Artist of the Month
“When God was Flesh and Wild: Stories in Defence of the Earth” by Bob Haverluck © 2017 by Order of Saint Benedict. Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. Reprinted with permission.
Bob Haverluck is a storyteller, cartoonist, and theologian who lives on the bank of the Red River on its way to Hudson Bay. Underlying his work is the question “How might feathered and featherless, hairy and hairless, flippered and two-footed meet, really meet?”. The answer his love labours wager on is the great and ancient near-forgotten Peace Treaty tween all the Creatures, sister Mother Earth and the Creator.
“When God was Flesh and Wild: Stories in Defence of the Earth” by Bob Haverluck © 2017 by Order of Saint Benedict. Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. Reprinted with permission.
Bob is a “mentor” with the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation working with emerging young scholars to bridge the Academy to the Street. His most recent books include “ WHEN GOD WAS FLESH AND WILD: Stories in Defence of the Earth” (2017) with 55 drawings.
I try to live the paradox that: if you believe the earth can be mended, you believe too much; and if you think it can’t, you believe too little. This means giving some shapes to what is so destructive of the good Earth, but also what invites gratitude and gladness for the long haul of Earth’s healing. Such a tragical comical sense is, I think, what my art work and play is essentially about in the storytelling, drawing and theological musing.
“When God was Flesh and Wild: Stories in Defence of the Earth” by Bob Haverluck © 2017 by Order of Saint Benedict. Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. Reprinted with permission.
Bob longs for a world where humans live in harmony with all other creatures and nature. He uses his art as a tool for engagement…
…but also to lament the loss of and pay tribute to fallen environmental activists by constructing memorials.
Bob reminds us that we are not owners of this world. We are guests and for that, we must be thankful and kind!
“When God was Flesh and Wild: Stories in Defence of the Earth” by Bob Haverluck © 2017 by Order of Saint Benedict. Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. Reprinted with permission.
Image of Bob Haverluck with his worked wood “Lake Winnipeg and Her Lover” (2017) Driftwood, stone, iron, and acrylics
Unpublished manuscripts by Bob include the “Court Case of the Creatures”, a story of 8,000 words and 16 drawings, and “TAKE HEART: Encouragement for Earth’s Weary Lovers”, a collection of 25 drawings and essays with the much published Environmental Ethicist and activist grandmother, Kathleen Moore.
You can check out and purchase Bob Haverluck’s works here.
You can see our Artist of the Month talking about his art in a Creatively United for the Planet webinar entitled “Arts of Laughing, Arts of Weeping: Equipment for Earth’s Lovers” (Bob starts speaking at 17:28):
The editorial team of Katoikos
