With the broadest and rich palette, Caroline Ratliff, captures light play on New Mexico’s landscape of ochre leaves and red mountains, cool blue streams and verdant evergreens. EDOT Gallery will exhibit her pieces through June and celebrate the opening on May 17 from 5-7 p.m.

Ratliff said she has an “inner need to produce something of beauty … an extension of the way I connect emotionally with nature.” This show, based on her favorite Psalms, provides the opportunity for Ratliff, and by extension her viewers, “to see the nuances of color and light with a sense of location,” she said.  With a limited palette for each piece, she moves “toward light seeking harmony and peace.”

Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Ratliff has always been an artist, receiving her BA from the University of Alabama. He travels to the mountains every fall to paint the change of seasons and has covered most of the United States, as well as China, Europe and Mexico to capture light and color in her unique way. She has studied with many prominent American pastel and oil painters including: Albert Handell, Ouang Ho and Scott I. Christensen.

She is a member of the Episcopal Church Visual Artists, Oil Painters of America, Outdoor painters Society, American Impressionist Society and American Women Artists. She has actively served on the boards of both Houston Civic Arts Association and Houston Art Society. Feeling the need for a pastel society in the Houston area, she co-organized the Pastel Society of Southeast Texas and served as president from 2003-2006.

EDOT Gallery is located at 1225 Texas St., in downtown Houston, and is open M-F, 9-5. 

photo by Carol E. Barnwell

photo by Jean May

photo by Nancy Etheridge

EDOT Gallery will feature “Three Girls Shooting” for this year’s Fotofest, March 16-April 29. From the alleys of Beijing, animal shelters in Santa Fe and found objects on the streets of Houston, Carol E. Barnwell, Nancy Etheridge and Jean May have compiled a rich and diverse exhibit of their work.

“‘Girls’ may be a stretch,” Barnwell laughed, “but we each bring such a different dynamic to our work, the show offers something for everyone: animated, observed and found.”

Barnwell, who has studied with Geoff Winningham, Jay Maisel and National Geographic’s Bob Sacha, is communication director for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, where the gallery is located. She has been working on the feather project for more than a year.

“The most damaged ones make the most interesting photos, catching light in the imperfections,” she said. “My friend’s chickens donated to the project as well.” Her photos sometimes appear to be bits of sea fluff floating at the bottom of the ocean instead of a baby dove’s down. Others slice through the frame with a knife edge, barely catching the light on a twisted edge.

Etheridge, who has studied photography at the Maine and Santa Fe Workshops as well at the Glassell School has been taking photographs since she won a Brownie Hawkeye “as fifth prize in a contest.”

“I’ve graduated to more sophisticated cameras, but I still pine for that simple Brownie,” Etheridge said. For her Fotofest pieces, she returned to a favorite subject—dogs. Her photos include a series shot at the Santa Fe animal shelter. “In all their shapes and sizes,” she said, “dogs are a never-ending source of entertainment and humor for me. I love their example of living fully in the moment,” she said.

May also studied photography with Winningham as well as John Szarkowski, who chose her photograph for the jacket photo ofThe Idea of Louis Sullivan (reissued in 2000).  She has developed a body of work relating to the Maine coast and wooden boats – notably a restored New York 32 (1936), which she sails with her husband Henry.

“I am drawn to details and odd moments,” May said of the photos from a recent trip to China that will be on exhibit. “I love the partial views and fleeting glimpses into other worlds, other lives.”

Three Girls Shooting will be open M-F, 9-5, throughout Fotofest. The photographers will have an opening reception March 29 from 5-7:30 p.m. Parking is available in the lot on San Jacinto between Texas and Prairie. 

The 2012 Biennial is a citywide event, with over 110 participating museums, art galleries, non-profit arts organizations, universities, civic organizations and corporate spaces across Houston, Harris County and Galveston. 

This year three member of the diocese will feature their work at the EDOT Gallery; Carol E. Barnwell, Nancy Etheridge and Jean May. Reception will be March 29, 5 - 7:30 p.m. 

Check out some of the artist photos.

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"We are grateful to all the artists who have donated pieces for the enjoymentof the residents at St. James' House," said Kathy Tellepsen, chair of the St. James' House board. "We have a lot of space to hang photographs and paintings and they add somuch to the atmosphere. We hope others will join inthe project," she added.

