MY BIO
Miguel Enrique C. Veluz
Born and raised in Antipolo City, Philippines
Currently located in Orange County, CA
Thank you so much for stopping by my creative space! It's a pleasure to have you!
The world is a very dark place. We may want our life paths and surroundings lined with rose petals; but in reality, it thirsts greatly for God's joy and light. As the Abbot of the Athonite Monastery of Vatopaidi said: the cause of unhappiness in many is that they haven't found God, or haven't found Him correctly. Even personally, my mind knows of God, but my heart still constantly fails to recognize Him. Interestingly, desolation and scrupulosity often result from the conflict between what the mind knows and how the heart loves. The heart governs our personal beliefs about God, ourselves, and the world; and our consciences swing back and forth between what the heart keeps in its core, and what the mind learns about Christ! And this continuous miscommunication is deeply unfortunate. The world is held captive by the desolation of the heart for never having genuinely met God, and the scrupulosity of the mind for having a solely-intellectualized faith.
Icons and religious art are so beautiful for our spirituality because they encourage us to silence the voices inside of us, so we may discern effectively the voices of heaven; and in a way, even bring heaven into the same time and space that we live in. The stillness of icon veneration is a God-given gift often overlooked, but is nevertheless so vital to the growth of our faith! In its silence, we encounter the truth about God, and gain the opportunity to rebuke the lies we've been taught in the world. When I make art, I think of all the souls who tirelessly seek God. My ultimate goal is to bring the presence of Jesus to the world; and in this spirit, inspire a good prayer life in the faithful, a genuine friendship with the saints; and a true, merciful, and compassionate love for God and neighbor. And as a creative man made in the image and likeness of a creative God, I hope to use art to preach God's beauty, and slowly loosen the world's captivity.
.jpg)