About
David Jones, Epoch and Artist"…theologians say that the creation of the world was not a necessary, but a gratuitous, act. There is a sense in which this gratuitousness in the operations of the Creator is reflected in the art of the creature."
I am a UK-based Christian artist, with a primary focus on devotional linocut printmaking. I believe that engaging with art - both in creating and receiving! - can be a profoundly transformative way to pray. Hesychiart is a project in which I seek to share this belief with others. Hesychia, a term I shamelessly borrowed from the Eastern tradition, refers to the cultivation of an inner stillness by which we can ascend to God, through ascesis and constant contemplation of the divine. My prayer is that my work might help others to grow deeper in hesychia, even in the smallest of ways, through engaging with devotional art.
Hesychiart in fact began its life as a rosary-making enterprise: I began making rosaries towards the tail-end of lockdown in 2021 and was instantly hooked. It is a true joy to pray through the creation of an object whose purpose is prayer. The pandemic was, for me, primarily a time of despair; yet amid the misery of losing loved ones and chaos all around us, I found myself being drawn further into devotion to Our Lady, who ultimately leads us all to Jesus.
Since beginning to sell my work online in 2021 (I soon discovered that my desire to create rosaries vastly outstripped my financial resources for purchasing supplies!), I have expanded my interests in various different handicrafts and forms of art. I have knitted rosary pouches, embroidered scapulars and painted prayer cards. But my main artistic ministry at present is printmaking, which has really helped me to find my feet as a devotional artist.
Since beginning to sell my work online in 2021 (I soon discovered that my desire to create rosaries vastly outstripped my financial resources for purchasing supplies!), I have expanded my interests in various different handicrafts and forms of art. I have knitted rosary pouches, embroidered scapulars and painted prayer cards. But my main artistic ministry at present is printmaking, which has really helped me to find my feet as a devotional artist.
Sharing my art brings me such joy, and to know that it has spoken to others and brought solace and encouragement to devotion helps me in my own spiritual life - I can only give thanks to God for his extraordinary gifts, and for the privilege of praying in this way.