Pieces will be exhibited at the Diocesan Center in January and at Diocesan Council before being hung at St. James’ House. To donate a piece, contact Carol E. Barnwell.

All donations are tax deductible.

This Advent, two iconographers’ work will be featured at Edot Gallery, in the Houston Diocesan Center, 1225 Texas Ave., Houston. Vivian Karayiannis is a trained Byzantineiconographer and the Rev. Mary Green, originally a studentof Karayiannis’, has now written a book on the subject. Both women will show their work and lead a Sunday school class a tChrist Church Cathedral on icons, December 11. Th e exhibit isopen November 10 through January 6, M-F, 9-5.

An icon is a painted panel of a religious fi gure or event. Justas medieval monks copied ancient sacred texts, icon paintersof long ago copied ancient, iconic originals, to serve as visualtheology. To avoid the taint of idolatry, icons were created ina formalized, deliberately stylized manner that emphasized other worldliness rather than human feeling or sentimentality. The process was codifi ed in Russia in the 16th century and demanded strict emulation of the existing format so that artists would not depart from the iconographic canon.

Since icons are considered sacred images that convey theological truth, painting an icon is referred to as “writing”an icon. Each step in writing the icon, as well as the material sused, has sacred meaning. Many icons are written on traditional wooden boards, with an indented space within which the image is painted. Each board is fi rst covered with linen andmany layers of gesso (made from marble dust) before the imageis outlined. Th e pigments used to paint the icon are ground minerals, and the colors are symbolic: red symbolizes the bloodof Christ and martyrdom; white, purity; blue, truth; gold, theglory of God.

A nurse by training, Green attended Seminary of the Southwest, Austin and was ordained in 1992. She served as vicarof Christ Church in Cedar Park before joining the chaplainsgroup at St. Luke’s Hospital, Houston and now teaches at thediocese’s Iona School of Ministry. She began her training iniconography because she wanted to learn to paint portraits, topaint Christ’s face. Karayiannis tried to explain to her that—theprocess is not “that easy or logical.”

“It took me a while to realize that making icons is a religiou sart, it is sacramental and done for the benefi t of the person whowill interact with that icon,” Green said. “One has to surrenderto the process and realize that it is a spiritual discipline of prayer,guided and enabled by the Holy Spirit.”

“It takes time to understand the importance of the processand the discipline. I cannot paint just any time. When I feela divine intervention, it comes out on the icon—you feel it,”Karayiannis said. A classically trained Byzantine iconographer,Karayiannis was born in Greece, where she studied, then worked for one of the leading iconographers in Greece. Aft er a brieftime in Toronto, she moved to Houston in 1991, where she liveswith her husband and two daughters.

The first images that appeared were infl uenced by complex historical contexts and many cultural dependencies as wellas the war of the holy images during which the iconoclastsdestroyed innumerable icons. The first images were paintingsfrom the third century, showing Mary with the wise Menadoring the Child.

In the fourth century, Constantine’s conversion served to fuel an esthetic period for the next several centuries. Following the Third Ecumenical Council, held in Ephesus in 431, Mary, who was there proclaimed to be the Mother of God, beganto appear in images with the divine child on her lap. In 730 adoctrinal war arose between partisans and enemies of icons,which ended in 842 when icons were once again exalted. Byzantine icons became an integral part of the Orthodox faith during the Byzantine Empire. They were used to express inimages the same Gospel message that Scripture communicatesin words. Image and word illuminate each other, while neithercan substitute for the other.

While they were suppressed in Soviet-era Russia, theyenjoyed a revival in the 20th century, further stimulated by thecollapse of communism in Eastern Europe in the 1980s.

Icons are sacred paintings of Jesus Christ, Mary andmany angels and saints characterized by vivid colors and oft engold colored backgrounds. Th ey are embedded with symbolic language, a “visual theology,” Green said. “Th ey are huge withmeaning.”

