A Message from Sarah Crow

We are saddened to announce the departure of our artist-in-residence, Sarah Crow. Below is a message from Sarah regarding her time at St. Gregory's Hall and plans for the future.

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​Dear brothers and sisters, artists, patrons, and colleagues, 

I write to you from my hometown in Oregon to inform you of a medical emergency that necessitated my immediate departure from Chicago and thus also from my residency at St. Gregory’s Hall. I will offer more details about my condition and current situation at the end of this letter, and I welcome your prayers for my continued healing. 
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First, I want to reflect on the incredible good that my three-year tenure as artist-in-residence at St. Gregory’s Hall has brought me personally as well as my conviction of the vital importance of St. Gregory’s Hall’s mission and service for both the local and the universal Church. ​

Sarah leads a life drawing session in her studio.

Three years ago, I prayed for an art studio connected to a Catholic Church where I could produce and teach sacred art while being physically close to my Eucharistic Lord. This prayer was answered in God’s perfect timing and providence by the invitation to become artist-in-residence at St. Gregory’s Hall and to collaborate in developing programming for this visionary organization.

It is worth noting that a space to work - especially a space close to a Catholic church filled with beautiful liturgical art - is the most basic thing any artist needs; it is a priority before any other type of patronage. St. Gregory’s Hall is the only organization in Chicago to offer a studio space specifically for a Catholic artist! I pray that this model will be adopted by many other parishes city- and nation-wide. 

As artist-in-residence my responsibilities were trifold: to offer tours of the diversely beautiful art and architecture of the churches of Mary Mother of God Parish, to offer art workshops and retreats accessible to a variety of skill levels and to the whole Chicagoland community, and to operate an open studio where my sacred art commissions could be shared as a witness to the fact that sacred art is not just a relic of the past but is a living and vital part of our Catholic tradition today. 

Each of these responsibilities provided unique opportunities to form meaningful relationships with people within and beyond the parish, to preach the Gospel, to assist people to understand and to pray with sacred art, and for personal and professional growth. The abundant gifts and good fruits that have come from this residency transcend what I can express or what can be quantified. Nonetheless I want to try to communicate some experiences and encounters that help show how special St. Gregory’s Hall is. 

"Occasionally people ask me what figure drawing has to do with evangelization. One answer is that it helps one to appreciate the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation and the dignity of our own bodies destined for glorification in Christ."

There is the regular and growing group of monthly life drawing attendees. I love those hours in intense creative flow together as we concentrate on the profound beauty of the human form and grow across all skill levels in the art of figure drawing — the foundation of all Christian art which rightly privileges the human being as made in the image and likeness of God. Occasionally people ask me what figure drawing has to do with evangelization. One answer is that it helps one to appreciate the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation and the dignity of our own bodies destined for glorification in Christ. 

There are the people I met on our church tours, young and old, Catholics and non-believers. These include the granddaughter of a parishioner who was married at St. Gregory’s in 1926 and who traveled with her own daughter and granddaughter from out of state to visit this important site of familial and faith history; there is the young art student from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who was enraptured by the light of the stained glass windows reflected in the darkened interior; and there is the catechumen who was just initiated into the Catholic Church who hungers to learn the truths and stories of our faith through sacred iconography. Truly, church buildings are images of heaven, and we are rich beyond measure to have this treasury of beautiful sacred art and architecture to teach us our faith and to recall to us the reality that we are made for so much more!

There are the workshops and retreats I was privileged to offer to people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and skill levels. Some people came simply to learn technical skills such as pastel painting, but always there was a sense of the sacred in the studio. Whether from the blessing given by Fr. Bob Cook, OFM Conv., or the sisters who used to have their dormitory there, or from the prayers we made on behalf of participants, or because of the sacred artwork on the walls and easels, I do not know. What I do know is that even the most casual visitors to the studio from skeptical teenagers to tenured art professors expressed feeling a sense of peace.

Indeed, the beauty of sacred art touches the human soul and softens hearts. 

​I can scarcely imagine anything more wonderful than what became a regular event at St. Gregory’s Hall workshops: a sacred subject (such as the Nativity of Jesus) being studied and prayed with by a group of people gathered together in the appropriate liturgical season as we learned how to combine the skill of our hands, contemplation of our intellects, and adoration of our hearts to honor our Lord through sacred art. Sacred art can open up so many more ways of being with God than many people realize. To have been able to help reveal this path of prayer to people (Pope Benedict XVI called beauty a royal highway to God) through programming at St. Gregory’s Hall is a cherished honor. 

I will let pictures say what words cannot as the gallery here documents some moments from the workshops and tours.

