Symbols Make Connections

Confession: Sometimes I watch/listen to a movie while I'm working! Oh, I know....that is so bad (ha,ha). Gee Jenny, you're really going off the deep end! But really, the fact of the matter is that despite being an introvert and REALLY loving the art studio business that I am able to have, well--sometimes it's just too quiet. In those moments I pop in a movie that I've reserved from the library or like yesterday I turn to the documentary category on Hulu.com Yesterday's choice was The Paperclips Project. The former teacher in me was drawn to the fact that this was started by a teacher in a school district when it became overwhelmingly apparent as to how homogeneous the student's world was. The paperclip project struck a chord and lasted for years as the entire community (and beyond) became involved. 

Without giving away the entire plot of the documentary I can share that a simple paperclip became the symbol that united the people to reinforce the message that then energized the participants to think about how they were treating each other and what they were doing for each other. Wow! That little symbol was powerful. The paperclip as a symbol has a history dating back to World War II. The story is told that patriots wore paper clips as a symbol of resistance to the German occupiers when other signs of resistance were forbidden. The clips were meant to denote solidarity and unity (i.e. we are bound together).

This is not different from reading the Bible and discovering that God used tangible signs and symbols throughout scripture as a way of communicating to His people. Often people were instructed to make use of such signs and symbols to help understand or to remember what God is teaching. So many Christian symbols come to mind! Of course there is the rainbow, unleavened bread, blood, oil, the dove, a lamb, and of course bread and wine. And the list goes on and on. Because we, at Carrot Top Studio, are in the business of using symbols we take this seriously. But after watching this movie yesterday I was struck to think about worship spaces and worship experiences I had recently been in. I wonder if we are using symbols visually and in our story telling to their fullest extent? Are we remember God's example of the powerful teaching tool that they can be? It's something to ponder....and now with this train of thought I can justify having that movie playing in the background while woring on a new Ordination stole design yesterday (grin!)

Here's the Paper Clips Project movie trailer if you are not familiar with it...

Earth Day

The celebration of Earth Day approaches on April 22nd. As you probably know, this is an annual day on which events are held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. As a Christian I can't separate this out to one single day.

The psalms tell us we are just tenants of this place we currently live in.

The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the word and all who live in it. (Psalm 24:1) 

How do we build upon and care for what we have been given? How do we take a step further and apply creation care to our worship spaces? We can look to Exodus 35:20-29 for one example. The materials used to build the tabernacle all came from recycled donations from the Israelites. Precious metals were not mined but melted down from donated jewelry  Acacia forests were not clear cut, rather "everyone who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it". I especially love their example of doing this cheerfully! If our church were in the midst of building or renovating today how would we apply this? Furthermore how do we apply the Biblical example of reuse to our personal lives?

Along these lines of thinking we at Carrot Top Studio are often inspired by God's great earth. We try to use upcycled or eco-friendly fibers as often as possible. This is always noted below the stole description. Additionally here are a few of our current stoles that play on the theme of natural beauty.

You may see these ministry stoles in the Ordinary Time collection here, the Peace and Healing collection here, and the Children's Ministry collection here.

Draw the Children In

Carrot Top Studio uses visuals to make a connection to the Word in worship. Our typical artist endeavors include ministry stoles and the occasional worship banner. Certainly we also appreciate all the other visuals that can be aids in worship. This past week I worshiped behind a family with two young children.The children were obviously used to the rhythm and routine of the liturgy. Helping this happen were the patient parents who answered their whispered questions, the surrounding worshipers who didn't grimace each time the little ones squirmed, and the unique worship bulletin. I think it's important not to dumb down to children but instead meet them where they are at. I think this worship bulletin does that. It follows the order that the "regular" bulletin does but is in large print, has spaces for responses to help keep their attention, and includes visual cues for pre- and early readers. I know it takes extra effort for the church staff to produce this each week. I applaud the determination of those involved to do whatever we can as "the church" to help the younger set feel included. This is an energy well spent to help create the next generation of active worshipers! Ok...I'm getting off my soapbox now (grin). What does this children's edition look like? Here are a few pages from last week...

*click on images to enlarge*

               

 

We believe sharing is caring so we'd like to say thanks to the hard working staff at Westminster Presbyterian for letting us share the images in this post.

Speaking of Children's Ministry...insiders secret....we're adding a new Easter stole to the Children's Ministry collection by week's end! 

