Inspired by New Orleans

Inspiration strikes in so many places. We were recently blessed with a long weekend in New Orleans where the inspiration seemed to be around every corner! What a vibrant, spirit filled city! We visited the oldest Catholic church in the country. it's history reflects all the different countries that have influenced this area. How about this beautiful anchor cross (right)? The symbol of hope is so appropriate for this city!

Additionally, music was around every corner. I actually don't know if I've ever experienced a place where the music was literally everywhere! What a joyful noise!

We took time to tour the Presbytere Louisiana State Museum. The exhibit "Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond" was informative and sobering. We learned so much more than what we recalled from watching the news from a distance when Katrina hit. It was very powerful and really made us think about the spirit of resilience. 

Although the entire exhibit was powerful and educational, the entryway really struck a chord. Hundreds of 'floating' glass bottles hang from the ceiling. They have messages curled up inside them. The artist, Mitchell Gaudet wants the viewer to feel as if they are bobbing up and down in the water. The bottles are protective vessels (of the messages) representing all of those that were touched by the water after Katrina. The bottles are interspersed with hands to represent the helpers. 

The magnolias were in bloom while we were visiting. These were yet another reminder of life as the blossoms screamed "look at the new growth" .... "it's beautiful!"

So upon our return we created a stole that encompasses some of these thoughts and impressions.  The new Ordinary Time stole in full, here! Here's a small detail--

Lent 2017: What We're Reading

I often have several books going at once and this Lent is no different. Here's what we're reading --

This Lent devotional/journal has been thought provoking. It's taken me to some places that aren't always comfortable. I appreciate that. And isn't that cover a lovely image? You can buy the art here. 

Pondering the art and writings in Lenten Meditations by James B. Janknegt has been a nice addition to my day. It uses Jesus's parables and I suspect it is a book I will return to over and over as the art is especially rich. 

And lastly my Bible study is working it's way through The Psalms for Today by Beth La Neel Tanner.  It's wasn't written specifically for Lent but I'm finding the understanding who God is through the Psalmist to be very fitting for a Lenten journey. And I must add that the questions at the end of each chapter are providing for good discussion.

Outside the Studio

We are just back from working in Haiti for a week. We remain grateful for your patience in shipping during times like this. I am finding the studio, our house and my life way too quiet. That's ironic as I'm a bit of an introvert and often crave quiet. In fact, creative inspiration often comes best to me in places of solitude such as a worship sanctuary, an art museum or a library. But what I think I'm actually missing is the rhythm and ritual of the sounds of Haiti. We wake to the guard unlocking the supply room that is below our bedroom, then the roosters begin to crow. Next the unique sound of the broom made from dried leaves scraping against the courtyard as the overnight fallen plant material is swept. The last of the morning sounds is the preschoolers running and enthusiastically cackling on their way to class. The rhythm of the sounds never fails. The predictability is comforting.

All this makes me think of the God given rhythm of work, rest and worship. With Jesus' life as a model for this we try to replicate it. So as I transition back into American ways this week I am reflecting on my life here. I obviously crave rhythm. And I am questioning how I am applying this to my walk with the Lord. It's always good to step outside of our "normal" as it gives us perspective. I remain thankful for our time in Haiti for this and many more reasons.
 

*photo-a Sabbath moment enjoying old and new friends after worship

Most of my work in Haiti this trip was focused on the library we started several years ago. Last week the book collection grew to 2950 books, I met the Haitian librarian and we formed a vision and plan for the use of the library at the mission school.It was fruitful and encouraging!

But what about the art? There are several artists on this team that are always looking for art projects to do with the students. This time was extra successful as a group of young men were introduced to bottle cap art. There is no trash collection in Haiti so things like bottle caps are found on the the ground in plentiful fashion. The boys hammered them into new shapes for keychains and necklaces. They were paid for their time and the items will be sold with the profits going back into the educational system at this school. New skills, free materials and money for education -- that's a win win!

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!.

Welcome, Welcome Jesus Christ!

We're getting closer! The season we long await will be upon us shortly. How do you mark the twelve joyful days of the Christmas season?

