21 Jan 2013 'Beauty connects us to God'
by Janna Virden
Nestled among industrial-sized equipment used to hew and shape wood into devotional art pieces is a small prayer book used by George Hoelzeman.
Hoelzeman is the only liturgical artist in the state of Arkansas, and his studio, located off a small gravel road in the backcountry of Conway County, is a place where his spiritual self and his artistic abilities come together. Hoelzeman said he prays at least three times a day and tries to make time for more, but is often sidetracked by life.
“I live my life in a monastic way — a day structured around prayer and discipline,” he said.
While a teenager attending Sacred Heart School in Morrilton, Hoelzeman felt that he was being called to become a priest and started carving religious figures. In high school he visited Subiaco Monastery one Easter, calling it a “transforming experience.” He said seeing the beauty of the monastery and experiencing the religious order “radically” changed his life.
After graduation, he went to seminary not to become a priest but a monk. He received a bachelor of arts in religion and history and then went on to pursue graduate studies in medieval history and medieval art history. He took a sabbatical from the pursuit of becoming a monk, and after long self-reflection, decided not to continue. However, his calling to living a life devoted to God and bringing others closer to God through art never waivered. He taught humanities at Catholic High School in Little Rock and continued his artwork.
In 1989 he received his first commission to create a liturgical piece for St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in North Little Rock. The piece, titled “The African Way of the Cross,” received the BENE Award and launched his career as a full-time liturgical artist.
“Liturgical art has a specific function in the liturgy,” Hoelzeman said. For example, a font, pulpit, altar or a cross can all be functional and still be pieces of artwork. Hoelzeman works closely with a church community to find out just what they want when they commission a piece of religious artwork. He listens to their feelings and then goes to work.
“Liturgical art ultimately is a channel through which one meets God,” he said. “For example, we meet each other at the altar, and around the altar we meet God.”
Hoelzeman works mainly with wood. He uses sketches as an outline to begin the cutting process and then carves the fine details. Each piece is unique and made to last, eventually becoming part of a sacred space.
In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI made Hoelzman a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher in recognition for his liturgical work and service to the church.
He is married to Cheryl Hoelzman, and they have two young daughters.
Hoelzeman is currently working on several pieces that will come together as the Stations of the Cross. He slowly hand carves the agony on the face of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns. He uses his religious background to bring images to the surface of the wood. It is a heartfelt task. Once they are placed in a church, he hopes they will become a catalyst to bring people closer to God.
“That’s what you’re looking for,” he said. “To capture and express the beauty. Beauty connects us to God.”
