Advent Liturgical Art, 2025

For Advent, 2026, I worked with Kay Wolff and many wonderful people at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley to create a liturgical installation. 

 

 

The theme was Christ's family tree, and we invited congregants to create book boxes that represented their stories as part of the vast family tree we are a part of.

 

We involved children and adults in the installation, using collage, assemblage, and paint in craft faux books to tell about their journeys. Then we suspended them from manzanita branches. We added old hardcover books, painted with the names of Christ's ancestors,  and suspended them with fishing line so it looked like they were flying.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed! 

The experience deepened my love of this community during these troubling times.

 

My Mentors

I have installed my show entitled My Mentors at my church in the Bay Area. It consists of 28 portraits of my students, each one 12"x12". 18 of them include statements that they wrote about themselves and are shown with their permission. I feel that their words really deepen the work and help to show their humanity.

My Mentors will be up until February 15, 2026. If you would like to see the show, or if you would like to exhibit the paintings, contact me at carol.aust.art@gmail.com.

These people have deeply impacted my life. I have learned so much from them about resilience and hope.