Artist becomes a nun

Via the Ruah Arts Blog, from a website dedicated to Annie Heyne’s paintings, from her own bio:

So I’m off to the convent, folks! After receiving my Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of Dallas, my Masters of Fine Art in oil painting from the New York Academy of Art, I set out for Florence to do post-graduate work at the Florence Academy of Art. It was in Florence that I became familiar with the Religious of the Sacred Heart.

This semi-cloistered order, rooted in St. Madeleine Sophie Barat’s Society of the Sacred Heart, houses a community of 15 nuns, the only community in the only house of this new reform order. As every Roman Catholic religious, these nuns take the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Their special fourth vow is one of education of the youth.


Annie Heyne at work on a painting.

Many of the rooms of the convent building are used as classrooms. The school is co-ed with kids from 3 to 18 years old. Some of the nuns teach others busy themselves with the boarding students, while others deal with the business aspect of things. Whether it’s with the house, the school, the infirmary, or of course with prayer, you can imagine these nuns keep busy!

The convent stands as a large, white pillar amidst two-hundred olive trees, fruit trees, small vineyards and honey-beehives. While simple on the inside, it is bedecked with every sort of flower and greenery throughout the year on the outside! And of course, there is the view! As the building is just far enough outside the city-center, it lends itself to a breath-taking view of Brunelleschi’s Duomo and really all of Florence. And how amazing it is!

Continue reading via this link. Haven’t made time to really read the bio yet, but my question is “Will she still be able to paint as a semi-cloistered nun?”