Inspiration

Father Don Huntimer's home in Cotati, California for a year 1975-76

In the mid-1970's, Father Don felt a pull to reevaluate his life's role and his vocation and took a year's leave of absence from the priesthood. This year was spent in the little red house in the painting above - a year of reflection and redefining what it meant to be a priest as well as to be Don Hunitmer. The year was a pivotal and defining moment in his life, which marks a fork in the road both personally and professionally, returning to his life as a priest with new vision and new direction with a clearer sense of purpose. This was a time of deeper realizations and discovery. Emerging from the little red house which served as a true hermitage in the literal sense of the word, Father Don returned to the life of a priest as defined by his own heart and soul, which is ultimately the voice of that which is divine and real and true, rather than as defined by a legislative body of individuals disconnected from his own spirit.

FATHER DON HUNTIMER
Priest, Artist, Visionary, Teacher

“True art is made noble
and religious by the mind
producing it.”
— Michelangelo

“In my view, it is the most important function of art and science to awaken this religious feeling and keep it alive in those who are receptive to it.”
— Albert Einstein

Please visit our Biographical Sketch page to read more about Don Huntimer's professional work and personal background

The Creative Spirit Flows Through All
Father Don Huntimer Inspires Women in Prison

One of Father Don's most important messages is that the creative spirit flows through all - because God flows through us all. When we connect with that creative spirit, we connect with that which is truly divine and begin to see the world and those around us with new eyes. Those new eyes can change the way we see the world, creating a deeper sensitivity for all life, a greater appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us and a greater reverence for all of God's creation.

Creativity is not the exclusive privelege of a few gifted artists, writers or composers. Creativity is our birthright and has been infused in us by the living spirit that created us! The youngest of children in every culture in the world reaches out through creative expression in infinite number of ways. As children, each of us danced and sang and made up stories, drew with crayons, fingerpainted, sculpted with clay or mud and made fantastical worlds out of the soup of our building blocks and our imaginations. We created freely! And from there, we were able to bring our living spirit into this world. Our ceativity carved out our unique space when we came into this world and our creativity will leave our mark in it when we leave. And through that creativity, our spirit continues to resonate long after we are gone. This is what we bring in with us when we are born as it is part of who we are.

Father Don Huntimer works with women in prison and brings that important message of activating the creative spirit to those that are incarcerated. Recently Fr. Don had this to say after one of his regular visits to the Women's Jail in the Tucson area.

“Last evening when I had a Mass at the Women's Jail one of them asked me to show her some photos of my paintings. She then invited me to go across the hall to see her paintings that she had done on flat rock slabs. I was just amazed at the beauty and composition of each of them. I encourage the women to get in touch with their creative attributes and to express them in whatever way they can. I stress that the process of getting in touch with the creative dimension of our spirits is more important than any art that we may produce.”

Awakening the creative spirit and allowing creativity to flow is to connect with the living presence of God within. As Father Don says, it doesn't matter what the product is as long as that connection is made. Through creativity we learn to see with new eyes, hear with new ears and to feel with more sweetly and finely attuned senses which awaken within us a deeper connectivity to all of God's beautiful creation of which we are a living part. Through that creativity, they will find themselves -- their true self, their spiritual self, and in that they can come to know that God is not far away.

May all who come to these pages find this inspiration and reconnection with that which is divine within themselves when they come in and leave with it when they go out. - Sandra Shaw

To engage in the creative process, we as humble human beings are able to touch with at least a tiny breath the creative hand of God. Envisioning something of lovliness and becoming inspired enough to bring it into being, we open a window within our souls to connect with that which is greater than ourselves. We have at our fingertips nearly limitless media of expression from which to embrace the creative process and celebrate the joy of consciousness and the feelings of life. This process itself is God at work, for creation is always in the making. God's hand and breath never rests and is ever unfolding in continuous celebration of spirit in every form. Every living thing around us is God's expression. It is the Divine Artist's hand and is in truth the very living love of the Christ at its essence.

