We are thrilled to share this interview with MODG parents Grace and Danny Fitzpatrick! Read about their story as a Catholic author and Icon artist!
Tell us about your relationship with MODG!
Three of our children are currently enrolled. We wanted our children to experience the great beauty of faith filled, classical education, and MODG has been such a blessing for our family.
When did you begin your businesses and what inspired you?
Art has always been near the heart of our family culture, but it was during the Covid-19 pandemic that we began to pursue artistic careers more intently. Danny’s first novel and his translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy were both published in 2020, which is when Grace wrote her first icons.
"Working as Catholic artists brings ever-renewed focus to our artistic endeavors, as we remember that the work is aimed first at God’s greater glory and that our task of trying to create beautiful things is always a response to God’s beauty."
That divine beauty, present in the created order, remains a source of inspiration, and it makes all the little moments of daily life inspiring, too.
Moving back to New Orleans in 2022 also reenergized our artistic activities as we became members of the St. Louis IX Art Society and Danny became founding editor of Joie de Vivre: A Journal of Art, Culture, and Letters for South Louisiana.
What is your favorite aspect of running businesses together as husband and wife?
Working together as artists strengthens our family prayer life, as we continually discern what new projects we ought to take on, and it also allows the two of us to support each other in new ways day by day. Each of us gets to minister to the other according to our needs. If Grace is working hard on a commission, Danny takes the lead with the kids. If Danny is traveling for a speaking engagement, usually with our oldest along for the trip, Grace makes sure the younger kids have adventures of their own back home. But every day is a chance to serve God, our family, and our community through work that we love.
What do you think MODG families will love most about your products?
Danny’s books cover a wide range of genres, from poetry to fiction to theology and philosophy. His book Restoring the Lord’s Day: How Reclaiming Sunday Can Revive Our Human Nature (Sophia Institute Press, 2024) is a great resource for families who want to live the Lord’s Day more authentically in the midst of busy schedules. It’s a book that seeks to understand the Church’s insistence that the true Christian is always living in Sunday, always enjoying the Resurrection, learning to rejoice in God’s presence more and more each day.
Because it is inspired chiefly by sacred tradition, Grace’s art is a reminder of that ever ancient, ever new beauty of the Creator. Her icons are a call to relationship with God, Who seeks to embrace each of us in His Divine Love. A beautiful part of family life as formed by faith tradition and supported by the MODG pedagogy is that beauty, leisure, and prayer ought to be experienced as individuals and as a family. Icons foster this relationship with God and each other by being a physical reminder of prayer as the foundation of family culture.
Finally, MODG families will love Grace’s collection of original fairy tales, The Stag with the Crystal Horns and Other Tales, which is forthcoming in Fall 2026 from Ignatius Press. Grace came up with the first story for our older son one night when he was sick and wanted to hear something “less scary than Beowulf,” and these tales, written in the classical tradition exemplified so often in the MODG reading lists, have since then become favorites with our whole family.
Helpful links:
Be sure to check out Danny's new book available here. You can also keep up to date on his releases here at his website.
View Grace's beautiful artwork on her website here!
We are so grateful to Grace and Danny for sharing their story with us!