Client: St. Vincent de Paul Church

Location: Baltimore, MD, United States

Completion date: 2014

Artwork budget: $3,000

Project Team

Architect

Jim Suttner

Rohrer Studio

Interior Designer

Kevin Weston

Gutierrez Studios

Art Consultant

Julianna von Zumbusch

Rohrer Studio

Artist

Darcy Meeker

Overview

This adult baptismal font was commissioned by St. Vincent de Paul Church, a relationship that was facilitated through Rohrer Studio. Architect Jim Suttner found my work in The Guild Sourcebook and contacted me about the collaboration. After the font project I was approached by the church again to create a Resurrection cross which I completed with my studio assistants.

Goals

The pool and cover of the baptismal font designed by Jim Suttner were already in the beginning planning stages and he wanted to get an artist on board to include some kind of narrative in the piece. This addition brought the piece together and made the font a central focus in the room. The church and the architects approached me to create 7 panels which depicted the creation of the world by God and an 8th panel that expressed the resurrection of Christ.

Process

Jim Suttner worked in designing and creating the physical structure and I created the panels. I would send small maquettes of the work on pewter to Kevin Weston and Julianna von Zumbusch and they met with the church to approve and discuss what needed to happen for the work to be realized. I did not create drawings on paper to depict my plan because the depth and nuance of the pieces is lost on pen and paper renderings. Kevin Weston worked with me to figure out the best way to adhere the pewter panels to the font structure and assembled the work on site. The process for the Resurrection Cross was quite similar but I was in direct communication with the church about what they wanted.