Jack and the Fallen Giants - A Childrens Story by Jonathan Pageau

From our friend Jonathan Pageau comes the latest in an acclaimed and growing series of fairy tales, written by Jonathan and beautifully illustrated by Elouise Scherrer.

In the storytelling tradition older than the Brothers Grimm comes Jack and the Fallen Giants. This numinous retelling of a beloved classic allows modern readers to reclaim the beauty of this well-beloved fairy tale through insightful storytelling and iconic illustrations. Like all great fairy tales, Jack and the Fallen Giants is written to be enjoyed by children but contains hidden treasures for readers of all ages.

Eloise Scherrer beautifully illustrates the book. As a young artist, Eloise was deeply inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and has spent her career giving shape and color to the best of European fantasy literature. Her attention to depth, textures, movement, and light creates whimsical and vivid illustrations that draw the reader into a realm of enchantment and imagination.

Order from the Symbolic World website: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/

Tales for Once and Ever
Tales for Once and Ever is a series of eight interlocking fairy tales working towards a symphony of storytelling. With repeating themes and patterns in both story and illustrations,  with recurring characters and situations that always honor the source material, this series is an invitation to dive back into a lived experience that is expressed in all of our folk and fairy tales. The Brothers Jacob and Wilhem Grimm did not write down anything "new" when they collected and published their stories in 1812. Rather, their publications preserved a tradition that related a lived experience through symbols.
This series is a return to an ancient storytelling style, a way to partake of the lived experience our ancestors were sharing in their homes, with their families, and in their communities long before modern times. This series also enhances that renewed story experience with striking illustrations that are invented alongside the narrative in a way that invites us — even implicates us — in the symbolic landscape through details that have always been hiding there in these ancient stories — like breadcrumbs — all along.

Order from the Symbolic World website: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/

Vol 1 - Snow White and the Widow Queen
Vol 2 - Jack and the Fallen Giants
Vol 3 - Rapunzel and the Evil Witch (Spring 2025)
Vol 4 - The Valiant Little Tailor (Fall 2025)
Vol 5 - Sleeping Beauty (Spring 2026)
Vol 6 - The Boy and the Giant (Fall 2026)
Vol 7 - Rumplestiltskin (Spring 2027)
Vol 8 - Cinderella (Fall 2027)

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Praise for the first volume, Snow White and the Widow Queen.

"Fairy tales are meant to delight, and Snow White is one of the most treasured of that tradition. Now we can be doubly delighted by the reimagining of the legend by a masterful storyteller, Jonathan Pageau. Accompanied by the luminous illustrations of a gifted artist, Heather Pollington, the traditional tale has been transformed into a magical synthesis of word and image. Snow White and the Widow Queen presents a thrilling and mysterious take on the classic, mingling the rudiments of fairy with the greatest myths ever told. This retelling of the beloved fairy tale is sure to please readers of all ages, leaving children and adults spellbound."

- Robert Jackson, Executive Director, Great Hearts Institute

A new Symbolic World Store

In launching Jack and the Fallen Giants, we are also introducing the New Symbolic World store, where other books, prints and merchandise are offered, including the GodsDog series, a series of graphic novels exploring Biblical epic in a way that has not been seen before.  Essays on Symbolism, like The Symbolism of Snow White and The Secrets of Godsdog are also available there.https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/

Why Beauty Matters

And Art for Art’s Sake is Anti-Human

The purpose of art and the role of beauty in the culture have been subjects of ongoing debate. While some view art as existing purely for its own sake - ‘art for art’s sake’ - divorced from any broader utility or message, others argue that art must serve a didactic or ideological function. The traditional Christian perspective, however, offers a distinct understanding that avoids these extremes, and the result is art for God's sake, which, if done well, will always be art for our sake too.

The interior of St Mark's Cathedral Venice: Is this art for art's sake, or art for God's sake?
(Rob Hurson, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Central to the Christian view is recognising the profound unity of the material and spiritual dimensions in the human person. As beings composed of both body and soul, humans possess material and spiritual needs. Consequently, the purpose of art cannot be reduced solely to aesthetic considerations or purely practical or ideological aims. Rather, true art must harmonise these aspects, reflecting and serving the totality of human nature, material and spiritual.

