On April 18, 2019, four young women from Stonecrest Home Arts internship program presented an academic paper entitled “Artistry and the Family Meal” at the Incontro Romano Congress in the Pontificia Università della Santa Croce. Inspired by St. Josemaria Escriva nearly 30 years ago, Incontro is an annual gathering of college students in Rome, Italy to discuss issues and exchange ideas related to women and work in the home as well as other professional service fields.
The SHA team; Kathryn Herrick, Monica Abela, Maria Baird and Eva McCabe, won the prize for “Best Paper” for their work. Inspired by their experiences in the internship and apprenticeship programs through Stonecrest Home Arts, their paper focused on the meaning of the family meal and provided an examination of possible causes for the decline in the regular practice of gathering for meals at home. Their findings involved three main points:
1. The need for mastery of basic culinary skills.
2. The problem of confused use of kitchen and dining room space.
3. The need for artistic, tradition-building activities connected to feasts and family events.
The authors of the paper presented the problems and possible solutions with great success!
Where are they Now?
Kathryn, who now studies Interior Design at Virginia Tech, continues to increase her knowledge with intense studio work and research, focusing on groundbreaking women designers and the psychological effects of home design on the person. It’s hard to believe she began by spray painting and re-covering dining room chairs while an intern at Stonecrest Home Arts.
Since her apprenticeship in culinary art for the home at Stonecrest, Maria has been working professionally as a cook and also teaches cooking. She gave a seminar on the content of her thesis to adult women at Oakcrest and she was scheduled to teach a culinary “boot camp” for young girls this summer–before we were hit with COVID! Maria is currently studying the nutritional theories of Weston Price and working in a farm-to-table restaurant in Front Royal, VA.
Monica and her mother, Kathleen, recently did a major renovation of their home decor, involving many DIY projects and successful re-do’s. After Monica graduated from high school and from the apprenticeship in culinary arts for the home at Stonecrest, she began working professionally as an assistant Montessori teacher at Siena Academy. The Montessori educational method harmonizes with the apprenticeship pedagogy we employ at Stonecrest Home Arts programs. Monica’s students learn many basic skills under her direction – many of them include cooking, meal preparation, dining room services and decoration. It’s amazing to see how much 3 and 4 year-old children can do when they are given the opportunity and the guidance.
Eva just graduated from Oakcrest School and started at the University of Dallas this Fall. Up through her senior year she worked with the Stonecrest team hosting Stonecrest’s middle school program, “Kickstart,” at her home. Eva was a patient teacher and a resourceful problem-solver with our group of energetic and talented 7th and 8th graders. During the COVID crisis, Stonecrest was the beneficiary of two of Eva’s famous chocolate banana breads. She is continuing her training in fine art.
It is a great pleasure to see how Stonecrest has helped shape the lives of these four talented young women. We are so thankful to have seen them develop their gifts in different ways!