Art & Synodality
In-Person Exhibition Artist Biographies
Becky McIntyre is a community visual artist and muralist living in Philadelphia. She has lived in various other cities and countries building community through practicing community arts, deeply inspired by the Spirit and bringing awareness to sociopolitical issues, the transformative and healing nature of art, and activating and inspiring new ways of being. An alum of St. Joseph's University, Becky is currently working as an Intensive Prevention Services counselor in a diversion program for youth, as well as project manager and artist for Walls for Justice. Additionally, Becky regularly creates the cover art for the Los Angeles Catholic Worker Catholic Agitator newspaper, and is the visual artist for the Synodality in Catholic Higher Education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia project.
Bethany J. Welch, Ph.D. is a second-year novice with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia. Her personal artistic expression emphasizes mark making, collage, and found materials, often to further spiritual reflection and prayer. When not engaged in research, advocacy, accompaniment, or administrative tasks, Bethany greatly enjoys mural painting, which is one of her favorite embodied practices and an endeavor that fosters collective transformation in pursuit of just, beautiful, and inclusive space.
Casey Murano grew up surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains in Roanoke, Virginia and is now living on one of those hilltops–just over the West Virginia border at Bethlehem Farm, an intentional Catholic community in Appalachia. Grounded in Bethlehem Farm’s various ministries (such as low-income home repair, gardening, and service retreats) and cornerstones (prayer, simplicity, service, and community), Casey’s art practice reflects the cyclical processes of life in this place and context. She creates works on paper: contemplative maps that explore themes of pilgrimage, placemaking, and displacement. Before Bethlehem Farm, Casey studied art at the University of Richmond and participated in the St. Joseph Worker Program in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Christina Glynn’s artist roots come from her mountain family tree and God's grace. From a very young age Christina felt compelled to make music and art. She started her career as a piano accompanist by accident in middle school then studied art and psychology. Christina graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School as an art psycotherapist and worked with adolescents before moving to a full time vocation as mother of five! Studying Renaissance art contributed to her journey into the Church. She resides in the lovely green hills of middle Tennessee with her family, a menagerie, and round-the-clock garden.
Claire Hitchins is called to tend sacred spaces where connection, healing, and justice-making become possible. She is completing her Master’s of Divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School, where she is widening her imagination around how churches can resist oppressive systems and theologies, and better serve the repair and liberation for which all of creation groans. Claire received her BA in Religious Studies from The University of Virginia in 2013, and served as a Jesuit Volunteer 2015-2016 in Yakima, Washington. In 2015 she recorded a collection of songs for Advent called People, Look East, and in 2016 she released her debut full length album, These Bodies. She weaves music into her ministry and activism wherever possible, leading group singing at church services, retreats, protests and rallies.
Clarissa Cervantes is a poet, photographer, physical therapist and researcher. Clarissa strives to create beautiful and meaningful Catholic images and articles to inspire and uplift readers. Clarissa holds a B.A. in Physical Therapy, where she found her vocation to help as well as to deliver comfort to people all over the world through her images and words. For Clarissa every image captured represents her faith, which is a gift from God to be shared with others and to encourage one another to find beauty and gratitude in their daily lives.
Elena Beribak was born in Louisville, Kentucky. She’s lived in the greater Chicagoland area for 23 years, minus a 4-year stint in Galesburg, Illinois to attend Knox College. There, she received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy in 2018. Ever since she can remember she’s been a story lover and a storyteller. She grew up with such Disney classics as The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as books of fairytales, folktales, and myths from around the world. She spent her free time growing up reading, writing, making art, and dancing. As a philosophy major, she was drawn particularly to Plato’s dialogues, Søren Kierkegaard’s pseudonymous works, and Nietzche’s poetic and prophetic philosophical diatribes. She was and continues to be interested in mysticism across all the world’s religions, particularly the connection between Vedanta and Catholic mysticism as explored by Father Bede Griffiths and his compatriots. Elena currently lives in DeKalb, Illinois with her husband Joe Beribak, collaborating on musical storytelling projects with him, writing, and getting deep into her yoga practice and herbalism studies.
Ellen Hughes is a mom, artist, homesteader, and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), who finds inspiration in the beauty of the earth, everyday rituals, family, and spirituality. Ellen studied painting and sculpture, earning a BFA at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH, and then a Masters of Art Therapy Counseling (MA) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She is working with her husband, Shane, to restore an old farmhouse and revive the land outside of St. Louis, Missouri in the Ozark foothills. Ellen loves each day on the homestead with their kids, Francis and Jonah, as well as their flock of chickens and bees. She also loves walking alongside others– especially those who have experienced domestic violence or economic poverty– in a creative healing process.
Ethan Hayes is a statuary and church restorationist and designer. Leading a talented team of professionals he is attempting to revive and develop the American style of sacral art.
Gary Thomas is a painter and printmaker from Indiana; also a spiritual director currently serving in the Catholic Church as an evangelization coordinator.