This understanding is rooted in Christian anthropology, which sees beauty not as a superfluous addition to an object's utility but as an integral part of its purpose. When an object is truly beautiful, its beauty is seen as a sign that its purpose is in accord with God's governance of the world—a reflection of divine inspiration or the beauty of Creation itself.

Take, for example, something as mundane as a toothbrush. While its primary purpose is the practical one of cleaning teeth and promoting bodily health, a well-designed toothbrush incorporates elements of beauty that speak to a broader understanding of human well-being. Its harmonious design serves its practical function and invites the user to consider the more profound implications of oral hygiene for overall health and spiritual vitality. While few will consciously contemplate such things when brushing their teeth (least of all first thing in the morning or last thing at night!), most of us, even with something as simple as a toothbrush, would not choose an ugly one in preference to a beautiful one, given the choice. This means that they are accepting the invitation of beauty at some level.

This principle is even more evident and more important in works of art with a direct spiritual or liturgical purpose, such as sacred art or architecture. In these cases, beauty plays a crucial role in elevating the human spirit and facilitating the contemplation of the divine. For instance, the beauty of a cathedral is not merely an aesthetic embellishment but a vital component of its purpose as a house of worship, drawing the hearts and minds of the faithful towards heaven.

The Christian perspective recognises that individuals possess free will and can respond positively or negatively to the call of beauty. While beauty can inspire a deepening desire for virtue and a closer relationship with God, it can also be rejected or dismissed as mere sentimentality.

Ultimately, the traditional Christian view sees art and beauty not as ends in themselves but as means of elevating the human person and facilitating a deeper engagement with the spiritual realm. Beauty is not a superficial adornment but a reflection of the divine order – a sign that an object or work of art fulfils its intended purpose in harmony with God's design.

In this understanding, the apprehension of beauty is not merely an emotional response but a profound experience that can engage the intellect, will, and emotions in a multifaceted way. It is a call to contemplate the divine, to pursue virtue, and to recognise the unity of the material and spiritual dimensions of human existence.

By integrating these perspectives, the traditional Christian view offers a nuanced and holistic approach to the purpose of art and the role of beauty – one that recognises their intrinsic value while situating them within a broader framework of human flourishing and spiritual growth.. 

One presumes that even Our Lady cleaned her teeth, and if she had done so, even this humble activity would have been done gracefully and beautifully.

A Modern Medium For Artists Looking to Offer Traditional Beauty To Our Churches

After a recent article suggesting that light, portable images and furnishings, such as a rood screen, might be a way to beautiful sacred spaces at a reasonable cost, I was delighted to hear again from the well-known Catholic sculptor Thomas Marsh. He wanted to tell me about a medium that he uses, which he felt would help people looking for economical and lightweight sculptures and sculpted furnishings that nevertheless have a permanent look - white gypsum cement. This was new to me, and what he described was worth passing on to you.

I've featured Thomas’s work before, notably in an interview with Dr. Carrie Gress. What sets Thomas apart in the world of classical naturalism is his deep understanding of sacred art. Unlike many skilled artists who blur the lines between sacred and secular, Thomas knows that sacred art should idealize its subjects more emphatically, emphasizing universal human values over particular details, but without neglecting the particular altogether in a subtle balance of naturalism and idealism. When artists get this right, and I think Thomas does, the result is sculptures worthy of veneration, rather than what we often see, portraits of models dressed as holy figures, albeit skillfully rendered.

Thomas wrote to me about white gypsum cement: "It's in the plaster family, though much harder and more durable. It's strictly an interior material. I often do relief sculptures for projects for the Church, and the beauty of reliefs is that they are sufficiently subtle to harmonise with architecture, when appropriate. When focused upon, they lend themselves to detailed representation, to almost any degree of verisimilitude with proper lighting from above. Finally, they are VERY economical to produce, ship, and install."

To showcase this versatile medium, I've included some examples of Thomas' relief works. There's also a photo of a large ensemble he created for St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Fredericksburg, VA. The centerpiece is a 6'6" corpus cast in fiberglass-reinforced gypsum cement with light polychrome—i.e. coloration. Despite its impressive size, it weighs just 90 pounds!

Contact Thomas Marsh through thomasmarshsculptor.net