Unmasking Art Show Virtual Tour

"A New Creation" by Abby Kilanowski
Acrylic Paint On Canvas 12" x 24"

Artist Statement

Hi! My name is Abby Kilanowski, and I am a junior doing PSEO at the St. Cloud Technical Community College. I did a painting representing the stages of a butterfly’s life: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly. In each block, you can see change. The background color, plants, flowers, and butterfly can be seen growing or going through change. I chose to use acrylic paints for my piece because I enjoy working with them. I also appreciate that if I mess up, I can go back and fix the mistake. I chose to paint a butterfly’s life because I have always loved butterflies, and I really enjoy painting them.

As we go through life, we grow. And, as a result of growth, we change. This is a natural part of life, no matter how uncomfortable it can be. Personally, I hate change. It scares me. But I also have seen the beauty that it has created in my own life. Much like butterflies, Christ followers go through changes. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” We are born natural sinners with an ugliness that we, ourselves, can never remove. When we accept Christ’s free gift of salvation, we go through a spiritual metamorphosis and are reborn more beautiful than ever, hence the reference to the butterfly.

I want to give a huge thank you to YFC and to the PV mentors. They have put in a lot of work this session to make this all possible, given the unfortunate circumstances of 2020. Each mentor has had to adapt to the new rules in order to create a safe space for us to work in. They have had an overwhelming amount of grace and understanding during this difficult time, and it has not gone unnoticed! I also give thanks to God for holding out his hand of protection over me and my loved ones this year.

Oral Statement