For example, the ears of Christ are large and his mouth issmall to signify that he hears everything but only speaks wordsof holy wisdom. Icons only seem to have a width and a height,no depth as traditional paintings. Th e third dimension of anicon is spiritual and therefore goes beyond what the eye can see. Icons are a window into the sacred andenable one who is praying to the person depicted to connect directly with thatperson. As St. Paul said, “Christ is thevisible image of the invisible God” (Col.1:15).

Illumination by the Holy Spirit is animportant part of an iconographer’s abilityto express the living truth. Because of thesacred nature of an icon, it follows that theicon “writer” be more than an artist. Aniconographer is a theologian as much ashe is an artist presupposing a lifestyle of prayer and meditation.

“When a person is learning, theydon’t really have time to contemplate. Students have to have patience to learn toget to a certain skill level so it can become contemplative,” Karayiannis said. She hastaught classes at St. Christopher’s andSt. Mark’s in Houston as well as private lessons.

“Some people have the attitude that you can just pick this up,” Green pointed out. “It’s more than a skill, it is a spiritual discipline.”

It can take a month or several yearsto complete an icon. Gold leaf used to costhas doubled, today it has doubled. Boardson which icons are painted come from twosources in the Unite.

The Rev. Mary Green
Following graduation with an M.Div from the Seminary of the Southwest and ordination in 1992, Green served as Chaplain at TX A&M Canterbury, Vicar at Christ Church, Cedar Park, and retired earlier this year after seven years as staff chaplain at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston.  She continues to serve as chaplain for the Iona School for Ministry.  Mary began studying iconography in 2004 with Vivian Karayiannis, learning the Byzantine method.  She completed one icon using the Prosopon method, a variation of Russian icon writing, under the tutelage of Kay Sevick.  With occasional help from Vivian, Mary writes icons now as her prayers in solitude, and has recently completed a book of reflections on eight of the icons she has written. 

Vivian Karayiannis has a true love for her vocation. Vivian’s icons are works of fine art as well as visual aids that lead those who view and venerate the icons deeper into their own spiritual center. Born in Greece, Vivian moved to Houston in 1991 with her husband and two daughters. She studied Byzantine iconography in Greece and continued her art studies at the University of Houston. She has a diverse body of work, including oils, acrylics and watercolors.  Her primary medium is the egg tempera, one of the oldest and most versatile mediums.

Carol Andrews Jensen

Master Craftsman photographer Carol Andrews loves to create the magic of a photograph. Over the last 20 years, her award–winning photographs have included exhibitions at Photokina in Cologne, Germany; Disney’s EPCOT theme park and the International Masters Loan Collection of the Professional Photographers of America.

Her work has been acquired by the Sherman Hines Museum in Nova Scotia, Canada. She was inducted into Cameracraftsmen of America, an international photographic society of which there are only 40 members, and was only the fourth woman in the society’s 95-year history to be admitted. She teaches and judges photography and art internationally and has taught as a creative-uses consultant for Fuji, Polaroid and Citra Solv. 

“I enjoy expressing beauty and my love for life through a camera and sharing the images and stories with others. I show people what love looks like.”

Carol Andrews has a large body of work in this show and will be present for the September 15 reception and available for group tours and/ or a program by appointment.

David Waddell

Currently Director of Media Studies at HSPVA in Houston, Texas, David Waddell earned his M.F.A. in painting from American University in Washington D.C. and his B.F.A. in Studio Art at The University of Texas, Austin, TX. Recent awards include 2010 Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna, Florida/ 2009-10 Lawndale Residency, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX/ 2007 Biddle Award, American University. Waddell has shown at Lawndale Art Center, Fotofest Headquarters, Aurora Picture Show, Gavin Brown Enterprise, the Katzen Arts Center, the Arlington Art Center, and the Delaware Center of Contemporary Art among others.

Paula Dittrick

National wildlife refuges are Paula Dittrick’s favorite places where she practices award-winning bird photography and sometimes takes macro shots of flowers or bugs. Her hope is that the photographs convey a sense of wonder and promote stewardship for the untamed. The photos are reflections of joyful, perishable moments--divine gifts intended to be shared with others. 2011 third-place winner of Brazoria and San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge category in Texas Mid-Coast NWR photo contest; 2008 second-place winner of same category, same contest.

