Meet Chicago-based Artist Claire Zajdel
CLAIRE ZAJDEL is a writer (playwriting, fiction prose and screenwriting) living in the Chicago, Illinois region. Claire is also joining the Catholic Artist Connection as our newsletter editor! Get to know Claire in our conversation about her faith and art, and visit her website.
CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION: Where are you from originally, and what brought you to the Chicago area?
CLAIRE ZAJDEL: I'm originally from Lisle, in the Chicago area. I lived in NYC for about eight or nine years, attending NYU and developing myself as a writer, meeting other artists, and making theatre. Like many people, I moved back closer to family during the pandemic.
How do understand your vocation as a Catholic artist? Do you call yourself a Catholic artist?
I consider myself a Catholic artist, but not in the sense that all of my work is expressly Catholic. My faith often inspires the stories I tell and informs the questions I ask with my work. It's important to me that my work reflects not only my Catholic values, but also my personal relationship with God. I often feel that many of the stories being told today can be lacking in authentic struggle and hope, and it is my aim to bring fruitful and deeply felt stories into the world.
Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?
It's been so important to me to have Catholic friends who understand my artistic practice. A close college friend of mine, who I met the first month of freshman year, is a practicing Catholic, and we ended up making a theatre club together. At one point, most of the chair holding officers in our company were Catholic, which was just a happy coincidence. For several years, these were my only Catholic and artists friends that overlapped. I became a parishioner at St. Paul's in Manhattan in 2019, and I was pleased to find a vibrant community of creative people. From there, I was introduced to more artists in the Church.
Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?
It definitely took time to find support for my faith from fellow artists. When I was at Tisch, faith and religion where very much looked down upon. In my early twenties, the concept of faith informing my work was very different from how my peers were approaching their work. However, as I've grown older, I've become more confident in my beliefs and more passionate about openly writing about my faith. While not everyone is interested in these stories and perspectives, I'm always pleasantly surprised when people are! More and more I find people who are asking the same questions that I am, they just have slightly different perspective.
How can the Church be more welcoming to artists?
I think that there is hesitation in the Church around asking difficult questions that were once seen as shameful, as well as welcoming new ideas. I think to really create brave art, we have to step into the spaces where daring questions are approached from a new perspective. In order for artists to feel welcome, I think that the Church needs to be more welcoming of that bravery and curiosity. I think for many (not all, of course) artists in the secular world, there is a tendency to obfuscate this bravery and curiosity with the discretion of tradition and moral truth, so I think that many in the Church approach artists, especially those who are not solely creating work inside the Church for the purpose of worship, with a bit of fear.
How can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?
I think there is a tendency in the artist world to approach artist of faith with skepticism. There is certainly an assumption that artists of faith won't ask difficult questions with their work and prefer to stay where it's safe, so to speak. I think that artists of faith should be taken seriously as daring artists. There is so much room to wander and discover new stories as an artist of faith without sacrificing your morals.
Where in the Chicago area do you regularly find spiritual fulfillment?
Right now I'm loving all the perpetual adoration chapels near me! I most often frequent the one at St. Peter and Paul for an hour or even just fifteen minutes with the Blessed Sacrament. I've recently joined a great Bible study, and it has been great to have fellowship. I find a lot of fruit in the wisdom shared there! There is a huge young adult Catholic community here, which has been a huge surprise in returning to my home town.
Where in the Chicago area do you regularly find artistic fulfillment? Where do you go to get inspired?
This is something I'm still searching for! I had a lot of great theatre community in NYC, and it's been difficult to find the same community in Chicago, mostly because theatre has been one of the last communities to resume gathering since the pandemic. A few places I really like in Chicago are the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Anderson's Bookshop, and Prairie Path Books. My recommendations for New York are endless!
How have you found or built community as a Catholic artist in Chicago?
I've been really grateful to start working at a ministry center, Port Ministries, on the South Side. It's been great to be surrounded at work each day by like-minded people.
What is your daily spiritual practice?
I go through different seasons with my daily spiritual practices. I am currently loving going to daily Mass when I can and stopping in to adoration at least once a week. I've also become a regular confessor, and I go at least twice a month, but usually once a week. I love the rosary and praying novenas as well! Scripture really helped me through the pandemic! I also have a wonderful spiritual director, Barbara, who accompanies me through the ups and downs. I met her through Fr. Martin via a friend from St. Paul's, and I'm so grateful for her!
What is your daily artistic practice?
I try to write everyday, but there are certainly phases where that doesn't happen! I regularly keep journals, which I think is an important way to activate your creativity. I generally focus on a few projects at once, often working on something new while editing and submitting work that is already in development.
Describe a recent day in which you were most completely living out your vocation as an artist.
Recently I was back in New York and had a dinner reading of one of the plays I wrote during the quarantine. It was wonderful to have so many of my friends gather over a piece that was so deeply personal to me. The play is very much about my experience with mental illness so it was very cathartic to hear it read aloud.
How do you afford housing as an artist?
Right now I'm living with family, which is a blessing. Living with family is something I was previously hesitant to do, probably because I was a bit prideful and wanted to feel like I didn't need any help as an artist. Previously, it was a combination of day jobs. My most recent job prior to living with family was working as a figure skating director and skating coach. Being an artist can definitely mean cutting back on luxuries like new clothes and vacations, but to me it's totally work it!
How do you financially support yourself as an artist?
Right now I'm working as a Grant Manager at a ministry center on the South Side of Chicago. I also do freelance writing gigs because every little bit helps! Of course, like many other writers, I hope to work full-time working in a more creative medium, so hopefully one day!
What are your top 3 pieces of advice for Catholic artists post-graduation?
1. Find artistic community! Community is so important. Don't be afraid to email someone you admire or go to an event that celebrates your craft/medium and talk to someone new.
2. Identify your financial goals and figure out what kind of schedule works for you. It's easy to ask every artistic person you know for advice about jobs and finances, but it's more important to be honest with yourself about what kind of life you want to live.
3. Find a vibrant parish community. It makes all the difference to feel truly at home in a parish. Finding Catholics on your wavelength can make you more passionate about your faith!