Heart & Sole 010

Heart & Sole 010

Heart & Sole

Look closer for five Bible Verses: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23; “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.” Psalm 62:1; “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.” Joshua 1:3; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul…” Matthew 12:30a; “and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills, to make artistic designs…” Exodus 31:3-5

I asked myself, “What would it look like when a person is hurt by the church?”

The theme for the 2025 Art Fest at Calvary Episcopal Church in downtown Bastrop is, “at the intersection of Art & Soul.” It is a play on words.

As soon as I heard the phrase, “at the intersection of Art and Soul,” I thought of homonyms for the following nouns: art and soul. The homonyms being the physical heart muscle and the soles of a person’s feet. That would make a great illustration, but how would the intersection work?
So many people have been hurt by church leadership or government. Often times people get hurt just because other members gossip, chastise, or take advantage. What would it look like to illustrate that feeling? Does it feel like someone is taking your heart out and stomping it on the pavement? A church is supposed to be loving, supportive, and nurturing. And yet even with those altruistic goals, people get hurt. Hopefully this illustration can bring some healing for anyone who has had that experience. Illustrating this image has brought healing to me.
My prayer is that we all experience not just the hurting, but the intersection of hurting and healing, not just doubt, but the intersection of doubting and faith. May the intersection of grieving and celebration, of loss and growth, of destruction and building be a place where all our hearts are alive!
-Tobin Bortner

a Brief History

Art Fest 2023 was the weekend of the Bastrop Homecoming & Rodeo Parade. On the Main Street parade route, Calvary Episcopal Church (CEC) used it’s Heritage Hall. Saturday morning, the crowd gathered to watch the parade. CEC parishioners handed out cool water on Main Street and invited folks into the air conditioning to enjoy the artwork. It was quite successful.

Art Fest is where local and regional artists partner with CEC in an effort to raise funds. The artists donate 40 or 100 percent of their sales toward fundraising efforts. This helps connect the past with the future. Calvary supports many downtown events partnering with the Historical Society, the City of Bastrop, the Convention Center and other organizations like Bastrop Homecoming & Rodeo. Annually the Church hosts events like Concerts at Calvary (suggested donation), Cocoa & Carols following the Christmas Parade (free), Cider & King Cake (free) which follows the Mardi Gras Parade. 

While throughout the year, CEC supports the Main Street community with a cooling station, cool water for hydration and clean restrooms, Art Fest is an opportunity for the Main Street community to support Calvary AND leave with some very nice artwork!  

Art Fest 2024

Heritage Hall was leased in April of 2024. Homecoming weekend the CEC Parish Hall was transformed to an Art Gallery. With fewer artists but double the entries, the set-up and management of volume was stressful. Also in that year, the Hall of Fame Ceremony was held immediately after the parade, so folks did not linger at Art Fest as they did in 2023. The funds raised did not meet expectations. When the committee met to debrief the event, the general consensus was to abandon the project and do something different. That decision was postponed until January.

Art Fest 2025 at the intersection of Art & Soul

In January the committee decided to keep the option open to having an Art Fest in 2025, but only if it did not happen on the same weekend as the Bastrop Homecoming & Rodeo, but later when it was cooler. The Calvary Episcopal Church Downtown Committee would still support the parade, but Art Fest would be a different event. 

Cat Burns and Jim Riviera became project managers, creating teams with team leaders. They clearly defined tasks and time-lines that would methodically lead to success without stress. At one of the early meetings it was decided to have a catch phrase on which artists could focus. 

“At the intersection of Art & Soul,” became that phrase. CEC enjoys many intersections, geographically, socially and chronologically. The buildings are at the intersection of Spring Street and Main Street; Downtown and the River; and between the Library and Main Street commerce. The intersection of people are students and seniors; interactive and contemplative; boots and suits; conservative and liberal; and in person and Online. 

The original Calvary Sanctuary is one of the oldest structures in Bastrop. Bastrop is “the Most Historic Town in Texas,” with 131 buildings cited on the National Registry of Historic Places. The first cornerstone for Calvary was laid in 1869 using funds raised by bake-sales. Today Calvary participates in as many current events as possible. Anticipating Bastrop growth, Calvary will build a larger Parish Hall for events like this one. The sky is the limit as-far-as what future accommodations CEC can make available to support Main Street events. Truly this church lives at the intersection of past history and future celebration–“at the intersection of Art and Soul.”

a Visual Malaphor 

Malaphors are humorous blends of two sayings, such as “We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.” The statement enhances both concepts making information deeper and more meaningful. Yogi Berra was the master of combining two concepts: 1. “When you come to a fork in the road, take it; 2. “You can observe a lot by just watching; 5. “No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded; 6. “Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical; 7. “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore; 12. “You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you; 17. “The future ain’t what it used to be; 18. “I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose. Just don’t fight about it. Just try to get better; 20. “If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.” (from “the Fifty Greatest Yogi Berra Quotes – USA Today)

What you get:
$30 (27.71 + 2.29 tax)
11 x 14 Print Package with Authenticity Sheet
signed and numbered (run of 10)
Domestic Priority Mail (shipping included)