“As we close another school year amid such unprecedented times, I am convinced more deeply of the importance of art in the world. How many films and TV shows did you consume during lockdown? How often did music help you through this trying year? How many books gave you a place to escape for a while? How many video games did you master? Art is everywhere, if you look. Creativity is abundant, and all of the things we take for granted – advertisements, furniture, clothes, cars, anything you can see – were designed by someone who felt the artist’s urge to make the world just a little more beautiful.
In the words of Pope St. John Paul II, ‘Society needs artists, just as it needs scientists, technicians, workers, professional people, witnesses of the faith, teachers, fathers and mothers, who ensure the growth of the person and the development of the community by means of that supreme art form which is “the art of education”‘ (John Paul II, Letter to Artists, April 4, 1999). Art is a profound and universal language, transcending time and distance, unifying past and present. Through art we learn about history, we learn about other cultures, and we express the aspects of our souls in a uniquely human way. We alone get to share in the act of creation with our God – no other creature can do that.
My hope for my students is always that through taking an art class, they might discover the spark of creativity that exists deep inside. I hope that they will experience the joy of making, recognize art’s therapeutic and meditative capabilities, understand how to communicate an idea visually, and, most importantly, learn how to foster a God-given talent and use it for the greater good.
I hope that you enjoy this selection of works from my classes this past year. I am always amazed at the ideas these students have and the passion they demonstrate in their work! I feel truly blessed to be able to guide them as they learn the language of art and that each one of them has ideas and experiences worth sharing.” -Mrs. Mazure, Visual Arts Teacher
Click on the links below to view the art galleries.
“Dear artists, you well know that there are many impulses which, either from within or from without, can inspire your talent. Every genuine inspiration, however, contains some tremor of that ‘breath’ with which the Creator Spirit suffused the work of creation from the very beginning. Overseeing the mysterious laws governing the universe, the divine breath of the Creator Spirit reaches out to human genius and stirs its creative power. He touches it with a kind of inner illumination which brings together the sense of the good and the beautiful, and he awakens energies of mind and heart which enable it to conceive an idea and give it form in a work of art. It is right then to speak, even if only analogically, of ‘moments of grace’, because the human being is able to experience in some way the Absolute who is utterly beyond.” — John Paul II, Letter to Artists, April 4, 1999