Nancy Denmark

“While primarily a jewelry artist, I have recently been stepping out of that box. As an artist, I try to remain open, willing, always listening and discerning how I am being called to use the gifts I have been given. My inspiration comes from a higher source. I am a faithful co-creator.” Nancy Denmark has designed and crafted many bishop’s pectoral crosses and commemorative pieces for ECW, Community of Hope, and churches. Her commissions have included making pectoral crosses for four of our own bishops, Bishop Doyle (2008), Bishop Harrison (2006), Bishop High (2003), and Bishop Alard (1995). Nancy is well known for her extensive line of Christian symbol jewelry.

Nancy Denmark will have a showing of her jewelry on both reception nights.

Margaret Bailey

Wood artist, Margaret Bailey, finds inspiration in the quote “God rides the lame horse, God carves the rotten wood.” She handcrafts wood crosses, nativities and symbols by carefully choosing and studying the unique grains, knots, and features of each piece of wood. Margaret allows the journey of the wood, to lead her to what she will make from it. Her pieces are all sanded to a silky smooth finish adding a soothing tactile experience to the visual beauty of her work.

Margaret Bailey will have an expanded showing of her work on both reception nights.

Nancy Robbins

“I have been interested in drawing and painting from the time I was a teenager. I was encouraged early in my marriage by my husband who came home one day and announced that he had signed me up for a painting class with a local artist, and presented me with the materials required for the class. Over the years I have taken classes in Toronto and Houston and have enjoyed trying out my creative impulses while working as a nurse and raising our family.”

In response to the formation of a local ECVA chapter, Nancy Denmark led a book study at Epiphany. The subject was the mind of the artist as co-creator with God. “We were encouraged to pursue and share this part of our sensibilities and lives. My participation in the study group led me back to painting again. I had long wanted to learn about painting with watercolors and started classes in 2008 at the Artists Alliance of Sugar Land after I retired.  I am especially drawn to observing and rendering the created world in my paintings, working in oils, acrylics, pastel and watercolor. I exhibited my watercolor and acrylic paintings in 2010 and 2011 at Town Center in Sugar Land with the Sugar Land Area Artists group.”

David Avery

Well-known in Galveston for his tropical paintings, David Avery paints imaginative and vibrantly colored tropical flora and seascape scenes in his own contemporary style with special blends of color and form.

Paul Martin

Paul E. Martin founded Urban Architecture in 1973 and has been active in forging new perspectives for the practice of architecture in Texas. Urban Architecture led the design community in the development of the Houston West End "tin houses." Martin’s architectural subject matter in his photographs reflects his career as an architect.

Shirlee Bumpass

After a long history of painting, Shirlee Bumpass is excited to be finding time and energy to paint again. The Epiphany community looks forward to seeing what comes from her new inspiration to paint.

St. James' House
We have had wonderful response for our call for art for the diocesan retirement community, St. James' House, Baytown. There are many blank walls to fill. Bishop Andy Doyle invites artists to join him in donating a piece of artwork to St. James' for one of the four living areas, dining room and several hallways that are common areas of the campus. Donated pieces will be exhibited in January 2012 at the Diocesan Center at the EDOT Gallery as well as in an exhibit at the diocese's annual Council in February, 2012 before being hung at St. James'. Several pieces will be chosen to be featured in the March, 2012 issue of Diolog, the new diocesan magazine (with a circulation of 27,700).

Please consider joining the bishop in this effort to share your gifts with those folks who live at St. James'. A receipt for your donation will be provided and all artwork should be delivered to the diocesan office by December 15, ready to hang. Contact Carol E. Barnwell at cbarnwell@epicenter.org or 713.520.6444 if you have questions.

She has studies with Ellen Orseck and Arthur Turner in Houston and Anne Butler Sutherland in Nantucket. Her favorite mediums are watercolor and pastel. She also specializes in pet portraiture. Her work has been exhibited at the Watercolor Society of Houston, Winter Street Studios and the Edot Show at St. Martin's Episcopal Church.

Maxine visited many spiritually moving places others have not had the opportunity to see and wants to share those experiences with others. To be able to share the walk down the Via Dolorosa, The Basilica in the Vatican, watching the sunrise at the Taj Mahal is a dream. So many places in this world make us realize the vastness of God's creation, through passion, spirit and our own senses which is the essence of art.