Home From Haiti

We're home from our fourth trip to the New Testament Mission in LaCroix, Haiti.It's probably no surprise that on these trips I always learn things about myself, about others and about God. I remain grateful to my clients who are patient while I delay shipping for a week so I can have this time to serve, learn and grow.

painting silk scarves with LaFemme de la Croix

In the last two years the silk scarf painting program has grown from selling the scarves in the United States and sending the profits into a general education fund for the artists to much, much more! The girls are now getting paid per scarf and a Haitian teacher and assistant are paid for their leadership. There is also still profit from the sale of the scarves that goes into the education fund. The scarf inventory has grown large enough that in addition to being sold through my home church that they are being sold at the gift shop at the US Embassy in Port au Prince. Coming soon they will be offered in an online retail store! Additionally Carrot Top Studio is thrilled to purchase scarves and take them to another level by using them as appliques in stoles. The sale of these stoles send proceeds back to the LaFemme de la Croix. 

Charles

When in Haiti I travel with a blank sketch book. As an introvert that is s-l-o-w-l-y learning Haitian Kreyol I find that sharing a sketch book and taking turns drawing can be an opening to making new friends....because art is universal. After this young man finished drawing he wrote in the sketch book, "Jesus please bless me and Jenny. Behold. We love you very much." This simple message brought tears to my eyes. I blinked back the tears in my eyes and assured him I would gladly be praying for him until we meet again.

peace and sandwiches!

Voodoo infiltrates the country of Haiti. But where Christians are they tend to pronounce their faith boldly.For example they paint portraits of Jesus on the headlights of their tap taps (public transportation). Another example is the Haitian workers that enter the mission at 5:30 a.m. singing hymns. And many businesses incorporate their testimony into their name. I experience these things and I am humbled. I leave the country wondering if am I proclaiming my love for the Lord boldly as possible? I marvel at the fact that God is wo patient with me.

Creating Ministry Stoles Lends Itself to Fun

A few things that made us smile in the studio--

A client wrote: "Gave pastor the green custom stole today and he was speechless. (A good thing)."

Another client shared: "You are the fastest shipper I have ever met. I tell all my colleagues about your quick ship and say "Carrot Top Studio will never let you preach naked"!

This is fun...it looks like Ordinary Time will really be "in" this year (ha, ha)....

And speaking of color....we took advantage of snow on the ground outside our studio this week to produce this fabric that we're just itching to stitch into Pentecost and Ordination stoles! 

What does the snow have to do with this? It allows for a fun, spontaneous fabric dying method where you cover the fabric with snow, sprinkle powered dye on top of the snow and then you let the melting snow marble the placement of the color on the fabric. Trying to focus on blessings I can now count this method as a blessing to having snow on the ground! 

Book Review

When I picked up The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt book at the library the intention was to read it just for pleasure because my sewing roots are founded in a love of quilting. This book is collaboration of the letters submitted to The Farmer's Wife magazine in 1922 when it requested their readers help. The publishers were looking for the answer to the question, "If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you, in light of your own experience, have her marry a farmer?" The magazine was sent 7000 responses and this book archives the best answers. 

What surprised and captivated my reading was how many of the letters made references to God, faith, and church. From awe for creation, to being in co-labor with God, to drawing closer to God through nature, to following God's plan these women had no question that they were living the best lifestyle possible. My family's table blessings before dinner often include thankfulness for the farmers that have provided our food. We recognize their hard work. After reading through these letters I have new appreciation for the attitude and gratitude for those that aspire to and choose to work the land.

If you are a quilter the bonus of this book are the patterns that are included of traditional quilt blocks from the 1920's. A CD provides templates and easy to follow instructions.  This book is published by Krause and the ISBN is 0896898288.

A Reflection: A Week in Haiti

Prior to our trip to Haiti it was suggested to our team to prepare by reading the book of 1 John. John presents God as light, as love and as life. Pastor Pierre the leader of the New Testament Mission in LaCroix, Haiti also studied it in preparation of our arrival. Additionally on Sunday morning in the community of worship we were inspired by a sermon given by Pastor Wisner based upon the instructions in 1 John. As the week unfolded and we spent time in morning and evening devotion and prayer we focused on passages from this book. It seemed powerful to all be focused on the same words and I’d like to share a few of the ways I believe the message of 1 John was lived out last week while we were in Haiti.

morning devotions on the rooftop

John wrote this book to encourage the Church to grow. In the first chapter he focuses on light representing what is good. When you go to Haiti you observe crowded living conditions, immense amounts of trash, and housing that looks like it could topple over with just the right gust of wind. But what you really “see” is the light of Christ shining through the people. They are hospitable, friendly, welcoming and full of smiles and laughter. Over and over our Haitian brothers and sisters greeted us with “we have been praying for YOU.” We were humbled time and time again. Through this we experienced "the Church."

