|
|
Temple Commemorative Quilt Project 2005The concept of a temple-wide quilt project was born of a visit to a museum quilt display. One hundred quilts were made by handcraft artists from Japan, using traditional as well as modern styles. This inspired a group of women from the Venice Fujinkai to explore the possibility of making a commemorative Venice Hongwanji quilt, to coincide with the 45th anniversaries of the Bukkyokai and Fujinkai, as well as the 50th anniversary of Venice Dharma School. The Venice Fujinkai organization eagerly embraced the project and invited all temple organizations, members and Friends in Dharma to participate in this most energetic project. The first temple-wide quilt organizational meeting was held on Sunday June 27, 2004. One goal of the project is to involve as many members as possible, from artists and photographers to fabric handcrafters. A second goal is to have the contributions visualize our "warm and friendly" temple. Our third goal is to have a variety of fabric art (appliqué, needlepoint, embroidery, photo-transfer, fabric painting, etc.), reflecting the diverse composition of our temple family. The basic template of the quilt follows the pattern of the Jodo Shinshu priest's shichijo kesa. The quilt is made up of twenty-one blocks, separated by vertical and horizontal interior borders and edged with an exterior border. The reason for this block pattern is because the kesa, patterned after the original monk's clothes from Sakyamuni Buddha's time, was originally fashioned from remnants of fabrics. In describing the strength of the garment, the Buddha is said to have told his followers that the horizontal stitching alone is not as strong as a garment that also has vertical stitches. In this description, the Buddha likened the horizontal stitches to the relationships we keep-for example, family and friends-and the vertical stitches represent the Dharma. This vertical stitch is where "sutra" gets its name. In picking the shichijo as the template for the quilt, the horizontal stitches represent the various organizations of the temple, and the temple family we keep here. The vertical stitches represent the Onenbutsu that unites us as the Venice Hongwanji. To further highlight this meaning of the quilt, the temple is currently in the process of seeking donations of used kesa from each of the ministers who have served at the Venice Hongwanji to help make the borders of the quilt. All of the temple organizations as well as individuals and groups have "adopted" the twenty-one blocks in the quilt. An on-going progressive model of the quilt will be displayed at the temple. Unbleached muslin will be provided as the basic background material from which to create the individual blocks. This will provide consistency in color, weight, and texture to the completed piece. The composition of each block will be unique and represent either the organization and or/its affiliation with the temple or Jodo Shinshu traditions. A monetary donation box has been established for token contributions to cover miscellaneous project expenses. It has been anticipated that the cost of materials will be minimal, but that the priceless value of the quilt will be in its visual reflections of the many contributors. The tentative schedule for the temple commemorative quilt project is as follows:
Anyone interested in contributing to this memorable project should contact the temple at 310-391-4351 and leave a message for any of the following:
|
