LAB - Life and Beauty - vuvivo.com I recently had the privilege of being interviewed by Zach Elliott of the Life and Beauty - LAB podcast about my book The Way of Beauty. I enjoyed this excellent interview very much. Zach had taken the trouble to read and absorb the contents of my book and presented intriguing and original insights. Thank you Zach! The home website is vuvivo.com. Alternatively, you can here on Apple or Spotify Apple Podcasts: LINK Spotify Podcasts: LINK YouTube: LAB the Podcast with David Clayton IG: @labthepodcast - Reels of the conversation were shared here.&n ..read more

Here is a recent article published in Public Discourse, the journal of the Witherspoon Institute, by Margarita Mooney Clayton of the Scala Foundation, entitled Graced Imagination: Recovering True Creativity in the Age of Authenticity. What does this cultural moment have to do with competing philosophies about art? Why does art (real, beautiful art, not just self-expression) matter to the renewal of our culture? Drawing on the works of eminent scholars such as Jacques Maritain, Brad Elliott, OP, St. Thomas More Stepnowski, OP, artist Ioana Belcea and Dr Tyler Graham, teacher and former student ..read more

A new edition, revised, expanded and published by Os Justi Press What makes literature or art Christian? Some would say just the content, that is, what is said; others would say both the content and the form because the way in which certain truths are conveyed can communicate them more fully. It’s not just what you say that’s important, but also how you say it. To order: O Justi Press or Amazon If this is the case, the style of prose or poetry can be Christian (or un-Christian), as much as the meaning of the words considered apart from that style. As an artist and a teacher of ..read more

The new Stabat Mater Studio in Tyler, Texas, is dedicated to training the next generation of liturgical artists. Over the last 30 years, there has been a proliferation of ateliers and small independent schools in the US teaching classical naturalism through the academic method of drawing and painting. While it is important that the basic skills of drawing and painting are taught to a high level, typically, these schools are secular in outlook and teach a philosophy of art that undermines the Faith.  The Stabat Mater Studio is an authentically Catholic environment that offers the five core ..read more

June 15th 2024 and June 21, 2024; at Princeton Theological Seminary, Featuring Sir James MacMillan First, June 15th 2024: Princeton Theological Seminary to experience cultural renewal in action!  At this unique event that is FREE to the public entitled “Behold, I Make All Things New: A Discussion on Sacred Music and Popular Culture and a Concert of New Sacred Music by Living Composers,” we will feature: A conversation between Margarita Mooney Clayton and world-renowned Scottish composer of both classical and sacred music, Sir James MacMillan, about how training new c ..read more

Nicholas Hughes is an Antiochan Orthodox monk living as a hermit in West Virginia. He has been a monk for over 40 years he tells me. He contacted me because he had questions about a traditional story about the time spent by the Holy Family in Egypt, perhaps apocryphal, about the miraculous wheat. He wanted to know if there was an original source for the story, which appears in many books of hours from the Middle Ages. He wanted to produce a series of contemporary illuminations of the story and sent me images of his work so far. I had never even heard of the miraculous story before and couldn’t ..read more

Kathryn is currently studying for her Master of Sacred Arts at Pontifex University. She is based in Michigan. You can commission works from her, and I recommend he embroidery, particularly at kl-artstudio.com. The pelican is a symbol of the Eucharist because it was once believed that pelicans fed their young on their own flesh, pecked from their breasts. This is a symbol of the faithful, who are part of the mystical body of Christ, eating the body and blood of Christ ..read more

When Margarita and I visit Oxford, we regularly attend Mass at the Oxford Oratory. I was excited, therefore, when a friend and parishioner at the Oxford Oratory drew my attention to this spectacular development in its ongoing restoration project. The white paint has been removed from large sections of the church walls to reveal the original decoration. The murals of scenes from the life of St Aloysius were painted by Gabriel Pippet between 1902 and 1905. Whitewashing over wall paintings has always been a common measure taken by those who wish to remove images from churches. Applying a coat of ..read more

June 20-22, 2024 at St Mary's University, London. Register today. My friend Fr Andrew Marlborough sent me information about this conference. Readers may recognise his name through his articles in this blog on sacred art and artefacts appearing in auction houses in the UK and Europe. He is one of the organisers of what promises to be a great conference. The poster is below. As you can see, there is a great list of speakers, including highly respected names from both sides of the pond. In addition to the great speakers listed below, I am delighted that Fr Brad Elliott, OP, was also recently adde ..read more

Sir James MacMillan and Paul Jernberg, both internationally renowned Catholic composers, will be present. Eight Conducting Fellows will receive premium podium experience at the helm of a 16-voice professional choir and hands-on instruction from master pedagogues Dr. James Jordan and Dr. Timothy McDonnell.  The Conducting Institute's music list will represent various sacred music genres drawn from classic and contemporary choral repertories, Gregorian chant, and traditional hymnody.   This is organised by Peter Carter's Catholic Sacred Music Project in partnership with, among oth ..read more