Our Community Artists and Artisans

We are gifted with many talented sisters. This page will feature some of their art and crafts and we invite you to return as there will be additions periodically.

Sister Paula Howard - Iconography
Sister Elaine Fischer - Woodworking
Sister Barbara Langel - Stained Glass
Community Quilters
Poetry by some of the Mount Sisters

Some items made our sisters are available in Monastery Goods, our community's gift shop.

Sister Paula Howard
Iconography

Sister Paula Howard began her ministry in iconography when she retired in 1999, after several decades of teaching and administration. Interest in icons had been awakened during her more than eight years in the Middle East, but the desire to write them came alive during a retreat-workshop on icons sponsored by Sophia Center here at the Mount. Four workshops later, with the encouragement of Sister Mary Charles McGough, instructor, Sister Paula has written well over 150 icons, mostly in the Byzantine tradition. Several of them are kept for display in the monastery to enhance liturgical functions. Many of them have been sold to visitors or to inquirers across the country who have "discovered" them on our web site. In the past several years Sister Paula has begun to accept commissions to write icons of special requests.

For more information about Sister Paula's icons and to see some of her work.

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Sister Elaine Fischer
Woodworking Projects

Sister Elaine Fischer, our director of maintenance at our monastery, is originally from Ottawa Kansas. She has many talents but when it comes to working with wood her talents are remarkable. She is pictured here with a grandfather clock she made which stands in our main monastery hall. Often you will find her in the shop working on projects that add beauty and functionality to our lives together.She is truly one of our monastery artisans and we are happy that she is willing to share her talent so freely.

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Sister Barbara Langel
Stained Glass and pottery

Sister Barbara Langel, from Omaha, Nebraska, is shown here with her latest stained glass creation, "The Samaritan Woman at the Well". Many of her smaller stained glass projects can be found in our gift shop. Sister Barbara is an accomplished potter as well. Her creativity is in evidence in various places around the monastery and we are grateful for her willingness to share her gifts with us.


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Community Quilters

Several sisters engage in their ministry of quilting every morning. Sisters Mary Ann Fessler, Berndette Havlik, and Laetitia Chavez, work on a quilt. They have done special custom requests, done the piecing and quilting for blocks sewn by others, and produced original works for the monastery's gift shop. Their quilt for the annual Night of Dreams benefit auction is always a popular item.

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