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Sister Mary Noreen O’Leary in the studio.

As we celebrate Sister Mary Noreen O’Leary after 100 years of life and 73 years of religious profession, her legacy of using art as “a source of new vision” for creation and education lives on through her work and her countless students.

For over 30 years, Sister Mary Noreen was a beloved instructor in the Marylhurst College Art Department. She had the challenge and the joy of convincing young people preparing to become teachers that they were equal to the challenge, including teaching art.

After leaving the college, Sister Mary Noreen spent many years teaching private art classes to children and adults in her Marylhurst studio. Throughout her life, she remained a practicing artist whose extensive body of work includes serigraph, mosaic, block print, oil and acrylic works.

“Madonna and Child”

A primary tenet of her philosophy of art was “The Adventure of Seeing!” The creative environment and diverse collections of her studio enhanced her students’ power to see beyond the external and to venture into “the within” in their exploration and experimentation with various media.

Sister Mary Noreen perceived art as a positive challenge. “It is a means by which we can explore and enjoy our world — both the inner world and the outer one,” she said. “Like life, art is a constantly growing experience. It does not disregard suffering. Rather, it is a tool for thinking and a source of new vision.”

Sister Mary Noreen recognized the value of art to human life and spirit. Whether participating in the richness and appreciation of the work of others, or imparting the values and principles of art to learners, she understood that art making and art immersion are important to the full development of the human person.

Victorians used hair art, worn as jewelry or crafted into elaborate display pieces, to mourn the loss of loved ones. This piece contains the hair of our foundress, Blessed Mother Marie Rose Durocher.

Photo courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

These black and white beans were used as voting markers by Sisters in California after Vatican II, when the hierarchical structure of religious life began to change in favor of a more democratic system.

Photo courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

Sisters in Washington and Oregon used Quick Elastic starch to prepare the coif and bandeau that surrounded their faces when they wore the traditional SNJM habit.

Here’s Sister Xavier Mary Courvoisier playing her violin, circa 1962 – Quick Elastic is certainly to thank for keeping her habit clean and crisp!

Sister Xavier Mary, a graduate of Julliard with a master’s degree in violin, taught music at Fort Wright College and Gonzaga University in Spokane and Holy Names University in Oakland.

Photo courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

This purse is an early creation from the Tutwiler, Mississippi quilters. This group was encouraged by encouraged by Holy Names Sister Maureen Delaney and Dominican Sister JoAnn Blomme, who saw an opportunity for the women in the area to earn income from their traditional quilt making back in the 1980s.

Photo courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

A toy megaphone from Sacred Heart Academy in Salem, Oregon. Circa 1980. Go Cardinals!

Photo courtesy of SNJM U.S.-Ontario Archives.

We’re sharing objects from the Archives of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The Archives catalogues historical records, objects and publications in order to preserve the history of our institution, schools and ministries.

 Sister Maria Faina

When Sister Maria reflects on her penchant for “doing art,” as she likes to call it, she credits her parents for nurturing her creativity. She inherited their yearning to bring beauty into their surroundings. She recalls her mother’s ingenuity with flowers and handiwork like crocheting and embroidery, and her father’s love of opera and how it filled their home with soaring sounds.

Over the years, Sister Maria has experimented with all sorts of artistic media. Whether it be collage, decoupage, watercolor or drawing, she just goes where the brush, pencil or pen lead her. Some of her creations, like her fanciful doodling, explore the space in between traditional artwork and personal expression. To her, anything that gives visible form to what one sees or feels becomes an art form.

Photography provides her with an important way to capture sources of inspiration, both in her travels and on walks around gardens and parks near her home in Silver Spring, MD. Through photos notecards, these images have become part of her body of work.

Sister Maria’s fascination with “doing art” is sustained by the knowledge that there are endless possibilities yet to be discovered. She finds that “when I DO ART, I am nourished and free.”

Sister Jean Morningstar

During her college years, Sister Jean enrolled in an art class taught by Sister Maria Luisa Wolfskill (Sr. Mary Luke). With her teacher’s encouragement to develop her talent and to major in art, Sister Jean became an art teacher herself, and in turn became an advocate for her own high school art students. She gave them lifelong skills to share their creativity and appreciation for art. One of the students who took her class in stained glass at St. Monica High School in California is now a professional artist who produces stained glass windows for churches and other structures. Many of her students stay in touch with Sister Jean, expressing gratitude for the way she showed belief in them and helped them develop their own talents and confidence.

After teaching art for 32 years, Sister Jean expanded her ministry of education by founding Holy Names Graphics in 1984. It continues to provide resources, including clip art, for schools, parishes, retreat centers, hospitals and religious orders nationally and internationally. Sister Jean also shares her abilities with those who lack financial resources for graphic design services.

Sister Jean continues to develop new skills in graphic design, using multiple computer programs as she creates new images. She never knows what the day will bring in terms of requests for her artwork.

When asked what gives her life in her current ministry, she says, “Listening to and understanding the idea that an individual wants to express and creating a design that conveys that message.”

Mother Marie Rose by Jean Morningstar, SNJM