Abbey of the Arts

Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts

  • Welcome
    • Prayer Cycle
      • Introduction to the Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle
      • Day 1 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Cathedral
      • Day 2 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Scriptures
      • Day 3 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Saints
      • Day 4 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Spiritual Directors
      • Day 5 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Icon
      • Day 6 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Sacrament
      • Day 7 Morning & Evening Prayer:
        Earth as the Original Liturgy
      • Prayer Cycle Leader Resources
    • About the Abbey
    • About Christine Valters Paintner
    • About John Valters Paintner
    • About the Wisdom Council
    • Monk Manifesto
    • Join the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks
    • Subscribe to Our Love Notes
    • Website privacy notice
  • Books
    • Sacred Time:
      Embracing an Intentional Way of Life
    • The Wisdom of Wild Grace: Poems
    • Earth, Our Original Monastery:
      Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature
    • Dreaming of Stones: Poems
    • The Soul's Slow Ripening:
      12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
    • The Wisdom of the Body:
      A Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women
    • Illuminating the Way:
      Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics
    • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
      Eight Practices for the Journey Within
    • Eyes of the Heart:
      Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice
    • The Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul with Monastic Wisdom
    • Desert Mothers and Fathers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings Annotated & Explained
    • Lectio Divina–The Sacred Art: Transforming Words and Images into Heart-Centered Prayer
    • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements
    • Awakening the Creative Spirit:
      Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction
    • Lectio Divina: Contemplative Awakening & Awareness
  • Poetry | Art | Music
    • Music + DVD
    • Poetry by Christine Valters Paintner
    • Poetry Videos
    • Dancing Monk Icons
    • Other Art Collaborations
      • Monk in the World art series by Kristin Noelle
      • Saints & Animals art series by David Hollington
      • Sacred Time art series by Alexi Francis
      • Mary block print art series by Kreg Yingst
  • Programs
    • Walk the Ancient Paths: Pilgrimage
      • Monk in the World (Ireland)
      • Writing on the Wild Edges (Ireland)
      • Poetry and the Sacred Garden of the World (Ireland)
      • Vienna Monk in the World (Austria)
      • Hildegard of Bingen (Germany)
    • Live Programs and Spiritual Retreats
      • Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts (Northwest)
    • Community Online Retreats
      • Lift Every Voice: Contemplative Writers of Color
      • The Way of the Hermit:
        A Spiritual Survival Guide for Dark Times
        with Kayleen Asbo, PhD
      • The Spiral Way:
        Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination
      • Journey with the Desert Mothers and Fathers (Lent 2021)
      • Sacred Time: Embracing an Intentional Way of Life (Spring 2021)
    • Self-Study Online Spiritual Retreats
      • Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert:
        An Online Retreat with St. Hildegard of Bingen
      • Dreaming of the Sea:
        A women’s discernment journey through the story of the Selkie
      • Earth, Our Original Monastery
        A Companion Retreat to the Book (SELF-STUDY)
      • Exile and Coming Home:
        An Archetypal Journey through the Scriptures
      • Eyes of the Heart:
        Photography as Contemplative Practice
        (Companion retreat to the book)
      • Honoring Saints and Ancestors:
        Online Retreat for the Season of Remembrance
      • Lectio Divina:
        The Sacred Art of Reading the World
      • A Midwinter God:
        Making a Conscious Underworld Journey
      • Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone:
        A Creative Retreat with the Elements (SELF-STUDY)
      • Sacred Seasons:
        A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
      • The Soul of a Pilgrim:
        Eight Practices for the Journey Within
        (a companion retreat to the book)
      • The Soul's Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seekers of the Sacred (a companion retreat to the book)
      • Water, Wind, Earth & Fire
      • Watershed Moments
        in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures
      • Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist:
        A 12-Week Companion Retreat to The Artist's Rule
      • The Wisdom of the Body:
        A 10-Week Online Companion Retreat to the Book
      • The Wisdom of Mary and the Sacred Feminine
  • Calendar
  • Reflections
  • Contact

Monk in the World Guest Post Series

Monk in the World Guest Post: Kathryn Coneway

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Kathryn Coneway's reflection on the contemplative practice of art making during uncertain times.

