New art project slated for St. Joseph Abbey

To excel in any field, be it sports, music or art, an individual must have passion and dedication. The philosophy that "behind every work of art, there lives a soul" soon will be evident with a new arts program.

In January, St. Joseph Abbey will become the beneficiary of a unique project in which a cooperative of individual artists begin teaching in the Abbey Woods Atelier. The local artists will share their craft with those interested in learning the basics of studio art, as well as advanced techniques in their chosen medium. The Atelier takes its name from the French word for "artist's studio."

"The initial aim of Abbey Woods Atelier is to continue the 1,500-year-old Benedictine tradition of encouraging and preserving the craft of the arts; be it painting, printmaking, sculpture or calligraphy in the visual arts," said painter Lyn Taylor. "Eventually, the goal will be to encourage seminars on the arts; to include art criticism, art history and writing on the arts, theater and film, always with an emphasis on exploring the relationship of art and soul."

"The overall mission is to encourage and enrich an active conversation between theology and the arts," she said, "bringing theological thinking to the arts and bringing the resources of the arts to the life of the soul, thus, to explore the role of the imagination through the arts in daily spiritual life. Behind every work of art lives a soul."

"There is an international movement to return art instruction to the classical basics known from the medieval guilds, to the atelier method in the 19th century, thus continuing the tradition of solid craftsmanship needed to work in both modern and traditional styles," Taylor said.

In the Middle Ages, monasteries were places famed for their art advocacy -- and for the beauty found in both illuminated manuscripts and Gregorian chant. St. Joseph Abbey is known for the murals of Dom Gregory de Witt, which adorn the walls of the Abbey church and refectory....