Artist Natalie Plasencia in collaboration with Shell Lumber.
Inspiration, prayer, spiritual advisor come first. Natalie Plasencia talks about creating religious art for the new church at Big Pine Key.
BIG PINE KEY | When the new church of St. Peter the Fisherman was dedicated this weekend, some of the original artwork salvaged after 2017’s Hurricane Irma — including the stained-glass windows — were back on display.
But other religious artworks — including the main crucifix over the altar and an outdoor statue of St. Peter the Fisherman — were commissioned for the new church by a Miami artist who drew on inspiration, prayer, and her own personal spiritual advisor throughout the process.
“All the artworks were very much inspired by a trip I made to Rome a year before the pandemic,” said Natalie Plasencia, a Cuban American who studied both art and social work and who maintains studios in Miami and Islamorada.