Summit Crossing Community Church // Madison

ARTIST STATEMENT: KATIE CALVERT The six verses of Psalm 126 have been a part of my personal journey for several years. There is such beauty and mystery in the lines “those who sow in tears shall reap in songs of joy.” While at first they sounded like a far off echo, I would later come to feel these lines wrap protectively around my heart, like glittering threads of hope as I wept in particularly hard seasons. I have also heard their prophetic cry as I have borne witness to difficult seasons in the lives of others. A few years ago when I found myself in a particularly hard season, I sought the help of a professional counselor. She encouraged me to be curious about my tears rather than ashamed, because they often fall in the doorway of a part of my story that needs healing. Similarly, rather than hiding their tears, the Israelites wept as they worked, letting tears fall freely on the open fields. These lines have stirred up my imagination and filled me with wonder about the role our sorrows play in our work, an

ARTIST STATEMENT: JENNA HURT In my work, I am compelled to illustrate God’s Word in a way easily interpreted by the viewer. I find elements of nature to be beautiful hints to God’s own nature and character. This particular piece to illustrate Psalm 145 marks the beginning of exploring printmaking as a new medium to me. My goal is to communicate to the viewer God’s purposeful movement towards man, and man’s response in praise. I have decided to venture into printmaking partly because of design qualities that I wanted to be present in this work, to have elements that are fixed, symmetrical, and repetitive. I’ve also become intrigued with the process. Carving a block is tedious, takes patience, and is risky. Yet, it creates a beautiful piece that can’t be replicated with shortcuts. The path I’ve taken through grief to find joy is strikingly similar. In the span of 2 years, I suffered a miscarriage, wept over a total of about 20 negative pregnancy tests, intensely grieved of the stillbirth of my son, Joel,