The sacred act of creating

Engaging in the arts can be a deeply spiritual act – an expression of worship, reflection and even healing. Through creating, we can enter a space where faith and imagination meet, where the Spirit speaks not only through words but also through images.

This fall, I joined a Christian art therapy group hosted virtually by Genesis Art Therapy and Blue Flame Art Therapy. Each session begins quietly. We slow our breathing, get into an open posture, and pray. A candle is lit as a physical reminder of God’s presence. After a brief check-in with one another, we move into a visio divina exercise, a practice of sacred seeing.

A passage of scripture is read aloud three times, each reading followed by silence for reflection. We invite the Spirit to bring to mind images, colours or feelings. These become the starting point for a time of visual response.

For the next 40 minutes or so, we create. Some participants paint or draw; others collage, sculpt, write or photograph. The timeframe can feel daunting, but our facilitators remind us that the goal isn’t to produce a polished piece but to be present in the process of reflective art-making. Creating becomes a way of processing what God is stirring up within us. In this space, no one critiques or evaluates another’s work. Instead, we listen, observe and reflect.

I’m often surprised how quickly an image comes to mind. Sometimes a scene forms clearly in my mind, and I translate it through photography. Other times, I explore abstract shapes and colours, guided more by a feeling. Once, a specific memory resurfaced, and I explored it through collage. This process reminds me that inspiration is most alive when we are in Spirit.

After our time of creating, we gather to share our pieces and reflections, guided by questions from the facilitators. We listen to one another, noticing the ways God has met us through our art.

The intersection of faith and art can feel narrowly defined to worship music, biblical scenes, or explicitly “Christian” imagery, but God’s creativity is far broader. As an artist, I find it freeing to explore faith through my work without being confined to those categories. My current photography exhibit in Toronto, “Already, Not Yet”, reflects themes of faith without overt religious symbols.

Through this practice of faith-focused art-making, I’ve come to see how the sacred can be found in the simplest acts of creating. A brushstroke, a torn piece of paper, the click of a camera can all be prayers in motion. To create is to participate in God’s own creativity, joining in the quiet work of renewal and beauty. May we continue to leave room for this mystery, and for the Spirit to inspire.