Even artwork can evangelize.

Riley Root has seen how her art’s beauty helps spread the Gospel message.

“There’s so many different styles of art, and one kind of art does not fit everybody,” Root said. “But all people striving for holiness and goodness find that they relate best to different types of art. And I think that’s really cool and beautiful.”

Root focuses on classical sculpting. She will join other area artists showcasing their diverse art pieces at the second annual Catholic Art Festival on Sept. 23 at Epiphany of Our Lord Church in south St. Louis.

The idea for a local Catholic art festival was a fruit of the prayer of Rachel Stinehart, a parishioner at the Oratory of Sts. Gregory and Augustine. She said she felt prompted to organize an event where local artists could share their skills with local Catholics.

“The Holy Spirit led me to it,” Stinehart said. “After I first had the idea in prayer, I started having a lot of conversations with other local artists, and it seemed like all the artists I knew were all on their own little island trying to bring glory to God through their skills. That is where I found a need for a Catholic art festival.”

Root’s journey to finding the St. Louis Catholic art community began during her sophomore year in high school when she fell in love with doing all types of art and creating things. She especially admired the classical art found in local Catholic churches. After high school, she studied at the Sacred Art School in Florence, Italy.

In a class with 30 other students, Root learned the ins and outs of the classical art style and the importance of community within the art world.

“Artists can be very intense people; we take everything in the world very intensely,” Root said. “It’s really beautiful to be able to talk about a piece and your work with other artists. I’ll FaceTime artists I’ve worked with, and they’ll critique me. And that’s really helpful. We all kind of do that for each other, which is a really necessary thing.”

After two years at the Sacred Art School, Root returned to the U.S., moving around with her husband, Kevin, to different cities to work on various projects. Eventually, the couple found themselves in St. Louis and welcomed their first child, Finnegan, four months ago. They are members of St. Francis Borgia Parish in Washington.

Now, Root’s artwork has become a family affair. Kevin often helps his wife with casting, which entails removing the sculpture from a mold.

“We just love doing everything together. It’s cool to be able to add my artwork to the list of things that we do together,” Root said. “He’s so creative but in a different way than I am. We are just a really good team.”

Root has found immense inspiration for her artwork from her experience as a mother, too.

“Being a mother has changed everything,” she said. “I am excited to see what inspiration being a mother will bring down the road. I am hoping to do a piece similar to the Madonna and Child after my experience as a mother.”

But Root has missed one thing after moving to St. Louis — a vibrant art community. She hopes to connect with other Catholic artists at the upcoming Catholic Art Festival, further immersing herself in that community of gifted individuals.

“I am excited to get to know the Catholic artists community here in St. Louis more through the Art Festival,” Root said. “I’m excited to join that community because everyone works together and there’s just a lot of goodness and vibrant friendships in the St. Louis Catholic art community. I cannot wait to be more connected.”

Second Annual Catholic Art Festival

10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23

Epiphany of Our Lord Parish (to be held on the parish field across from church), 6596 Smiley Ave., St. Louis, MO 63139

For more information on the event, including the day’s schedule and information about featured artists, visit catholicartfest.com.

Catholic Artist Network

Following the success of the first Catholic Art Festival, organizers formed the Catholic Artist Network to support artists producing work that is beautiful, good, and true and ultimately points to God and His love for us. The network is open to all area Catholic artists of various abilities and those who support Catholic art. To learn more, visit catholicartistnetwork.com.