Christian Bereavement Card

Recently, a good friend of mine finally lost her battle with cancer and passed away at her home, surrounded by her family. She was so young and full of life, and was a wonderful Christian believer, as are her husband and two children – in fact I was privileged a number of years ago to witness the whole family being baptised together. She and her husband were part of my Bible study group for several years, and we had many wonderful times of fellowship together.

I needed to make a very special card for this very special family, and have given it some considerable thought and prayer. For Christians, although the loss of a loved one through death affects us as much as it does non-Christians, and we have to go through exactly the same grieving process, the Bible gives us hope of everlasting life, and reunion with those we have lost, and I wanted to reflect both these aspects in my card.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 says, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”

One of the songs we used to sing together was “We will dance on the streets that are golden” – a picture of the heavenly Jerusalem, and I decided to use this as the theme for my card.

The first step was to make the golden pavement and draw a dancing figure on a piece of recycled watercolour paper. (This drawing was adapted from an image I found online.)

The golden pavement was made from a piece of gold mirror card. I drew some perspective lines on the back and then hand-embossed the card from the back with a large embossing tool, and picked out the lines between the paving stones with a smaller embossing tool from the front, working on a piece of fun foam. I outlined the drawing with a waterproof black marker pen and then added some colour with my Derwent Inktense Pencils, blending them with a water brush.

The next step was to cut out the dancer. Here is a mock-up on the white base card.

I then began work on the drawing on the base card, to form a “Heavenly City” background. I added a few Zentangles, notably “Float Fest” to give the suggestion of more domes extending into the far distance, and began colouring it with Inktense pencils as before.

At this point I got a bit carried away and forgot to stop and take any photos! The next photo shows the finished card front, complete with an emerald rainbow (as described as being around the throne of God in the Book of Revelation), and the addition of little spots of Stickles glitter glue in various colours to represent the jewelled foundations of the Heavenly City showing through the transparent gold paving. I also made a separate banner from the recycled watercolour paper, with the words “Dancing on the streets that are golden” and stuck this down. For the banner and for the dancer, I used Scotch Quick Dry adhesive, which is a good strong wet glue. As usual, the photo doesn’t do justice to the golden, glittery effect!

As this is a bereavement card and I wanted to convey my feelings for their loss, the front of the card needed to reflect this, and although the above shows my friend in glory, free at last from all pain, and carries the hope of reunion in the life to come, the present also needs to be addressed.

I decided to make an overlay from translucent parchment paper with a message on it, but through which you could just glimpse what was beyond. Looking through my stash, I was delighted to find some parchment that I had printed for another project, and made the mistake of not choosing the “borderless” option on my printer, which left an unprinted border, so I couldn’t use it. It is fine for this project, though, as I had already decided to make a paper border to cut out and stick down around the edge of the parchment, which will cover this unprinted part. You can see that it is a subtle blue colour with some butterflies on it.

Working on the border. I chose a piece of A4 100 gsm copy paper which has a lovely smooth finish, and folded it in half. The back could be cut away to leave a small amount to stick down onto the back of the base card and form a hinge, and this would also hold the parchment piece in place. Again, I used my waterproof black marker pen to create a text border. I chose a verse from one of my favourite hymns, which we had for Dad’s funeral last December, “Teach me, my God and King” by George Herbert. The verse I chose is as follows:

A man that looks on glass,

On it may stay his eye;

Or if he pleaseth, through it pass,

And then the heaven espy.

This is so appropriate for the situation! We can look at our circumstances and our loss, and we can also look through it, and see the hope and beauty beyond. The parchment paper can act as the “glass” which we can look at, or we can see, “through a glass dimly” as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, the golden bejewelled image beyond; and in our case, we can also turn the page and see it in its full glory.

In the next photo I am working on the border. Between each of the words I have used a tiny drop of bisque Liquid Pearls – this stuff is gorgeous!