"Tulerosa Grano" by Maxine Mueller

27 through August 17, 2011. A series of water colors, inspired by a visit to Santa Fe, exemplifies the current work of Maxine Mueller. Diana Green’s eleven acrylics reflect her spiritual journey and “desire to see with the eyes of the Spirit.” The artists will host an opening reception, July 21 from 5-7 p.m.

Mueller said she was inspired by the light and color in Santa Fe to share “the beauty, balance and inspiration.” Mueller believes that “art affords us an opportunity to slow down and enjoy what God has created for us. It is a gratifying way to keep our spirits uplifted and it brings joy to my life to be capable of doing this.”

Born in New York, Mueller moved to Houston in 1965 and is a member of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. Her career in the travel industry gave rise to the sites she wanted to share in her artwork.

Green grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, and studied at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D. C. Retired from a career in the communications field, Green now communicates through her art. “I love the energy that the beautiful colors convey, and I want to evoke a feeling peace and happiness,” she said.

About the Artist

Born and raised in Mexico City, Patricia Hinojosa’s interest in arts was stimulated by the many Mexican folkarts she experienced during elementary school. These still provide many of her motifs. She was introducedto formal art instruction in water color painting and calligraphy while working on a bachelors’ degree in pianoperformance at the former Dominican College in Houston. In her early artist career, she was a private pianoteacher and a professional calligrapher. Later on she developed an interest in textile art while creating a numberof liturgical vestments. In recent years this has evolved into her passion for art quilts. Most of her pieces incorporatereligious themes with hints of folk art. In September, 2010 her “Craft and Soul” art quilt was awarded3rd place by the H.E.R.E Project Quilt Contest at Rice University.

Kaytee U. Esser

About The Artist

Kaytee Esser is an award-winning painter whose studio works examine both the sensuality and richly variedtexture of relationships. She connects with each of her subjects on a deeply personal level, capturing theiressence and translating it to canvas. The interplay between line, light and color illuminates the spirit of hersubjects as they relate to their surroundings and each other.Esser’s portraiture is in the style of contemporary realism -creating a different palette and approach to therepresentation of people. The interplay of hard and soft line coupled with the intimately subtle variations of skintone adds dimension to the subject as if standing there in front of you.Esser was raised in Pennsylvania, and holds a B.F.A. in painting from Kutztown University, PA. She isan accomplished Archeological illustrator and has taught in public schools and colleges in and around NorthCarolina and the Hilton Head Art Academy. Esser also teaches workshops in animal and people Portraiture,watercolor, oils, pastels, calligraphy and drawing.

Fran Wallis

About the Artist

Born in 1949 in Massachusetts, Fran Wallis is a contemporary fine artist working in the medium of watercolor,photography and primarily, digital fine art. She pursued a degree in Interior Design from the University of theIncarnate Word in San Antonio, from 1979 to 1982. After a watercolor class at the River Tree Arts center inKennebunk, Maine in the summer of 2009 and a class later that fall called “The Creative Call – An ArtistsResponse to the Way of the Spirit” offered by her church, Palmer Memorial Episcopal, her passion for paintingand art was rekindled. Her work was first exhibited at the Epiphany Art Show, in May of 2010. Recently, shewas commissioned for 12 pieces of art for the Palmer Nursery and Preschool. She currently lives in Houstonwith her husband and daughter.

Jackie Crawford

About the Artist

Jacquelyn showed interest in drawing and painting from a young age, and attended private art classes as achild and adolescent. While working ultimately towards a D.D.S. from University of Texas, she maintained herpassion for art, intermittently taking studio courses at UH, the Houston Art League, and the Glassell School.Presently, she practices dentistry part time and studies painting at Glassell. Her work has been accepted intojuried shows, including Glassell student shows, the WAS-H 2005 International Show, the WAS-H 2005 MembershipShow, and the WAS-H Exhibit at the J. Wayne Stark University Center Galleries at Texas A&M University.Many of her works are found in private collections.

