The Mystic Artist is a book about the artist's capacity as a kind of channel for otherworldly entities, forces from other dimensions. This book is a study of the life force that surges in the great mystics of all time - the Mystic Artists. From the elusive afterlife they communicate truth forces. From the Great Beyond they influence and direct. It is a conceptual, artistic study of each phase of the artist's growth; and it is a spiritualistic survey of immense value - the definitive guided tour into artistic intuition via the imagination. Reaching for a deeper understanding with a faith that lives in the truth that forces in the Great Beyond link with the artists at work here on our level, Sandy stirs up a potpourri of past, present and future all culminating to teach us the deepest secrets of the mysteries of creation. She tells about the universal truths in art, spirit art, the inspiration and isolation of the inner wars of external/internal art. She inspires us with ideas about instinct and intuition, showing us how to recognize clues about our life purpose along the path; she gives us a way to release and tap into soul power to cleanse and heal through the act of creating. From automatic writing to spirit channeling, this book tells of the many ways mystics have tried to reach into the Great Beyond for answers to the question of their art. Sandy tells us many of the stories from the mystics and prophets of the Bible, the artistic prophets and guardian spirits, to the process an artist goes through when working toward the ultimate creations of his or her life. It is also a personal reminiscence of her own experiences in many various genres of the arts. Reaching out to the lost souls and mystics in the Great Beyond, the silence and awakenings and the way of the genius, she lets us in on the opportunities presented by our guiding lights - guardian angels and spirits who are there at our calling. She tells us both sides of the story in the universal law of opposites, from the tragic element, the outsiders and the Faustian Bargain to the perfect life of Fred Astaire and Lillian Gish. An artist's life is built on instinct and intuition. It is a life, which taps in to sensual energies - through all the senses - with the pain, the hunger and pleasures of life. Sandy inspires us to paint music and sing colours as we learn to understand the secrets of Vincent van Gogh and others like him who on this earth were so misunderstood. The great universal spiritual laws are the links that connect every concept discussed in this book whether it's creating destruction or drawing conclusions about good and evil and the wisdom of balance. There is quite a mixture of weather in the theatre of her words as she discusses in vivid hues how the artist mirrors every universal ideal and projects its mind-movies deep in the psychic senses of the gifted. You will feel a deep sense of colour in this black and white world and finally will heal through art and song as she reveals her own painful, yet enlightening stories and how she was able to overcome the pain and heal the wounds of a lifetime through her art. These stories are personal and filled with questions as well as solutions. They will stir in the reader great emotions and prompt the creative flow, inspiring an artist to do more than just go through the motions; young and old alike will be able to relate to these stories which reflect many lifetimes of mystics and their struggle to know the unknown.

"Hyman is awesomely consistent, brilliant, ascetic--more and more people say he is the best painter in America, and so he is." -Robert Lowell This important publication, the first of its kind, presents the paintings and drawings of an aesthetic and mystical searcher in the tradition of William Blake, Albert Pinkham Ryder and Odilon Redon, who strove for the moment when, in his own words, "the mood is as intense as it can be made." Hyman Bloom's work, influenced by his Jewish heritage (whose impression on his painting he described as a "weeping of the heart") and Eastern religions, touches on many of the themes of 20th-century culture and art: the body, its immanence and transience, abstraction and spiritual mysticism. Bloom was admired by leading figures in the art world of his time, including Alfred H. Barr Jr. and Dorothy Miller; Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning hailed him as "the first Abstract Expressionist." The poet Robert Lowell praised Bloom, writing in a letter to Elizabeth Bishop, "Hyman is awesomely consistent, brilliant, ascetic--more and more people say he is the best painter in America, and so he is." The book's illustrations include ten previously unpublished masterworks, plus images of the figure as powerful and provocative as the paintings by Francis Bacon that were once exhibited alongside them. Hyman Bloom(1913-2009) was born in Lithuania, now Latvia. He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1920, escaping anti-Semitic persecution. He lived and worked in the Boston area until his death. His work is held in many public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Whitney Museum of American Art and others.

