CHURCH ART INSTALLATION

ARTIST STATEMENT

SADIE KEMMERER
(Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR)

THE PROGRESSION (2023) Fabric, glue, thread on canvas.

As you stand here and read this artist statement, you are surrounded by twenty-five pieces of my artwork. Fourteen canvases (on the side walls) and eleven large leaf- like pieces (on the back wall).

My inspiration for this project came from the people that use St. Martin’s space: children, recovery groups, and those who attend church services.

I find a common theme in these groups, and that is the progression of growth and change. This piece is intended to encourage those who are in pursuit of growth. My goal is to remind you of a forward motion and evoke feelings of progress and confidence in your growth.

You stand here listening to the voice inside your mind read you this paragraph. I want you to take a moment to listen to that voice. Recognize that the voice reading this statement is capable of growth. Learn to love this voice and teach them how to use it for only the good.

Listen to yourself say these words: I am loved, I can change, and I can grow. Say it until you believe it. And as you look at the colors in the shapes and the movement in the pieces on these walls realize that every stitch, every piece of fabric, every second of every minute that it took me to finish this project was to support you in your journey.

The canvases were made purely out of the scraps of the large leaves on the wall. Even the scraps of something great can turn out to be as beautiful and complicated.

1am proud of the people in the recovery groups, I dream for those kids, I admire the people that devote themselves. As you continue your day, I want you to keep In mind the power that you have to create good.