Here is the finished border. At this stage I had not yet applied any distress ink because I was waiting for the Liquid Pearls are dry. The next step would be to cut out the middle, and stick it down onto the parchment, and then create some slips of paper with some Bible verses on them.

Here is the text border complete, having been distressed with Old Paper Distress Ink, using an Inkylicious Ink Duster – these large soft brushes are ideal for this kind of thing because they are so gentle and do not snag the edge of the paper. Laid on top is one of the text pieces that would be attached to the parchment overlay.

Here is the parchment overlay with the first text, which I have hand-written direct onto the parchment, and the other cut-out piece ready to stick down.

For the main text across the centre of the overlay, I spent some considerable time selecting and cutting out a series of letters from magazines and newspapers (like a ransom demand!) and arranged them into words. In this picture I am beginning to cut the words out. I was quite pleased with the result because the letters added a bit of colour to the front of the card.

Here are the words stuck down onto the parchment overlay. I used 3M spray photo adhesive – a recommendation I found online – but it wasn’t easy to get the pieces to stick initially, and once the glue was dry, I had to apply a small amount of Scotch Quick Dry adhesive with a cocktail stick to make sure each piece was securely adhered. Parchment paper can be quite difficult to deal with.

Here is the parchment overlay together with the text frame, both of which have now been trimmed down the left side, ready to apply to the base card.

On the inside of the card, I wrote the Aaronic Blessing from Numbers chapter 6, and afterwards embellished it with some more bisque Liquid Pearls, and wrote the greeting on the other side. Having thought long and hard about what text to add to this card, in the end I felt that the Bible said it better than I ever could!

I attached the text frame to the parchment overlay with 3M photo adhesive spray, and this was attached to the base card using the red-backed ultra-sticky double sided tape.

Here is the completed card. You can see the golden picture underneath the parchment overlay. You can see that I have also added some embellishment with a black marker pen around the cut-out words, directly onto the parchment paper, to give the design more cohesion and to link this central text with that at the top and bottom of the card.

The finished card with the overlay turned back. I wish the photo did the gold pavement and the Stickles better justice, as it is very shiny and sparkly.

I feel very privileged to have had this lady as my friend. She was such fun, and so full of life, and had such a strong faith. She and her husband brought up their two children in the love and fear of the Lord, and they are now being launched into the world in their chosen professions, well equipped to be good citizens, and to cope with everything that life will throw at them, with God’s help. My love and prayers go with them all.

WOYWW 272

For info on how to join in the world’s most famous (notorious?) nosey fest where we bare all where our creative desks are concerned, click on the WOYWW logo in my sidebar, and this will take you to our hostess Julia’s blog, and she will explain everything. Health Warning: it is highly addictive!!

As for my desk this week, I am in the middle of a rather special card project – a bereavement card. These are always rather difficult to do, as we all know, and this one is for the family of a friend of mine who died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. I am in the middle of composing a blog post about the making of the card so I won’t go into a lot of detail here, but if you are interested, watch this space, and I’ll be uploading it in a day or two. It is a Christian card and I want to reflect the two aspects of any Christian death – the natural bereavement and loss, and the certain knowledge that the deceased person has gone to be with the Lord Jesus in glory.

Taking a leaf out of Helen Allen’s book and doing something “bejewelled” – I recently rose to her challenge to follow her example and make my own version of her “Bejewelled Card” – I with this current card, have again stepped somewhat out of my comfort zone and have gone all blingy again, and enjoyed selecting lots of different Stickles! The bottom half of the card looks very dark on the photo, but it’s actually gold mirror card.

I’m afraid the rest of my desk is pretty much as it was last week, even down to the same dirty paint water! (I wonder how many weeks I can leave that there before I’m no longer nice to be near…)

To the right of the bereavement card is the teabag stain/Zentangle thank you card which I made last week.

