Arts and Faith
‘This Is My Story': Introduction
An Online Exhibition (Advent 2020)
All the paths of the Lord are love . . . .
~ Psalm 25:9
St. Michael’s Advent 2020 exhibition is “This Is My Story: Women and Homelessness.” A collaboration between artist Susan Cornelis; Sonoma, California’s The Living Room, a day shelter for women and mothers with children who are experiencing homelessness; and Justicewise, a nonprofit dedicated t…
Read More »Artwork: Portrait Stories
A collaboration between artist Susan Cornelis; Sonoma, California’s The Living Room, a day shelter for women and mothers with children who are experiencing homelessness; and Justicewise, a nonprofit dedicated to regenerative social change, the project provides an intimate look at the lives of women who are or who have been homeless.
Click on each portrait to enlarge the image and …
Read More »Artist's Biographical Information
Susan Cornelis, M.S.W., is a watercolor artist and mixed-media workshop teacher who most recently has been documenting the personal stories of women experiencing homelessness, as well as challenging events or circumstances surrounding fire recovery, climate change, and nursing homes.
Combining ink and watercolor drawings with words, Susan’s illustrations are a kind of visual jou…
Read More »Project Collaborators
The Living Room
The Living Rooms (TLR) is Sonoma, California’s only day shelter for homeless women and mothers with children.
As is portrayed in the artist’s illustrations, “This Is My Story” features the lives of women who found respite, care, compassion, and support at The Living Room (TLR) before COVID-19. What was to become of these women and children when the shelter had t…
Read More »Questions for Reflection
As you view Susan Cornelis’s portraits and read the unique personal stories of the women who depend on The Living Room’s services, consider the following questions:
- When you hear the phrase “typical homeless person,” what do you visualize?
- How do the artist’s portraits of the women change your perception(s) of a “typical homeless person”?
- What feelings or experiences e…
Christmas Art Sale to Benefit St. Michael's
Proceeds from this sale will help St. Michael's not only meet its financial obligations for much-needed structural repairs at the church and rectory but also its commitments to its considerable and well-known mission and outreach initiatives. Not only will the sale benefit St. Michael's; it also will benefit the artists, who want to see their work supported, sold, and enjoyed, an…
Read More »Past Exhibition: The Divine Feminine
An Online Group Exhibition (July 2020)
Participating Artists: Elisabeth (Beth) Hudgins, Linda Maldonado, Elise Ritter, Deborah Taylor
Introduction
What is “The Divine Feminine”? It is the spirit of empathy, connectedness, wholeness, and creativity that dwells within and around us. It is the sacred, sensuous, and invisible presence that urges us to explore, express, and grow. It is t…
Read More »Past Exhibition: Artists and Poets Respond to the Pandemic
An Online Exhibition (May 2020)
Introduction
If the world will not go away then the great discipline seems to be the ability to make an identity that can live in the midst of everything without feeling beset.
~ David Whyte, “Besieged” in Consolations
Beauty invites us, through entrancement, to that fearful frontier between what we think makes us; and what we think makes the worl…
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