For me, I'm thinking of apples this year. We live in Michigan where the apple crop is an important part of the economy and extra delicous. When I was a school teacher I often received apple ornaments to hang on our family tree. Today I think  an apple is lovely hung on a tree or present in Christmas decorations to remind us of Adam and Eve. It is a visual reminder of the connection between the tree of knowledge and the tree of the cross.

But there are twelve days! What else? We've been blogging for ten years so we dug into our past posts to find ...

A Christmas craft here.
Tidbits about nativities we display here. 
A reason for Christmas bells here. 
A recipe here. 

Additionally how about sharing scripture readings, stories or poetry. We so rarely take the time outside of worship to read aloud to each other. Here is a prayer/poem that I am drawn to right now:

Welcome, welcome, Jesus Christ our infant savior,

baby who makes every birth holy.

May w , who like the shepherds

have witnessed in the stable a new kind of love,

return to our work with joy.

May we, for whom the heavens have opened 

to proclaim that God is with us,

we who have fed on living bread

and drunk the wine of heaven,

go out to be instruments of your peace, day by day.

A New Zealand Prayer Book

May your Christmas celebration be joyful!

Italy! You Inspired Us!

We recently had the pleasure of traveling through a bit of Italy. The amount of inspiration made our mind spin! That's a good thing though. Right? Showing you some pictures will help me describe this experience:

The symbol of the pomegranate as "the church" has always been intriguing to us. Apparently it was over a thousand years ago also! We spied it on the church of San Pietro in Bologna. This encourages our love of using symbols in our fiber art at Carrot Top Studio.

Day after day the attention to details were impressive. It was in the way food was plated. We experienced it in how purchases were wrapped by shop owners. And in the many churches we visited the details were just so immense. These photos are from some of the columns in the crypt in the Duomo in Modena. Each column had a different topper! The artists that have gone before us encourage me to stretch creatively in our attention to detail. 

This was a detail of a front door in Florence. Wow! The craftsmanship! And of course we're drawn to this favorite flower of ours, the sunflower. Artistically the sunflower is interesting as it can represent "the son" or as a reminder of worship as it has a habit of following the sun as it grows. 

In Modena we stepped out of our church and museum visiting schedule to experience the art of some of the foods of this area. One stop found us learning from a balsamic vinegar farmer. The process and time it takes to make this product was fascinating but it was most touching to hear about the barrels of vinegar that were labeled with names. It takes 25 years to make balsamic vinegar and you need a starter of completed vinegar to begin a new batch. The farmer starts a barrel each time a grandchild is born. This enables the child to have their own vinegar and also the possibility of creating new product and income. My take away? Family and tradition is valuable and patience to wait (25 years!) for a worthy products pays off. 

There was light. The candlelight. The light over the farm fields as the sun rose and set. The clever church architecture to allow for light before there was electricity. And the light in the personalities of the Italian people we met as they showed great hospitality. 

The icons and niches and faith symbols that were scattered everywhere. This Mary was on the island of Murano outside of Venice. The island is known for it's hand blown glass artists. Interesting to note that Mary is wearing beaded necklaces here! But seriously, coming home I've been looking for symbols and details and inspiration in my everyday paths. I am missing things like turning a corner and stumbling upon a Mary such as this.  

The old and new can combine successfully! The ruins of the Palatino are currently dotted with art by contemporary artists. It works. It made me think of coexistence and acceptance.

This is part of the 85,000 square feet of mosaics in St. Marks Basilica in Venice. Each one of the tiles is the size of a contact lens. Un-be-lievable! The artists have my utmost respect. 

And even the treats like gelato were inspirational. The colors, presentation and variety were simply (sweetly) sensational. 

And last but certainly not least I'm guessing most people don't visit Italy to go fabric shopping. But I'm always curious how it's done in other places. The stores were so pristine and tidy.

We could have stayed in Italy so much longer as we only scratched the surface of this lovely place with so much history. But we're back in the studio and trying to apply what we absorbed into our life. We'll let you know when this touches our art with new products on the website! 

Do You Know: The origin of the stole

The stole was first known as orarium a term derived from the Latin oro or "to pray." The change in name from orarion to stola took place in the ninth century but it wasn't until the 12th century that the new name "stole" became generally used. By the 16th century the stole had become a badge of the bishops, priest and deacons each of whom wore it over the shoulder in their own distinctive way.

