Photo by Julianna Leopold

WOODSTOCK—Kevin Palowski set up his easel at the Atlanta Archdiocese priest convocation in September. He sat in front of the canvas, painting a portrait of Blessed Fulton Sheen.

Priests who passed his booth between sessions could watch the newly beatified bishop take shape.

“For me, it’s very definitely prayer. You’re sitting there and staring at it for, you know, hours and hours. It’s a contemplative type (of prayer) that’s how I think of it,” said Palowski.

A year earlier, he worked alongside award-winning artist Dale Molnar on a sacred art project at Transfiguration Church in Marietta.

Award-winning sacred artist, Dale Molnar, stands next to a mission olive tree that grows in front of Transfiguration Church in Marietta. Photo by Julianna Leopold

The two were partners as the parish reimagined the entryway of Transfiguration Church. Architects designed the transition space to better prepare worshippers walking from foyer’s social gathering space to the sanctuary of prayer.

The hallway included six niches. The artists created original mosaics of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and the four Gospel writers. Molnar worked on windows of St. Mary, St. Matthew and St. Luke. Palowski created St. Joseph, St. Mark and St. John.

For Molnar, sacred art engages the viewer’s senses. In contrast, religious art is passively observed.

Artist Dale Molnar’s hand caresses the mosaic of the Blessed Mother that he spent hours creating. It now hangs in the narthex of Transfiguration Church in Marietta. He used a traditional Byzantine mosaic technique where he angled small pieces of glass to create sparkles of light that fall on both Mary and the viewer. Photo by Julianna Leopold

He used a traditional Byzantine mosaic technique for the Annunciation scene, where he angled the small pieces of glass to create sparkles of light that fall on both the Virgin Mary and the viewer. In his depiction, the angel Gabriel is shown as a “field of light,” indicated by a hand, a few feathers and light.

Palowski used a subtle approach with St. John. Traditionally, the saint is symbolized with an eagle. But Palowski shows the Gospel writer with an eagle feather as a quill instead.  He researched an eagle feather to ensure its accuracy.

Each of the artists created the glasswork in their own styles. But a cruciform border on each makes them a unified unit.

Molnar, 77, works out of his South Light Studio in Marietta that he opened in the 1980s. He described himself as an “image maker” who chooses whatever medium—from bronze to wood —serves his specific message. His first skill as an artist is listening, he said, “so that I can help them realize their vision as opposed to imposing my particular ideas.”

Many areas of Transfiguration Church have been touched by Molnar, from the statues in the prayer garden to the colorful glass in the cupola. He designed the cupola, so sunlight hits its colored glass that matches the Church’s liturgical calendar.

“Lots of people have gifts. For me, it was easy,” he said. “I knew what my gift was, and so it would almost be sacrilegious to not follow my gift of being an artist.”

A painting of Blessed Fulton Sheen in its early stage sits in the frame designed for the finished product in Kevin Palowski’s basement studio at his Woodstock home. Photo by Julianna Leopold

Palowski described his work as contemporary realism, naming John Singer Sargent as a role model. He believes showing biblical figures as recognizable people can help people connect to the message of faith.

In one of his works, he depicts St. Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, with “big, meaty hands” made rough with calluses. “He looks like a guy you would have met,” said Palowski.

One of his other works at the parish is a large cross hanging in the library. Palowski happened to witness a woman venerating the cross, kissing and touching Jesus’ feet.

“That’s as good as it gets right there. I mean, it moved her.”