Art Lives at Unity Church

Art provides another medium through which human beings experience gifts of the spirit.  Response to a work of art may be on intense, profound levels. As with poetry or literature, theatre, dance or music, the visual arts provide meditative and emotional opportunities and appreciation of life's process, our cultures and society. Unity's Art Team serves the congregation by hosting exhibits in our Parish Hall gallery, cataloging and sharing information about Unity's extensive art collection, and inviting the congregation into art appreciation through various events and learning opportunities. For more information about the work of Unity's Art Team, please email [email protected].

Parish Hall Artists

Ecologies and Iterations | Therese Zemlin
In 1975 the Unitarian Universalist Church in Urbana, Illinois, organized an exhibition of sculptural hangings by members of the local Weavers Guild, and I saw the show numerous times after Sunday services. Because I was so completely taken with the work, my mother offered to enroll me in an evening weaving class, and I’ve been weaving or teaching weaving ever since.

My work has evolved from weaving fabric on floor looms, to Eva Hesse-inspired mixed-media, to welding life-size steel and paper pulp sculptures, to the physical manipulation of photo-based inkjet prints on paper. Inspiration for my work has always been rooted in the tactile, the language of materials and process, and finding my way to something compelling through trial, error, and investigation. Combining photo-based inkjet prints, text from naturalists and philosophers, and traditional weaving drafts has resulted in modes of thinking, responding, and assembling that are new and familiar in terms of chance juxtapositions and relationships between pattern, structure, text, and image. On the one hand, the text is visual texture and contrast, and on the other, it is content and message. The ellipse and mandala imply objects in space, metaphors for the earth, moon, or a microcosm. An ongoing land stewardship project on family property in northern Minnesota has become an important part of my life and art. The physical work in the woods, accumulating knowledge, and witnessing first-hand the effects of climate change inspire and inform my studio practice.

Growth and Light | Sharon Grosh
Growth and Light form the foundation of my artistic practice. Through paper, fabric, botanical prints, natural dyes, and layered mixed media, I explore the relationship between the natural world and the transformative processes that shape it. Earth, sky, and water are recurring elements, not as subjects to be illustrated, but as sources of material, color, and quiet revelation.
Process is central to my work. Botanical printing, eco-dyeing, cyanotype, stitching, and the layering of translucent materials allow each piece to develop gradually, revealing depth, texture, and subtle shifts of light. Rather than depicting landscape, I seek to preserve its traces, inviting nature to become an active collaborator in the making of each work.
My studio in Afton, MN, overlooks a wooded landscape and garden that continually informs my practice. Through observation, experimentation, and a dialogue with natural materials, I create layered works that celebrate growth, light, and the enduring connection between people and the living world.