My hubby took Mum to the surgery again today, and the warfarin hasn’t made any difference to her blood so they have had to increase the dose. They also re-dressed the wound on her arm where Phoebe scratched her two weeks ago, and although it isn’t infected (the course of antibiotics she was on has obviously done the trick), it hasn’t healed at all… Her skin is very poor at aged 93. She is having the dressing changed regularly so they will keep a good eye on it. My poor hubby spends his entire time since his retirement ferrying one or other of us to the hospital or surgery, and picking up prescriptions – he is also having to take himself off to the dentist tomorrow to have a collapsed tooth extracted – as it’s at the back and not visible, we decided this was a better option than having to fork out goodness knows how much for a crown!! (He has a crown in my opinion anyway because he’s so wonderful!!) And now Beatrice is off her food again and losing weight… He will have to take her back to the vet. She may have another urinary tract infection. All this never seems to ease up, and I really want him to have a bit of a break so he can enjoy his retirement!!!

Have a great week, everyone, full of inspiration and creativity. Happy WOYWW!

Salisbury and Cotswolds Holiday Day 3–Salisbury Cathedral

Warning – Picture rich post! Also includes some more art!

I am uploading this on Monday 16th, as I was too tired and it was too late last night to start trying to get connected to the Internet for the first time in our new holiday venue, but I’ve kept the date of the post correct, i.e. Sunday 15th June.

This morning my hubby and I went to a service at Salisbury Cathedral. Today was a special day for me because it was my father’s birthday. Had he lived, he would be 91 today. We saw and did such wonderful things today and I know he would have loved them all. The service was almost like a memorial for him and I felt incredibly close to him.

On the way into Salisbury we got a bit lost, because the road we wanted to follow was closed all day. In our meanderings we found this old mill (now a hotel) at Harnham.

Today was Trinity Sunday in the Anglican church, and the contents of the service reflected this festival. I grew up in the Anglican choral church tradition and I always enjoy attending Cathedral services where the music is consistently excellent, and the traditional forms are followed. We began the service with a terrific sing – St. Patrick’s Breastplate - which is a marvellous old hymn – an affirmation of faith sung to what I call a really good strong, solid tune in a minor key. I was delighted by the sermon – most people try to explain the Trinity (unexplainable) with such metaphors as 3-leaf clovers, 3 bits of mercury in a dish running together into one, etc. but this man described the members of the Trinity doing a dance – the Dashing White Sargent! What a delightful picture!!

When we arrived, we were guided to a place where my wheelchair would not be in the way, and with my hubby beside me. We were told that another wheelchair user regularly attended, and I was placed next to his space.

When my hubby and I were married 28 years ago, we were married by a bishop with whom my hubby had close associations. When this man retired, he became a Benedictine monk and lived in an abbey. In recent years, their numbers diminished to four, and they closed the abbey and moved to Salisbury. My hubby had every intention of looking him up while we were here, but who should arrive to take up the wheelchair space but this man himself, using a mobility scooter! He is now 90 years of age, and was delighted to meet up with us in this way.

After the service, we had coffee, and who should turn up but my lovely teacher from yesterday! She is a regular attendee at the Cathedral and everyone I spoke to lit up at the mention of her name, and said what a wonderful lady she is.

For several years it has been my dream to see the new font in Salisbury Cathedral. The commission was won by one of my favourite sculptors – William Pye, who specialises in water sculpture. Visit his website and see the amazing things he does – his command of his medium is absolute, and he creates wonders with vortices and other water effects. His cathedral font is an outstanding work of art, and exquisitely beautiful, and absolutely in keeping with its surroundings. I am always impressed how quality works of modern art blend in so well in ancient surroundings like this.

The font consists of a large container filled absolutely to the brim with water, which is pumped up into the centre, and flows out through four spouts at the corners.

It is basically diamond-shaped, with curved insets where the officiating minister can stand to conduct the baptism ceremony. In each of these curved recesses is a phrase from a beautiful passage from the Book of Isaiah – I have created a photo montage of these, and they read from top left to bottom right.

