PRESENTATION OF OUR ARTWORK AND CRAFTS

Through his artistic creativity, man appears more than ever in the image of God
and he accomplishes this task above all in shaping the wondrous material
of his own humanity
and then exercising creative dominion over the universe that surrounds him.
There is a remarkable similarity between the art of forming oneself
and that which takes place in the transformation of matter.
In both of these tasks the starting point is always a gift from above.
If artistic creation has need of inspiration,
the journey of the spirit has need of grace,
which is the gift by which God communicates himself,
surrounding our lives with his love, lighting our steps
and knocking at our hearts until he can dwell in them
and make them temples of his holiness:
“If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our home with him” Jn 14:23
God lets himself be glimpsed in your spirit through the fascination of beauty and your longing for it.
Without doubt, the artist has a special relationship to beauty,
and it can be said that beauty is “the vocation bestowed on him by the Creator”
If the artist can perceive a ray of the supreme beauty
among the many manifestations of the beautiful,
then art becomes a way to God.

John Paul II during the celebration of the Jubilee of Artists — February 19, 2000

 
ICONS ON WOOD AND ON CLOTH

He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation;
for in Him all things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers,
all things have been created through him and for him Col 1:15-16
In silent prayer, fasting and vigils, the icons of Christ, of the Virgin and of the saints are written (this is the term used for the creation of icons) according to the tradition of the east, with its theology and wisdom.
“Art for art’s sake, which refers all to the artist without establishing a connection with the world of the divine, does not have a place in the Christian conception of the icon. Whatever style may be adopted, all sacred art must express the faith and the hope of the Church. The tradition of the icon shows that the artist must be conscious of fulfilling a mission in the service of the Church.” John Paul II
STATUES IN WOOD AND DOLOMITE

The sculptor measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in the form of a man, of man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a house. He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow. Isaiah 44:13-14

Statues inspired by the Roman or Gothic traditions are a work of prayer. Drawing from the high era of Christian art, the monks and monastic sisters attempt to offer this heritage of faith in their artwork.
MEDALS

He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being …and he is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high Heb 1:3

“The Art of the Church should try to speak the language of the Incarnation, and with matter, express the One who daigned to dwell in matter and operate our salvation through matter, according to the beautiful expression of Saint John Damascene.” John Paul II
INCENSE AND ESSENTIAL OILS

Like cinnamon and acanthus, I have yielded a perfume, like choice myrrh, I have breathed out a scent, like galbanum, onycha, labdanum, like the smoke of incense in the tent. Si 24:15

Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:3
LES CIERGES ET LES BOUGIES

« Moi, Je suis la Lumière du monde. Qui Me suit ne marchera pas dans les ténèbres, mais aura la Lumière de la Vie. » (Jean 8, 12)

« La Vie était la Lumière des hommes, et la Lumière luit dans les ténèbres et les ténèbres ne l’ont pas saisie. » (Jean 1, 4-5)
METAL WORK

The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer spurs on him who strikes with the anvil. Is 41:7
Currently, an artwork of metal is beginning with the production of sacred objects with the techniques of repoussé and engraving, according to the heritage of the Middle East (Syria and Iraq).
WOODWORKING

A man who is too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. Is 40:20
LEATHER

Paul found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together — by trade they were tentmakers. Acts 18:2-3
LA VAISSELLE EN GRÈS

« Seigneur, Tu es notre Père ; nous sommes l’argile et c’est Toi qui nous as formés, nous sommes tous l’ouvrage de tes Mains. » (Isaïe 64, 7)

Si la moniale travaille la terre, elle fait aussi l’expérience que la terre la travaille : elle se met à « l’écoute » de la matière, qui la rend présente à elle-même, aux autres, à Dieu. Elle trouve sa « juste place », glaise dans les mains de son Créateur. Chaque pièce, unique, passe par les mains de plusieurs sœurs et surtout par leur cœur, unique.
Les motifs et les formes choisis témoignent de la simplicité du désert. Les moniales ont à cœur d’offrir une beauté simple, porteuse de paix, de sérénité, de joie, qu’elles reçoivent en travaillant.

DECORATED EARTHENWARE

The pottery is decorated according to ancient eastern traditions: Philistine, Egyptian, Moroccan, etc . There is also a western design: Rouen.

The desire for artistic beauty is rooted above all in spiritual beauty. God is beauty. The environment and the manner in which one chooses to live flow from that fact, even in all the details. The decoration of the pottery is accomplished with precise gestures that express the love of God and love for the person who will receive the pottery. This artistic attention is in view of the dignity of the human person.
HONEY

Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey. Dt 6:3
BISCUITS

Jesus said: “To what should I compare the kingdom of God?
It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” Lc 13:20-21
SWEETS

Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. Sg 2:5