The Psalm Project: Cultivating Inner Refuge through Creative Practice
In 2023-2024, I created 150 artworks inspired by 150 psalms in The Psalter or Psalms of David in The Book of Common Prayer. Wishing to accompany my morning Buddhist sitting meditation practice with prayer and reflection from the Christian faith I inherited from my parents and ancestors, I began to explore the ancient tradition of Lectio Divina, involving contemplative reading of a spiritual text, and also experimented with composing small paintings in response.
Following my morning meditation, I would read a single psalm slowly several times, often aloud to myself, while listening for a line that most deeply resonated with me. With a few paint brushes and watercolors by my side, I would then spend a brief time (15-30 minutes usually) creating a visual work of art inspired by the line. Once the paint dried, I returned to inscribe the painting with the inspirational line. This gallery includes examples of these contemplative paintings.
The quotations in the paintings are drawn from my personal copy of The Book of Common Prayer(published by The Seabury Press), a small volume bound in red leather, which I received as a gift from my mother when I was confirmed at the age of 14 in the Episcopal Church.
If you are interested in experimenting with this type of contemplative practice, consider joining one of the Inner Refuge Workshops that I facilitate. These workshops invite participants to explore contemplative reading along with their own chosen form of creative practice, whether poetry, song, or visual art. Learn more here.
"A refuge in time of trouble." From Psalm 9. Undated.
"...and peace shall be a pathway..." From Psalm 85. December 31, 2023
"By the waters of Babylon, we sat down and wept." From Psalm 137. October 5, 2024
"Come before his presence with a song." From Psalm 100. April 12, 2024
"Like dew from the womb of the morning." Psalm 110. Undated.
"Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs..." From Psalm 84. December 27, 2023
"Pure words like silver refined from ore." From Psalm 12. Undated.
"You have set my feet in an open place." From Psalm 31. Undated.
"So the river ran in the dry places." From Psalm 105. Undated.
"Though the earth and all of its inhabitants are quaking." From Psalm 75. October 23, 2023
"Wake up, my spirit!" From Psalm 57. July 12, 2023
"You trace my journeys and my resting places." From Psalm 139. October 2024