Secondly, John urges us to obey Christ fully and to love all the members of God’s family. I'm drawn to the verse in 3:23 that instructs us to “love one another”. And in response to God's tremendous love for us we spent a week working side by side our Haitian hosts. We became one community.

 

Painting scarves together and making new friends 

(Jenny and Regina-who both have the gift of teaching)

Lastly, chapter 5 focuses on “God as life.” Jesus never promised obeying him would be easy. But the hard work and self-disciple of serving Christ is not a burden to those who love him. Our week was full of hard and challenging tasks. For example, who really desires to do things like carry 100 buckets of sand and water up two flights of stairs in the heat of the day? Not a complaint was uttered during these times of "hard" work. The team was devoted to the tasks we were handed each day as God continued to reveal what we were to accomplish. Our load was literally heavy at many times but we trusted the importance of the tasks and received strength through Christ to help us bear it.

Our "men" tried to be as strong as the women of Haiti
who transport water and food on their head.

The team is grateful for the support of prayer, monetary donations, and donations of supplies from the congregation of Westminster Presbyterian Church, our family and our friends. Personally I feel very blessed for clients that allow me to occasionally step out of the studio to work in Haiti. Your patience with shipping is greatly appreciated. 

The Labyrinth as a Christian Symbol

Walking a labyrinth has always been regenerative for me. I wonder why? Maybe because circular and spiral forms are visually interesting. Additionally, walking for exercise and for meditation is doubly therapeutic for me. The past several weeks I especially have been feeling the regenerative aspect of this shape as my days have been extra busy keeping up with family, the approaching liturgical seasons and preparing for a mission trip to Haiti. It's all been for good resolution but at times it's mounted to moments of almost hyperventilating. But because the path I have been following has had purpose I feel like keeping the goal in mind along with walking with the Lord through the days has had a similar regenerative activeness as walking a labyrinth does. So I wasn't actually walking the labyrinth every moment of the past weeks but the rhythm of the days felt like I was. I have moved in and out and round and round yet have maintained a path. This line of thinking has caused me to realize I put spirals, circles and labyrinths on quite a few of the stoles we create...including a new one this week. What would Freud say about this!? Here are a few:

A new Christmas design.

A stole for Communion

A labyrinth stole

                                 

I came across this quote and it seems like an appropriate ending to this post--

Solvitur ambulando... It is solved by walking... --Saint Augustine

I walk forward into that mission trip tomorrow. My daughter will be blogging about it here 

if you're interested about our journey and prayer requests.

All Saints Day

Find this stole here.

Historically on November 1st (today!) the Church honors all saints, known and unknown. Personally, when thinking of saintly people that have crossed my path, I think of the people that have infused my life with the Word of God, who have demonstrated that God is love through unselfish acts of kindness, and who have been patient with my growth as a disciple. I could go on and on! Are some specific people coming to your mind? 

One of our clients will be celebrating "All Saints" with her church congregation this coming Sunday. She's chosen this stole to wear on that day. We created the stole for those that serve in Children's Ministry and its focal point is the border of children of the world. This pastor did a good job perusing our ministry stole website and thinking outside the box as to how this stole as a visual connection to those that she ministers to, 

While Carrot Top Studio is always striving to connect the visual to the Word sometimes we are inspired by the visual images that dance in our head instead of on a vestment. For example the beginning of this poem conjures up some especially wonderful imagery. 

The Saints Are Standing Row on Row

The saints are standing row on row

engulfed in light and peace,

stand face to face with God their King

whose love will never cease...

Author unknown, from the Dutch Gracia Grindal

Blessings for your celebration of the saints!

Reformation Sunday

Reformation might have started out as celebrating division.  Today it seems healthier to celebrate the movement of the Holy Spirit in our Church and our hearts. It is this movement of the Holy Spirit that brings us newness and renewal, both in our personal lives and in the life of the Church. When we pray, "Come, Holy Spirit!" we know that the whole Church is always in need of reform, and we each are always in need of dying again in Christ.