Jacob Hopper is a young poet from Illinois, currently residing in Tampa, Florida. He grew up in a small Midwestern household and lived a happy simple life. In seminary, Jacob discovered a newfound way to pray through writing poems to the Lord. Recognizing that he couldn’t draw or paint, Jacob found words as a way to express the images and encounters he had during times of prayer. Now as a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame, Jacob works in faith formation at a local parish and seeks to help other young people find the language of their heart with which to speak with the One who knows each of us intimately. This collection of poems seeks to express each person’s desire for intimacy with the Lord and each other. Realizing that the Synodal way is not meant to be divisive but unitive, these poems also express different views of different hearts all yearning for the same Person, Jesus Christ.
Jen Norton - Painfully shy as a child, art was Jen's primary expression and she has always relied on visual language to best communicate for her. There was never a day she "decided" to become an artist. For Jen, there was just no other way to be. Jen Norton is a graduate of Santa Clara University where she earned a Bachelors degree in Fine Art, with a Minor in Business. Jen worked as a Graphic Designer for a decade developing marketing communications materials before leaving to return to painting and raise her daughter. Everyday moments of faith and home are her subject matter, revealing the Jesuit principles of finding God in the ordinary instilled in her education. Jen works in acrylic, using expressive color and texture to reveal the sublime in the ordinary. Each painting begins with layers of intense hues and expressive brushwork, which gradually change as the painting progresses. These underlying layers are important to the depth of the final work, just as years of spiritual growth are to a well-rounded soul. Jen believes that through art, one can hear the whisper of a mighty Creator. Her intention is that her art may cause you to pause and listen.
Joe Beribak is an Elgin, Illinois native currently living in DeKalb where he is pursuing a Masters in Music Composition at Northern Illinois University. He has studied percussion performance extensively, receiving a Bachelor of Music in 2009 from DePaul University and an Artists Diploma from The Colburn Conservatory in 2013. Joe studied Gregorian Chant at the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Chicago from 2018 to 2020, where he was a novice. Since leaving the monastery, he has rededicated himself to teaching and composing. Joe has released his work as a percussionist both under his own name and with Smoke & Mirrors Percussion Ensemble, which he founded during his time at The Colburn Conservatory. Alongside his composition studies, Joe teaches percussion at Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestras. Three of Joe’s recent compositions were premiered this year in the Chicagoland area: Te Alabaré for choir, Nign Variations and Fugue for percussion ensemble, and I will extol you, Lord for choir and organ. More recently, Joe has undertaken collaborative projects with his wife Elena Beribak. Through the practice of careful mutual listening, Joe and Elena are crafting rich and meaningful musical storytelling performances together. They hope to continue fruitful collaboration for years to come.
Katherine Smith is from the westside of Cleveland, OH. She is a graphic artist with a deep desire to communicate universal truths and transformative encounters through creative expression. In Katherine’s work, she visually utilizes a powerful simplicity through graphical forms, bold colors, layering of shapes, and embracing a spirit of play through her art. Her creative work seeks to illuminate the interconnectedness and symbiosis of the natural world, all of humanity, and the mystery of the Divine – all in relationship + conversation with one another. Exploring the incarnational beauty of creation and the real presence of the God thrumming through this present, ordinary moment are major themes in her work. Together with her husband Katherine has four growing, beautiful kids who keep them busy and on the go. They enjoy adventures as a family, camping, exploring their metroparks, hiking the trails, and swimming in the rivers. She is in progress toward earning a Master of Arts in Catholic Studies from Franciscan University and holds a BA in Media Computing and Studio Art from University of Mount Union. By day, she is an art teacher at St. Jude School and they are involved in their local church that they deeply love.
Kathy Schuth is an architect working in neighborhood community development in South Bend, Indiana. Kathy was once asked, “What lie has the world told you,” and realized that being told that she wasn’t an acceptable candidate to volunteer to mentor teenagers, because she is gay, had created a self-heard lie of “You aren’t good enough or safe enough to be with children.”
Kelly Sankowski is a freelance writer and editor based in Toledo, Ohio, where she lives with her husband and two-year-old son. She holds a B.A. in English and Religious Studies from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in Theology and Ministry from Boston College. Her Master’s thesis focused on ministering to adolescent women through bodily spirituality, and she is passionate about elevating the voices of women in the Church. She currently serves as the content coordinator for FemCatholic, where she also contributed to investigative reporting on maternity leave in the Church and pregnant students on Catholic college campuses. Over the past few years, she has also served as an editorial assistant for the Catholic Women Preach book series. She looks forward to welcoming her second child in October.
Kevin Pawlowski is the owner of Paradise Found Studio LLC (www.paradisefoundstudio.com), a faith-based online studio, which sells his original works and reproductions. He creates art of religious subjects in oil paint and mosaic glass and is available for commission work. Most recently, Kevin finished an oil painting of Maximillian Kolbe, and published the catechist activity book “Comic Guide to The Holy Rosary”. He has been creating art for about 40 years, and has studied with Grand Central Atelier and Watts Atelier. He lives near Atlanta with Lisa, his wife of 32 years, and they have two adult children, Catherine and Kyle.
