In 2010 I moved from New York City to Iowa and stumbled upon an surprising source of inspiration in nearby grottoes and environments, such as the Grotto of the Redemption, Dickeyville Grotto, and Nick Engelbert’s Grandview. When I began to share with people my curiosity about the grottoes and desire to make my own, I was amazed at how many others shared my enthusiasm. A few years later, I applied for and was awarded a Project Grant funded by the Iowa Arts Council, The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts for my project “Rotto Grotto: A Contemporary Take on a Dubuque Folk Art”. Through the support of this grant I created a bathtub grotto installed in a public space, hosted numerous workshops educating and facilitating grotto-inspired art making, documented grottoes, shrines, and their makers in and around Dubuque, and presented a series of bathtub grottoes and hands-on workshop at Dubuque Fine Arts Festival, 2016. I also collaborated with DreamCatcher Productions to make a short film about the project.
That year I also chosen to represent the state of Iowa on the Pathway of Peace next to the National Christmas Tree. I created 12 ornaments inspired by the grottoes of Iowa.
Even though I was not able to achieve everything planned on during the grant project period , this project changed the direction of my own personal practice and opened the path for me to continue facilitating community engaged mosaic art workshops and projects in subsequent years.
For additional information regarding this project please see the following articles:
“Pieces With a Purpose”, Telegraph Herald, 2016
“Grotto Ornaments Adorn Pathway of Peace Tree”, Iowaculture.gov, 2016
“Dubuque Artist Creates 12 Ornaments for National Christmas Tree Lighting”, Telegraph Herald, 2016
“Ham Can Shrines & Grottoes, Catherine Bastian”, Spaces Archives, 2020
“Thrift Mystery Leads Artist to Creation”, Spaces Archives, 2020
“Milwaukee-Based Artist Creates Grotto-Inspired Art From Found Objects”, Wisconsin Public Radio , 2020
“Iowa Never Fails” bathtub grotto installed in the rain garden at The Smokestack, Dubuque, IA.