About the Book Magical Journeys is a collection of short stories. Each story was written with morals in mind. Somewhere between fantasy and reality friendships meet challenges. They overcome obstacles and restore love and trust. Sharing, my lifelong dream with you is one of my greatest joys. I take the reader away, for a brief time, in a delightful way for all children ages 3 to 99. I am sure you will want to join my friends on their adventure. When Jack, Jig and Bangger started out on the wrong foot, a disturbing event brought them together to learn the true meaning of friendship. Cameron and Emma befriend a little troll found under a tree. They come to realize that you can look different on the outside and be a great person on the inside too. During his stay at Bunnies Bay, Peter Hawk Rabbit learnt a very good lesson. Flataline's journey takes her away from her only friends, to end up in the arms of a very special little boy. Together they find love. Finally, do you believe in dreams coming true? I BELIEVE! My dream came true in giving you Magical Journeys. I hope you find enjoyment in reading each story as I have had the pleasure in writing them for you.

A 20th anniversary edition of the art classic that celebrates the intersection of creative expression and spirituality—from one of the greatest living artists of our time Twenty years after the original publication of The Mission of Art, Alex Grey’s inspirational message affirming art’s power for personal catharsis and spiritual awakening is stronger than ever. In this special anniversary edition, Grey—visionary painter, spiritual leader, and best-selling author—combines his extensive knowledge of art history with his own experiences in creating art at the boundaries of consciousness. Grey examines the roles of conscience and intention in the creative process, including practical techniques and exercises useful in exploring the spiritual dimensions of art. Challenging and thought-provoking, The Mission of Art will be appreciated by everyone who has ever contemplated the deeper purpose of creative expression.

Depicts the life of the Russian composer, Alexander Scriabin, and examines the influence of his mystical beliefs on his music.

Jan van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece is on any art historian's list of the ten most important paintings ever made. Often referred to by the subject of its central panel, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, it represents the fulcrum between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It is also the most frequently stolen artwork of all time. Since its completion in 1432, this twelve-panel oil painting has been looted in three different wars, burned, dismembered, forged, smuggled, illegally sold, censored, hidden, attacked by iconoclasts, hunted by the Nazis and Napoleon, used as a diplomatic tool, ransomed, rescued by Austrian double-agents, and stolen a total of thirteen times. In this fast-paced, real-life thriller, art historian Noah Charney unravels the stories of each of these thefts. In the process, he illuminates the whole fascinating history of art crime, and the psychological, ideological, religious, political, and social motivations that have led many men to covet this one masterpiece above all others.

In this book, Conrad Rudolph studies and reconstructs Hugh of St. Victor's forty-two-page written work, The Mystic Ark, which describes the medieval painting of the same name. In medieval written sources, works of art are not often referred to, let alone described in any detail. Almost completely ignored by art historians because of the immense difficulty of its text, Hugh of Saint Victor's Mystic Ark (c. 1125-1130) is among the most unusual sources we have for an understanding of medieval artistic culture. Depicting all time, all space, all matter, all human history, and all spiritual striving, this highly polemical painting deals with a series of cultural issues crucial in the education of society's elite during one of the great periods of intellectual change in Western history.

The Artist as Mystic is a set of lyric conversations between aphorists Yahia Lababidi and Alex Stein. These conversations constitute what Australians call a Songline a set of sacred songs that allow the reader/listener to navigate through an unknown terrain, in this case, populated by tortured and ecstatic souls: Kafka, Baudelaire, Nietzsche, Rilke, Kierkegaard and Ekelund. These visionaries are masterfully evoked in this very fine work of biography and criticism. But these writings are more than the sum of notes on a page, they are song. The Artist as Mystic passes the test of all great writing, not only to delight, but to leave us knowing something of the subject, and ourselves, that we hadn t considered before.

Paperback edition of the Winner of three 2005 Catholic Press Association Books Awards! Design and Production First Place. As the Mother of God, Mary surpasses all other humans and yet is united with all who are to be saved. Here you will find a magnificent and inspiring collection of colorful images, meditations, and prayers about and for Mary, both painted and written.Many of McGraths paintings in this collection are the result of his loving fascination with Black Madonnas, which have inspired pilgrims, saints, and sin-sick souls for centuries. Combined with Richard Fragomenis poetic and candid prayers, these images of Mary speak directly to all people who struggle to find meaning and joy in a world filled with crisis, divisiveness, and insecurity. They speak, too, to the artistic, creative soul in all of us, which longs to see things in new and challenging ways while holding on to the history and traditions of our Catholic heritage.