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The year Maria Rangel (’99) entered the senior class at Thomas Aquinas College, her growing interest in art as a profession coincided with the publication of The Letter of His Holiness John Paul II to Artists. As she prepared her senior thesis concerning art and the adornment of churches, Maria contemplated how the love of truth and beauty that had been nurtured by her life and studies at the College would take shape in her post-graduate life. Especially touched by the Holy Father’s insight that “God called man into existence, committing him to the craftsman’s task,” she decided to dedicate herself to the pursuit of art that glorifies God. After graduating from the College, Maria attended Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach, California. There, she majored in drawing and painting and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Having already satisfied the school’s liberal studies requirement with her courses at the College, Maria was able to spend a semester abroad at the Angel Academy of Art in Florence. During those months, she concentrated on her craft and traveled throughout Italy, immersing herself in the great works of the Italian masters. Since her return to California, Maria has been working as a professional muralist and is employed as an architectural illustration artist at Focus 360, an architectural communications company in Laguna Niguel. She has also established her own studio where she creates works ranging from plein air landscapes to narrative compositions with figures or still life. Miss Rangel now has works displayed in a few Southern California galleries and has organized or participated in a number of exhibits in the region. She has also been commissioned to provide decorative work for the interiors of small chapels and private homes. In the future, she hopes do more of this kind of work and to become involved, as well, in Catholic publishing, providing artwork for both books and magazines. In his Letter to Artists, Pope John Paul II wrote, “Beauty is a key to the mystery and a call to transcendence. It is an invitation to savor life and dream of the future.” At Maria’s Website, www.Rangelstudios.com, one can see examples of how this emerging artist has accepted the invitation and is indeed glorifying God through her craft.
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Winter 2007 |
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