Article October 7, 2002 Issue

Illustrating the Navajo way

By Julia Miner

Art is Closely Linked with my spiritual journey. Just as inspiration can result in creativity, a creative endeavor can be a vehicle for spiritual understanding, becoming a healing experience in itself. Some background about the connection between prayer and art in my life will help explain what a spiritual experience it was to illustrate The Unbreakable Code.

The first time my college classmate, Sara Hunter, contacted me to illustrate a book she'd written, I was finishing architecture school. Even though we hadn't talked in four years, I'd been thinking about Sara because I admired the spiritual qualities of joy, confidence, and purity she and her family expressed. I'd gotten really tired of the worldly, "adult" values all around me, and the selfishness, promiscuity, and partying that were influencing my own decisions. Working on a story that celebrated innocence and childlike goodness was a breath of fresh air. Friends would make comments such as, "What have you been up to? You're acting like you just inherited a million dollars!"

Soon I started reading Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy, studying it along with the Bible. The influence of the Christ in my thoughts and heart uncovered the innocence I'd felt as a child. That earlier book never got published, but I've always been grateful for how the project and our renewed friendship helped turn my life around.