St. Benedict the Moor paintings place church at heart of community

By Beth Donze
Clarion Herald

When more than 40 elementary and high schools exhibited their students’ original works of art at the Jan. 29-Feb. 1 Catholic Schools Week Arts & Music Festival at Lakeside, this series of bold acrylic paintings of churches made by students at St. Benedict the Moor School in New Orleans caught the eye of Kids’ Clarion!

Kala Zenella, a visiting artist, worked with the St. Benedict students for a month, focusing their work on “Faith and Community,” Catholic School Week’s 2024 theme.

“We talked a lot about how ‘community’ starts with yourself – you be the change that you want to see – and then, when you come together with other people, everything else falls into place," Zenella said. "That’s how you build community.”

Zenella showed the children examples of work from three famous artists and let them take it from there.

I let them explore with the paint in their own way, because they all have their own artistic style,” she said. Quotes from the famous artists were pasted on the canvases, and each student named his or her painting and explained what inspired it. “I am very proud of them!” Zenella said.




“My Church is Your Church,” by Jackson Berniard, 2nd grade: “I painted my church because church is where the community is. Faith is something you can find in church. I learned that everyone paints differently, but can make a good painting. We all made something different but most of them all have a church and sunflowers.”
 

“The Perfection of Sunflowers,” by Janaya Smith, 4th grade: “My painting is about people coming together and going to church. I chose to do this because the idea of community inspires me. Faith means to believe, and I learned to believe in myself by painting. I realized I can do anything I put my mind to. Art is the best way to find out who you are.” (inspired by Faith Ringgold’s “American People”)



 

“The Bridge That Brings Truth,” by Seandell Kelly Jr., 4th grade: “My painting is about faith and community. Faith, to me, means the truth. Community means family and friends that you can share the truth of God with. This painting made me realize how fun art is. My favorite part is the church, because it is something we all share in our paintings.” (inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night Over the Rhone”)

“No Matter Rain or Shine,” by Blaire Maye, 3rd grade: “My painting is a church that is being built. I chose to paint this because faith means to have hope, and a church is about hope. Community is a group of people that come together. The church is built by a community. It is raining to show that the community has faith, no matter what.” (inspired by Jacob Lawrence’s “The Builders.”)

 

“The Faith of Flowers,” by Skylar Smith, 3rd grade: “My painting is about celebrating people being faithful. Community means to share and be good neighbors. Faith means to believe in yourself and your community. I think all of our paintings together show a cycle of people coming together as a community.” (inspired by Faith Ringgold’s “American People”)

 

“We Look up to Each Other and God,” by Kori Thomas, 4th grade: “My art is about looking up to my community. Community, to me, means that everyone can be kind in their own way. Faith means that God is always by my side, and community is the people he put to always be by my side. This painting helped me learn that everyone has their own way of painting, just like everyone has their own way of showing kindness.” (inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night Over the Rhone”)

 

“Sunset of Holy,” by Chrisha Davis, 3rd grade: “My painting is about a church in the sunset. I wanted to paint a sunset because I really like the colors. To me, the colors show how faith is finding beauty in what God made. Community is the people we share sunsets with. I learned how to paint better by taking my time and having patience.” (inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night Over the Rhone”)


 

“The Community Church is for Everyone,” by Skylar Williams, 2nd grade: “I wanted to paint a church because it reminds me of my grandma. Community means being surrounded by people that know you and love you. Faith is love, joy and peace. This painting helped me learn that community brings happiness.”