The orarium was originally nine or ten feel long and a uniform two to three inches wide. We often worry about clergy that order Carrot Top Studio stoles that seem to be really long for fear that they'll trip going up the chancel steps. How did they walk while wearing these long stoles in the 12th century? In later years stoles were of a tapered shape and were sometimes finished with fringe or little bells. Pope Innocent III gave a religious significance to the stole, which was originally a secular garment, by calling it the "easy yoke of Christ."

At the end of the Middle Ages, the stole became altered to a shorter, wider shape with an excessive splaying at the ends. Today's trend of a narrower stole became current in the early part of the twentieth century. 

Today, in our studio, we see the stole to be a visual link to the Word. We thoughtfully move through the design process of choosing colors and symbols that might assist your ministry. And as the stole in throughout the ages, our stoles (and photography skills!) have evolved over the years. 

Left to right: Our first stole sold on eBay,
one of our first commissioned stoles, and the newest stole on our website.

*Thanks to Textile Art in the Church by Marion P. Ireland for this history

Rhythm: On the Ice and In Worship

I was recently with a friend in a store and we stumbled upon a toy zamboni. I recalled how when we moved to Pittsburgh and for the first time ever experienced life in a "hockey town." My son quickly fell in love with watching the work of the zamboni as it resurfaced the ice. I relayed the story and was thinking my precious child was unique. But my companion exclaimed, "who doesn't love the zamboni?!"

This caused me to reflect why? Time and time again the ritual is the same as the ice is scraped and then refreshed with clean water. We know what's going to happen. We understand the importance of the task so the skating can go on. Isn't this like worship? The rhythm imprints itself on us. We work at it over and over again. It allows us to be active with God. We are cleansed. We need it to happen.

I am thankful for the rhythm and ritual that God has modeled for us and called us to participate in. And therefore we enjoy creating products that honor the liturgical calendar. Rooted in history we cycle through the ritual of recalling and celebrating Jesus' life. There is a time for every season and this allows us the structure to honor our Lord and be refreshed in the rhythm over and over again. And like the zamboni we are all able to love this! Thank goodness.

PCUSA 222nd General Assembly: Co-Moderator Stoles

We were humbled to be commissioned to create the stoles for the co-moderators of the Presbyterian Church USA 222nd General Assembly. The design of this stole grew out of references to the host city of Portland and the GA theme “The Hope in Our Calling” (Ephesians 1:18.) After researching the host city and the theme scripture the process started with a sketch that was tweaked after obtaining the client's input. The first thing on the stole was the PCUSA seal. Starting here gives the stole life and allows us to best visually balance the imagery around it. Next we audition paper patterns of the symbols to make sure the scale is correct. Finally fabrics get chosen and then sewn onto the base fabric. 

Elements of the symbolism on these stoles include:

 Anchor cross - a traditional symbol for hope (it's on the tip of the back neck.)

Sun - an artistic reference to “the son” used because our faith manifested through the son (Jesus Christ) allows us to have hope.

Mt. Hood - a Portland landmark. Perhaps the sight of this mountain will remind others of Mount Sinai where we learned of the importance of obedience in our relationship with God.

Portland skyline - to recall the 222^nd GA location.

Fremont Bridge - Portland is known as the “City of Bridges.” The bridges make an impact on the landscape and allow for easy passage across the rivers. On this stole the bridge also symbolizes the bridging and coming together of the many ministries within Portland and in the greater PCUSA.

A river - Portland is located at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. A river is symbolic to us as Christians as it speaks to Baptism. When we see the river may we remember the covenant made at our Baptism which has led us to the “hope in our calling.”

The earth -the place where we currently are rooted. It is the world we are called to live and work in. The earth is also a symbol of creation care and environmental issues which are infamous in Portland.

The rose - “City of Roses” is one of the nicknames for Portland because of the rose festival and rose test garden. The rose on this stole is shown in growth stages to represent “growing hope.” It is also interesting to note that the rose was an early Christian symbol found in Roman catacombs where it denoted paradise.

It was wonderful to be able to take on the challenge of such a story all on one stole! We pray that our work is a wonderful visual tool for the co-moderators as they continue their ministry the next 104 weeks!

