field notes

In “Field Notes”, Katie offers a window into one of her favorite spiritual practices, breath prayers, and a peek into personal journal pages. Using saturated backgrounds and handwritten script, the first six pieces in the Field Notes collection feature simple prayers aligned to our inhales and exhales. Written repetitively, the pieces are meant to evoke a conversation that doesn’t cease and is always accessible. Just as our breath continues, so does our relationship with the Divine. As author and priest, Barbara Brown Taylor puts it, “You are taking part in it, breathing in and breathing out, taking God into you and giving God back to the world again, with some of you attached. Take a breath. Now just keep breathing. This is God’s moment-by-moment gift to us. We can call it air or we can call it Holy Spirit.”

Each piece is meant to be a reminder of our humanity and God’s divinity, with titles reflecting inhale and exhale patterns separated by dashes. The inspiration for these prayers comes from scripture, songs, meditations, and longings. 

In creating each piece, the featured prayer was also said over the process. After the first layer was created, the piece was folded, compressed, and used as a prayer mat – a reminder to return to the wisdom of our bodies as often as we turn to our minds. However, ultimately, the function of these pieces is to invite you into a shared prayer. If the viewer can take a moment to rest, breath will most certainly find them. Beyond their will, it will fill their lungs, slowly but surely, top to bottom, shallow to full, and remind them of the Love that made them and sustains them. These works are the guide, carved into canvas, and you, the viewer, complete the work with your added breath and prayer.