January 19 Topic:
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RELIGIOUS ART AND CONTEMPLATIVE ART?

RELIGIOUS (The belief in and worship of a superhuman power; regarded as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine.)

Claudia Smith • “Amen” 18 x 24 Oil on canvas

CONTEMPLATIVE (Expressing or involving prolonged thought; given to deep silent prayer or religious meditation.)

Claudia Smith • “Infinity” 24 x 36 Oil on canvas with my accompanying poem.

Out where cascading hues and pigments
Streak across a distant
Palette,

Out where evolving shapes and forms
Merge and sing in harmonic
Rhapsody,

Out where Earth and sky
Breathe as one with each
Master Stroke,

Out on that phantom edge,
God paints a demonstration of
Infinity.

CONTEMPLATIVE ARTISTS

Click on a name below to learn more about our contemplative art practitioners.

*Facilitator

RESOURCES

INSPIRATION:

Added September 2025:

Visual Commentary on Scripture https://thevcs.org

Some books for inspiration from Lent 2025:

Season For the Spirit by Martin Smith (recommended by Posey Krakowsky)

Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God by Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy (recommended by Mel Ahlborn)

Seven Sacred Pauses by Macrina Wiederkehr (recommended by Julie Bender)

Hour by Hour by Alan Jones (recommended by Jan Ramsey)

The Tears of Things, by Richard Rohr. (recommended by Joy, and I think a few others of us are reading it, including Lynn and Jan.)

Payne’s Gray oil paint

There was a recent discussion about the beauty of Paynes Gray. Here is the version Mel is using, and an example of how she is using it. She writes, “Payne’s Gray, a Winton oil paint version, by Winsor & Newton, with a closeup of the color interplay, with cerulean blue + lemon yellow in the background and paynes gray in the leaves.”

BOOKS by Members of the Contemplative Artists’ Guild:

Coloring Book for Women, Religious Art and Iconography.
Many of the 65 illustrations are sacred lines handed down from generation to generation, others are free-form and new in the age of change. Seventy-two contemporary designs and images highlight saintly women who have been in the organized church for centuries. CONTEMPLATIVE ARTISTS and saintly women are honored in this collection of iconography templates, designed as a tool for establishing more female presence in art and religion. Grace comes when we least expect it, so while looking at each line, remember you are part of a long history of female saints and Christian mystics. There is a growing interest in Orthodox iconography around the world, attracting women’s spirituality and methods for meditation.
LINK

Iconography is a Visual Language.
Contemplative artists may find the reference book, A to Z Visual Language, useful for creating new works. We are encouraged to explore the symbolism and meanings in religious art. Ancient art speaks to the spirit; images are not political but experiential. Sacred art invites the soul to see and question a shift in understanding. After reading through the book Iconography as a Visual Language, you will find that the next time you visit a museum, you’ll feel comfortable questioning your thoughts and conclusions while viewing sacred art. You will gain a newfound freedom to imagine who created that image and why. Learning how art serves as a visual language will help inspire those who view your work with wonder and awe.
LINK

Embossing Metal.
This book is geared towards those of you in the contemplative artist community who are interested in creating silver embellishments to add to your work. The first section of the book discusses tools, supplies, and techniques. Tools and metal foil sheets are all you need to create beautiful designs. Each tool has its character and purpose to help you press from the back to the front and flatten raised areas that get distorted. As you learn to refine the edges of your patterns, you will add a few more tools to accommodate increased skill. This book gives you a place to begin and inspires you to go further with practice. The process is simple and only requires investing hours of focused practice. After about ten hours of practice, you will begin to sense and feel the amount of pressure required to make fluid designs and texture.
LINK

Spiritual Connection in Daily Life by Lynn Underwood

http://www.lynnunderwood.com/book

This book has open-ended questions that call our attention to the ways we can find spiritual connection in our days in the ordinary. Things like awe, joy, deep inner peace, feeling thankful for blessings. I recommend the audiobook version, as it is revised. The questions work for those from many religions and also for those not comfortable with a religion. A link to the questions and prompts is available on the website. The questions have been tested through research in 40 languages and thousands of studies. The themes embedded in the questions include ‘The Flow of Love’, ‘Connection vs Alienation’ and ‘Saying Yes to Life.’ (lynn designed the cover art)

MATERIALS:

Heavy texture acrylic paint.
Gaffrey Art Material: https://gaffreyart.com

Ink pens for ink and wash drawings.
A sketch to keep track of tools and inks by Lynn

Shared Painting