A Class Exploring the Catholic-Christian Spirituality of Creativity
For Visual, Performing, and Literary Artists
Note: If you are not able to attend the class in person but would like to receive recordings of the talks, let me know at mary.shaffer@xaviermissionfund.org.
Dates: Four Thursdays | July 31st-August 21st, 2025 | 6:30-8:30pm
Location: The Ark @ St. Jude of the Lake | 131 Fir St, Mahtomedi, MN
Who: Visual Artists, Actors, Musicians, Dancers, Creative Writers, Composers, or other artistic souls, both professional and amateur/hobbyist
Cost: Pay as you’re able, suggested donation $100
What happens in the human soul when we have an inspiration for a work of art? Is there anything in the flesh-and-blood artist that AI cannot replicate? What does my experience as an artist have to do with my relationship to God the Creator? Is true artistic freedom at odds with the quest for holiness?
Creative writer, theatre artist, and spiritual director Mary Shaffer explores these questions and more in a four-week class on the spirituality of the artist. Drawing her teaching from the philosophy of Jacques Maritain, as well as the theology of John Paul II, Aquinas, Bonaventure, and other Christian thinkers, Mary will help students shed spiritual baggage surrounding their artistic practice and break open new depths of freedom and meaning in their experience of creativity.
6:30pm | Art Show
Visual artists are encouraged to bring original artwork to display each week. Performing and literary artists may volunteer to share a song, dance, monologue, poetry/prose reading, etc. with their classmates.
6:50pm | Lecture
Week 1: Creative Inspiration - is “the Muse” real?
Week 2: Spiritual Structure of the Artistic Act - art as a virtue of the practical intellect, aka “The Egg”
Week 3: Contemplation as “Beholding” - forming the preconscious intellect
Week 4: Artistic Creation as “Revealing” - the dual mysteries of the exterior world and the artist’s inner world
7:45 | Break
Continue to enjoy the art on display
8:00 | Breakout Groups
Choose one of three groups to discuss how the principles taught relate to your artistic genre and practice:
Visual Artists | Painters, Sculptors, Textile Artists, Graphic Designers, Film & Multimedia Artists
Performing Artists | Musicians, Singers, Actors, Dancers, Directors/Choreographers
Writers & Composers | Poets, Fiction and Nonfiction Writers, Playwrights, and Composers
8:30 | End
FAQs
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It’s summer, I get it! Please feel free to register even if you will miss a session. I will be recording the talks for each of the four sessions. Obviously you would not be able to participate in the art show or small group discussions on that day, but I’m happy to send you the lecture.
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Absolutely not. You are free to share your art but you can also blend in quietly with the crowd without putting your heart on display if that’s what this class needs to be for you.
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Well, what do you mean by that? You don’t have to be a professional or trained artist to participate in the class. But you should be someone for whom the creative act has meaning. Even if that’s just a sketchbook or private poetry journal you’ve never shared with anyone, you still understand that there is a little flame that comes alive in your soul when you create. That flame is what it means to be an artist, for the purposes of this class.
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Sure, why not? Just don’t come with your whole vendor table! Please only bring 1-3 pieces of artwork each week. If you are a published author, you can also bring your books to sell.
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You can either choose one group to stick with for all four weeks, or you can switch between groups each week, your choice.
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Definitely not. Participants of any faith are welcome to attend. Just be aware that the teachings will be presented from the Catholic-Christian tradition and understanding of God and the soul.