Gill's Work
Gill works with a variety of individuals and groups who seek to fulfil their creative potential and reflect more deeply on the place of the arts and Christianity. She does this through facilitating workshops and leading retreats, as well as collaborating with theological colleges to explore the myriad ways in which an integrated understanding of the arts can inform ministry, learning, worship and, in the words of Wilson Yates, "can serve as a means of grace."
To further explore any of the areas below and how they might be of benefit to you, please use the contact form at the bottom of this page. Thank you.
To further explore any of the areas below and how they might be of benefit to you, please use the contact form at the bottom of this page. Thank you.
Recent Work
Mural Collaboration at Chesterblade Hills, near Shepton Mallet, July 2023
Working with artist, Heloise Motte, we sought to capture rhythms and movement in the cycle of nature, showing how death is caught up in life and how little deaths give rise to new birth and something beyond what we see. The huge scale permitted grand physical gestures and our bodies knew vulnerability balanced on scaffolding. We inscribed prayers intentions on the plain wall and began our days in silence and in the beauty of our surroundings.
Want to know more? Find Chesterblade Hills at chills.org.uk
Find Heloise Motte on instagram: @heloisepetitpois
Art Installations
Jars of Joy, Wells Arts Contemporary, 2023 Papier-mâché, acrylic paint and markers.
Old and young fused an ancient art form with a contemporary slant through creating myriad Greek urns. The site-specific piece responds to stone, pillars, and stained glass in the retro-quire. Individually formed vessels speak of the variety and diversity of people; each pot shaped by the wounds, knocks, fragility, and repairs as people become themselves. The children relinquished their vase to be painted by members at the Lawrence Centre, before a final design collaboration. Visitors wrote a message, prayer, thought, or poem onto tissue squares which were pasted onto a large jar in overlapping layers to form a contemporary storied scheme. 
Raising the Giant Snowdrop at the church of St Peter & St Paul, Shepton Mallet
Held in a Burst of Colour
Winchester Cathedral - Designed to welcome visitors and worshippers back to the Cathedral using a familiar motif - the Rainbow - we cross the threshold by connecting with a life-sustaining image. The reversed bow evokes an embrace and the act of being held, suspended or lifted up in extreme times of suffering 
Pilgrim Grounds
Eco-project kicked off the English Cathedrals’ Year of Pilgrimage, 2020. Likened Medieval rhythms of prayer to the contemporary acts of pausing to drink coffee; attending to another, listening and talking. It was a visual collaboration between Winchester’s independent coffee shops and the Cathedral and resulted in a growing labyrinth made from art in the community schools, a mental health café and visitors using recycled coffee grounds depicting journeys. 
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Retreats & Creative Workshops
For many in contemporary society time for reflection is scarce and the increasing desire to retreat and be a “stone’s throw away” to pray
indicates that this is a valued and sought after space. Finding and protecting such treasured time is just one aspect of renewal and refreshment – the arts also infuse and revive body, soul, mind and vision. In the retreats I lead I find that permission to play 
and create in a safe environment leads to restored and renewed vision.
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Theological Education
I am seen here giving a gallery talk at the National Gallery, London for King’s Theology Students
In training for ministry the need for a mature understanding of visual language is important. The rich relationship between word and image together enriches faith and animates biblical texts. In my work with theology students I seek to increase confidence in visual literacy by giving exposure to many art forms so students are equipped to communicate and help others know God in broad ways.
The emphasis on participation as a means of knowing and discovering is always well received and enjoyed by the many students I teach both in the UK and abroad.
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