This poem by Hildegard of Bingen comes to mind:

The Holy Spirit is life that gives life,

Moving all things,

It is the root in every creature

And purifies all things,

Wiping away our sins, anointing wounds,

It is radiant life, worthy of praise,

Awakening and enlivening all things.

Knowing a little bit of what worship might be like this coming Sunday I keep humming "I Mighty Fortress" in my head. Here's an interesting contemporary version of this much loved hymn.

Pumpkins

Does my hair color
inspire my love for pumpkins?

I feel a connection to pumpkins. Is it my hair color? Maybe it's the variety of colors pumpkins come in. The variety of color in nature (such as in a pumpkin) is truly magnificent. I'm trying to focus on things to be thankful for and today as I write and look at the pumpkin on my front stoop I am thankful for color. 

Why are we drawn to pumpkins? One reason might be is that the color is hard not to notice especially in the fields at harvest time. The orange round squash like fruit dotting the dark ground surrounded by dull dying vines capped off with the contrast of a brilliant blue or stormy fall sky really stands out. This color theory applies to how we use color to draw us into worship. Liturgical color connects us to a specific time of the church year. We've been working on Advent stoles in anticipation of the upcoming season. The vibrant purples and blues are a great example of a color being a meaningful reminder of the life of Jesus. Churches that use purple textiles and vestments are recalling Jesus coming as Christ the King because this is the color of royalty. Those that focus on blue might be doing so as a reminder of the deep blue predawn sky.  This is symbolic of watching for the light so to speak....the promised light of Christ the only one that can fill our darkness.

The colors of Advent draw you in! See a ministry stole similar to this here.

During my day in the studio, you can see through this brief post, how I make thoughts connect. As I wrap up my work for the day I am looking forward to the pumpkin soup that is in the crock pot for my dinner tonight. It's obviously a total theme day for me!

P.S.--Haven't ever tried pumpkin soup? Click here for my new favorite recipe.

Principles of Design Applied to Worship Spaces

One of the first classes I had as an art student in college (way back when) was based upon the elements and principles of design. Even though that was quite a few years ago these basic artistic tools are still as applicable today as they have been for many years in the history of art. In this post we'll look at these principles as they might apply to our worship spaces.

Balance
Balance refers to the placement of various elements in the worship space. Your church may have formal or informal balance. This is important to recognize so you are consistent when you introduce new visuals.

This is the sanctuary in my home church. Not only is the architecture formal but so is the balance. To maintain this balance we wouldn't want to hang just one Carrot Top Studio banner. Two banners keep the balance.

Repetition
Repetition of a form or a shape creates a pattern. When patterns are small we call them textures. Patterns can enrich a surface, but they can also dominate and become loud or boring. Repeating pattern creates unity. This applies to the architecture like we've referenced but can also apply to the stoles worn by ministry leaders. The repetition of all the ministry leaders wearing the same stole (or at least the same color stole) creates unity and gives a visual impact that makes a great statement.

Variation
Variation creates interest. Too little variation makes a boring space; too much may make the space appear chaotic. 

For example, the variation of the red banners against the white wall is enough in this chancel. The curved architectural trim around the banners and stained glass window smartly echos the front shape of the chancel. It the trim had been painted an accent color it would have been too much variation.

Contrast
Contrast is needed to make certain elements stand out. If we're very used to our worship space it can be hard to see the contrast. A good tool is to take some photographs of the space and see what stands out. It's interesting to see what we notice in a photograph that we hadn't paid attention to before.

Harmony
Harmony deals with how all the elements in the worship space work together. Is there anything fighting for attention? Color can actually be the tool that unifies. Whether you follow the liturgical seasons or not, if the color that is the accent for worship carries from altar cover, to Bible book mark, to worship banner to stole then you will most likely have created harmony.

The use of this table cloth creates harmony. Despite the use of many colors in the table cloth  the repetition of red from the chair cushions, to the pew cushions to the carpet helps to create harmony. Does this make or break our faith? Of course not! But visual harmony can help us focus on what is most important--the worship of our Lord and Savior. If there isn't visual harmony our minds and hearts might not rest for the worship...at least for those of us that are visual learners.

