backyard mosaic women's project (growing in community)
st. john's church
our presence at st. john’s since 2010 has meant being part of an amazing church and community. project respect, off the square club, porchlight outreach assistance and various recovery groups share our building along with the members of this congregation. when we were invited here in 2010, bonnie block, an inveterate activist was our connection person. our first request was to repair the broken planter in the entryway. we began to meet with the people to discover how they felt about this place and develop their feelings in images:
the elements of earth, fire, water & air began to surface.
we replaced the broken tiles with a mosaic vine.
it grew out of a seed in the center of the multicolored
hands of earth, also seen in the prayer bowl
& the welcome signs over the front doors.
the fire reflects the story of Pentecost.
water is a symbol of lutheran baptism.
the wind is referred to in the christian scriptures
as the breath of god.
the vine becomes an image of growth & journey.
all are welcome, day & night!
with the donation of 3 weaving looms, a weaving was hung.
the children of the sunday learning place
designed the flowers. beauty.
our garden, with plants from the horticulture program at oakhill correctional, continues to attract attention. we collaborate with the youth forum to create this beautiful garden, in which, we have a mix of edibles & decoratives, annuals & perennials. in the narthex, the entry way to the church, we added welcoming images inspired by the entire st. john's community.
we now have two connected studio spaces dedicated to mosaics and weaving. our current mosaic work includes mandalas reflecting our place in creation to be installed as stepping stones in our woodland restoration project and a mosaic bench at our entrance, as a welcome to the building and community.
our current weaving work includes cloth napkins, jail tapestry, the peace weaving project & smaller looms for individual work. in 2014 we were gifted with a large floor loom that has been dedicated to those who are affected by issues of human trafficking. currently a banner for our project is being woven and this year we will begin a rainbow stole collaboration. we welcome yarns that are sustainably and ethically produced such as wool, silk, organic linen & cotton.
our project is about growing community, not necessarily creating great art. that is a wonderful by-product…great art growing out of loving community.