30 days unplugged
HOW A CATHOLIC PRIEST TURNED OFF HIS IPHONE AND TOOK A CALL FROM GOD
Ladies and Gentlemen...The Artists!
I can’t even begin to express my gratitude for their contributions. I believe that what they’ve created, based on my meditations, has yielded an outstanding collection of religious artwork for the modern era, and the collaborative process I went through with each one of them was far and away my favorite part of bringing this book forth.
The concept of having artwork in 30 Days Unplugged came to me almost as soon as my spiritual director gave me the initial green light. Once I started on the book, I asked an artist friend of mine if he would work with me on it, and it was his suggestion that I seek out multiple artists with varying styles.
This turned out to be a brilliant stroke. It was astonishing to me how I was led, clearly by Divine Providence, to each one of these incredibly talented people. I was then able to look at the manuscript in a new way and imagine which artist would be ideal for which parts. After an initial discussion, and sometimes consultation as the work progressed, I gave each artist complete freedom to visualize and render his or her interpretation. I absolutely love the results and hope you do, as well. Please peruse the artist’s websites and see their other artwork for purchase, or hire them for your own personal project.
Thank you, my fellow artists, for your willingness to collaborate in making beautiful art together. I remain grateful to your “Yes!” May God bless your future efforts and bless the world in the way you have blessed me.
Love you!
Fr. Darrin Merlino
Estella Marie
Estella Marie is 8 years old and in 3rd grade. She loves her Catholic faith and her family with all of her heart. When she’s not drawing, she’s likely Irish dancing, cooking, or traveling the world.
SPENCER ANGLE
My name is Spencer Angle, I’m a Mary Star alumni that graduated in 2011 and now working at getting my freelance illustrator career going. I received a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University Fullerton and have yet to begin a full-time art career because I’ve been working part time and traveling whenever possible. I believe that a key to inspiration lies in having a broad world view, as well as seeing new and interesting environments as well as local museums. I focus mainly on digital illustration due to its portability and all the cool things one can do with technology these days. From painting and graphic design to sculpting I can do a bit of everything with a computer, it’s really great. I got into contact with Father Darrin when on a happenstance visit to my alma mater and he reached out for my assistance and seeing as how I would love the opportunity for my art to reach a wider audience I jumped at the chance to help. I hope you find my work unique and interesting in the very least. The ideas came to me when thinking of traditional stained glass windows, but maybe how they’d be interpreted in a digital or AI generated setting.
Michelangelo Da Vinci
COMING SOON
Mark Dever
Currently attending the University of Mary completing a Business Communication degree, Mark Dever spends much of his leisure time drawing. He spent his early childhood years drawing for fun with his father and now at twenty years of age loves art all the more for its role in his life as a creative and emotional outlet. His latest work consists almost exclusively of images of people, in ink, alcohol markers or graphite on paper which remain his preferred media. With no formal training in the arts he continues to push himself and develop his style as he completes his degree.
Johnnie root
Is a 23 year old wife and mother to be, with a passion for art and the Catholic faith. As an award winning artist, Johnnie, has captured the attention of many which has led to her work being published in multiple books. Among her accomplishments she was an art scholar at Ave Maria University where she graduated with an Arts and Humanities
degree, and currently runs her own company Johnnie Girl Art. Her work aims to bring the spirituality, genius and inspiration of the Church to the younger generation- through hand drawn original art pieces.
JohnnieGirl.com
SUSAN EDWARDS
A long time resident of the So Bay Area of So California , Susan A. Edwards spent 46 years teaching grades Pre K thru College , was a Director of an Alternative School and a Principal of an Elementary school The last 20 years of her career was spent as Head of the Art Department and Art Teacher at Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro .
Being in the art field of education allowed Susan the opportunity to develop her talents asan independent artist . Retirement has been exciting , productive and not short on creative projects for this artist.
MIA & ROBERT GIL
Robert graduated with a degree in Graphic Communications. His professional experience as a graphic artist began in the textbook industry working on imaging for school books, ranging from kindergarten to the collegiate level. His talents eventually led him to other arenas, including work for the advertising and entertainment industry.
In recent years Robert has transitioned into another field of work. He still enjoys using his artistic talents for both leisure and volunteer work for the Catholic Church. Robert is a husband and father of six.
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Mia gil is currently an undergrad student at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Her love for art started at an early age, gaining her recognition in school and winning multiple awards. Mia currently uses her artistic talent for personal fun, using a wide variety of mediums.
TAYLOR MARTINEZ
Taylor Martinez, a desert dwelling graphic designer, was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona before moving to Tempe to pursue her education.
It was in this period of training at ASU's Herberger Institute that she discovered a passion for print design and opportunities to marry her, oftentimes, macabre art with design. From album covers to linocut prints to promotional incense boxes, she infuses every project with a deeply personal touch and an originality that warrants second glances. Her love for traditional design has permeated into her grassroots political involvement as well.
As a lifelong pro–life activist, she has combined her passions to promote the sanctity of life through design work with Live Action and Students for Life of America. These opportunities have allowed her to instill her design with a higher spiritual purpose, a deepening likewise experienced in her work for "30 Days Unplugged."
