"...and there was Light"

This amazing project has been one of my very favorites. A friend of mine from my theatre days at Texas Woman's University is now the pastor at Broadway Presbyterian Church (BPC) in New York City.  He contacted me a couple of months ago and wanted to commission a very large banner to be unveiled on Easter morning. I was thrilled and a little scared at the prospect of doing something so large that would be such a focal point on such a special day.  Easter is one of the most attended Sundays at churches all over the country and this was supposed to be a special part of that day.  The main challenge was the sheer size. Everything becomes more complicated.  The patterning (especially since my design involved long lines, large pieces and lots of curves), the piecing, and mostly the quilting.  I decided to eliminate any batting because it would not really make a difference in the look and it would add a lot of cost and weight. This was already going to be a heavy banner, so adding more weight for no added benefit wasn't necessary.  I started with a design.  The idea came from my pastor friend, Chris.  He liked the idea of a big sunburst but he wanted it to be fun and more abstract and joyful.  He didn't want the heaviness and seriousness of something overly realistic. I worked up a sketch and added color in Photoshop.

The hard thing with design sketches that others have to approve, is that I can envision it in textile form, but not everyone can.  The blocky colors of the computer design wouldn't show all the batik patterns and the color variations and the stitching.  But, luckily Chris trusted my instincts based on seeing my body of work and wanted me to just have fun with it and make it joyful.  And I really did that.

We played around with the center of the sun a little bit.  The logo for BPC is a trefoil to represent the trinity.  He wanted a nod to it without it being overly obvious. So I played with the center of the sun until we settled on an abstract version of the trefoil.  I turned it off center just a little so it was less obvious and also added a rounded off look to the sun.  

Once everything was approved, I printed the image out full scale just in black and white at a reprographics.Because it was so large and every single piece was different, I decided for my own sanity, I should cut each piece out and stitch it together as I went along. I know myself...cutting all the pieces out and trying to organize and label them and then sew would have been complete disaster! So, one night, in my tiny studio condo, I unrolled the first 8 feet or so and started in.

It actually worked surprising well to do it this way! Once I had the first section sewn together, then I just rolled it up to the next section and kept going.  Each paper section was cut out and used as a pattern piece.  I didn't want to cut the circles out so I wrote the size and color on each one and then photographed them so I would know what fabric to use and how big they were and how to place them when I was ready to cut them out.  Again, it worked perfectly.  My years as a scenic artist creating large pieces in the theatre paid off!

Once the whole thing was pieced, it was time to take it in to be quilted.  That was the scariest part!  I do all of my free motion quilting on a regular machine. In preparation for this project, I had taken a class on the large quilting machines and then rented the machine specifically to quilt this project.  It paid off because I was able to do the large scale quilting on this piece in a fraction of the time it would have taken me on my machine.  I backed this banner with duck cloth to give it a sturdiness and crispness I would never have achieved with regular fabric.  Not at such a large scale.  Plus, I had fun learning to use one of these larger machines.

I quilted the background and got it all in place and locked down.  I used a different pattern on each piece and kept it large and loose since the stitching wouldn't be too noticeable from such a distance.  But I hoped it would break up some of the fabrics and add a little texture.  Once the background was in place, I added all the circles.  Lots and lots of circles... Soooo many circles.  These were backed with an adhesive so I could iron them in place.  Everything is so much more complicated on a large scale piece! Every time you want to do even one some thing, you have to lay the whole heavy banner out.  I decided to just do the quilting on my machine instead of rent the other machine again, and though it was tricky maneuvering that giant stiff banner under my machine, it worked just fine.  I gave each circle it's own design. I used about 5 colors of thread on this banner to add little extra contrast and texture.

Finally, it was finished!  I turned the outside edge under and stitched it down.  On a quilt I would normally add a binding.  But, I didn't want that border on this banner.  I didn't want it to feel like grandma's quilt.  I wanted it to feel like an art piece, so I let the design run all the way to the edge and I love the way it turned out. I think the binding would have made the rays look like they'd been chopped off and framed.  This allows the eye to imagine them continuing on and on.

I finished it and shipped it off to NYC and I'm so proud of how it turned out!  Chris wrote a description for the reveal and I thought it was beautiful.  Here's what he wrote:

"Today marks the unveiling of a new banner here at Broadway. Textile artist Susan Baker Scharpf has created a 5’ x 19’ explosion of light and color from a glorious array of Indonesian batiks.  The banner, entitled, “…and there was Light,” explores the playfulness and creativity of God as Light bursts through chaos and a universe of marvelous diversity springs into being. As new worlds are born, God dances – notice the glimpse of the Trinity-knot at the radiant center of the piece.

Susan Baker Scharpf holds a Master of Fine Arts in Scenic Design from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from Texas Woman’s University.  She has worked extensively as a designer and scenic artist in theatre and in television. She is a proud adoptive parent of two – and can frequently be found quilting original works inspired by the seaside beauty of San Diego.  Find her on Facebook or Instagram @crystalpiertextilearts."

And a few more close-up photos of the banner.  This was an amazing project to work on and I hope to do more large scale art pieces like this.  Thank you for the opportunity and the trust in my vision, Chris!

The computer rendering.

Let the piecing begin!

Hung from my balcony for a full shot

The logo we used as inspiration

I laid the finished top out for a photo

Hanging in the beautiful church!

quilting detail

The line drawing I printed for a pattern

I rarely use a long arm but I did for this

The back is always pretty, too.