Keeping in mind the principles of design as we look at our worship space will help to make sure the elements are supporting each other and not dominating. And in turn the space will call attention to God, not itself.

Book Review: Praying with Our Hands

The words of prayer are powerful but so is the kinesthetic and visual nature our bodies display as they move through times and types of prayer. Jesus modeled different types of prayer postures and I must say I feel more focused and engaged when I "change things up" and try a prayer posture that is not within my norm. Considering our body and prayer I'd like to share a book I stumbled upon. It is a delightful coffee table type book that focuses on our hands in prayer. What an interesting topic the book Praying with Our Hands has taken on. In this inspiring book of reflections and accompanying photographs, we see how our hands can give meaning to our prayers in a way that words alone cannot. The photographs are sensitive in their black and white values and should appeal to believers of many different faiths.This book is simple but given that I love the phrase, "tis a gift to be simple" I think the images and message of this book are inspiring and educational. See what you think of this book by Jon M. Sweeney!

Utilizing Art in Worship

Here at Carrot Top Studio we focus on the use of fiber art in worship....stoles, banners, paraments, etc. But of course this isn't the only way to utilize visual art in worship. The very easiest might be adding images to your worship bulletin cover or multi-media screen. There are a wealth of copyright free images available, artists often will let you use an images if you seek permission first and give them credit or you may purchase images for use from a specific artist (for example, see how artist Jan Richardson's available work here).

Last week I stumbled (online) upon a church that is going a step further. They actually line the sanctuary walls with art. The space is used like an art gallery. The art aids worship and the space is also used at other times as an art gallery.

Glade Church, Blackburg, VA

Whenever you use art it is helpful to guide the viewer that maybe isn't used to examining or responding to art works. This image below supports the Lectionary this week. JESUS MAFA is a response to the New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings were selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings.

Jesus Welcomes the Children, JESUS MAFA

If you were to help someone examine this art you would ask them to:

1. Describe what they see. Just keep to the facts.
2. Analyze the evidence.  Look for relationships – similarities, differences or repeated patterns.
3. Interpret the artwork by making a good guess about the meaning of the work.  
4. Judge the artwork. A critical judgment can be made after you have interpreted an artwork.  Judging art is always a matter of being fair and logical.

We need to keep in mind that some worshipers are visual learners. By including art you are helping to draw them in (pun intended!) to the moment of honoring the Almighty!

A Brief Interview With the Artist at Carrot Top Studio

Tell us about your shop and the idea behind it.
Carrot Top Studio can to be after creating a liturgical year's worth of worship banners as a volunteer for my home church.  I discovered I loved the tactile materials combined with the design process, the connection to my faith and my appreciation of worship and worship spaces. The name "carrot top" hearkens from the childhood when I experienced my fair share of teasing for my orange hair. 

Here's one from 'back in the day!' As you can see my mom was a 'carrot top' also!

Tell us about your previous working situation.
Prior to becoming a sole proprietor I was a preschool teacher, an elementary art teacher, and a stay at home mom to my son and daughter.

Back in my elementary school teaching days on a field trip to the Contemporary Art Museum in Houston, TX. Could you guess this was the 80's?

What steps did you take to prepare for transitioning into full-time selling?
I checked out and read every book I could from the local library on how to start a small business and how to sell online. There wasn't any start up money for this endeavor so I'm forever grateful for libraries! 

Ebay gave me the opportunity to tryout online sales. The initial offering were vintage items I scooped up at estate sales. Because I'd enjoyed making worship banners so much my marketing aficionado (always thinking of the next thing) husband suggested I take the worship banner techniques I learned and apply them to ministry stoles. I was SO reluctant but he wins the prize for this idea! The first stole was sold on eBay and Carrot Top Studio then quickly swung into action! It's still fun to watch the excitement of the eBay auctions that we sell at least one stole through each week. 

Click here to see these auctions on eBay that close Thursday this week!

What is your favorite part in the process of making stoles for worship leaders?
The idea process is very invigorating--whether it's collaborating with a client on the idea, or researching  scripture for inspiration or stumbling upon a new thought and then working it out in the sketchbook.

What’s been your most popular item or line to date?
It's interesting to note that red stoles move most quickly through the inventory. That funny guy that I'm married to say's that they're red hot!

Something from the 'red collection! See the Pentecost stoles here and the Ordination stoles here.

