Creation Banners: Artist Statement
The United Church of Canada designates a few weeks in September/early October as “Creation time” — a period in the liturgical year when we reflect on our relationship to the natural world — both our deep and rightful connection with nature, and our human history of wrongfully dominating and exploiting it. Introduced in 2010, Creation Time is new in church history terms, and the church I attend, Crescent Fort Rouge United, did not have hangings specific to this season. Some months ago I offered to take a crack at designing something. We wanted something that would be suitable for a worship space, but would not “scream” church, because our building is also frequently used as a secular performance space by choirs and other musical and theatrical groups, and some of the hangings would remain up throughout the week. In my research about the symbolism of the season of Creation Time, I noted the predominant colour associated with the season is orange, and a key symbol is the Tree of Life. I incorporated these symbols into a design in which I sought to evoke an autumn day with the sun shining down on falling leaves. I included bits of greenery as a reminder that even in times of ending, growth and life still endure.
The banners consist of two long banners that hang on either side of the central organ pipes, a front piece for the communion table, and a hanging for the lectern. They had their debut in the Sunday service on September 7, 2025.
Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, Winnipeg, MB
The four banners are constructed with over 1000 Half Square Triangles. Thankfully, there was a collaborative component to this project, and I had the help of six people from the congregation who volunteered to sew eight-at-a-time sets of HSTs for me. I pre-cut the large starting squares and handed them out in kits with an instruction sheet at the end of June. i also offered a brief workshop for anyone who wanted that support. My kits came back to me in the form of tidy stacks of 3.5 inch HSTs, the last of which I gathered up shortly after returning from my holiday in the last week of August.
I opted to use flannel instead of batting for the middle layer for a thinner finish. I quilted just the top and the flannel together, and then used a “pillowcase” technique to attach the batting. This meant I didn’t need to add a separate binding, which kept the edges clean and saved time. The backs are never seen when they are hanging, so it doesn’t matter that the backing isn’t quilted.
In keeping with the Creation time message about our responsibility to be in a good relationship with the natural world, these hangings were constructed entirely from secondhand fabric, some of which I had in my “stash,” much of which was recently donated to me by another quilter from the congregation. For the backing I found some cotton bedsheets in pristine condition at my local Goodwill. The flannel filling came in the form of flannel sheets, also from Goodwill. It turned out I even had on hand the Velcro needed to secure the hangings in place, so in the end no new materials were purchased. This aspect of the project was very satisfying — it is the largest project I have undertaken since challenging myself not to purchase new fabric.
Crescent Fort Rouge United is a church that celebrates the work of artists, and as a community views art an important part or our spiritual experience and expression. As an artist, I view the creation of these banners as a form of worship.