Kelly Bourgeois

About the Artist

I began painting with oils on canvas at the age of 11 and selling my paintings in Corpus Christi, TX at the ageof 13. Later I attended the University of Texas, Austin receiving a liberal arts degree from Plan II and completedmy M.D. degree at UT Houston, and residency training at Tulane. I have worked as a physician in Houstonwhile raising a family, but always maintained my passion for art and studied at the Houston Museum of FineArts Glassell School of Art. My current interests range from photography, three dimensional paper collages,and oil paintings to tile mosaics. I believe art should be ever evolving , and enjoy exploring different mediumswhile experimenting in visual interpretations of senses, emotions, and the world around us.

Sherry Byrd

About the Artist

My interest in art was awakened when I signed on with “The Creative Call” class at Palmer Memorial EpiscopalChurch in Fall of 2009. I began painting on canvas with acrylics around Christmas 2009. I have taken onepainting course at Houston Baptist University. My work has appeared in several showings since then. In one ofour Sunday school rooms at Palmer I painted a huge wall mural depicting my view of the Garden of Eden.

Randal Byrd

About the Artist

Former Memphis blues recording session player, Randal works mostly with acrylics on canvas, with an occasionalforay into ink on paper.

May 10-June 24, 1011

Palmer Memorial’s Creative Artists Community opens a group show for seven artists at EDOT Gallery, 1225 Texas Ave., Houston, on May 10 with a reception from 5-7 on Friday May 13. The show features an eclectic mix of painted and quilted fabric art, fresh water color still lifes, edgy and contemporary portraits, cut paper collages inspired by nature and exuberant landscapes reminiscent of outer space and inner peace.

Palmer’s artistic community, organized only recently, has illuminated many gifts and much talent from members of the congregation.

Featured artists include: Patricia Hinojosa, Sherry and Randy Byrd, Jacquelyn Campbell, Kelly Bourgeois, Kaytt Esser and Fran Wallis. Contact Carol E. Barnwell if you would like to submit a portfolio for review. EDOT Gallery is open to Episcopal artists who are registered with Episcopal Church Visual Arts  (ecva.org).

EDOT Gallery is located in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas Center in Downtown Houston and is open from 9-5, M-F. Call 713.520.6444 for group tours.

Engerrand’s images come from a pilgrimage to Europe where she began to explore her religious roots. “I found that while I was in the middle of the most religious places in the world, I was truly inspired,” she said. Her photographs represent what she saw and experienced during that trip.

Schormann’s images are from his book, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church: a History in Photographs, and depict the different crosses on the church’s campus. “Each image was chosen to, not only show the beauty of St. Paul’s, but illustrate the diversity of the crosses at St. Paul’s … [bearing] witness to God’s supreme sacrifice for all of us in the symbols of his cross,” Schormann said.

Carrie Engerrand was born in 1986 in Houston, Texas.  She recently graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth with a BA in Art History and is currently pursuing a graduate degree at the University of St Thomas, Houston.  She studied photography and art at Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy, in the fall of 2008.  Past exhibits have been an Exhibition of Student Work at Texas Christian University in 2009 and Diverse Images at Te House of Tea in Houston in 2008.  Her photography has been published in the 11407 magazine at Texas Christian University in the Spring of 2009. 

Randy Schormann earned a masters in life sciences and education from Indiana State University and worked as a biology teacher in community college before a career change to administration. He discovered a passion for photography while working with the campus public relations. Following a move to Waco, TX in 1976, Schormann worked in faculty/staff professional development, and helped to create the University Center at McLennan Community College. In his spare time he taught photography. Retirement brings time for motorcycling the back roads of Texas and more time to make photographs. Schormann’s photographs are featured in The Historical Markers of McLennan County. He authored and photographed the images in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church: A History in Photographs – from which the 12 images in this display are taken.                                        

EDOT Gallery is located in the Diocesan Center next door to Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Houston. The EDOT Gallery is open M-F, 9-5. Please call 713.520.6444 to make reservations for groups.

The images I chose to submit were from a series I started when I was abroad in the fall of 2008.  While I was in Europe I really began to explore my religious background and I found that while I was in the middle of the most religious places in the world that I was truly inspired.  From that inspiration I came up with a group of photographs that truly embrace the things that I saw and experienced. — Carrie Engerrand

View Carrie's Gallery