b'Brother Halwe turned 83 this year. For well over a part of an art class he took in 1960 from Brother Meyer.half century, hes served the Marianists as a school After that class, he created mosaics for his parents andadministrator, high school teacher, university professor, for Central Catholic, which used his circular altar topand Camp Tecaboca counselor. in school liturgies.For 55 years, he taught English mostly at Central After retiring in 2018 from St. Marys University,Catholic High School and St. Marys University in Brother Halwe said he thought about how he wouldSan Antonio. Like the tiny pieces of glass he now make good use of his time and creative talents. Then,spends hours forming into artistic images, he found when the pandemic hit, Brother Tom Suda encouragedways to creatively piece ideas and lessons together him to return to mosaics, which helped fill his timefor his students.during the lockdown.Through his creativity, Today, Brother HalwesBrother Halwe guided mosaics adorn the wallsdistracted students to and halls of the Marianistbreak open great literature. Residence where he lives.He helped them focus Some are gifts for friends.broken attention spans Most days, he works foron the ways in which several hours in a sparePLEASE HELP THE words and sentences, bedroom at the MarianistMARIANISTS care grammar, and punctuation Residence, creating hisfor their senior priests come together to express mosaics on a countertopand brothers. To donate, more than the sum of built by Brother Suda,use the enclosed enve-lope, visit marianist. their parts. whom he describes as com/donate, or call Growing up in St. Louis, a true carpenter-artist.1.800.348.4732. Brother Halwe traces his As for himself, he down-creative roots to his child- plays his creations as ahood, how he loved to hobby. paint and draw, along Still, he takes greatwith his fathers artistic care to patiently arrangeexample.the pieces to match anAs a kid, I sometimes image hes outlined fromdrew pictures during an original drawing,Sunday Mass, sitting painting, or object. Hisbackwards on the kneeler creations emerge fromand using the pew behind us as a desk, he said. the scrap glass of broken picture frames and areMy Dad did wood carvings in basswood, whichpainted with his supply of hobby paint. He meticu-I often painted. He also made model cars from balsa lously fits the chipped, colored pieces together, find-woodnot kitsand even from old wooden ing just the right place for each piece. His favoritematches, which he sold for a pittance at craft fairs. mosaic is a rendering of Our Lady of the Rosary.Maybe I inherited his artistic gene, though drawing While mosaics are his preferred medium, on occa-seemed a lot easier to do. sion, hell also paint adaptations of certain images ofWhen Brother Halwe was 7, the family moved to interest. For both his paintings and mosaics, he placesSan Antonio. Impressed by the Marianists he later a special emphasis in Jesus and the Blessed Mothermet at Central Catholic High, he joined the Societyand other religious themes, with the goal of evangel-of Mary in 1958. izing a future audience.Besides classroom teaching, Brother Halwe said I hope people I may never meet might grow inthe nearly 20 summers he taught woodcraft at Camp their faith by being visually reminded of Jesus andTecaboca kept his creativity flowing, along with the Mary, he said. occasional decks and sheds hes built for family members. Theyll discover how, unexpectedly, beauty canHe credits the influence of Marianist artists, especially come from brokenness.\x01the late renowned Brother Mel Meyer (1928-2013), asspecial inspirations. The ancient art of mosaics was Kevin Conway is a freelance writer from Bloomington, Ind.10 Call 1.800.348.4732'