We're celebrating! 15 Years of creating clergy stoles!

What I've learned in 15 years of owning and operating Carrot Top Studio ...

15 - Have faith in an idea. The goal was to be in business for 3 years and look where we are now!

14 - Designing for the seasons of preparation is a favorite.

13 - Communication is key.

12 - Red stoles sell well. 

11 - Listening is key. You all have great ideas!

10 - I my taxman more than I did 15 years ago. And he shouldn't read anything into this ranking. 

9 - Hard work is worth it.

8 - Writing is our strongest suit but after 405 blog posts there has been improvement.

7 - Learning and curiosity for the sake of the business has led to studying the scriptures and reading many. That's a joy.

6 - Social media can be a good thing. Thanks for linking with Carrot Top Studio!

5 - it's not all about the money - I really love what I do.

4 - Making charitable donations because through your purchases has been a special delight.

3 - Good photographs are important for an online business (duh!?) Check out the website for our recent improvements!

2 - My family is a really supportive bunch.

1 - Your compassion, caring, and encouragement make you the best clients to work with! I am so very thankful.

THANK YOU, thank you! Cheers to what is ahead :) …. signing off to go eat that cake!

Outside the Studio: Stations of the Cross art

I recently created art for an exhibit of the Stations of the Cross. The focus was to see the traditional station scripture through the lens of the criminal Jesus. What follows explains my process. The techniques and process were very similar to what happens when a stole is created.

I was assigned Station 12 with the scripture being —

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopus, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciples whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. -John 19:25-27 (NIV)

After reading the scripture in many different translations I turned to books from my own library. These included Jan Richardson’s Garden of Hollow, Christopher Seitz’, Seven Lasting Words, and Listening to Golgotha by Peter Strong.

I also researched Christian symbols. I was drawn to the anchor cross, the pomegranate, and the thought of Mary as a vessel but in the end none of those ideas made the cut. That’s the way it goes sometimes!

I had a few days in the depths of a Michigan winter to spend on the beach. Times can surrounded by nature allow ideas to percolate. This combined with reading Becoming Gertrude by Janice Peterson revealed thoughts about the word BEHOLD that is found in many translations of this scripture. This book about friendship emphasized the thought of caring being equal to choosing to see someone. This was in line with the thinking about this scripture in conjunction with the criminal justice system today. I was soon seeing imagery that would become details in my art. The Spirit seemed to be at work.

The last bit of research was to be inspired by other artists. I looked at the above. Clockwise—

• Sorrowful Mother, James Tissot
• Crucifixion With A Dominican Friar, Hermann Schadeberg
• Pieta, Michelangelo
• A Mother’s Lament, Jan Richardson
• Jesus Meets His Mother, Jen Norton
  
  
  
  Next up was sketching, sketching and more sketching. It’s a process!
  
  
  
  
  
  Fabrics were auditioned.
  
  
  
  Some unsophisticated tools were used. (grin)
  
  
  
  
  
  But we didn’t neglect the fancier tools!
  
  
  
  
  
  Embellishments were added.
  
  
  
  And bit by bit the finished work came into being!
  
  Above is the completed work and what follows is part of the artist’s statement to connect you to my thoughts on the symbolism…
  Contemplating John 19:25-27 through the lens of a criminal Jesus allowed me to consider sorrow, God’s love, the word ‘behold’ and who family is. I wrestled with the following questions: 
  • When have I been overwhelmed with sorrow and brokenness? If my son was accused of a wrong doing how would I react?
  • Who is around me that Jesus wants me to stop and look at as family?
  • Do I allow Jesus to reframe how I see others that have been or are criminals?
  The symbolic aspect of my art may at times be obvious but it is also open to allowing the viewer to relate their own faith, background and life experience. The details of these three panels include the subtle colors and texture that remind us of Lent; the patterning represents Mary (roses) and John (fish nets); and tears of sorrow are represented in the torn fabric. Notice the mirrored squares. My intention was for them to symbolize God’s reflected love but ironically when I sewed them on they also became prison windows. The middle panel represents the need to ‘behold’ or to pay attention. Lastly, find the triangles that represent those that stood at the cross. The triangles turn into flying geese formations which epitomize the reality of how these creatures take care of each other as a group or ‘family’ as they migrate.
  Lastly — a bit of a P.S. — In 2009 I created a full set of stations art. They now reside in a church in Adelaide, South Australia. Here is the post about the piece from 2009 that corresponds with the one that has just been created.
  

100 Day Project

A new calendar year usually causes me to evaluate or try something new. This year I'm trying the 100 day project that is popular with creative types. It's defined as:

It's a celebration of process that encourages everyone to participate in 100 days of making. The great surrender is theprocess; showing up day after day is the goal. For the 100-Day Project, it's not about fetishizing finished products—it's about the process.

To stretch my technical skills and establish a new rhythm in my creative life I will be using Tula Pink's City book 100 Modern Quilt Blocks.  Hopefully I will become a more accrue piecer as I follow along with the author's directions to make 100 6 1/2" square quilt blocks. My two self imposed rules are to first use only fabric scraps from my stash and to use only warm colors. The color rule is only so that if I want to turn the blocks into a quilt there will be some cohesiveness based on the color theory.

Maybe you'll recognize some stole fabrics in these! Here are my first three blocks: 

The book is organized into shape collections such as squares, and triangles. The first section is crosses. Maybe some of these patterns will find their way into my Carrot Top Studio work too! Watch our Instagram and Facebook pages for updates as the days roll by!.

