The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom

By Christine Valters Paintner

Christine Valters Paintner, author of Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire, invites readers to discover and develop their creative gifts in a spirit of prayer and reflection. This twelve-week course draws on the insights and practices of Benedictine spirituality to explore the interplay between contemplation and creativity.

Summarized in the phrase "pray and work," The Rule of St. Benedict provides the inspiration for Christine Valters Paintner's newest exploration of the mutually nourishing relationship between contemplative practices and creative expression. Artists of all stripes and stations in life--poets or painters, potters or photographers--will discover how traditions of Benedictine, Celtic, and desert spirituality can offer new sources of inspiration for their work.

Through this twelve-week course, themes like "Sacred Tools and Sacred Space," "Creative Solitude and Community," and "Nature as a Source of Revelation and Inspiration" are enriched by Paintner's perceptive discussion and enhanced by insightful quotations from well-known artists and writers. Each week offers suggestions for grounding both the creative and the spiritual life through three basic practices: walking, lectio divina, and journaling. In sync with Paintner's vibrant Internet presence, The Artist's Rule is supplemented with online resources, including guided meditation podcasts, video lessons, and discussions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sorin Books
• Release date: Jul 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781933495477

Christine Valters Paintner

Christine Valters Paintner is the online abbess for Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery offering classes and resources on contemplative practice and creative expression. She earned a doctorate in Christian spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and achieved professional status as a registered expressive arts consultant and educator from the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association. She is also trained as a spiritual director and supervisor. Paintner is the author of numerous spirituality titles, including The Love of Thousands; Birthing the Holy; Sacred Time; Earth, Our Original Monastery; The Soul’s Slow Ripening; The Wisdom of the Body; Illuminating the Way; The Soul of a Pilgrim; The Artist’s Rule; Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire; and three collections of poetry. She is a Benedictine oblate living in Galway, Ireland, with her husband, John. Together they lead online retreats at their website AbbeyoftheArts.com.

Reviews for The Artist's Rule

[silvernfire · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a twelve-week program designed to help you explore how a contemplative spiritual life can both inform and be strengthened by expressing yourself creatively. Paintner, a Benedictine oblate, has modeled this program on the Rule of St. Benedict. Although I'm sure that someone who is familiar with the Rule will get more out of this book, Paintner has written a book that can be used and appreciated by an interfaith audience. For each week, Paintner explores a different aspect of the Rule and links it to exercises to develop one's creativity. After each topic, she discusses some contemplative exercises linked to the theme of the week, usually centered on lectio divina and questions for reflection. These are followed by a guided meditation and exercises for exploring the week's them visually and sometimes through writing.I enjoyed this book, although I've only read it, not tried to put the program into practice. It did come across as a little generic at points, but that might be expected of a book that is meant to be used with all sorts of artistic expression. I don't think this book can teach you the Rule in much depth, but it did pique my curiosity to learn more about it. I think this would be a good book for people interested in trying to integrate their spirituality and their creativity.