Bread Box. Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church. 2020.

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Bread Box draws inspiration from medieval architecture and the story of Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, who founded a hospital in the year 1227 to treat victims of the black plague before her own untimely death. With the coronavirus pandemic looming over society in the present, and with the historic St. Elizabeth’s Church near the Art Building of CU Denver serving as somewhat of a refuge for unhoused neighbors during an expanding homeless crisis in Denver, I created a temporary public art installation from a thrifted bread box that was meant to spread healing imagery to the local community. Inside the sculpture were linoleum block prints on torn-out newspaper articles about the current pandemic, depicting either the flowing waters of Cherry Creek that runs through Denver or the Rod of Asclepius, the ancient symbol of a serpent-entwined staff still associated with healthcare. By integrating spirituality, craft, art, and literature, Bread Box bridges the struggles of the past with those of the present.