“Now I am revealing new things to you
Things hidden and unknown to you
Created just now, this very moment.
Of these things you have heard nothing until now.
So that you cannot say, “Oh yes, I knew this.”
-Isaiah 48:6-7

This passage from Isaiah is one of my favorite discoveries from reading “The Artist’s Rule.”

For me, truly entering into the unknown and discovering something along the way is central to creative practice. The creative process is a great place to welcome uncertainty when the rest of life is relatively stable, but what about when life itself is filled with uncertainty?

As we are made more aware of the uncertainty always inherent in life during this pandemic, I reflect on ways my creative practice has been impacted and ways I have had to create new rituals to ground myself and offer tools for contemplation in my community.

The current focus of my work is a series, “Mother Trees,” cut paper designs celebrating voices of nurture and connection to the natural world. The title was inspired by ecologist, Suzanne Simard; she researches connections between trees in the forest and describes the mother trees as the oldest and most connected, the ones who nurture others.

The craft of papercutting lends itself well to contemplative practice. I draw my designs first in pencil in reverse; this part is about beginning with a sketch and then entering the unknown as I work out how elements fit together. Once a design is complete and I begin cutting, I can shift to an active contemplative practice, allowing the movement of my hands and tool to hold me in the moment.

The creation of my work is meditative for me and part of how I live as a monk in the world. Sharing this work and letting it invite others into contemplative spaces and quiet reflection is the second part. With my exhibit venues closed this spring, I missed the chance for connection and service through sharing.

My family suggested I show my art in our yard in some way for neighbors walking by. Hearing this, a friend suggested the form of prayer flags. The graphic nature of the designs lent itself well to creating homemade silk screens that allowed me to reproduce the delicacy of the paper cuts in a manner that worked well for exhibit outside.  I printed the designs on canvas and sewed them together as prayer flags.

A delightful surprise has been the community response to this exhibit. Creating the flags started as something for me, a chance for a sense of completion and sharing in this time of cancellations and uncertainty.  It has offered a great connection with my community, with neighbors nearby and friends who drive by after I shared images and my process through my Instagram account. A neighbor wrote a piece for the local paper, adding images of the pieces in the several stages of the process and giving me a chance to share more of the story behind the work. Several people reached out and requested sets of flags and I created more to sell. It has been lovely to receive photos of them hanging in the homes and yards of others too. I realized that part of sharing the work is welcoming the unanticipated new forms I am invited to explore in my practice. This is true both for ways that my work serves my own contemplative practice and ways I share images to inspire others.

As my family centers closer to home, I reflect on ways the practices of mothering also inform, shape and companion my creative practice. I continue to reflect on ways nature nurtures and sustains us and offers connection and comfort in difficult times.  “Earth, Our Original Monastery” is next on my reading list and feels particularly suited to this time.


Kathryn Coneway is a mixed media visual artist, author, and educator. She focuses her professional work building community around creative practice. Kathryn is a practicing artist, exhibiting in park and nature center settings and most recently in her own front yard. She provides workshops to schools and community groups to foster connections between creative and spiritual practice. Additionally, Kathryn is the director of Shrine Mont Camps Art Camp for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.

Kathryn is the author and illustrator of two children’s books including, COLLETTE A Collage Adventure. Kathryn lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband and two sons. Learn more about Kathryn and connect with her on her website KathrynConeway.com and on Instagram @kathrynconeway

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Leave a Comment November 25, 2020

Upcoming Programs

The Way of the Hermit:
A Spiritual Survival Guide for Dark Times

January 22-24, 2021
with Kayleen Asbo, PhD

The Spiral Way:
Celtic Spirituality and the Creative Imagination

Hosted by the Rowe Center
February 1-21, 2021
with Christine Valters Paintner, PhD

Recent Reflections

  • Humility + Join us today for live prayer! ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Hildy Tales 2: Tús maith leath na hoibre – by John Valters Paintner
  • New Book Club for 2021: Lift Every Voice ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess
  • Hildy Tales One: Dia dhuit, is mise Hildy! by John Valters Paintner, Your Online Prior
  • Celebrate the Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle podcast with us!

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