This summer, the Adult Education committee will present a chance to mix and mingle while learning a thing or two about art in the Christian tradition. On four evenings during the summer, we will gather in the home of a host to enjoy some wine and cheese while engaging in a study, “Images of Faith”, which will be led by Cheryl Harrison.

Cheryl is a very talented artist, who you may have seen singing joyfully in our choir lately. She is passionate about the arts and feels that the beauty captured by the visual arts is meant to be shared with all. Every art form—music, drama, dancing—have a place in the practice of faith and serve to enlarge our vision of the world.

While taking art history classes at Meredith College, Cheryl became intrigued by the notion that much of the history of art has been shaped by Christianity (and, in turn, Christianity by art!) It was that concept that inspired her to develop the “Images of Faith” series. We will be looking at beautiful works of art, and through discussion relate the messages in the art to our own lives of faith. The class will present an overview of Christian art from the earliest frescoes in the catacombs of Rome to the great works of the Italian Renaissance. 

Highlights of the course will include:

• Hidden symbols of Christian art under Roman persecution
• Changes that came with the reign of Constantine and the Edict of Milan
• Byzantine Art and why there is no Byzantine art left in Byzantium
• Pilgrimage Routes of the Middle Ages
• Cathedrals behind the pilgrimages—relics and the evolution of cathedral architecture
• Early Renaissance in Italy and Northern Europe
• The Italian Renaissance and great painters of that period, such as Michelangelo and Leonardo DaVinci

We welcome you to come to one or all of the four evening sessions. Bring a beverage to share and prepare not only learn a thing or two, but commune with old and new friends alike.