A Letter to the Woman Drawn to God Through Beauty // Kate Marin

In his Letter to Artists, St. Pope John Paul II said that “Human beings, in a certain sense, are unknown to themselves.” Jesus reveals who God is, but he also fully reveals us to ourselves. Yet we often find ourselves asking “Who am I” and “What is real”?

John Paul II goes on to say that “humanity in every age, and even today, looks to work of art to shed light upon its path and its destiny.” But what does it look like to create and encounter art that answers those deep questions of identity and longing?

In today’s episode of the Letters to Women podcast, I’m sitting down with Kate Marin. Classically trained in Florence, Italy, Kate is an artist who works to create sculptures—large and small—that tell our human stories, that reveal the Divine, and that always uphold the dignity of each human person.

We’re talking about how the moment Kate fell in love with the creating and how she’s grown as an artist, the way that Theology of the Body influences her sculpting, and how becoming a mother has impacted the way she creates.

John Paul II says that “Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term. Yet, as Genesis has it, all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece.”

Whether you’re tuning into this episode to connect with Kate as a fellow artist or you’re a woman who desires to encounter the beauty of God and learn more about the masterpiece of your own life, sister, this letter is for you.

Topics we talked about in this episode:

• How Kate as grown as an artist throughout the course of her life and training
• The moment in Kate’s story where she fell in love with art and the creative process
• Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and how it’s influenced Kate’s work as an artist
• How Kate went about finding models for her sculpture of the Holy Family
• The way that prayer and the artistic process intertwine when Kate creates
• How creating art helps Kate answer the big questions that so many of us wrestle with today
• How becoming a mother has changed the way that Kate creates and what Kate is looking forward to teaching her children about art
• How Kate lives out the feminine genius as a woman creating works that help call people deeper into the truth of their own mystery

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:

• Connect with Kate online and explore the art she creates
• Read St. Pope John Paul II’s Letter to Artists
• Subscribe to my monthly newsletter, Naptime Notes

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