St. Andrew's Catholic Church, Pasadena, CA
Los Angeles Sacred Art Summer School
Summer 2024
Monday–Friday, 8:30AM–3PM
Do you want your child to develop his or her artistic gifts in a faithful Catholic environment? Over two weeks, LA-SASS will provide them the foundational knowledge for all the visual arts and introduce them to the rich sacred arts traditions of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches.
Formal registration begins Spring 2023.
Maximum enrollment: 20 students.
Reserve a spot for your child today!
Our Mission & the Arts
Our Mission
The Gaudi Institute for the Arts aims to educate and train individuals of all ages and backgrounds in the fine arts and sacred arts. Our programming emphasizes the skill-based techniques of the academic art method as well as the artistic, spiritual, and intellectual traditions of the Catholic Church, East and West.
What are the fine arts?
By fine arts, we mean the skilled-based, visual art forms that include drawing, painting, sculpture, and architecture. We also support training in the craft arts (glassmaking, embroidery, metalwork, carpentry, etc.)
What is
sacred art?
Sacred art is a type of religious art. In the Catholic context, it firstly refers to art in service of the liturgy, often in a church setting (liturgical art); it can also refer to art for personal prayer rather than communal worship (devotional art). The technical skills required to create beautiful sacred art rely on those of the fine arts and traditional or "craft" arts.
About the Gaudi Institute for the Arts
Gaudi is Latin for “joys”. The Gaudi Institute for the Arts exists to spread the joys of the arts. We do so through tours, courses, and workshops in sacred art history, drawing, painting, and other fields in the fine and traditional arts. The GIA is also inspired by the work of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and the many artisans who, together, made his ideas a reality. Rather than form individual artistic geniuses, we desire to found a community of well-formed artists who have the practical skills needed to create and preserve beautiful places of worship and to beautify the built environments of our homes, cities, and nation.
Meet Our Team
Brandon L. Cook, Ph.D.
Founder, Gaudi Institute for the Arts
The son of a diplomat, Brandon Cook was born in Washington, D.C. and spent his high school years abroad. After his conversion to the Catholic faith, his love for the arts, history, and culture led him to pursue graduate studies in Art History and Medieval Studies. Dr. Cook has an M.A. from UW-Madison and a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. He is also a graduate of Yale University and is currently an educator in the L.A. area with over ten years of teaching experience.
Elena Roche
Painter and Teacher
Born in Lithuania and raised in the Russian part of the Soviet Union, Elena M. Roché (pronounced "row-shay") overcame an adverse childhood and enjoys and appreciates her life in the U.S. very much. Only in America could she become an artist, an artisan, a wife, a mother of five home-schooled children, and have the freedom to seek, find and promote Truth. Her goal is to share the beauty she sees and senses around her with people and to help the world to be a better place. Elena is a practicing Byzantine Catholic.
Very rightly the fine arts are considered to rank among the noblest activities of man's genius, and this applies especially to religious art and to its highest achievement, which is sacred art. These arts, by their very nature, are oriented toward the infinite beauty of God which they attempt in some way to portray by the work of human hands.
― Sacrosanctum Concilium, Ch 7, §122
Upcoming Events
An Evening of Sacred Art
Multiple Dates
Come to learn about the purpose of sacred art in the history of the Catholic Church and its importance today. The event will be followed by an experience of prayer with art.
This event will take place at multiple locations in 2023.
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St. Monica's Academy, Montrose, CA–February 9, 2023
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The Good Shepherd Academy, St. Madeleine Catholic Church, Pomona, CA–March 11, 4-5pm
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St. Andrew's Catholic Church, Pasadena, CA–Monday, March 13, 7-9PM
LA Sacred Arts Summer
Summer 2024
For two weeks, middle school students are invited to develop their artistic skills in a Catholic environment through liturgical prayer, the study of sacred art history, and classes in the fundamentals of drawing. Art historical instruction will focus on the Iconographic, Gothic, and Baroque styles. Technical art instruction will focus on the foundational skills of line and tonal drawing under various themes.
Cost including art materials: $400
Formal registration begins Spring 2023.
Maximum enrollment: 20 students.
Read David Clayton's article on our program.
Reserve a spot with the "RVSP" button
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