Because the water flows so gently into the bottom of the font, it creates no discernable currents or disturbance on the surface of the water, which has a glassy, mirror-like appearance. This reflects beautifully the mediaeval vaulted roof of the Cathedral.

In a way, the reflection becomes part of the sculpture itself, and there is a melding of modern and mediaeval to create an entirely new form.

Here is one of the corner spouts. I love how the reflection is distorted as the water begins to flow over the curved lip.

The stream of water from each spout lands in a hole in the floor, filled with some sort of fibrous matting to prevent splashing and to reduce the noise. It is very quiet, but apparently they turn off the pump during concerts as there is some sound generated.

The interesting combination of straight lines and curves around the rim. I love the elegant curve from floor to spout at each corner.

For me, this is an intensely pleasing structure whose shape changes as it is viewed from different angles. The mirrored surface of the water and the spouts with their streams of water are quite compelling.

One of the Cathedral stewards told me a very amusing anecdote about the font (not so amusing for the person involved, though!). A Japanese party was being shown round the Cathedral, and one man thought the absolutely flat, undisturbed surface of the water was solid glass, and he put his camera down on it!!!

My hubby and I moved around the Cathedral, finding different things of interest. He found this delightful memorial to a young man killed in WW1 – no status or rank is given – just the excellent character of a very special young man. A touching memorial indeed.

This magnificent copper and brass memorial is to members of the Wiltshire Regiment slain in the Boer War in South Africa.

A goldwork embroidered banner depicting the Cathedral, and the words “Sursum Corda” – “Lift up your hearts.”

The stained glass windows in one of the transepts.

Beyond the high altar at the extreme eastern end of the Cathedral was a temporary installation by the sculptor Nicholas Pope. Last Sunday was Pentecost, the festival when the Church celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus, manifest by the sound of a rushing mighty wind, and divided tongues of flame alighting on the heads of each disciple. In this work, the disciples are depicted by large abstract terracotta figures, every one different, representing the diverse characters and occupations of the men Jesus chose to follow Him and to found His Church, and each figure is topped by a burnished disc of metal, in front of which is a lighted oil lamp. A recorded voice-over completes the installation, reading the relevant passage from the second chapter of the Book of Acts. It is an extremely impressive piece of art, and we were very glad to be there during the short time that it will be on display in the Cathedral.

I was keen to show my hubby the ancient tomb of St. Osmund, which so impressed me when I attended the Cathedral as a child. Originally this tomb was topped by an elaborate carved and painted wooden structure but this was destroyed (probably during the Reformation) and all that remains is the plain stone sarcophagus. What makes it unique is the perforated sides. There was a legend that the bones of the saint possessed healing qualities, and the sick and maimed would place their diseased limbs through the holes, to be closer to the relic. This made a huge impression on me as an 11-year-old!

The Prisoner of Conscience candle.

A modern stone carving. Could make an interesting Zentangle, perhaps?

Another interesting memorial plaque, this time surrounded by a beautiful gold mosaic.

The carved doors into the vestry.

In a side chapel we found an altar dedicated to St. Laurence, who apparently met his end in a most unpleasant manner – being burnt alive on an iron griddle!

The beautiful altar frontal, made with a combination of patchwork and embroidery, suggests this horrifying event very strongly. The first barbecued saint?

An ancient weather vane and the iron cross which were once on the top of the Cathedral spire. Salisbury Cathedral has the tallest spire in England. To replace the lights on the top, someone has to climb up a succession of worn stone steps, and then wooden ladders as the space inside the spire becomes ever more constricted, until there is no longer room for a man to fit, at which point the poor fellow has to open a little door and climb the last stretch on the outside!! Rather him than me.

In another side chapel was a veritable treasure trove. Firstly, this glass prism in memory of the artist Rex Whistler. It is a triangular prism with scenes of the Cathedral engraved on it, and it revolves slowly in its glass case, and the scenes transform one into another. It is absolutely beautiful.

Here are the three faces as the prism revolves. You can see that it is lit from within the glass case, and it positively glows.

