Erin Krogh, is a 19-year old who while she is sweet and very compassionate, is also filled with enormous depth and understanding and uses her art to connect with people everywhere. Although Erin, is a parishioner of St Anthony’s in Petit Valley, and an active volunteer at the Living Waters Community pre Covid 19 lockdown, she confessed, “I was always the person to question God and religion but regardless of what the question was, the answer always showed up in my art”

This relationship between Erin and her art was probably part of the reason why, in secondary school, although studied art until CXC, she did not believe that art was her thing. “I found doing art for school too constraining and I did not want to feel like that when doing art”. This is strange because growing up in Diego Martin; Erin remembered drawing from a very early age. “I would doodle on everything and anything that I could find, and often get in trouble with my mother for doodling on my textbooks because she planned to sell them”.

Presently in her second year at UWI, where she is doing a double major in Biology and environmental science, Erin shared that even though she did not choose to pursue art after CXC, she never stopped painting. “ Art is something I highly gravitate to and it just comes naturally to me, I do not get up in the morning and think about art, art just becomes part of my day unintentionally “. Erin said that she believes that her art is both a skill and a gift from God, she also said, “I want my art to be relatable” because she is plaiting in a way to connect with persons from all walks of life.

This week’s piece from Erin is called “The Protector”. and she shares that this is just one of the pieces that she painted in which God answered her questions in her mind, “I come from a single mother household and I was reading a static about single mothers, she was questioning God on fatherhood and her intention was to paint on the topic of fatherhood but at the end of the piece, she felt that God was speaking to her and saying that even though many, may not have fathers on earth he will always be the protector for them.

The Protector – Erin Krogh

So here is how we are going to do it.

1. Set aside 20 minutes in the day for the guided prayer experience

2. As you begin to prayer take a few minutes to open your heart and mind to God.

3. When you are ready, slowly look and notice the image, taking your time to let feelings and thoughts come to you as you take in forms, figures, colors, lines, textures, and shapes. What does it look like, or remind you of? What are your initial thoughts? What feelings are evoked?

4. Now, return to the image with an open heart and mind again. You may now experience new thoughts, meanings, and feelings. Start, exploring new meanings and feelings that come to you associated with the image. Be aware of any assumptions or expectations that you bring to the image. Regardless of your response to the image — delight, disgust, indifference, and confusion — contemplate prayerfully the reason for your response and what these responses might mean for and about you.

5. As you go deeper in this prayer, open yourself to what the image might reveal to you. What does the Spirit want to say, evoke, make known, or express to you in quiet meditation? What are your feelings, thoughts, desires, and meanings evoked by the image, and how they are directly connected to your life?

6. Now, take the time to respond to God. Jot down in a journal the insights you want to remember, actions you are invited to take, the wisdom you hope to embody, or any feelings or thoughts you wish to express. Bring your prayer to a close-by resting in God’s grace and love. Please email us at forwomen@catholictt.org on the impact this activity may have had on your day, and be sure to share the artist’s image on your social media feeds.

Source info: https://www.patheos.com/resources/additional-resources/2009/07/praying-with-art-visio-divina