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Sacred and Religious Art Still Matter: Painting Truth with Beauty
In this fourth installment of our series on sacred and religious artists, a local iconographer and Denver Catholic columnist reflects on the interplay between truth and beauty and how both can lead us to Heaven. (Photo provided) By Joe Donelson “I want more people to stop and look at art again,” said artist, iconographer and Denver Catholic columnist Elizabeth Zelasko. As a frequent collaborator with churches and religious institutions in the development of sacred art for s

Guest Contributor
4 days ago6 min read


Sacred and Religious Art Still Matter: Painting Healing and Hope
In this third installment of our series, Casey Batt reflects on her journey, through job loss, prayer and parish life, to painting God's healing grace at All Souls Parish in Englewood. Casey Batt paints the Wedding at Cana in her home studio. The painting was installed at All Souls Parish in Englewood, as part of the parish's recent renovation and rededication. (Photo by Matt Walker) By Matt Walker After 18 years, Casey Batt lost her job when her company laid off thousands of

Guest Contributor
5 days ago5 min read


Sacred and Religious Art Still Matter: Where Faith Meets Contemporary Art
In the second installment of our series on sacred and religious artists, the Denver couple reflects on vocation, marriage and creating beauty for God. Nicole and Mark Thomason, pictured here with their five sons at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, are local artists that blend faith and contemporary art. (Photo provided) As a graduate student in theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Mark Thomason bought himself some

Jacqueline Gilvard Landry
6 days ago5 min read


Sacred and Religious Art Still Matter: Painting and Praying with Beauty
In this first installment of our series on Catholic religious and sacred artists, meet Catholic artist Brie Schulze and the vocation behind her sacred work. Brie Schulze, a local Catholic artist, seeks to bring others into an encounter with God and his saints through her art. (Photo by Juan Andrés Coriat, courtesy of Brie Schulze) By Gennie O'Gara For local Catholic artist Brie Schulze, good art centers on a personal relationship with God. Meditating on sacred art serves as a

Guest Contributor
Jan 124 min read


Windows into Heaven: Icons Aren't Meant to Look Real, and That's the Point
A Colorado Catholic artist explains the symbolism behind sacred icons, especially those depicting Mary, and invites us to step into the divine mystery. Our Lady of the Sign from Yaroslavl, Kiev School, c. 1114. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain) So, what is an icon actually? I give talks all around the country on the topic, so if you don’t know what an icon is, please know that you are not alone! I get asked this question often. Simply put, icon means “image.” In the

Elizabeth Zelasko
Dec 26, 20253 min read


What Google Images Gets Wrong About Christian Prayer
Why prayer isn’t supposed to look like panic — and how to rediscover its peace. La Religieuse (The Nun) by Henriette Browne. 1859 Oil on canvas. Height: 92.4 cm (36.3 in), width: 73.6 cm (28.9 in). National Inventory of Continental European Paintings. Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain) It was several years ago, so I couldn’t tell you now what I was working on when I went searching for reference photos of someone in prayer. I only remembe

Elizabeth Zelasko
Nov 28, 20254 min read


Teaching God’s Beauty: Frassati Catholic Academy’s Becky Heier Named Colorado Art Educator of the Year
Becky Heier, an art teacher at Frassati Catholic Academy in Thornton, has been named the Colorado Private, Independent and Charter School Art Educator of the Year by the Colorado Art Education Association. (Photo courtesy of Frassati Catholic Academy's Facebook) When students step into Becky Heier’s art classroom at Frassati Catholic Academy in Thornton, they find more than brushes and paints. They find a place where creativity becomes prayer and where beauty points to someth

Denver Catholic Staff
Nov 4, 20252 min read


Finding Hope in a World of Death: The Cross as the Tree of Life
Pacino di Bonaguida, Tree of Life, 1305-1310. 248x151 cm. Accademia Gallery, Florence, Italy. (Photo: Elizabeth Zelasko) "For the word of...

Elizabeth Zelasko
Sep 26, 20254 min read


When the Door Is Closed… and the Heart Open: An Art Reflection for the Jubilee Year
(Photo by Elizabeth Zelasko) World Youth Day in 2005 was the first time my feet left the soil of my homeland and touched ground overseas....

Elizabeth Zelasko
Jul 25, 20255 min read


God Keeps His Promise: A Pentecost Art Reflection on the Advocate Who Dwells Within
Pentecost by Jean Restout, c. 1732. (Photo: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons) It is easy to be caught off guard by Pentecost. If I don’t...

Elizabeth Zelasko
Jun 27, 20254 min read


How Art, Scripture and Tradition Come Together in Mary’s May Crowning
Madonna of the Magnificat by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1481. Tempera on wood. 46 in × 47 in. Uffizi, Florence. (Photo: Public...

Elizabeth Zelasko
May 23, 20254 min read


Pope Francis and the Gospel of Beauty: A Legacy for Artists and the Church
Pope Francis addressed approximately 200 prominent artists and other creative people from more than 30 countries in the Sistine Chapel on...

Elizabeth Zelasko
Apr 25, 20256 min read


Will You Sit with Christ's Holy, Sorrowful Face this Lent?
Understanding Christ's Love through Iconography and the Cross Artist(s) Unknown. Maestro della Croce 434 . “Crucifix with Stories of the...

Elizabeth Zelasko
Mar 28, 20254 min read


You’ll want to see this movie about St. Paul opening Easter
A new Biblical film, Paul, the Apostle of Christ , starring Jim Caveizel ( The Passion of the Christ ) and James Faulkner ( Game of...

Denver Catholic Staff
Dec 4, 20174 min read


Is it possible to be a professional Catholic painter today?
As the Archdiocese of Denver has prepared for consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, one particular image of her stood out — a...

Denver Catholic Staff
Oct 2, 20175 min read


5 ways to tell if it’s worth it to watch that movie
It can be hard to find movies to watch. A recent Netflix study showed that 18 minutes of our time on a given day is spent just searching...

Denver Catholic Staff
Sep 25, 20174 min read


Make Church art great again
Art in the Church is not what it used to be. But in the past, particularly during the Italian Renaissance, the Catholic Church...

Denver Catholic Staff
Jun 29, 20176 min read


Rosary mysteries stun in abstract windows
Ten new stained glass windows installed at Our Lady of Loreto Parish in Foxfield depict the mysteries of the rosary in dazzling pieces of...

Aaron Lambert
Jun 7, 20164 min read


Four meditations for Christmas using great works of art
For a Catholic, our faith is not about a book, but about the Word, and at Christmas we celebrate the moment when the “Word became flesh ”...

Denver Catholic Staff
Dec 21, 20154 min read
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