Art as an expression of prayer

Sister Nancy Gunderson of Annunciation Monastery, Bismarck, recalls the powerful experience that endeared Joan of Arc to her. She was a teacher and part of a University of Mary group that took a trip to France that included Normandy.  Gunderson was moved by what she would see next.
 
“We went to the cathedral at Rouen and saw the old market square just around the corner,” she noted. “The marketplace now has a garden with a tall cross in it. This is the spot where Joan was burned at the stake. I looked at the spires of the cathedral knowing that was maybe the last thing Joan saw while her body was being consumed in flames. I hope that view gave her some strength. That endeared her to me. It was like coming in touch with her strength, her faithfulness, courage, spirituality, independence, and freedom. She is a model for women today. She not only listened to the voice of God, but she had the courage to follow.” 

Sister Nancy’s admiration for Joan of Arc grew as she learned that Joan started hearing voices of God and the saints at a young 13 years old. At 17, she followed her voices which directed her to lead troops into a victorious battle at Orleans, which helped Charles VII regain the throne as king of France. To appear as a male soldier so she could go into battle, Joan wore clothes and armor that were traditionally worn by soldiers and cropped her hair. This hairstyle eventually inspired the fashion world and became a popular trend for French women. 
 
Joan’s image is often shown with her holding a sword, although she didn’t carry a sword into battle. Rather, she carried a banner which she held high so the troops could see and follow her. 

Because of her countercultural ways and admittance to hearing voices and wearing boys’ clothes, Joan was seen as a threat and deemed a heretic. She was captured in battle after falling off her horse. In 1431, at age 19, Joan was burned at the stake. 
 
Sister Nancy summarized a story about soldiers who interrogated Joan about the voices she heard, saying, “It’s just your imagination.” With wisdom and faith beyond her years, Joan replied, “Well of course, what else does God have to use?” It is reported that Joan died clutching a cross while saying, “Jesus.”

 n 1456, Joan of Arc’s guilty verdict was overturned after the original trial was deemed invalid. Pope Benedict XV declared her a saint in 1920 for her heroic dedication to God’s will and personal holiness. She is the patroness of France. Her story has inspired books, films/plays, music, art and jewelry. 
 
Sister Nancy explained that Catholics pray to the saints because they are intercessors; “they talk to God for us.” 
 
She has heard that if one is drawn to a particular saint, it’s because that saint has chosen you. “I like to believe Joan chose me,” sister said.
 
 The quilt

Sister Nancy is a fabric artist and wanted to learn how to do paper-piecing, which is like a puzzle of hand-cut pieces of paper that are matched to fabric to create a design. She found a pattern for the Joan of Arc quilt that was created by Verushka Zarate. Sister Nancy took online classes on the art of paper-piecing. 
 
She explained, “It took weeks of preparation to learn how to starch, iron and sew the fabric. I hung fabric with labels, so I knew which piece matched to the correct paper piece (there were 1,370 paper pieces) and then I began to cut and sew…and rip and redo!”

The finished size of the Joan of Arc quilt is 63” x 63”. 
 
When asked why she would take on such a huge undertaking with this quilt, Sister Nancy said, “Because I love Joan. I made her out of my heart. While I worked on the quilt, I thought about Joan. I meditated and prayed to her. I do this with any religious art I create. I always fall in love with the person in the process. Art can be a powerful expression of prayer.” 
 
It took five months for Sister Nancy to complete the Joan of Arc quilt. Each eye was created from over sixty pieces of fabric. She says the biggest challenge was the exactness and the precise stitching. 
 
“I needed special thread so the seams would not be bulky and had to iron each seam before the next could be added,” sister explained. “I cut each piece and organized them in a book so I could determine the colors and shapes of each piece. I worked on one section at a time and watched it come together in sections.” 
 
In her quilt, Sister Nancy added a feather floating above Joan’s shoulder to represent the voices that Joan heard that directed her to save France. Joan bravely led troops to victory in the battle at Orleans.
 
International Quilt Festival
 
Sister Nancy’s Joan of Arc quilt was entered and juried into the 2024 International Quilt Festival in Houston, from Oct. 31 through Nov. 3. She hopes that people get close to the quilt and get to know St. Joan of Arc. She hopes they are inspired by her spiritual strength, courageous hope, freedom, and independence. The Joan of Arc quilt will be available to purchase at the festival. 
 
When Sister Nancy was asked if she wants her Joan quilt to come back to her, she said, “No, it’s not hard to let her go because she stays in my heart. Her image is quilted into my heart.”