5 Year Anniversary Celebration-DAY ONE

Our anniversary is a time
For sharing our affection;
It’s obvious that with our friends and clients we
Have quite a deep connection!


We send greetings of gratitude
And heartfelt thanks, too,
For the five years you've helped us build our business
Through everything you do.


OK...so we obviously aren't in the poetry business! But today we celebrate with a greeting card giveaway. The pictured, five handcrafted cards will be sent to a winner randomly determined twelve hours from now. To be entered in the drawing just post a comment that you'd "like to win!"

The Trinity

We will celebrate the Trinity in worship this Sunday...Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The mystery of the Trinity has allowed artists throughout history to make a visual interpretation based on their theological views and the culture of their day. Here's an interesting piece:

This type of representation of the Trinity-the Man of Sorrows held by God the Father with the Holy Ghost in the likeness of a dove-was widely adopted in European art around 1400 when it was customary to show particular reverence for the dead Savior. The artist is unknown but it is thought to be of Hungarian roots and might have been part of a triptych or diptych. Exploring and examining a piece of art can enhance our feelings and draw us closer to our beliefs. Here are a few questions to get you started:

• What title would you give this work of art?
• What kind of lines do you see (straight, curved, etc.)? Why do you think the artist used these? Does this suggest a kind of movement?
• Is there a light source? What type of colors were used? What kind of feeling does this give you?
• Are the images painted expressively or realistically?
• Does the craftsmanship (whether it is highly crafted or sloppy in appearance) contribute to or detract from your experience looking at this art?
• What is the story the artist is trying to tell?

Inspiration

I believe we're all creative and use creativity in our daily lives. Weren't you creative when you explained to your children why they couldn't watch a movie at 9:00 p.m. on a school night, when you last had a job interview and had to apply your experience to the interviewers questions or when you had to problem solve during a church committee meeting on how your members could be encouraged to be more invitational? Creativity does not escape many aspects of our lives.

Running a design studio I look forward to creative moments. This might be in the way that we market our work, how to answer a client that needs a Christmas stole overnighted to them because they forgot that Christmas happened on December 25th, or by finding design inspiration in daily occurrences. Here are a few of our past studio projects and the story behind how we were "creatively" inspired.

Both of my parents grew up in Kansas and I have vivid memories of driving to my grandparents house past splendid fields of sunflowers. Maybe this is why I have always been fond of this plant. When I read that sunflowers are symbolic of adoration because of the way they turn their heads to the sun and that some people use this as a play on words as a symbol of turning their head to the "son" I knew I needed to create a stole with sunflowers on it.

One summer my home congregation's Vacation Bible School had a theme of the gifts of the Spirit. The curriculum had messages that spoke to me and this stole design came from that dynamic time of music, craft, recreation and Bible study centered on Isaiah 11:2--

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— 

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, 

the Spirit of counsel and of power, 

the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD

This stole is currently available in our ordination collection here.

We worked with a client that introduced us to African symbols known as adinkra that are ever-present in Ghana. The symbols represent popular proverbs. They do not stem from Christianity but we were inspired by the heart symbol used in this culture that represents patience and tolerance and the circle that means greatness and leadership. Combined these symbols seemed a perfect inspiration for an Advent stole. 

I often also find motivation in church architecture and in bookstores. For example, when I see an anchor cross in a worship space I feel inspiration from this symbol/reminder of hope. One afternoon while having a creative stumbling block I headed to my local bookstore to hang out in the stacks. There I came across a wonderful book that documented and described the history of different cross symbols. We have used that reference to create many different versions of a stole that represents crosses of different cultures. This is one is in our current collection here (and it includes an anchor cross!)  

In conclusion I'll share what Alice Bass writes about creativity--"God is around us, above us and in us. When we explore our creativity in him, he is not shocked by our huge ideas. Our giant dreams shatter only our own puny agendas and the glass minds of those around us. We are safe in him." Through Carrot Top Studio I am thankful for the clients that support our creative endeavors. May we all all continue be open to using our inspiration and creativity because it has the potential to  lead to great things someday...as prescribed in Isaiah 43:19....See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up' do you not perceive it. I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.  

Thy Mystery Continues

At Christmas time Christians celebrate the mystery of God becoming man through the virgin birth. As the Church year calendar rolls on we have recalled the mystery of Christ's death on the cross and this Sunday many of us will focus on His Ascension. Then on to Pentecost. Pentecost has always appealed to me. Probably because the story draws wonderful images and wonderments in my mind. I imagine what it would have been like the day the church was born to experience the violent wind, to see the tongues of fire and react to so many people speaking in so many different languages.


I recently read of a group of worshipers that read the Pentecost story from Acts in unison. Then a group of parishioners stepped forward and read in unison from each of their different mother tongues. Wouldn't this be a lovely demonstration of the Spirit being given to all for the common good. We are one body.


My congregation traditionally celebrates Pentecost Sunday by encouraging everyone to wear red to symbolize the Holy Spirit. We often share a birthday cake and fellowship after worship. Trying to keep things visually stimulating we've also had years that have included banners made of streamers that the wind danced through, balloon launches with spiritual messages attached to the strings so the Word can be spread far and wide, eating red foods (like strawberries that are delicious at this time of the year in Pennsylvania) and inviting another congregation to worship with us. Some of this seems trivial but it does typically stir something in our marginally stoic congregation that reminds me of the hope the Spirit gives us. It is the hope of renewal of purpose and mission. 


May we work toward carrying this hope beyond Pentecost Sunday!


To add to the "visual" message on Pentecost Sunday, Carrot Top Studio offers a variety of red stoles. See our collection here.

Wisdom

I've been think about words of wisdom lately. This is partly because I've been reading a Henry Nouwen book from the 1970's. If the copyright wasn't in the book cover you'd never know that the original text was that old. In With Open Hands, Nouwen has written about prayer based on scripture. The categories of silence, acceptance, hope, and compassion are giving me much wisdom to reflect on. 

Secondly, my oldest child will graduate from high school next month. Knowing the graduation ceremony is ahead of us I've tried to recall my own high school graduation. What were the words of wisdom that were laid upon me that day? Sadly I have no idea. My son has already many choices in life that are wiser than what I did at his age. I am thankful for his 18 year old version of wisdom.

Thirdly, a bird has built a new nest inside an old nest on top of our studio back door. I wonder if this is wisdom from the aviary world--kind of a reduce/reuse/recycle mentality? Or maybe this robin is wise simply because this is a proven, safe and secure spot to bring new life into the world.

All of this led me to the new limited edition green stole we're working on. As you can see the lower fabric is a beautiful floral design accented with an outline of gold. The flowers struck me as a fitting motif for Ordinary Time because we focus our energies on Christian growth. So what to use as the symbol on the upper portion became the question. We've decided to use the Christian "fish", the symbol of the first believers. The fish outline was a wise symbol for the early Christian church to adopt. Not only was fish a common food of the day, it was also used by Jesus during His ministry. It is a very simple shape to draw - just two curved strokes. It could be drawn quickly, and erased just as quickly if there was no sign of recognition on the part of the stranger when a Christian was trying to determine alliance. For the early Christians their choice to follow Jesus might have been dangerous. This stole's design can be a visual reminder that we are called to follow regardless of our life circumstances. Maybe it will make others wonder what that is really to mean as they make daily choices. We'll be adding a cross to this stole and then look forward to offering it on our website with several other options for Ordinary Time.


I am not always "wise" but am grateful to be surrounded by examples such as these that I can strive for.