Book Review: The Whispering Cloth

Stories are told through art in so many different ways. We aim to create ministry stoles at Carrot Top Studio that are pieces of wearable fiber art that tell a story through their colors and symbols. When we read about the tradition of the Hmong people in Southwest China's story cloth we felt a connection to their artistry.

Our curiosity led us to finding this children's book, The Whispering Cloth written by Pegi Deitz Shea. The illustrations are unique because some are watercolors and others are photographs of actual embroidered story cloth. They were created by Anita Riggio and You Yang. The book follows the story of a young girl who works out painful memories of her childhood by creating art in her story cloth. She is slowly and carefully taught her skill by her grandmother. This is a book about survival of a resilient group of refugees. The main characters grandmother is an example of love and wisdom.

I'd recommend this book to anyone that works with refugees, is a refugee, or to be used as a story starter for an art project. Additionally I could see it used in lessons of learning compassion, patience and loving one another in a variety of educational settings. I remain grateful that God has given us art and visual connections to learn from, to remember by, and  to grow through.

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.

Visual Art in Worship

Byzantine Icon of the Cursing of the Fig Tree

Reportedly 40-60% of people learn visually. Several Sunday's ago I saw this live out in worship. My home congregation sometimes uses fine art on the bulletin cover to connect to the liturgy of the day. We happened to sit down behind a family with two young boys. As we all got situated, I realized the mother and one son were talking about the bulletin cover art. It took everything in me for my former art educator soul not to squeal with delight. Inside the cover is a brief description of the art. This was not written for a five year old but the mother was breaking it apart and the son was pointing out components of the visual and asking questions. 

Worship commenced and we all settled into the rhythm. But then the visual made a connection to the Word! The gospel was being read and the child in front of me heard the words "fig tree" and despite his wiggling and seemingly not paying attention he was making a connection and nudged his mother to affirm that he knew!  I wanted to do cartwheels down he aisle! Hooray for these parents for bringing their children to church. God bless them for not dumbing the experience down and including them as best as they could.  And thank you God for showing us in your Word many examples of visuals, color, and textiles being used to help teach us your story.

I have always maintained that visuals like the work we do at Carrot Top Studio aren't essential for a relationship with our Lord or for worship. But I am thankful we have them. 

Sharing: A New Commissioned Stole Is Complete!

We recently completed a stole for a seminarian preparing for Ordination. She sought a piece that would reflect where she lived and served in Peurto Rico.It was fun to start with her own sketch and photos. When I work on a stole like this it makes me appreciate the many years as a young woman that I studied watercolor painting. As a general rule when you use watercolors you start with what is furthest in the background and work your way forward. This is because once the paint is down it can't be removed and it is not easily gone over. The commissioned stoles that we do that are like "story stoles" with a lot of appliqued pieces need to be figured out in this logical type of sequencing. It's a bit of a puzzle in the beginning but with careful planning it comes together nicely. Interesting how one opportunity from your past prepares you for the future! We've just completed the sketch for another story stole. You'll hear more about that this summer. #PCUSA #GA222 (spoiler alert :))

*Note 1-we love learning new things (especially about plants and food) and were pleased to be introduced to the seagrapes that are the large leaf plant with the interesting, clustered fruit. 

*Note 2-we had special permission to use the PCUSA seal, this one time

Our Latest Christmas Design: History Repeats Itself

Artists often find images, shapes, motifs, or themes repeating in their work. Sometimes it's because you are intentionally working in a series and other times it's more subliminal and is just because it's who you are. Over a decade ago we created our second ever set of banners. They were for our home congregation in Pennsylvania for the season of Christmas. They were a joy because we shared the stitching with a team of church members. Well, funny story ... we thought we liked the design until we saw them hanging up. There was just something not quite right! It was too close to Christmas to make an adjustment so we made peace and let them be. The artist is their own worst critic after all! Low and behold we didn't make note of the needed adjustment and near Christmas time the next year when the banners were pulled out to be ironed in preparation of their hanging our hearts sank to see that we'd forgotten. But then our adrenaline started running and with seven days before their timely hanging we took them back to the studio, cut, patched, and restitched. Voila, they were much improved! I'm not sure anyone else noticed but my heart felt the design was much improved. And we're humbled that those banners are still used today.

