Artist bio

Karin Soderholm is a teacher and artist whose love of education and textiles has led her on a wild adventure around the world. She has a BA in Art Education from Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL and an MFA in Fibers from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA. After four years in Daegu, South Korea, teaching in the Craft Design department at Keimyung University, she now calls Colorado home. Karin has fifteen years of experience in art education, teaching in public and private schools, facilitating workshops for kids and adults, teaching in art camps, and serving as a visiting artist. Always a maker, Karin learned to sew as a young girl with her mother, learned to weave and paint as a young adult with insightful teachers, and learned to embroider with the help of charismatic friends. Her love of textiles is rooted in family tradition and the joy found in materials and process. Her artwork has been displayed in university and private galleries in the U.S., Korea, and China. Katina Lowe Sandra Jean Ceas Tara Lynnsmith McConnell Garrett Larson J.I. Karner Jennifer Bunge Becca Karner Scott Cusack

Title

The Fruit of the Spirit

Medium/Genre

Mixed Media

Artist Statement

These nine pieces are a result of the collaboration of nine different artists, all members of Christos Collective, over approximately 9 months. Each piece is dedicated to exploring one Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Each artist had one month with each piece and added something to the visual unfolding of each work. As the artwork was passed around the group, the artists spent time in prayer and wrote their personal reflections on each Fruit of the Spirit in the journals that accompany the work. For Christos Collective, the opportunity to intentionally reflect upon and engage in what the Fruit of the Spirit meant to each of us and to more deeply relate to each other through journal reflections and artistic collaboration, was a truly meaningful and enlightening experience.

How it fits into contest

The power to do any spiritual battling comes from God! We are not capable of fighting the darkness from outside ourselves or within ourselves, without the power of God in us! This project focuses on the fruit of the Spirit- the gifts the Spirit gives us as we fight the battle against the flesh (Galatians 5). These things are God’s promise to us! He has not asked us to say no to things of the flesh, just to penalize us or make life boring, but because he promises us His Kingdom and these beautiful qualities: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control! This does not come easy and the struggle and sorrow are expressed through some of these pieces. But we know that we have the power of the Spirit with us!

Credits

All artists worked on all pieces:
Karin Soderholm
Jennifer Bunge
J.I. Karner
Becca Karner
Sandra Jean Ceas
Tara Lynnsmith McConnell
Katina Lowe
Scott Cusack
Garrett Larson

Submit Your Artwork Today!

Curious? Interested in submitting artwork to our contest? Know someone who might be? Through April 14th, 2022, the Engage Art Contest is open to the whole world! Get your foot in the door by claiming your Artist Page now!