New “Seeds” art exhibit at SLU showcases Catholic high school talent

Photos by Jacob Wiegand | jacobwiegand@archstl.org Susie Hahn, a parishioner at Mary Queen of Peace in Webster Groves, looked at a mosaic by Saint Louis Priory School students Alex Bader and David Swallow on Feb. 7 at the Seeds Art Exhibition at the McNamee Gallery on Saint Louis University’s campus. The exhibit showcases the works of young artists from 15 Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

“Seeds” at Saint Louis University features artwork from students at 15 Catholic high schools

Laura Kosta

Submitted on February 14, 2025

The ask was simple: Create some religious artwork.

For a month earlier this year, upper level art students at St. Dominic High School in O’Fallon were challenged to create faith-based projects to be hung around the school. Senior Anne Papin immediately thought of the smiling images of Jesus in the TV show “The Chosen.”

As she started sketching, she also recalled a recent homily from Father Patrick Russell on the Gospel story of the rich young man. The young man says that he has followed all the commandments and asks Jesus what else he must do to earn eternal life. Jesus tells him to give away his possessions, and the young man walks away sad.

Brady Vogt, a junior at St. Louis University High School, and his mother, Maria Vogt, looked at Brady’s stoneware and glaze work “Nike Blazer” at the Seeds Art Exhibition on Feb. 7.

“But there’s a part where he turned away, and Jesus looked at him with love,” Anne said. “That was my push off as far as, what He would look like if He was looking right at you.”

Anne’s finished piece, “In Your Eyes,” a long, horizontal graphite drawing, depicts the top half of Jesus’ face, eyes crinkled with smile lines at the edges even as a crown of thorns digs in above. She worked on it daily in Art 2 and Honors Advanced Art, which she is taking simultaneously this year.

Even after that project was complete, Anne has felt a continued draw to religious art. She’s currently working on a wood burning project of twin panels depicting Mary and Joseph.

“In the past couple years I’ve realized that yes, I’ve honed my skills as an artist, but at the same time, God has given me this gift, so this is one of the ways that I can give back,” she said. “I can obviously never repay what He’s given me, but this is just a small way to glorify Him.”

“In Your Eyes” by St. Dominic High School in O’Fallon senior Anne Papin at the Seeds Art Exhibition on Feb. 7.

“In Your Eyes” now hangs in the McNamee Gallery at Saint Louis University, part of a new exhibit titled “Seeds” that features artwork from students of 15 Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The exhibit opened Feb. 7 and runs through Feb. 28.

The idea for the showcase came from conversations among high school art teachers and the Office of Catholic Education and Formation, who then brought the idea of a collaboration to Saint Louis University, said Amy Bautz, SLU studio art program director.

“We are so happy to work with them and make it happen,” Bautz said. “We can really support and acknowledge the work that the teachers are doing with their students in the high schools. I think it will make our program stronger, and maybe it will make their programs stronger, too.”

On Feb. 7, students, teachers, families and friends gathered at the gallery, located on the lower level of Cupples House at SLU, to celebrate the exhibit’s opening. A team of SLU faculty members selected four honorees, awarding first place, second place and two honorable mentions to student artwork.

First place went to “Contemplation,” an ink-and-paper drawing by Ursuline Academy sophomore Gabrielle Broyles. The piece depicts a woman — Ursuline art teacher Lisa Payne, it turns out — seated in a chair, facing away.

“We all drew her for like 20 minutes, and we did a lot of practice sketches,” Gabrielle said. “It’s all ink, and we used different paint brushes and sticks and stuff. I’m really proud of this because it kind of looks simple, but also very detailed at the same time.”

Madelyn Christiansen, a senior at St. Francis Borgia Regional High School in Washington, earned second place for “¡Roll Up!” a black-and-white acrylic painting of a 1965 Ford Mustang.

“Contemplation” by Ursuline Academy student Gabrielle Broyles, which received first place at the Seeds Art Exhibition.

“I really like painting in black and white, and I wanted to paint something fun, from an interesting perspective,” Madelyn said. “We found this car in the parking lot of our favorite place to get tacos while we were searching for something to paint, so I was like, dang, I have to paint this.”

This project required some artistic adaptability; Madelyn painted it with a broken clavicle. “I had to kind of maneuver myself in a way so I could paint without moving (my clavicle). I didn’t think it would end up very well, but actually, it’s my favorite piece of artwork that I made because it took a lot of time and effort.”

Madelyn’s mother, Ginna Christiansen, looked on proudly.

“She does amazing work, and she puts her whole heart into everything that she does,” she said. “To see her accomplishments on a wall is pretty amazing.”

One honorable mention went to “Green Tea Cup and Flower Tea Cup,” a set of two oil paintings by Ellie Petersen, a senior at Villa Duchesne.

“¡Roll Up!” by St. Francis Borgia Regional High School student Madelyn Christiansen, which received second place at the Seeds Art Exhibition.

Ellie chose five teacups to paint — including the green one, from her grandfather’s house — for an assignment in her Honors Painting and Drawing class where she was tasked to paint five of the same kind of item.

This year is the first she’s worked with oil paints, and “it’s probably one of my favorite mediums to use now,” she said.

In addition to the artwork on the walls, several ceramic sculptures are displayed on stands down the middle of the gallery room. Brady Vogt, a junior at St. Louis University High School, stood by his “Nike Blazer,” a ceramic rendering of the high-top shoe, glazed laces weaving all the way to the top and tied in a bow.

Brady sculpted the shoe in ceramics class, choosing the Nike Blazer because it was a favorite shoe of his dating back to eighth grade. He’s enjoying working with clay this year; he’d been looking for a way to fit the class into his SLUH schedule since trying out ceramics back at Ascension School in Chesterfield.

Having his artwork selected to display “feels pretty good,” Brady said. “I’m not a hardcore artist or anything, so I thought it was meaningful to me that I got recognized in this kind of way, out of all the kids in my school that take art.”

The other half of making art is having the chance to display it for others, just like a dance recital or concert, said Ursuline Academy art teacher Lisa Payne. She’s glad that her students have the chance to share their work with a wider audience and hopes it will inspire them to continue making and showing art.

“Art is a life skill. It’s a way for us to express ourselves, just like writing something or playing music or doing sports is expressing ourselves, and we develop the way that we think through creating,” Payne said. “And I think it’s essential especially now, when we have a lot that we consume — we consume and view a lot of things — to encourage creation and making your own things.”

Cor Jesu Academy art teacher Amy Enkelmann Reed agreed. “The life skill of envisioning — we tend to outsource that so much now. You just pick up your phone for an answer,” she said. “So having to go through those steps of imagining how you communicate visually, imagining your works of art and problem solving is a hugely valuable skill that they have to do all the time in the art room. And just having the time to understand yourself through your own artwork — that’s super important.”