“Behold, like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel” (Jer 18:6).

                How easily we forget that we are, at every moment, shaped with care by a Creator. Artists, however—who know intimately the blood, sweat, and tears of the creative process—can help us sense how marvelous it is to be created: the patience, the detail, the joy. In this essential collection, thirty-one Christian artists from various disciplines, from music to poetry to film to sculpture, offer personal essays on the strange experience of following God’s lead by making beautiful things.

                Contributors include Arvo Pärt, Michael O’Brien, Dana Gioia, Sally Read, Paul Mariani, Duncan Stroik, Matt Maher, Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs, John C. Wright, James Matthew Wilson, Tom Wilson, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Margaret Colin, Makoto Fujimura, Anthony Visco, Dion DiMucci, Michael Kurek, Frank La Rocca, Justin Bolger, O.P., Daniel Fitzpatrick, Shemaiah Gonzalez, Mary Grace Mangano, Michael Brisson, L.C., Elizabeth Zelasko, Philip Kosloski, Lawrence Lew, O.P., Mike Aquilina, David Kruse, Emma Fradd, Harry D’Agostino, and Father Brian Humphrey.

                The Wheel and the Clay is an indispensable resource for any artist, or indeed any Christian interested in the arts.

“How does creativity work? Must art, to be ‘true’, open up to transcendence? This book provides answers to such questions in different keys, though a tonality of wonder permeates them all. It is born of bloody-minded perseverance and grateful delight.”
— Bishop Erik Varden, Diocese of Trondheim; Author, Towards Dawn

“An invaluable work. The vocation of the Christian artist has never been more important, more necessary to the human spirit, more vital for the renewal of the Church, than at this moment in history.”
— Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Archdiocese of San Francisco, from the Foreword

“Timely, encouraging, and necessary, these well-wrought narratives belong on the shelf of any believer who aspires to make a meaningful creative contribution.”
— Katy Carl, Editor in Chief, Luminor; Author, As Earth Without Water

“This book is like peering into the souls of living artists to understand their cooperation with the Artist in their vocation of incarnating beauty into the world.”
— Peter Carter, Director, Catholic Sacred Music Project

“The push toward an ever-more technical and efficient society is leading away from the roots of ancient cultures. The Wheel and the Clay will not only provide an antidote for these ills, but also foster deeper contemplation of Christ, the Beautiful Shepherd.”
— Bishop Earl Fernandes, Diocese of Columbus, Ohio