Bryan Lewis, Living In Creative Spirit
This week we are honored to introduce you to an amazing stained glass artist, Bryan Lewis. Bryan can you tell us a bit about your creative path?
I enjoyed drawing at a very young age. I first remember people taking notice when I was about 6 or 7. I cultivated my ability to draw pretty actively up through my college years. I had also been working with stained glass since about age nine. I took great interest in the art of glass painting and firing in my early twenties which allowed me to marry my ability to draw with the craft of stained glass. This really lit a passion within me that has kept me interested for the last twenty-five years. I am grateful to be able to say that I am still excited to try new things with the medium and push my ability to create with it.
What is one of your favorite quotes?
Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men. –Goeth
What is one book that has inspired you?
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Do you have a favorite flavor of ice-cream?
Toasted Almond Fudge
If you were a super hero what would your name and super power be?
Enneagram Man. He has the power to instantly reveal someone’s path to consciousness
What role does spirituality play in your creative work?
Much like Unity’s mission, I seek to inspire people of all faiths.
What is your favorite creative outlet?
Sometimes I think I enjoy playing guitar more than stained glass. I think it’s just because the work and performance pressure is off when I’m making music. It’s more about private relaxation.
What inspires your creative work?
Beauty and color
What are you passionate about?
Community. Building a world together.
Do you have a daily spiritual practice?
Yes. I sit in silence…sometimes for 10 minutes, sometimes for an hour
How do you move through creative blocks?
I usually have to walk away completely and shift my focus. I have to allow my heart and mind to reset.
How do you inspire the Creative Spirit in others through your work?
I tell people that we are all creative, even if you don’t draw, paint or play music, we all have the power to be inspired by the beauty that surrounds us.
What are you currently working on?
I have a couple projects going in my studio. I am completing the last three windows in a series of nine, depicting the visions of Mary for a church in Leavenworth. I also continue to build a body of work at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in down town Kansas City. Next is a window depicting Saint Francis, which is in the preliminary design process.
What tip would you give readers to help them nurture their Creative Spirit?
I think maybe the term inner child gets a little over used. I actually like the term, but I think it is more helpful to think of, feel, and honor the ageless being that is within us. That is our creativity. If we can have compassion and appreciation for ourselves and acknowledge that inner essence, our creativity will tend to express in what we do. I feel that we access it by grace, so it is available to us when we live in a graceful way.
Where can readers learn more about you and your work?
My portfolio of work is up on my website at theBryanLewisStudio.com and on Facebook: The Bryan Lewis Studio
Join us next week on “Living In Creative Spirit” for an inspiring look into the life of Kansas City area artist Heather Inez Benoit.
“Living In Creative Spirit,” is an online interview series featuring creative individuals who blend spirituality and creativity in their lives and work. Summer session interviews are published weekly on Monday at 12:00 CT. This series is presented by Unity Arts Ministry, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to inspiring personal growth, healing and transformation through spiritual enrichment and creative expression.
Funding for our online programming and live events comes through the generosity of individuals like you. Your contribution aids in our vision as we celebrate a world awakened to the Creative Spirit inherent in all. Please follow the link below to make a tax-deductible donation.
