I’ve been back from North Carolina for a week now and have been busy trying to catch up on work, emails and following up with people I met at the conference. First off, Gideon was great! I think it’s something the Christian art world has been suffering from not having. Almost everyone I talked to or heard from had a very clear idea of what Christian media should be and how it should be presented and most agreed we have a LONG way to go before we reach the audience we want to reach. The best part though is how excited everyone is to take that journey, and for all of the right spiritual reasons.
Besides my wife, who came along to snap pictures and offer emotional support, I spent most of my time with fellow Parabler Ben Avery and the talented Ken Raney and it was great sharing our thoughts on art and comics and God and how they can all be integrated into awesomeness. We discussed for a bit on the last day how the whole conference felt more like a spiritual retreat than your typical film festival/art gathering. Maybe it had something to do with being up in the mountains or how super nice and selfless everyone was there. We were surrounded by creative intervals in the middle of, in my opinion, one of the more beautiful regions from God’s portfolio. Ben, Ken and I have all been invited back next year. I want to encourage any of you- if you are interested in using your art talents for more spiritual purposes, want to connect with other Christian creative types, or simply want to see what the current marketplace looks like and where its going- to sign up and attend next year. After only its second year it’s still a small conference that needs to grow and be encouraged because Lord knows we need more gatherings of this type. I don’t think I’ve ever been so inspired to create something meaningful than I was on the drive back home.
And for those of you wondering about the publishing status of Parable, some possible opportunities arose for that as well. Its too soon to say if anything will develop or not, but be assured this will be the FIRST place I announce a publisher if and when something becomes official. I will say that people did enjoy the preview copies I brought with me and you could tell there was general excitement for something like it to be out and available in the marketplace. For now though, it’s not too late to keep Parable in your prayers.
I head BACK to NC this weekend for Heroes Con in Charlotte, and then I look forward to finally taking a few days off.