What do you enjoy most about not having a traditional day job?
Hearing from a client that we've met their needs and helped in their ministry to connect the Word to the visual is always gratifying. And I must confess it's nice to have a short commute (walk down one flight of stairs from my kitchen to my studio!) And, oh yeah....no uniform or makeup required.

What’s the hardest part about running your own business?
Learning to balance it all. I'm the webmaster, artist, warehouse manager, accountant, research assistant, media specialist, marketing guru, cleaning crew, education consultant, shipping department, and last but not least seamstress. I have to make sure that artist and seamstress don't get lost in the shuffle because the rest can consume me!

This is Jenny Gallo ending this brief interview (with herself) with gratitude that I have work that I love to do. Thanks for your support clients, friends and family. 

Welcome the Children

Does your church kick off fall programming andnew Sunday School classes or celebrate Rally Day this weekend? This is the tradition in my home faith community. Therefore when I came across this scripture and painting it seemed right for the blog post this week. The passage is of course familiar.

Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then Jesus took a little child and put the child among them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." Mark 9:35-37

Emil Nolde, Christ Among the Children

The interpretation of this painting in Imaging the Word reads as follows: In this rather abstract painting from the early part of the twentieth century, Emil Nolde presents Jesus leaning toward eager, responsive children with his back to the viewer. The artist visually invites the observer into this joyous encounter. Adults are presented in the left and darker segment of the picture. It is they who have been preoccupied with an argument over who was greatest among them.

As you know, Carrot Top Studio is in the business of using the visual to make connections to the Word primarily in worship. But reading the above as made me think of the visual as our body language and postures also. The painting is a "joyous encounter". Do we enter into worship with this same visual joy? If we did/do it might be as contagious as it seems in the scene in the painting!

Fabric Fanatics

What makes you fanatical? When my children were little it was those little stuffed animals called beanie babies. They loved building a collection and searching for their favorite animals when they were in a new store. For my sister it is fall foliage. She lives in a part of the United States that most would consider absolutely gorgeous but come October she yearns for the gold, orange and red hues of the leaves, fields of pumpkins and the smell of the crisp air in the northeastern part of the United States. And me? Well I do confess that a chocolate shop can raise my blood pressure but so can a fabric store. You're not surprised are you? We were recently asked where we get our fabrics for the stoles at Carrot Top Studio. Here are a few examples of our many sources...

Commercial fabrics, like in this stole, are accentuated with hand painted details. The base blue of this stole is very common fabric from a national retailer. The border is specialty fabric purchased from an online quilt store.

It's exciting to be able to use fabric that supports ministries like this border fabric that is from the Congo Cloth Connection. Our purchase of this fabric supports a ministry of the Mennonite church where they believe "every stitch is a prayer" and which they build relationships with their brothers and sisters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We have used some of their fabric in a red stole here and this fall will debut one in green and one in purple.

We are slowly finding more resources for eco-friendly fabrics such as the tone on tone white background fabric of this labyrinth stole. Bamboo is a sustainable plant because it grows so quickly. We also like it because the texture is silky smooth.

Supporting other artists with our fabric purchases has been quite a privilege. We offer a line of stoles using hand dyed silk used in the appliques. The silk is dyed in LaCroix, Haiti by a delightful group of young women. Our purchase of the silk and in turn your purchase (we give 50% back) supports the women's education fund.

Lastly we haunt several different sources for vintage fabric. We consider this re-purposing of the fabric to be another earth friendly source that is good for our stoles and honors this world's creation by not allowing good fabric to end up in a landfill. We have several of these on the cutting table to add to our new fall inventory. We're also working on stoles created out of fair trade fabric. We dream of using a lot of fair trade fabric but we've sadly been challenged with finding resources that are affordable so we can keep our price point in a good spot for our clients. We'll keep searching for fabrics here and there. You can make sure to stay tuned to the website and our Facebook page to see what's new!

Inspiration from Tomie dePaola

We're drawing a close to summer here in Pittsburgh, PA where our studio is located. But this doesn't mean we can't sneak in some unstructured days that include reading just for fun. This weekend we breezed through Tomie dePaola: His Art and His Stories by Barbara Elleman. I used dePaola books when I was teaching and especially loved The Art Lesson because it expressed a lot of the sentiment as to why I became an art teacher. I am drawn to dePaola's illustrations, the well balanced artistic layouts and incredibly thought out details of the pages of his books. It was a lovely surprise and thrill to read in this biography that the artist briefly designed church vestments! 