Leah Coming is a writer, church worker, and candidate in religious life.
Libby Gray Koultourides has been painting icons for nearly 10 years. She was inspired to learn this artform as a spiritual practice and as an expression of Christian unity, since iconography is found in many Christian churches. She has painted more than 40 icons of Christ, Mary, and the saints. Libby is Associate Vice President for Advancement at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. She lives in South Bend, Indiana and her beloved family includes her husband and two stepdaughters (and spouses), as well as her parents, siblings and eight nieces and nephews.
Marcin Biesek is an aspiring artist who has lived in the United Kingdom and Singapore. Originally born in Gdansk, Poland. He lives with his family and enjoys long hikes, coffee, food and baking sourdough bread.
Maria Bergh is a Catholic Worker, an artist, writer, farmer and architect. She keeps her feet on the ground and her head in the clouds.
Maria Dach is a sophomore at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana studying graphic design and religious studies. Maria has only recently begun combining those two interests into creating religious artwork and has found it very fruitful for her personal spiritual life, and for her intellectual understanding of the Church. While she is a practicing Catholic at a Catholic institution, she would not describe her religious upbringing as stereotypical: she is an only child to divorced parents in a family that is both interracial and interreligious. From a young age this background has sparked an interest in understanding what being Catholic looks like or appears to be, versus what it is dogmatically or on an individual spiritual level. This eventually led Maria to the religious studies major that she really enjoys, while she might not know where God is leading her in her career yet specifically. When Maria is not asking herself such existential questions, she enjoys videography, historical fashion, and long walks.
Maria Teresa Gaston is a Catholic organizational psychologist in Durham, North Carolina. Born in Havana, Cuba, her art-making tunes her into the Mother of the oceans and the poor who knits together the disparate parts of her. She holds a BA in theology from Marquette University, an MA in Latino Theology and Ministry from Barry University in Miami and an MA/ PhD in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Nebraska Omaha. In addition to her consulting as a facilitator and watercoloring, she loves gardening, cooking, forest-bathing, family reunions at the beach and hanging out with husband John and the nietos.
Mary Gallagher received her BA from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with majors in Art and Psychology. She had the privilege of studying sculpture with Debra Butterfield while there. She later received her MFA from the City University of New York at Brooklyn, studying with Philip Pearlstein, Lee Bontecou, & Lois Dodd among others. While in NYC, she exhibited at Westbeth Gallery and Mercer 55 in Soho. After moving to the Twin Cities, Mary exhibited her paintings at Circa Gallery for 6 years. She taught painting, art appreciation and drawing at Century College, Minneapolis Community College, Dakota Center for the Arts, and Wayzatta Art Center. Mary is the founder of Catholic Artists for Environmental Justice, a small not-for-profit comprised of a diverse group of artists who are concerned about the climate crisis. Our website is at catholicartistsforenvironmentaljustice.com Mary is also founder of Elder Murals, a new group of artists working in Memory Care and Assisted Living facilities to discern the joys and challenges of being an elder. The insights shared with us by residents in a group setting are then depicted in a small mural for their facility.
Mia Schilling Grogan is an associate professor of English at Chestnut Hill College. She is a medievalist who specializes in hagiography and women’s spiritual writing. Her poems have appeared in many journals including America, First Things, and Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry. In 2023 she was pleased to win third place in the Catholic Literary Arts Sacred Poetry Contest, a Laureate’s Choice award in the Maria Faust Sonnet Contest, and an Honorable Mention in the Fare Forward Poetry Competition.
Michelle Arnold Paine is a contemporary painter whose faith plays an integral part of her work. She grew up attending a Presbyterian church and began to explore the visual richness of Catholicism while studying in Italy during college, which eventually led her into the fullness of the Roman Catholic Church. She was confirmed at Easter 2001 in the Cathedral of Orvieto, Italy. During the years she spent living and working in Italy for an American study abroad program, she steeped herself in the Renaissance masters, the rhythms of the Catholic liturgy, and the intimacy and beauty of daily Italian life. After her return from Italy she received at Post-Baccalaureate Certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from University of New Hampshire. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two daughters.
Sarah Fuller is an artist living in Ventura, California. She lived and worked for 9 years in Catholic service communities, spending most of that time at the Los Angeles Catholic Worker soup kitchen and hospitality house in Los Angeles, California. She is a Mennonite, and makes religious and liturgical art as well as art inspired by nature. She is interested in social justice, text, scripture, icons and mysticism, working mostly in the medium of linocut printmaking. She is an enthusiastic birder and is originally from Canada. Some of her favorite artists are Ade Bethune, Fritz Eichenberg, Corita Kent and John August Swanson. Her website is sarahfullerart.com.
Serafina Blake is a graduate student in Pastoral Theology and Spiritual Direction from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. With primary research interest in theological constructions of the body, Serafina guides trauma-informed yoga, meditation, breathwork, and creative expression practices that celebrate spiritual exploration and cultivate mind-body restoration. As a birthworker and a facilitator of spiritual practices, her approach to caring for others is oriented around informed support, honesty, safety, and compassion.