"Calligraphic words are something to gaze upon. They reach different parts of the heart and mind then when reading words in a traditional font. Adding the visual element gets people to slow down, dwell upon, pay attention to, and perhaps get insights from the words, that they wouldn't have otherwise."Laura Norton is an artist whose spiritual practice includes weekly creating calligraphic designs which are used in churches across the U.S. and Canada, aiming to visually enliven biblical texts from the lectionary. A professional calligrapher, she works with a wide variety of media to add hand-lettered words to paper, silk, windows and walls. In addition to buses, walls and baptismal fonts around Holden Village, her award-winning calligraphy can be seen on a new mural in downtown Bellingham and in her synod’s Advent Devotional, as well as in the book, Backstory Preaching by Lisa Cressman. Laura is on the board of directors and teaches Calligraphy on Silk at the Grunewald Guild, an art & faith retreat center near Leavenworth, WA. At her home church in Bellingham, WA, she founded and serves as chair of Justice Seekers, working on anti-racism (particularly in the ELCA) and such other justice-related issues as are addressed in the Reclaiming Jesus statement. Laura is an enthusiastic mountain trail runner, a parent to two creative adult children, and is married to a fellow former CPA and appreciator of craft beers. Laura's work can be seen at http://www.LettersAloft.com and @lettersaloft on Instagram. To learn more about Holden Village, visit: www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.orgThe Holden Village Podcast is accessible through Apple iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeart Radio, and most podcast apps. To contact the podcast author, podcast@holdenvillage.org
