The newly hung artwork at the St. Joseph Retreat & Conference Center hopes to inspire visitors to, as Picasso once said, “wash the dust of our daily life off our soul.”
“Originally, I received the idea of each floor having a different theme from Father Richard Doerr, Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I had two goals for adding artwork to St. Joseph’s,” said Vicar General of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana Father Ted Dudzinski. “I wanted something beautiful to enhance the walls, but more than that, I wanted to create something to enhance the spiritual experience of all visitors. My hope is that guests will engage in an indoor prayer walk contemplating the scripture with the art—much as one might do outdoors with nature, statues and shrines.”
Father Dudzinski took this idea and entrusted it to Blessed Sacrament Parishioner Brooke Folkers.
“I think Father Ted said, ‘Would you mind helping me get some things framed for the Retreat Center,” said Folkers. “But like many things, it turned into a larger project than that. From the beginning, it was a process of prayer where we contemplated art for the various areas of the Retreat Center.”
They began the art project in October 2017. The Saint Joseph Retreat & Conference Center spans more than 36,000 square feet and had no wall art on display. The main floor features hallways, meeting rooms, a dining hall and the St. Joseph Chapel. On the second floor are two guest room wings—the 29 room Hostel Wing and the 14 queen-room St. Stephen wing. The third floor hosts 44 hotel-amenities guest rooms. The entire facility frames a courtyard.
“Brooke has helped with the Art and Environment at Church of the Blessed Sacrament. She is devoted to Sacred Scripture, she has great artistic sensibilities and pays attention to the details of the environment,” said Father Dudzinski.
Keeping track of the details turned out to be a key component of the project as they selected more than 120 pieces for framing.
“I wanted the first floor to reflect the whole of the Diocese because the Retreat Center is a place for everyone in every parish—one for renewal, prayer, retreats, even conferences and meetings,” said Father Dudzinski. “This place belongs to the Diocese and that’s around 98,000 Catholics in 24 counties covering more than 9000 square miles.”
Lining the hallways of the first floor are photographs of each parish in the Diocese—all 61 of them. Along with those is a map of the Diocese, and photos of Bishop Timothy L. Doherty and Pope Francis.
Initially, Father Dudzinski thought of Church History for the second floor. In the course of their meetings, Folkers shared a book entitled The Art of God by Ric Ergenbright.
“I think I suggested some nature pictures—I was inspired by this book and how it linked nature with the Psalms,” said Folkers. “Father Dudzinski and I also thought the nature images would be inspiring to the young people that primarily use the second floor Hostel Wing.”
Then, Folkers paired Psalms that speak of nature with photos she found on a Web site offering affordable art and photography prints. Brooke chose 23 nature scenes, including photographs from National Geographic and the National Parks. Each unframed canvas is roughly 24 by 36 inches in size with a mix of vertical and horizontal photos. Each canvas is complete with a card indicating the location and photographer as well as the Psalm the photograph inspires.
“It would be hard to pick a favorite, but I love the sea turtle and the fish with Psalm 104:24-25,” said Folkers. “It is definitely one of the most vibrant pictures on the wall, and it really is a beautiful representation of God’s wisdom in creation. Of course, I never get tired of mountains, or sunsets, or beaches, or stars, so they are all my favorites!”
For the third floor plan of Salvation History, Father Dudzinski and Folkers spent time thinking of important events in salvation history, then finding the paintings and scriptures to accompany them. To keep the project affordable, Brooke chose paintings that were in the public domain and therefore free to use.
“I tend to like realistic kinds of paintings, so many of my choices reflect that,” said Folkers. “In some cases, Father Dudzinski was more familiar with a different artist or depiction and we made some compromises once we saw them all together.”
For the parish portraits and salvation history paintings, Folkers worked with Tom Partridge, co-owner of the Pear Tree Gallery in Logansport. He printed, matted and framed the parish photographs. For the salvation history prints, Partridge enhanced the images in a computer program and printed them on canvas using preservation-quality printers.
“We elected to print the Salvation History paintings on canvas so that we were able to get the rich look of a painting at an affordable price,” said Folkers.
Thirty-five framed canvases line the hallways of the third floor. The series begins with The Garden of Eden (1828) by American Thomas Cole, on the southeast side of the main hallway and ends with The Last Judgement (1853) by Englishman John Martin, wrapping up at the junction of the courtyard. Each framed painting is roughly 24 by 36 inches in size with a mix of vertical and horizontal photos. The paintings feature a card indicating the name of the painting, the year it was painted, the artist, nationality and lifespan. The scripture the painting invokes completes the card and allows visitors to meditate on the scripture while viewing the painting.
“St. Joseph’s is a special place,” said Brooke. “I am happy I got to be a part of making it more beautiful.”
“We pray that many will come and experience the peace and beauty of the St. Joseph Retreat and Conference Center,” said Father Dudzinski.
Sidebar
“This project has added a sense of history and spiritual depth to an already amazing place inhabited by the Sisters of St. Joseph for so many years,” said Father Ted Dudzinski. “I am very grateful to God for those who made this project possible. Brooke did an amazing job in her discernment of the art and giving of her time and talent. We also received financial donations from St. Patrick, Kokomo, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Carmel, St. Mary, Muncie and Church of the Blessed Sacrament, West Lafayette as well as an anonymous donor.”
Our final goal is to procure a Marian image for every room in the Retreat Center. We are currently seeking donations to complete this project,” said Father Dudzinski. To donate, visit Planned Giving and make your donation through FaithDirect. Or contact Marketing Specialist Twyla Arnold at (765) 551-9584 or [email protected].