Shortly after being asked to undertake the development of this project, it became evident that this was more than a job assigned to me to simply design a web site. I felt it a sacred trust from the start to find a creative solution to providing a suitable place which would do justice in honoring the life works of this wonderful and accomplished artist. I wanted the backdrop of the gallery space to feel strong and alive while remaining subtle enough to give the paintings a place to speak for themselves. For as I got to know each painting, I came to appreciate each as an individual - a separate expression of living love from the artist's hand for each of these paintings was in a very real sense the children of the man who created them. These were vibrant statements of the range of feelings, moods, reflections and simple beauty of not only the world around us but the universe inside the artist's soul. To create a web site for Father Don Huntimer, I had to strike a balance in creating a space that was strong enough to do justice to his paintings while being subtle enough to remain as a backdrop so they could resonate fully with the celebration of life that they represent.

In working together with Fr. Don on this project, I have come to know him not only from his artwork (from the inside out) but I have also come to know him as a treasured friend. One could not undertake such an endeavor without reaching to the heart of the art and thus connecting with the heart of the artist who created it. In the beginning I only hoped that the creative solutions I was seeking would do the artist and his work justice. Although that is still the case, as I have come to know Fr. Don, I now also hope that this site speaks for the profound love, respect and joy that I feel in becoming his friend in this process. This project quickly metamorphosized from a design opportunity for a stranger to a labor of love for a dear friend.

In celebration of the living spirit of God as reflected in all beings, all life and all things, I created the first pages, the layout and the design of this web site in 6 days. On the seventh day, I rested. Working together with my new friend, Don and I have shared ideas and visions, concepts and experiences to create a space where visitors could come and enjoy drinking from an inspirational well. There is something for everyone here. Whether you are reading about his spiritual journey, life history, words from admirers or marveling at the exquisite landscapes, birds, flowers, seascapes, portraits, animals, desert vistas or glimpses into the vast reaches of space, you will find something meaningful for you personally in both the life and works of Father Don Huntimer.

Look deep into the center of one of those nebulae he has painted and allow yourself to go into the colors, the form, the intensity and the wonder of it. Go into the passion behind the painting and see if you can not only connect with the artist but see if you can connect with something deep within yourself as well. If you go even deeper still into the miracle of that beautiful galaxy, the miracle that allowed a human hand to paint it and the painting and the wonder of the hand that created the original so far from our tiny earth, you might even see God.

Across the miles, we have worked together - and continue to do so - to create a place and a space of spiritual sanctuary for the visitor through art. Here, one can choose to look and then choose to see whatever it is that wells forth from inside. Through the beautiful colors, the forms, the visions and expressions of one artist, the artist within the viewer can be accessed. Inspiration literally means "in spirit" - and inspiration is a two-way street. Through the inspirations of the artist, beautiful works have poured forth and through the venue of beauty alone, inspiration can be ignited in the viewer. We hope that within this web site you will find pieces that inspire YOU to your own creative expression.

It has been a tremendous joy in my own creative life not only to have been given the blessings of working on this web site but to have received the blessings of making such a wonderful new friend. To have been given this sacred task has enriched my own life experience and has literally redirected many of the lost little threads in my personal journey to find their place once again in the path of this life. It has been a life-changing experience and continues to unfold in such a manner. I have miraculously, seemingly by default, been handed this blessing for my very own.

To have engaged in the creative process for this web site, I have been the recipient of the lovliness of living spirit. I have been blessed with renewed inspiration - enough to bring new works of my own into being. In connecting with the art you will find here by the artis of Don Huntimer, I have found a new window of friendship opening up before me, a gift from God along - and which is greater gift than anything that we can receive from this world.

I hope that the visitor has a similar experience in coming here, to find a place of renewal and inspiration and that others will come to know Fr. Don as a friend through his beautiful work and his life history. Each painting as you view it will become your own. Carry the colors and the radiance with you and let the heart of this artist speak to you through his paintings. Let the paintings enrich your spirit and uplift your soul.

Take your time as you view the works. Stay as long as you wish and return as often as you want to drink from the well of inspiration and creativity whenever your own well is dry. May the beauty of these paintings pour forth through and bring you joy, inspiration and peace. May you discover the Divine Artist's hand behind all things and that which is of truth at its essence.