PAULA MCKENDRY
Housewife with a paintbrush and a rosary.
SAMANTHA NAMBU
Sam is currently a student at California State University Fullerton finishing bachelors degrees in both Art and Biology. She works primarily in watercolor, ink, graphite and digital media.
She has Exhibited art in the DA Gallery in Pomona, and has worked digitally to create banners and logos for schools as well as various businesses/programs.
Most of her art is figurative and meant to be processed emotionally, with particular emphasis on the articulation of facial expressions.
JASON PEARSON
Jason Pearson has created art for many notables including David Bowie, Trent Reznor, Pope Francis, Mel Gibson, Gil Scott-Heron and Aphex Twin.
Pearson is the co-founder of Blender Magazine in New York City. Jason has received numerous artistic awards and his work has been published in more than 30 books. New York Magazine recognized Pearson as one of their “digital visionaries.” He was also named to the Samsung Brain Trust.
With paintings shown in Dubai, Dōhah, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, Pearson’s work is also featured in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian and Victoria and Albert Museum. Pearson works actively with NGOs—providing poignant inspiration for his creative work.
Bernardo Ramonfaur
Bernardo Ramonfaur Garza participó en Literatura Joven Universitaria 2006, con 15 poesías distintas, a las que tituló “Arte”, en donde habla de lo cotidiano, de lo urbano, “poesía camionera o algo así, de la ciudad”.
El estudiante de la Facultad de Artes Visuales (FAE), comentó que trató de hacer su poema simple, sin palabras rebuscadas, para facilitar la lectura. Su trabajo aborda el tema del arte, pero desmitificándolo, según explicó “Arte con los pies en la tierra, quitarle a la poesía lo que le sobra”.
Para él, lo que le sobra a la poesía son las palabras rebuscadas, pues las considera como adornos que están ahí para esconder la falta de originalidad del artista.
“No sé escribir poesía, no sé reglas ni nada de eso, la poesía es como que medio sin reglas, como de la calle. Nada más pensé de qué puedo escribir y empecé a sacar palabras que rimaran y se fue conformando”, aclaró.
Mediante estos poemas, plasmó la realidad que vive dentro del contexto universitario, sobre todo como estudiante de Artes Visuales, enfocándose también en el dilema de estudiar y tener un título que, en su opinión no sirva para nada, “una cosa es en la Universidad y en la calle otra realidad”, expresó.
“La idea es cargar la cruz en el arte. Aceptar el paquete completo, no sólo lo bonito y lo estrafalario, sino todo lo que soy yo”.
El ganador del tercer lugar del Certamen de Literatura Joven Universitaria 2006 indicó que a la publicación de esta nora, se encontraba trabajando en una novela gráfica que incluye poesía y prosa en imágenes.
“Me gustaría experimentar en cuento, seguir con poesía y mezclarlo con imágenes, poesía visual, experimentar”.
prints for sale:
https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/bernardojbp/
Angelica Raquid
Born and raised in Southern California, Angelica has been working in the Entertainment Industry for almost a decade - including Home Entertainment and Theatrical services.
Since she was just 16 years old, Angelica began her career working in professional sports for players such as Sasha Vujacic and Metta World Peace.
Gabby Schmidt
Originally from Southern California. Home is Prescott, Arizona. My church is Sacred Heart on the Hill in Prescott, Arizona. Married 44 years to Steve with two sons. AA degree in Fashion Design from The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, California. Couture designer of wedding and evening apparel. Owned a bridal shop. Started oil painting at 20 years old and changed mediums to watercolor.
God gifted me with the desire to be creative. Whether it is designing an evening gown, a quilt, crocheting, knitting, drawing, making jewelry, sculpting, making a porcelain doll, or painting the image of a dear one. It is not my passion to make a profit from my hand…it is my gift to those I love.
Brian Sisson
coming soon
Melissa Torres
Melissa Torres is a UCLA alumna with a degree in Art History. During her spare time Melissa volunteers as a docent at The Getty Villa in Malibu where she gives tours to students who visit the museum on fieldtrips. She enjoys helping the students make personal connections to the objects and inspiring them to share in her appreciation of the arts.
As a young artist Melissa won several contests. Her winning pieces were displayed in the Los Angeles County Department of Health, The California State Capitol Building in Sacramento, The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, and one was published in Pine Tree Art The 2008 Collection; Showcasing America’s Most Talented Student Artists. Now as an adult Melissa has rediscovered her love for drawing. Once she was a student of both Father Darrin and Sue Edwards at Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro, and today Melissa is honored to collaborate with both of them to create this beautiful book.
Anthony Whitfield
Anthony Whitfield is a New York native, born and raised on Long Island. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Anthony worked in the New York animation industry as an inbetweener, clean up artist, and layout artist on a variety of series for various studios including MTV’s Daria, and Saturday Night Live’s TV Funhouse.
In 2000, he moved from New York to Los Angeles where he works for the Walt Disney Company as a character artist in their consumer products division. In the span of twenty years at Disney, he has worked on many different properties.
Katie Zemanek
coming soon