Beside it was this curious prayer desk with oak trees on the top!

Here’s a detail of one of the oak trees. Beautiful wood carving.

There was an altar frontal propped against the wall, depicting a chalice surrounded by the crown of thorns which Jesus was forced to wear at His crucifixion.

Here is a close up of the focal point. The embroidery is quite wonderful.

The ancient cope chest. A cope is a large cloak, worn by the clergy for many centuries. It is semi-circular when laid flat, but hangs in folds when worn, and is secured across the chest by a fabric strip which is usually as richly embroidered as the cope itself. If you look carefully you can see a photo on the chest of someone wearing one.

Leaving the main building, we walked through the cloisters. This is a covered walkway surrounding a central grassed courtyard.

The Chapter House, where for centuries the clerical staff of the Cathedral have held their meetings and assemblies, houses one of several original copies of the Magna Carta (the very basis of English Law, so an extremely important document, not just for England, but for all those nations who have adopted our legal system). When we first went in, I took a couple of photos of the magnificent roof, before a guide politely asked me not to take photos – in addition to the ancient document, the silver treasures of the Cathedral are stored in the Chapter House, and photography is not permitted for security and insurance reasons.

The roof is supported by a single central pillar, from which burst like a fountain, a series of ribbed vaults which then divide for the windows. It’s absolutely exuberant! Here’s a detail of some of the rib work, which has also been embellished.

I was very sad not to be able to take further photos, because around the walls, just above the panelling and below the windows, is a frieze of mediaeval stone carving around the entire room, depicting scenes from the Books of Genesis and Exodus at the beginning of the Bible. These are quite charmingly executed and often quite humorous. Edward Rutherfurd’s mammoth historical novel about Salisbury, “Sarum,” devotes a whole section to the building of the Cathedral and the Chapter House, weaving a tale of jealousy, spite and violence around the carving of these little figures. I must read it again!

By this time we were both getting very hungry, and found a wonderful Italian restaurant for a late lunch. After this we had a little wander around the centre of the city (doing what my hubby calls “sploring”) and to my delight we stumbled across one of the city’s ancient churches, St. Thomas’ Church. We used to go there occasionally from school, and it is very unusual in that it contains a “Doom” painting which depicts Christ in glory at the centre, and the dead being raised at the Last Judgement, and the righteous being guided by angels to heavenly bliss, while the less than righteous are cast down into hell to be eaten by monsters and tormented by demons. The pictures are extremely graphic, and to an almost totally illiterate mediaeval population, were enough to instil the fear of hellfire and damnation into the most saintly individual!

It is a miracle that it survived. At one time, all our ancient churches would have been covered with brightly coloured wall paintings depicting the saints and scenes from the Bible, but with the Reformation these were considered to be idolatrous and Popish, and nearly all of them were destroyed. At St. Thomas’ the Doom was apparently whitewashed over and covered with boards and managed to survive the ravages of Henry VIII’s soldiers, and later, the Protector Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan army during the English Civil War.

Here is a detail showing Christ in glory, seated in judgement. He appears to be sitting on one rainbow and resting his feet on another! He is surrounded by various saints and angels. You can see above, a portion of the roof with its vibrant painted colours. Most painted carving in churches has been stripped bare, and it is a joy to see how rich the original must have been.

A detail showing the angels guiding the righteous up out of their tombs. They are all naked, but if you look closely you can see that one of them is wearing a bishop’s mitre – although he doesn’t have a stitch on his body!!! On the other side, it is amusing to note that there are several bishops and kings being thrust down into the maws of demons in hell! The populace were being forcibly reminded that power and position in this world are no guarantee of a decent place in the next.

St. Thomas’ Church is one of a few churches with a surviving angel roof. Perhaps the height of this particular roof deterred Henry VIII’s soldiers from climbing up and pulling down the angels!

After this we left Salisbury and made our way towards the Cotswolds, where we will spend the rest of our holiday. On the journey we stopped to photograph this beautiful house.