Our Favorite Blogs

We can learn and be inspired by reading. Therefore, today I thought I'd share some of our favorite blogs that we follow that pertain to Carrot Top Studio. Maybe they will inspire you for a bulletin cover, arts group within your church or feed your own artistic soul.

Artists-

• Susie Lubell is an illustrator. We like her whimsical style and dedication to her faith.
• West of Here takes and shares the most stunning photographs and has the ability to hone in on what is most interesting. 
• Julie Lonneman has an amazing way of sharing what she believes in her graphic art.
• "Love God, Serve Others, Make it Beautiful!" is the motto of Valorie Sjodin who moves me with her detailed drawings (and her motto!)

Christian Art Associations chalk full of resources-

• Mount Tabor 
• Episcopal Cafe
• Christians in the Visual Arts

Stitching inspiration-

• artists Karin Birch and  Claire Wellesley-Smith both stimulate my desire to add hand stitching to our stoles. Stay tuned to see if we progress in this direction!

Fabric inspiration-

• A Stitch in Dye because she's got great style. 
• Anna Maria Horner juggles a business, a family and also writes about her family's faith heritage. She also demonstrates how to mix patterned fabrics together. I appreciate all of that.
• Artfabrik for fabric dying advice and igniting a desire to do so. 
• Erin Wilson Quilts proves that you can make images simplified with fabric...something we have to think about when sewing on 5" widths.

And these help remind me of what is real-

• Out of the Dust & Us reminds me of the world that is outside of my studio in Michigan. The added bonus is seeing the batik fabric of the clothes in their community. 
• Cast Your Net uses art to help illustrate his sermons and his messages from the pulpit usually have a way of getting me to think twice.
• For my home and kitchen I read the Radical Homemaker. I appreciate the way she is raising her family.

And then after a day in the studio I often unwind with a recipe inspired by Food 52. The creating goes on and on and on!

**p.s. The Feedly app makes following these blogs very easy. Maybe you'd like to add Carrot Top Studio to your feed? Wink. Wink.

The Making of a Commissioned Ministry Stole

Several months ago I was thrilled (ok, actually I was positively giddy!) to respond to a request to create a stole for the moderator of the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA. This was special for several reasons. First, the commission came to be because someone told someone who told someone about Carrot Top Studio and the unique stoles we create. This is how our business has been built and we are continuously grateful. Secondly, the General Assembly is in our hometown of Pittsburgh, PA this year. In the midst of the behind the scenes planning of this event we've been so proud to discover how the people of the "Burgh" would be extending hospitality and wrapping the time together in prayer. Lastly, I come from a very long line of Presbyterians (I'm at least a fourth generation) and I am proud and thankful for this heritage.


This commission gave me wonderful artistic free reign with the criteria simply being that it should represent the GA scripture from Isaiah 40:31 (but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint) but also reflect Pittsburgh. Here's a little documentation of how we came up with the finished product:

First step in a new stole design is to "audition" fabrics on the design wall to make sure the values and prints are compatible and create visual balance. Choosing the sky fabric was our greatest challenge and the blue in this image didn't make the cut! What we ended up working with was a piece of vintage blue denim. The vintage quality of the fabric seemed to shout, "remember those that have gone before you!"

Pittsburgh has 446 bridges. We thought a bridge was a great symbol for the moderator's stole because we think of the General Assembly as a place where a lot of ideas are bridged together. As the stole components were put into place we weren't sure which bridge would serve this piece the best. The Roberto Clemente bridge (on the left) that leads from downtown to the home of Pirates baseball at PNC Park seemed to be the best choice. On the finished stole (at the end of this post) you can see that the bridge is set above the three rivers that come together at the point of Pittsburgh. Of course this liturgical artist sees the number three as spiritually significant here!

There are times that we get caught up in a creative zone. Our left brain has learned to leave our right brain notes during these moments so we won't forget to do things--like add the birds above the bridge that represent "soaring in hope."

Creating the stencil for the seal applique.

I've always admired the PCUSA seal because it speaks to so much about our faith. Personally, I've always seen the Holy Spirit, the activeness of studying and proclaiming the Word (because the Bible is open not closed) and the Baptismal font. It's actually deeper than that and you can read about the seal here. During our brainstorming phase it was exciting to learn that permission was granted for us to use this trademarked image on the moderator's stole.


We have many hills in Pittsburgh so couldn't resist including a few! The medium green fabric used in the hills of Pittsburgh is from Malawi where our Pittsburgh Presbytery has a longstanding partnership. 

The back tip of the stole is a rising sun. Artistically throughout history the sun has been used as a symbol to represent "the son." On this stole it is in the midst of a colorful sun rise. We thought this was fitting imagery as a symbol of hope because we are blessed to have the light of Jesus replacing the darkness. The colors of the sunrise have been created using fabric hand dyed from a ministry my Pittsburgh church home has in La Croix, Haiti. The silk scarves are dyed by LaFemme de la Croix at the New Testament mission in Haiti and the sale of the scarves in the United States benefits the women's education. I've worked side by side with these dynamic young women and it was meaningful to include a piece of this silk that came to be because Christians from two very different communities were able to work together. This is a reminder that we are one in the Spirit.

What else reflects Pittsburgh on the 220th GA stole? We toyed with including a pierogi or Pirmanti Brothers sandwich but an incline won out instead. Inclines originally dotted the mountain side surrounding the city and allowed for the movement of people and supplies as the population expanded in the 1800's. Today there are two inclines left and they tend to be a favorite tourist stop.

And here's the finished product that was presented to Rev. Dr. Neal Presa after he was installed on Saturday night at the GA. We pray that it will be a fitting visual tool during his ministry.