Artist and scholar Emily Cheng joins host Shep Rosenman for a luminous conversation at the crossroads of art, music, and sacred text. From two of Emily's monumental 18‑foot paintings charting the meeting of Western and Eastern spiritual traditions to Shep's song “Unwrapping Heaven,” inspired by Psalm 104, Emily invites us into a world where brushstrokes, breath, and prayer intertwine.
Together, they explore the idea of the center — from mandalas to melody — and the tension between the grand and the granular, the cosmic and the intimate. Along the way, they reflect on translating scripture into art, the practice of service through creativity, and how grounding rituals — even a single mindful breath — can shape both spiritual and artistic life.
Plus: insights into Emily’s community development work with IIRR, the deep relationship between Taoist and Jewish teachings, and the process of editing a work until it finally feels alive.
This is an episode you won't want to miss!
