Papercut

Here is the wedding banner I was working on in the blog below - the wedding was wonderful, moving, and had many of us there determinedly holding back wild joyous sobs, as it was the 'happy second beginning' after long terribly rough times for both the bride and the groom. And the sun shone! - the only day it has for weeks before and ever since. What a cool wet summer we're having... those weaver birds were mistaken when building their nests so low (see previous post).
Anyway, after all that cutting, I haven't started my Christmas shopping - and it's our eldest's 27th (gulp) birthday tomorrow, and the house has spiralled down into chaos, so if I don't post for a while and anyone wanders into this blog, I wish you a very happy Christmas, Chanukkah or whatever it is you're celebrating - and a renewal of all your creative energy for the New Year!

Adorning the church

As December has suddenly lurched into reality, I've changed direction and focus once again to thinking about the 'adornment' of our church for Christmas. A friend is getting married there too in two weeks time, so I'm adding to the existing papercut hangings (which she and some other friendly hands helped me to cut some years ago) to make a wedding-theme banner to cover the bare back of the piano. The sketch above is work-in-progress - I am about to start the neck and shoulder straining task of cutting this morning. The motifs are basically of the Tree of Life, with God's hand reaching down as the roots, to the crossed hands of the man and woman within a circle/ring. On either side of the tree is a river, referring to Ephesians 5: 25- 33 about marriage, and I think I will add a wineflask or jug between the water and the vines as a reference to the wedding feast where Jesus turned the water into wine... never quite sure if my creative efforts are theologically sound, but so far noone has raised any objections!
I was inspired by the amazing work of Nancy Chinn, and her book 'Spaces for Spirit' to take the decoration of our little church beyond the usual candles and poinsettia - albeit on a much smaller scale. It is quite a commitment, and I do find it a little daunting to come up with new ideas for all the repeated seasons and festivals - pressures of The Artist in the congregation...