Presented at the Restoring the Likeness Fall Virtual Conference 2020.

While not everyone may actively practice a creative art, every person is the artist of their own soul. Personal development and the acquisition of virtue requires imaginative imitation. This talk will first explore how the practice of physical arts like calligraphy and drawing can teach us helpful spiritual metaphors–such as patience, forgiveness, humility, and the importance of constantly keeping the Ideal before our eyes. Having understood what disciplined imitation looks like in some of the arts, we will then consider how learning the stories of the lives of the Saints can furnish our imaginations with pictures that can help us to better shape and fashion our own souls into the image of Christ.