 I additionally was drawn to this statement," In Books and Religion, writer Mary Zeman, an artist and educator interested int he spiritual growth of children, comments that [dePaola's] voice is that of a receptive man,whose approach to his work betrays what Thomas Merton once described as the willingness of saints 'to answer the secret voice of God calling--to take a risk and venture by faith outside the reassuring and protective limits of our five senses.'" This makes me think of worship, how we do it, see it, experience it, etc. I understand and embrace that the visual is just one component.

To make the reader aware of how symbols are important to this artist's work the author explains the possibly puzzling image of Mary, the mother of Jesus on one of dePaola's book jackets who is holding an apple. Of course this fruit is more typically associated with Eve in the Old Testament. Here it is appropriate as a symbol for the virgin Mary because it was her son who took away the curse of sin. The artist didn't originate this symbol as the apple was used this way in medieval paintings. But it is exciting to know that dePaola applies his knowledge of the past to encourage us to make visual connections today. Learning how dePaola is drawn to the history and use of religious symbols helps me to further understand why I have felt a connection and admiration to his work. I certainly don't have the artistic credibility of dePaola but I'd like to think that we put similar thought and credibility into the how and why we use symbols in our work at Carrot Top Studio. 

Signs and Symbols

This week's gospel lectionary text is John 6:24-35. Using signs and symbols is a great tool 
throughout the Bible and this is a story in which bread becomes "I am the bread of life", a symbol for Jesus Christ. Some symbols are important to the culture of the time but bread is still one we can relate to today. 


The lines and colors in this art make me think of the energy and fuel we receive from actually eating a loaf of bread but is also symbolic of the life we receive through Jesus Christ. We see similar images in our worship spaces including sheaves of wheat which is a reference to bread.

Bread of Life by Kennedy A Paizs

In the studio we too use the bread or wheat symbols whenever we can. For example on these two stoles...

Go here to see this ordination stole.

This Communion stole can be seen on the website here.

The teacher in me is always looking for connections and when I stumbled up this statement by Dietrich Bonhoeffer it seemed like a perfect sentiment to end this post with. He said, "The table fellowship of Christians implies obligation. It is our daily bread that we eat, not my own. We share our bread. Thus we are firmly bound to one another not only in the Spirit but in our whole physical being. The one bread that is given to our fellowship links us together in a firm covenant  Now none dares go hungry as long as another has bread, and anyone who breaks this fellowship of the physical life also breaks the fellowship of the Spirit."

Inspiration

Believe it or not, there is no rule book on how to run a small business creating ministry stoles and worship banners! So sometimes people ask, "where do you get your inspiration?" Honestly, it comes from a lot of places. Among the many sources of inspiration an example might be having observed a great color combination in nature on our daily walk and then feeling compelled to try to replicate it. Or it might be a piece of fabric stumbled upon in a fabric store, that nudges us to combine it with other fabrics and symbols for a new stole. Of course we also love visiting all different types of worship spaces as there is almost always something inspiring in the architecture, the liturgy or the message of the service. But last week you might have read on our Facebook page that we'd taken a field trip. This inspirational junket included a stop at our local art museum where Henri Matisse's The One Thousand and One Nights (seen below) was on display. 

The One Thousand and One Nights was created in 1950, when the artist was 81 and permanently confined to a wheelchair after complications from an intestinal operation severely weakened him. The artist was unable to sleep and found himself kept alive by his drive to create. This very large (5 1/2' x 12') beauty is inspirational to me because it tells a story with lines and shapes that seem so very carefree and expressive. It gives you a lot to think about through its simplicity. I appreciate that the color combinations and layers that are at times unique while breaking the rules of theory. Additionally if you examine the work closely you can see pencil lines and pin holes. Discovering the markings causes chills to run up and down my spine. It makes this man seem real as I grasp that Matisse had made a plan and then had felt it necessary to readjust. One lesson learned: we often think we know what the result needs to be in a project (art or otherwise) but we are wise to let the process transform the end result.  But what touches me the most is that Matisse felt the need to keep creating. He had been a painter but with his age and his ailments he had to reinvent how he created art. Paper and scissors allowed him this freedom of expression. This artwork is inspirational. It makes me want to design stoles that have bold flat shapes that tell a story. But inspiration and encouragement also come from the way the artist lived his life despite his challenges.