We are excited to introduce to you the Adore Te Scarf designed by Erin K. McAtee founder of
Arthouse2B—a community of Catholic artists in New York City. Before getting into the inspiration
for the scarf, it is fitting to first share with you the story of Arthouse2B and Erin’s encounter of
Christ through art.
Arthouse2B began to form during spring of 2020. After all the isolation and strange landscape of
NYC in the height of the pandemic, Erin noticed the need for artists to come together for
fellowship, to share their work, and to receive spiritual nourishment in a very incarnational way.
After encouragement from a priest friend who offered a Mass for artists, she joined up with her
friend Claire, a dancer, to launch the mission. Arthouse2B as now expanded to 60+ events since the
launch, ranging from retreats and makers markets to original plays, film fests, dance performances,
and gallery shows.
How beautiful to have multi-disciplinary artists freely engaging with each other in the context of the
traditions of the Catholic Church. Arthouse2B is full of artists seeking to renew the culture
through creating new works of art that speak to the contemporary discourse whether in a
parish community or in the art world. Events are open to everyone—even those who might be
hesitant to associate themselves with the Catholic Church.
Erin notes that Catholic artists are free to create without fear of presenting to a specific audience
because what pours from them is a natural result from living the sacramental life. The life of grace
sets an artist free to create. She clarifies that to be a Catholic artist does not mean a project must
be overtly Catholic or religiose, but it will be inherently Catholic because it was made by one who
lives the sacramental life of divine intimacy with the Creator.
Erin is a painter who loves working with fabric and using it as a way of breaking out of the
traditional canvas. She explains, “I hit a point in grad school the last couple of years where the shape
of my contemplative prayer life needed to be expressed in a very visceral, raw way; a tangible way
that I can express movement and fragility of human flesh and reflect more closely what was
happening in my spiritual life.” She often will use bed sheets to express the Divine breaking
through into the natural world--the experience of being human: body and soul.
She goes on to describe her process of using powder pigment and fabric dye stating, “There is
something about dying fabric and tearing it and sewing into it and painting on it—so tactile. It
reminds me of a spiritual reality. God’s presence of grace in the human experience which can
tear us apart or sometimes comes softly and consoling or other times you feel tossed
around. These are different movements of grace in human life.”
Erin’s experience of faith interwoven with art began at a young age, she credits her parish St.
Boniface in Lafayette, Indiana for all the work she does now from the careful attention to the music
at every Mass to the celebrations of feast days coupled by the rich gatherings as a parish community
(good food and dancing).
For the creation of the Adore Te Scarf, the entire design comes from an experience of
prayer.
Veronica and Erin were having similar experiences in prayer. The central theme comes from John
15—the vine and the branches. We cannot bear any fruit on our own but must cling to Christ
which requires pruning. You will notice on the scarf the various vines stretching across. In
discipleship, we all require a stripping away in the branch for us to continue growing with
Christ—attachments must die. We are pruned along the Branch in order to be renewed and offer
new life in ways that we never could have without grace.
The Christological pelican image has been crucial to Erin’s prayer life. It is a Middle Age
symbol that a mother pelican will feed her young with her own flesh if no food elsewhere is found.
Christ is broken open for us, His pierced side opens to us the life of grace. We receive his life
through the sacraments.
Erin particularly connects this image to the call of spiritual motherhood as a woman of Christ in
the world leading Arthouse2B. She has been praying with this image as an icon (this window to the
sacred) that God has called her to make particular sacrifices to grow in her spiritual motherhood.
Erin hopes that this scarf can serve as a reminder for all women—as we are all called to a
certain degree of spiritual motherhood no matter our state in life. As woman, as mother, we
are being pruned and poured out for the betterment of the other.
But let us make one thing clear: Christ is the source of the nourishment—it is not coming from
ourselves. We draw from His deep well in the sacramental life.
The bottom corners of the scarf are the streams of blood and water from the side of Christ
which nourish us and sustain us in motherhood. This is emphasized by the quote from St.
Bonaventure in the Office of Readings written on the scarf: “For this is the spring flowing out of
the middle of paradise, dividing into four rivers, inundating devout hearts, watering the whole earth
and making it FERTILE” and from the prophet Isaiah, “Out of His pierced side flows the lifeblood
of our salvation – in His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53: 5).”
Erin loves the medium of watercolor in the scarf because it represents spiritual realities by the
fluidity, she states, “It forces you to slow down and encourages experiment—add as much or as little
to the brush to get different effects and how it can expand. Lots to be learned from that such as
how to anticipate surprise and allow yourself to be surprised and taken away by the
paintbrush and the water. In a sense you can control it if you want to but it is unpredictable and
have to let some things be out of your control. Watercolor can promote a deep contemplative visual
experience for someone who is willing to be patient with it.”
The watercolor pattern also mimics bodily fluid as if pouring from a heart—emphasizing
the idea of artwork pouring forth from the soul through the expression of the body.
The quotes are written in Erin’s handwriting rather than a font in order to represent something very
human and relatable—almost a primal level. Erin shares that with creating a piece of artwork, “I
knew it would be very public facing and woman would be wearing this— so I wanted it to feel as
human as possible with a rawness to it—not edited.”
The handwriting allows this scarf to feel personal as an original work of art made with hands. Erin
continues explaining the purpose of having her handwriting on the scarf sharing, “In the age of AI
and virtual realities, we need reminders of the capacity that man has to create something by
hand and to write something down—to let that be enough. My process is very hand-made
looking because I want to have a closer relationship with the viewer and the person receiving my
work.”
One of the other quotes on the scarf is an excerpt from the Liturgy of the Hours, “Pierced by Love,
we receive; in turn we are invited to imitate this sacrifice. We share this nourishment through our
fragile vessels, offering His love to the wounded – We are happy to be wounded by God who heals us as He wounds.”
To be pruned is uncomfortable but how much richer we will grow in Him when He makes
room in us. He is the wise Gardener.
Finally, the name of the scarf comes from a hymn, “Adoro Te Devote” written by St. Thomas
Aquinas (Translated by Gerard Manley Hopkins) connects back to the Pelican image:
“Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican;
Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what Thy bosom ran
Blood whereof a single drop has power to win
All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.”
To learn more about the work of Arthouse2B, check them out here and if you feel called to support
their mission click here! Check out their upcoming events on Instagram @arthouse2b.
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