Fourteen years later we revisited the stars of those banners in our latest Christmas stole. We hope the whimsical nature of these stars evoke the joy, giddiness, awe, and anticipation that must have been felt when all who were involved in seeking Him that first Christmas saw the sign they had been waiting so long for.

You may see the entire Christmas stole here. And know that our shipping policy remains the same as usual -- we ship within 24 hrs. of receiving your order via Priority mail. Priority during this busy season is typical 3 business days.

We remain grateful for your support of our art. Merry Christmas!

Fine Art in Church

Using fine art, not just clip art or graphic art can add to the meaning of worship or deepen our connection to our faith outside of worship. Below is a piece for upcoming Christ the King Sunday. It could be used on it's own but would be even better for the viewer if a few guiding questions were asked to help the thought process. For example:

• are you attracted to this work?
• what is it that holds your interest?
• does it remind you of anything? (a story, a memory, an idea?)
• what is your eye first drawn to?
• how do you think it was made?
• what do you know about the culture of the time the artist made this?
• do you recognize any symbols in this art?
• can you extend the scene? what might have happened right prior or after this moment?

Christ in Judgement from Sant'Angelo in Formis, Italy, circa 1100   

If you are new to using art in your church you would probably enjoy the Grunewald Guild Podcast on this subject here. 

The Time Is Coming, Jenny Gallo, 2015

Carrot Top Studio mostly focuses it's art on liturgical stoles. But on occasion we branch out into art for church galleries or banners in worship. This advent we have one set of such art (shown above) available here. It is also available as a download with text for use as a devotional here. 

Advent Devotional

Our Advent fiber art project is being sold as a digital, downloadable, devotional! It is available with blue or purple art--you're choice. It is on our website here.

     

The Time Is Coming was created in 2015 to support the Advent season scripture of the Lectionary (Year C). The art was created by Jenny Gallo of Carrot Top Studio and the text was written by Rev. Dawn Carlson who who ministers at First Congregational Church, Terre Haute, Indiana. The work was a collaboration intended for a church art gallery, a public space suitable for quiet meditation or a worship sanctuary. This downloadable devotional allows the singular viewer to use the art and text on their own during the Advent season. 

The download includes an image and text for each of the four weeks of Advent. The text lists the scripture for each week, provides insight to the scripture in addition to thought provoking commentary and questions for life application consideration. "Sharing is usually caring" but not in this situation ... Please respect the work that has gone into the project and only download one per user. 

Notes About Our Advent Art

We recently completed a series that that is available for use in an art gallery or worship space. It is available in blue as seen below and in purple as seen here. Each fiber art panel is 15 x 36" and is accompanied by the writing of Rev. Dawn Carlson. The writing is meant to guide the viewer through a quiet, meditative experience while observing the art during Advent. The scripture references are from the Lectionary (Year C).  

The Time Is Coming 

This is what we were thinking about when designing each panel (numbered left to right)--

1-A Time to Watch 

(Jeremiah 33:14-16  •  Psalm 25:1-10  •  1 Thessalonians 3:9-13  •  Luke 21:25-36)

Time and rhythm and cycles are represented by the big circle.

The righteous branch is the branch.

The swirls reference staying alert, activeness and energy.

The curved line at the bottom is a calling to wonder "what are you still waiting to see?"

2-A Time to Think

(Baruch 5:1-9 or Malachi 3:1-4  •  Luke 1:68-79  •  Philippians 1:3-11  •  Luke 3:1-6)

The big circle is the messenger.

Light into darkness is around the big circle.

Peace is represented by the laurel branch.

The empty space symbolizes the wonderment of "where do we look for messengers?"

3-A Time to Come Home

(Zephaniah 3:14-20  •  Isaiah 12:2-6  •  Philippians 4:4-7  •  Luke 3:7-18)

The waves symbolize drawing water from the well and Baptism.

The large circle is restoration.

The small circles are rejoicing, expectation and/or wheat chaff.

4-A Time to Sing

(Micah 5:2-5a  •  Luke 1:46b-55 or Psalm 80:1-7  •  Hebrews 10:5-10  •  Luke 1:39-45, (46-55))

The large circle says "here I am" or is symbolic of the womb or being filled with the Spirit.