Now I must acknowledge my gratitude to the community of staff and talent at St. Gregory’s Hall. With the support and inspiration of those involved, most especially Mark Franzen, I was given the space as artist-in-residence to grow creatively, spiritually, and professionally. It is difficult to speak about these categories separately because they are all intertwined. What was most impactful for me was the opportunity to freely unite faith and art in a teaching and public-facing context. As a professor of art at various institutions of higher education and as a Catholic artist I often experience tension between my faith and the cultural contexts within which I work. At St. Gregory’s hall I was welcome to enthusiastically share my love for Jesus at the same time as my dedication to the craft and history of art. In other words, I was encouraged to be fully myself and gained confidence to preach the Gospel through my art and teaching. This also corresponded to invitations from other parishes and Christian organizations to offer workshops, retreats, and lectures. These opportunities were provided to me precisely because of the success of the programming we offered at St. Gregory’s Hall. 

No such thing would have been possible or successful without the participants. I am so grateful for those of you who I met even only once and for all those who regularly attended workshops and tours and for the dear friends I made and patrons and clients I met all through St. Gregory’s Hall. 

Finally, the hours of the Divine Mercy I was able to privately pray in St. Gregory the Great infused grace into my soul without which I could not have done anything. I learned how truly necessary it is to always begin, continue, and end every work with prayer. I wish all artists could have this experience of working close to a beautiful church where we can pray. 

St. Gregory’s Hall is a home for Catholic culture. What the world is most in need of is Catholic culture: a culture of life, of beauty, of truth that is rooted and grounded in charity so that all souls may know the love of Jesus that surpasses all knowledge and be filled unto the fullness of God. For the last three years St. Gregory’s Hall has truly been my home in Chicago where (as happens in every good home) I learned to be more fully myself, which is to say who God designed me to be, so that I can continue to participate in the living tradition of the Catholic Church and by the grace of God share her light with the world.  

I trust that what we began with my residency at St. Gregory’s Hall will continue to grow and flourish with new talent and new collaborations with other artists in and beyond Chicago. I am excited to see what happens next and I am confident that those of you who have enjoyed our programming will be able to continue to do so with quality offerings from other Catholic artists in the future as well as from myself as a visiting artist. I am also hopeful for the next resident artist to enjoy the many benefits that I have received so that they too can grow in their ministry of service to Mother Church.

"For the last three years St. Gregory’s Hall has truly been my home in Chicago where (as happens in every good home) I learned to be more fully myself, which is to say who God designed me to be, so that I can continue to participate in the living tradition of the Catholic Church and by the grace of God share her light with the world."

Regarding my health, I am suffering from severe sciatic pain and muscle cramping originating from an issue with an injured spinal disk. This issue arose gradually; however this July it became so acute that I was no longer able to perform daily tasks without assistance, much less work. My family graciously stepped in and moved me from Chicago to Eugene, Oregon where they can help take care of me while I recover and receive medical treatment. In all likelihood, (God willing) I will make a full recovery within a few months without surgical intervention. 
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Although this move has been precipitated by my health crisis, my heart is at peace. I am eager to live in beautiful Oregon again and near my immediate family including my teenage nephews. I will have an art studio in my mother’s garden. Leaving friends, plans, my residency at St. Gregory’s Hall, and my church community at St. John Cantius is extremely difficult. However, I trust God’s providence and am trying to appreciate the lessons in humility and dependency. 

I cannot put into words my gratitude for the innumerable gifts I have received in the last decade in Chicago. Most precious of all is the pearl of great price, the gift of faith in Christ that has animated my friendships, community, art, work, and ministry in this city. I grieve departing, and departing so suddenly, but much more than sadness I feel gratitude and love.

I want you all to know what I am not leaving behind when I move: 

• our communion in Christ Jesus. 
  
  
• my sacred art business: I will continue to work on significant commissions-in-progress as soon as my health allows and I also look forward to having more time to invest in my business and cast a wider net nationally for sacred art commissions. 
  
  
• my calling to teach and preach the Gospel through beauty: I also look forward to continuing to travel to lecture and teach including back at St. Gregory’s Hall and elsewhere in Chicago and the Midwest.

So please do not think of me as very far away, but remember me to God, feel free to stay connected, and think of me for opportunities to serve the Church as an apostle of beauty. You can also subscribe to my newsletter at www.deigratisacredart.com which I will be sending out monthly.

Because God keeps His promises, I believe that I am not just leaving precipitously in dire circumstances but am being sent. When I made my private perpetual vow of celibacy for the Kingdom, I promised to follow the Lamb wherever He leads. He patiently leads me through this little cross of pain and loss to the wild beauty of the pacific northwest and to the nurturing peace of my mother’s home. 

Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever!