Universal Mother: A Journal for Finding Yourself in Mary

Twenty Marian paintings by Holly Schapker show Mary in diverse times and settings. They are accompanied by personal reflections from the artist and art historian Cecelia Dorger with questions to help readers delve into their own experiences and reactions to the art and the theme of each painting.

Holly Schapker is a Catholic oil painter and has been painting for over 30 years. She remains a passionate advocate for the creation of sacred art as an adventure in the spiritual. She has created hundreds of images as prayers to life. Many of her works are on display in Catholic schools, churches, seminaries & convents, and in other similar institutions and have been replicated under license worldwide. In addition to graduating from Xavier University, Schapker has spent years in Catholic studies and contemplation. She finds surrender to the Holy Spirit as the true path in the creative process. Holly lives with her attorney husband in Cincinnati.

Cecelia Dorger, PhD, taught art history at Mount St. Joseph University for twenty-eight years. She teaches courses about sacred art at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology in Cincinnati, Ohio. She specializes in sacred art, especially images of the Virgin Mary. She is the author of several published articles about the Madonna in art and she has lectured about sacred art nationally and internationally. Lecturing about how sacred art can be used to facilitate prayer is a favorite pursuit. Dorger lives in Kentucky with her husband; they have two married children and three grandchildren.