COTA Artists Blog

November 4 & 5
7pm
Fairhope Civic Center

$10 for adults, $5 for students

Tickets available at the door

Directed by Erin Langley
Choreographed by Matthew Kiel 

Featuring 65 very talented 3rd-12th grade Baldwin County students

Sponsored in part by Church of the Apostles, Taylor Law Firm, Great Kitchens, Eastern Shore Heart Center, a private donor, and Power Real Estate 

The first artist in our series of COTA interviews, Claire Cloninger is a gifted addition to Church of the Apostles. She is the recipient of three Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association and is a successful modern gospel songwriter. A prolific writer, Claire has written 19 musicals for church choirs. Her songs, which have been covered by such artists such as BJ Thomas, Amy Grant, Pat and Debby Boone, are perennial listings in the Gospel Top Ten. She was commissioned to write a new second verse for “The Star Spangled Banner,” which was recorded by Sandi Patti. The writer or co-writer of 11 books, Cloninger collaborated with Laura Barr on her 2001 publication, Faithfully Fit. 

Read on as Claire discusses her creative process and the role of faith in artistic creation.

What is your favorite space to create?  

I am blessed to have one of those minds that is able to block out distractions.  For that reason, I confess to having created song lyrics in nearly every setting imaginable.  If I get inspired, I just grab a pencil and any available scrap of paper and try to “get it down before it gets away!”

What is your favorite snack to eat while creating?

Popcorn, m&m’s, or whatever’s on hand.

How do you handle artist’s block (times when it is hard to create)?

In the life of a lyricist, “artist’s block” is pronounced “writer’s block,”  and writer’s block is a luxury I try not to entertain.  One of my collaborators, Ron Harris, loves to say, “Claire’s definition of ‘writer’s block’ is writing with everybody on the block.”  And it is true that I have had many collaborators in my songwriting career.  That really helps to keep my work sounding fresh and new.

Writing the words first is a little bit easier for me since I’m not having to fit them into an existing melody.  But if a composer hands me a really beautiful, inspiring melody, that can be the very thing that draws a strong lyric out of me.  Either way, I love writing lyrics.  There is nothing I like better than a beautiful, wordless melody just begging me to give it words.

How do you stay motivated and disciplined as an artist in our distracting society?  

I think my secret for staying motivated is that I I’ve learned to put myself into a state of mind which is slightly “over-focused.”   A bit driven, perhaps.  I’ve been a professional songwriter for many decades now, and I’m rarely able to get through a day without hearing lyrics in my head and scratching out at least the beginning of an idea on paper.  I really believe songwriting is a gift, and I know where that gift comes from.  I always feel that it would be a slap in God’s face to ignore whatever ideas he is currently whispering in my ear.  So I sharpen my pencil and I’m at it again!

What is the best advice someone has given you?  

Left totally to my own devices as a writer, I probably would have become a reckless procrastinator.  But thankfully, my Dad, Charlie deGravelles, a great piano player who was also a business man. was determined that his kids would inherit his “work ethic.”  Daddy would always bring it down to the practicality of the matter.  About one of my songs, he might say, “That’s a great idea, Claire.  Now what are you going to do with it.”  Whenever he said that, I knew it was time to roll up my sleeves and get to work.

What is your theme song?  

My world is full of Christian music since that is what I write.  But one song that is very close to my heart is a love ballad called “Time After Time.”  The first line says this:

“Time after time, I tell myself that I’m, 
So lucky to be loving you.”  

I know for certain the best gift God has given me is not my songwriting.  It is my husband, Spike.  What a treasure of a guy!  The best husband, the best friend, the best Daddy, the best Granddaddy ever!  I know for certain that I would not be who I am apart from Spike and his love for me.

If you were an animal, what animal would you be?

I would be a song bird whose assignment was to soar over Mobile Bay every day, to land in one of those huge, moss-draped  oak trees growing on the shore, and to sing the praises of the God who was good enough to create this beautiful, enchanting spot on the earth, and allow me to make music in it every day.

Who/what has inspired you lately and/or locally (i.e. other artists, exhibits, shows…?)

I am inspired to write worship music every week as I worship among fellow Christians who love the Lord and each other.  What a joy to be truly inspired by the preaching of the Word every time we gather!  And how cool it is to join the rest of the congregation in singing the original songs of my favorite songwriter and worship leader of all time, my son, Andy Cloninger.

What is one book/song/painting/piece/ etc. that has been enriching to your faith?

One of my all-time favorite books is Abandoned to God: The Life Story of Oswald Chambers, the Author of “My Utmost for His Highest. By David McCasland, (c) Discovery House Publishers, dist by Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993.  

Chambers’ faith was so inspiring, his words are so challenging, and his descriptions of his own Christian walk never fail to draw me closer to his God and mine.

What is your connection to the Divine when you create? Does it resonate with you spiritually when you come up with new work?

Prayer is always my connection to the Divine.  Before sitting down at my desk to write, I pray.  I ask Christian friends to keep me in their prayers.  Also, many times during the work itself, I pause and pray my way out of a place where I feel blocked.