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'A soul on fire': faith enriches sculptor's work: Patrick Birge depicts diverse religious traditions.

Article Excerpt
It is an unseasonably warm winter day in Washington, and sunlight pours through the art studio window at Wesley Theological Seminary, making the tiny jewels in Patrick Birge's hands sparkle. He thoughtfully fingers clear plastic vials of amethysts and citrine crystals one by one, like a chef selecting spices for an important recipe. On a wooden table behind him, a towering St. George figure, captured in bronze and terra cotta, slays a dragon. A few feet away, resting on a foam egg crate, a white porcelain St. Francis sculpture lies peacefully, a lithe form that reaches and twists gracefully, arms extended upward toward something unseen.

Perhaps it is the presence of religious images, or perhaps it is Birge's contemplative countenance, but somehow, the composite effect is that a cluttered art studio feels like a small, intimate chapel. This soft-spoken 35-year-old, a sculptor in residence at Wesley's Henry Luce III Center for the Arts and Religion, is discussing his artistic influences. One expects him to speak of Michelangelo, Rodin, the ancient Greeks--or perhaps some obscure prodigies unknown to those outside the art world. But Birge is speaking of spiritual writers, mystics whose faith traditions are as...

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