One of the very first things we know of God from the Bible is that God is creative – the Creator. God created us in God’s image, from dust. The importance of creation and our connection to it is upfront. If we are created in God’s image, we are therefore also creative beings. The idea of creating from dust – making something from nothing – is something we emulate through the creative process, whether through clay or graphite or paint pigments – all minerals that come from the earth. We create something from seemingly nothing when we paint or draw or write or use our creative abilities. These creative acts draw us closer to God; bring us into communion with the divine. We don’t always need to be consciously aware of it, the work doesn’t always need to be “spiritual or theological” in subject matter, the act of creating automatically brings us into this connection with the soul, the divine, the deeper creative source – taking God from the seemingly faraway to the here and now. Creativity and art can further help us to pay attention to God’s creation by more deeply observing and investigating the world around us and also revealing what is within us.

Art Programming and Integration at SCAPC

Regular Creative Groups

We have a church filled with creative members that get together to join in on their creative pursuits in community with one another. Some of our programs include:

NEEDLE ARTS GROUP
The Needle Arts Group meets monthly from 4-6 pm in the Land Building on Sunday evenings. If you enjoy crocheting, knitting, sewing, cross-stitch, or any other needle arts, please come join us!

JOURNALING CLUB
SCAPC's Journaling Club, led by journalist and SCAPC member Harriet Riley, meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 6 pm in the Land Building. With the aim to create a holy space to gather for creative solitude and community, it is a place to write and relax.

FLOWER MINISTRY
Every Monday morning at 9 am in the church kitchen, the SCAPC Flower Ministry disassembles the Sanctuary flower bouquets from Sunday's service and re-assembles them into smaller bouquets that are then delivered to people on the prayer list, in the hospital, or people that need a little extra beauty and cheer in their life.

Special Presentations by SCAPC Artists recently include:

"Rebirth & Renewal: Carnival, Lent, and the Vanitas in Painting" by Saskia Ozols with the Fine Arts Preservation Society of New Orleans

Mardi Gras Indian Costume Beading Presentation & Demonstration by Charles DuVernay

Crescent City Stage Interactive Presentation by Liz and Michael Newcomer

Recent Art Workshops at SCAPC Include:

Spiritual Collage Workshop with visiting Artist & Therapist Bethanie Mangigian of the Kolaj Institute of New Orleans

NOLA Houses Painting Workshop in Acrylic by artist and SCAPC member Caitlin Wallace-Rowland

Other Ways SCAPC Supports the Visual Arts

LITURGICAL ART
In worship, we include banners and liturgical art in our Sanctuary as it fits with the liturgical calendar. Most often this includes Palm Sunday, Advent, Pentecost, and Scottish Heritage Sunday. Our Advent banners were made by Patti Adams and our Scottish Heritage Sunday banners were designed by Shauna Grissett and fabricated by Christyn Elliott of the Caledonian Society of New Orleans. The paraments in our Chapel were hand-stitched by SCAPC member Sandra Freeman. Our Easter cross was made by SCAPC member Will Schaefer and is decorated by the flower ministry each year.

BAPTISM
Our needle artists in the church hand-make each baptism cloth presented to all babies baptized at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church. Our baptism certificates were hand-painted by SCAPC member Patsy Hardin.

ART INTEGRATION IN PROGRAMMING
Many of our church groups incorporate art heavily into their programming, such as our children's Sunday school, SCAPC Nursery School, Aden Program for memory care, and STAIR's summer camp for kids. The Presbyterian Women's annual retreat recently included collage making and their annual Simple Elegance dinner includes themed tablescapes that are truly multi-media works of art.

CELEBRATING TALENTS FROM OUR CONGREGATION
SCAPC uses fine art from church members in our yearly Advent and Lenten Devotional books, occasional Sunday bulletin covers, invitations for church events, notecards and stationery, our baptism certificates, and features in our church magazine, The View.

PERMANENT ART COLLECTION
We have art on permanent display throughout the building, including several pieces by Auzeklis Ozols, longtime SCAPC member and founder of The New Orleans Academy of Fine Art.

PERMANENT ART COLLECTION
We have art on permanent display throughout the building, including several pieces by Auzeklis Ozols, longtime SCAPC member and founder of The New Orleans Academy of Fine Art.

ART SHOWS
In past years, we've had Spring and September Arts Spectacles to display the fine art of our congregation.

STAINED GLASS & OUR BUILDING
The Sanctuary stained glass windows were made by Oidtmann Studios in Linnich, Germany, incorporating symbols of leaves, quatrefoils, diamonds, crosses and other recurring motifs. The Sanctuary ceiling stencils were designed and installed by John Geiser, Sr. The remarkable stained glass windows of our Chapel were created by Louisiana artist Steve Wilson and feature the book of Genesis and the story of Creation through the depiction of Louisiana flora and fauna.