To view a selection of art created by the students, please click here.

Liturgy for the Visual Arts

Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest
Austin, Texas

Art and Soul is a course offered at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. It has three goals:

• To explore ways in which art may express God's presence and activity

• To reflect theologically on the creative process through art experience

• To grow in awareness of the personal and communal connections between faith and art

The instructors, Mary Earle, Ginger Geyer, and Delda Skinner, invite the students to reflect on their own creative process as a form of prayer and meditation as they work with a variety of media. The students keep a visual journal that is keyed to the liturgical rhythm of winter and spring.  Students often discover that their creative endeavors remind them of the myriad ways through which God communicates to the human family. In addition, the students reflect on art from other cultures and create at least one group art project. 

This semester on the last night of class, three different student groups created ephemeral art in the style of Andy Goldsworthy, using what was at hand in the natural setting of the ETSS campus. In their evaluations, students remarked that the course provided a needed balance to thinking abstractly as a way of doing theology. They also perceived that the encounter with art from other cultures helped them in their various involvements with outreach and social action.

This liturgy was created to celebrate the time spent together as a class community, and to bless the various art works that were put on display in the student center. Through the display and the Goldsworthy-esque pieces that were on campus, all on campus were invited to participate in the fruits of the course.

To view the Liturgy in a printable PDF format, please click here.

For more information, contact Mary Earle
email: Mary@marycearle.org
website: www.marycearle.org