KATY MILES-WALLACE

THEY/SHE
ARTIST. CHURCH NERD. CHANGE MAKER.

Katy is a candidate for ordination to the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Southwestern Texas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). They currently bounce between transitional ministry gigs at area congregations and also work as the Lay Leadership Academy and Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity Coordinator for the Southwestern Texas Synod. Katy attended Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas and achieved a Bachelor's in Business Administration with a specialization in marketing and received their Master of Divinity from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California. As a professional artist and soon-to-be-pastor, Katy is constantly seeking new and innovative ways to combine ancient Christian tradition with modern tastes and sensibilities.

Art has long been a part of Katy's life, resulting in a large body of amateur work through high school and college. After a research project on Rublev's "Trinity," orthodox iconography became a major focus. She noticed that many of the saints who were suspected of being Queer were not identified as such. With this, Katy set out on a quest to identify queer saints and to depict them in a way that might aid the faith lives of queer people. As a result we now have two collections: Queer Saints and Saints Queerly Made.

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The Saints Queerly Made collection refers to the media involved in the making of these icons. While most religious icons are painted with egg tempera on wood, our icons involve a combination of painted gold, blended colored pencil and lots of prayer, resulting in a smooth and organic finish. This  process is what traditional iconographers would consider unorthodox or queer, hence the name.