Sacred Strokes: An Artistic Exploration of the Holy Spirit
We are consistently amazed by the limitless creativity showcased by students in the College’s junior years.
Recently, students from 5.3 undertook a project where they were assigned the task of creating an artwork that symbolises the Holy Spirit, accompanied by a rationale explaining the connection between the artwork and the Holy Spirit.
The objective was to illustrate how the Holy Spirit empowers Christians to emulate the actions of Jesus. Students diligently worked on their art pieces at home for a couple of weeks, followed by two in-class sessions to finalise their written responses and art statements.
The classroom was subsequently transformed into a stunning art gallery, allowing the girls to present their interpretations and exhibit their artwork alongside their written statements.
Teacher Lindsey Fitzgerald says, “What impressed me most was the way each individual represented the Holy Spirit using different mediums.”
Lindsey adds, “Although there was a lot that drew on the symbolism of the fruit, many explored sculptures and paintings that really made connections with how the strength of the Holy Spirit is a way of guiding us to be better in the world God created and what might happen if people ignore these gifts.”
We asked some students a few questions about this exciting project. Below are their answers…
What did you enjoy about this Religion project?
I loved how we got to create an art piece on the holy spirit, and I also loved seeing what everybody else did and reading everybody else’s art statement. Pippa Buswell
What have you learned about the Strength of the Holy Spirit?
I learned that it is the most powerful thing that you can possibly get from God, other than your relationship with him. I learned that the Holy Spirit is a bit like a superhero because it fights sin, keeps everyone safe, and lets them thrive. Ania Watson
What were some challenges you faced during this project?
I made an amazing hand sculpture, and then it broke, and that was one of the worst days of my life. But then I made a new one, and although it wasn’t the same colour, it still looked good on display holding the Earth, so I was so happy! Maya Haggerty
What did you enjoy about the art gallery experience at the end of the project?
I really enjoyed seeing all the different ways that people displayed their artwork and how they showed the holy spirit through their art. When I was wandering around, I could start to understand the Holy Spirit more, and how it can impact our lives, it was really a great experience throughout it all. Maeve Mellett
Isabel Wright’s art statement: “For my artwork, I have used paint. The colours I used were red, orange, yellow and brown. I drew the flame of the Holy Spirit and then painted it, and I also did four crosses in each corner. It represents the Holy Spirit because when people receive it, they have a flame above their head and that is the Holy Spirit. It is given by God so that is why I painted the Holy Spirit. I feel great about my artwork because I think I did a great job. The colours blended all together nicely. Something I would change is that I would put a brown big cross behind the flame and I am proud of my flame because it was the right size and the crosses were the same size.”
Lilah Sandland’s art statement: “I made two worlds. One side is the people who don’t believe in the Holy Spirit and God and the other side is all the people that have full belief in God and Jesus and follow the fruit values and have received the Holy Spirit. For the worlds, I used two foam balls and coloured them in, and for the map, I got a big piece of paper for the bad side I used a tea bag and hot water to make it look like a tie-dye effect and drew the islands then wrote the name of the city’s towns, land and island. I made my art piece look like this because not everyone follows in Jesus’ footsteps but can still be doing good, but some people decide to just not believe in God and his son and do some terrible things to others for the sake of it, like murder and sins, and in the end, they are doing self-damage.”
Excellent work, girls! We can’t wait to see what these students create in their next classroom project.
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Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
