> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theartnewsletter.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Issue 7 - URL: https://www.theartnewsletter.com/issue-7/ - Published: 2026-10-15T18:45:34.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-15T18:45:34.000Z - Description: Youth pastor turned fashion designer, an essay on the artistic life, an abstract christian painter, downtempo christian music, and a Norwegian community building a stave church with no modern tools. - Author: Wolfgang Bakari Burst - Tags: Weekly Newsletter **Section 1 - grounding** ****Psalms 70:5** But as for me, I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God. You are my helper and my savior; O LORD, do not delay. **Sometimes you just need to get out of the house.** For me, today was one of those days. My office was dark because it was a cloudy morning, the cats were requiring too much attention, and I was feeling an overall sense of uneasiness. So I decided to take advantage of the city I live in and go to a coffee shop with all the other twenty-something creative directors, work-from-home/no-work gurus, and the general unemployed-employed population that exists in Austin and somehow always has the time to be at a coffee shop, a concert, Zilker Park, or anywhere but the office (myself included). Anyway, I left my house determined to get work done. If I was going to spend 15 minutes in traffic to drive 3 miles, I had to make sure I locked in. I arrived at my destination, found a spot in front of the coffee shop, and opened my laptop to sit down and write this newsletter. But that’s when it all started happening, and I began to realize WHY I never come here to get work done in the first place. It’s funny how time really does heal all wounds, because within 5 minutes I remembered how loud the street in front of this coffee shop is: a drone of cars, trucks, and motorcycles that go in timed increments at the light. As soon as you settle into the quiet, the noise starts up again. After that, a group of corporate drones (that’s what we’ll call them) sat down right next to me and started talking about things drones talk about: work, money, deadlines, and whatever else I tried to eavesdrop on. And then, the cherry on top, the crème de la crème of it all: a man (no hate to this guy, by the way) started using a leaf blower to clean the sidewalk. Not even 5 minutes in, I already felt my pipe dreams of a productive afternoon fading. But I am a man of reason, so I took a deep breath, said a prayer, and began to write. Amazingly, the man with the leaf blower slowly started to fade into the distance, like sirens that pass by at night. He got so far away I couldn’t even hear him anymore. The corporate drones left to go be drones, and the sound of the street began to transform from an annoyance into a gentle hum, no more bothersome than the white noise machine we use to sleep each night. I kept writing and working, and it all seemed to get done. I guess God was moving quick today. **Section 2 - thoughts and ideas** [From Youth Pastor to Fashion Designer, Interview with Jacob Bottle and his brand: House of JacobBy Annabelle Collette![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/icon/TAN_LINKEDIN-Profile--2--3-5340f751-77f6-489a-8abf-da9f55ba36b1.png)The Art NewsletterAnnabelle![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/thumbnail/160-DSC_2871_1-493ff6b1-0723-474c-98a5-f4365b1b7bd6.png)](https://www.theartnewsletter.com/from-youth-pastor-to-fashion-designer-interview-with-jacob-bottle-and-his-brand-house-of-jacob/) [The Artistic Life as a Path to BecomingTo live a truly artistic life is to live a life of continual self-development. Art is a way of encountering the world. Not entirely the production of beautiful things, but of becoming more fully oneself, and of learning to see beyond the visible.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/icon/TAN_LINKEDIN-Profile--2--3-5a1aa74e-7073-4dc4-8725-7128b9d16bf8.png)The Art NewsletterMareez Wasef![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/thumbnail/photo-1518791024316-d0e1bb1ee03a-b1637156-20e7-46ae-89be-210ee56018c9.jpg)](https://www.theartnewsletter.com/the-artistic-life-as-a-path-to-becoming/) [Interview with Artist Colt SeagerColt Seager (b.1993) is a contemporary abstract painter who works predominantly in oil. His work is rooted in the Midwest prairie landscape and in a longstanding interest in how abstraction can call forth an emotional, and inherently spiritual, response before the viewer ever identifies an object![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/icon/TAN_LINKEDIN-Profile--2--3-c23a39a0-95f7-4ab5-8a2d-fdffe19d47ca.png)The Art NewsletterWolfgang Bakari Burst![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/thumbnail/031_ColtSeager_x_NathanMichael-copy-72f21cc6-7a50-4f9f-9481-0bac4c455c00.jpg)](https://www.theartnewsletter.com/interview-with-artist-colt-seager/) **Section 3 - exploration** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-15-at-12.35.02.png) Model for a brand new stave church. The church will be constructed using 800 year old methods and no modern tools. A community in Rysstad, in Norway’s Setesdal Valley, is building a full-scale stave church using only medieval techniques: hand-made tools, no cranes or power equipment, and slow-growing timber. Over 1,000 people are contributing, and completion is planned for around 2030\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/2026/10/Screenshot-2026-10-15-at-12.38.48.png) It is modeled on Borgund Stave Church, which is Norway’s best-preserved. The country once had roughly 1,300 to 2,000 stave churches, and now only 28 survive. The construction site will stay open to visitors during construction, with activities like blacksmithing and woodcarving. See more on [visitnorway.com ](https://www.visitnorway.com/typically-norwegian/how-to-build-a-stave-church/?ref=theartnewsletter.com) --- A community in Rysstad, in Norway’s Setesdal Valley, is building a full-scale stave church using only medieval techniques: hand-made tools, no cranes or power equipment, and slow-growing timber. Over 1,000 people are contributing, and completion is planned for around 2030\. It is modeled on Borgund Stave Church, which is Norway’s best-preserved, and will recreate the carved Hylestad portals, which show the Sigurd dragon saga. Norway once had roughly 1,300 to 2,000 stave churches, and only 28 survive. The site stays open to visitors during construction, with activities like blacksmithing and woodcarving. This weeks song of the week is ["blessed like that" by threetwenty](https://open.spotify.com/track/7FDtZrkFgI6WJbxWWsXwE7?si=a7aabdf98f1f4ea3&ref=theartnewsletter.com). Since I was unable to truly enjoy the outside world due to the requirement of manual labor, I decided to allow my mind to be taken away by this downtempo tracks' mediative qualities. All songs we find are collected here in our [weekly updated playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3CykX4VuY03ZQIpEk9Pl30?si=68d9c55b5eba49e2&ref=theartnewsletter.com). If you are a musician and have a track you would like to feature, send us an email to info@theartnewsletter.com **Section 4 - action** There is a cost to making something that enriches people's lives, and it does not disappear just because the work is done for God. We are a team of college students and young professionals who believe in our mission of showcasing contemporary Christian arts to the world. [Become a paid member here ](#/portal/signup) It costs little and gives much. And let us know what you think of this week’s newsletter by leaving a like or dislike below. And to each and every one of you. Thank you and God Bless, Wolfgang & Jesog Co-Founders The Art Newsletter