During Children’s Art Class, we discussed the attributes of the four Gospel writers, images mentioned in both Ezekiel (1:4-14) as well as the Book of Revelation (4:5-8).  We looked at images from the Book of Kells (c.800) in Ireland, mosaics from Sant’Apollinare in Classe (6th century) in Ravenna, Italy, along with other depictions throughout the centuries.

We then focused on the Eagle representing St. John the Evangelist.  Although this past week we celebrated the Feast of St. Luke, represented as an ox, an eagle seemed a more appealing image for the children to draw!  The Eagle representing St. John is a symbol of the highest inspiration, a creature that dwells closest to heaven.

The children first drew their eagles in pencil on watercolor paper.  They then copied over the lines they liked in black oil pastel.  Once completed the fun began with painting their eagles in watercolor, starting with the beaks and brown feathers, then moving on to the background colors.  When the feathers had a chance to dry a bit, they then started building up the color with more layers of paint, allowing the first wash of brown to show on the edges, giving them some texture and depth.  The final step was to use a very light wash of gray to imply the texture of the white feathers on their eagles heads.

The prayer from our collage Holy Card this week is from Isaiah 40:31:  “…but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

St. John the Evangelist, pray for us!