The small circles are the flock.

Hope you may meditate on this work and find even more meaning beyond our original intention.

Advent: Worship Banner/Fiber Art for Gallery Display

Last spring we became interested in exploring a collaboration that allowed us to create art with that had accompanying written work. We were thrilled that Rev. Dawn Carlson was willing to work with us and share her gift of insight and writing. (You'll love her bio at the end of this post!) The studying of the scripture, the focusing on key words and phrases, and the sketching led to two sets of four piece art. One is in purple and one is in blue (scroll down to see the blue). They are intended to be used in an art gallery. But they certainly could be used in a worship space individually or all together. Each of the four pieces is 15 x 36". In several weeks we will add ministry stoles that coordinate with this art to our website.

Read more about the purple Advent banners here.

The process we walked through looked a little like this:

We sketched:

We explored new techniques:

These pieces will be offered in the near future on our website here.

We gathered supplies and stitched:

Thanks for helping with the ironing mom!

We ended up with two sets of art, and here is the blue one:

Read more about the blue Advent banners here.

The work can be read about and seen in greater detail on our website here.

A little about our collaborator... The "Rev. Dawn", as her congregation affectionately calls her, ministers at First Congregational Church (NACCC) in Terre Haute, Indiana, is a second career minister having spent another lifetime in education and special needs program development. She laughs that it all gave her amazingly useful skills for the ministry. Clearly, teaching middle school provides just what one needs for working with church boards and national committees and councils.  A native of south Texas, Dawn lives with her husband, John Kraft, along the western edge of Eastern Time where they enjoy reading, writing and shared devotion to baseball.  Dawn notes that her greatest teacher, aside from her 94 year old biblical scholar mom, is her 30 year old son, Alex, who has autism, a great sense of humor and teaches her daily about unconditional love.  Devoted to her diverse church family, Dawn enjoys planning themes for the church year and the varied writing opportunity it affords her – sermons, devotionals, and Bible studies.  Someday, however, she’ll return to her unfinished novel – about the retired CIA officer who pastors a Congregational church.

We loved working with you Rev. Dawn! 

Thanks for giving a bit of your summer for this project!

Next blog post will artistically dissect each panel based upon our inspiration.

Endings and Beginnings

If you follow us on all of our social media outlets or read our blog posts you might know that this summer has been a little different for us. We are so thankful for your patience if we've had to delay a commission or a shipment. My father's battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma ended on Friday, August 21st. I was humbled to be with my mom and sister and brother while my dad journeyed through his last days in hospice. I have said good bye to other people in my lifetime but I learned so much more in this intimate experience. I have before recognized the circle of life but this walk took me further. I was especially touched by the death process having so many similarities to the birth process. It's hard work at times. There are rewards. There is a great roller coaster of emotion. It helps me to write and remember so here are a few more things that came to my mind during the last few weeks--

One of the ways Dad supported me as an adult,
was to embrace the ministries my family stood behind.
This picture was taken prior to a benefit for The Open Door  .

What I have been holding onto are memories of my dad doing simple, quiet, yet meaningful things. Such as:

• Getting on the floor with me as a child to build blocks,

• Taking me, as a preteen, out on the sailboat after his already full day at the office,

• Mailing me articles about artists and museums that he thought might interest me as I was studying to be an art teacher,

• Stopping at our house to shoot hoops (in a suit) with his grandchildren when he was passing through the town that I lived in,

• Teaching men math so they could move forward professionally out of a transitional time in their life,

• Using a hammer to build a house for someone that had never had an opportunity to be a homeowner.

• Or making sure his bird feeders were always full.

Equally important he modeled being involved in the life of his church family. This was part of my growing up years and as an adult it was the center of many conversations.  I will miss being in his presence. We could just sit and be together and that was good. I am thankful that he is no longer sick but anticipate (God willing) seeing him in the place where everything is made new.

So now my family moves on. My mom will learn a new way of life. We will all look for ways to keep dad's memory alive for the generations to come. We will try to honor God by mimicking the activities of this good and faithful servant. I am feeling blessed to have had a dad that I can say that about.