By Morgan Mizell

NATCHEZ — A spiritual calling can come in any form.

For Katharine Parrish, her calling is to pursue creative work that is spiritually uplifting to others.

“I want to express my art in a creative and emotionally uplifting way,” Parrish said. “In all I do, I want to spread love and light.”

Parrish believes the arts can be a powerful and meaningful way to express spirituality; however, they can also be used in a negative way.

“If you think about a movie and how its message can reach a lot of people, you can see how people, young people especially, can be influenced in either a good or bad way,” Parrish said. “I think we can use these same tools to try and help them become better people.”

Parrish has a background in several art forms including: fine art, photography, film, dance and more recently, theatre.

“I auditioned for a show at Natchez Little Theatre last year and was cast as the character of Tallulah Bankhead,” Parrish said. “I have completely immersed myself in this art form as I feel it, theatre, can lend itself to the kind of project I hope to create.”

Parrish said she has always felt she has been on a spiritual journey, but she has also experienced tremendous set-backs and personal lows which she believes allows her to have compassion for others who are struggling in their journey.

“I know what it is like to be in the deep depths of darkness and to be afraid,” Parrish said. “These feelings are the opposite of love and light, and I hope I can use my journey as an example to inspire others, and to help them out of their personal hells.”

Parrish’s idea is to use all of her skills to create a “Rock Opera,” of sorts that will express her spiritual journey.

Since relocating to Natchez, Parrish converted to Catholicism and has become active in her church, St. Mary Basilica. She recently began creating line drawings and transparency replicas of the stained glass windows of the church, which have been used as coloring activities for the youth and others.

“I consider my creative talents as divine gifts,” Parrish said. “When I do not use my gifts, I think it is a waste that at times can cause me to be ill.”

Parrish feels her call to use her creativity to help and inspire others is not always understood, but through her spiritual experiences and feeling of love in her heart she feels it is her calling.

“Because of my perspective, my spiritual experiences are hard to explain, and can be interpreted many different ways by others,” Parrish said. “I find a synchronicity and coincidence with people, as well as other signs that I feel are divine guidance telling me I am going in the right direction.”

While the desire to merge her art is still only a vision, Parrish is making contacts and learning all she can about the process.

“I realize what I want to do will take a team and time,” Parrish said. “It has been a life-long process of bringing it all together.”