'I Am the Vine, You Are the Branches' Altarcloth and Stole
62" x 31" (Hand-dyed commercial cottons, thread, batting) 2003
'I Am the Vine, You Are the Branches', for 'The Time of the Church'
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers;....This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit.... I chose you ....to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15
The altarcloth shows 'branches' growing from the 'vine' or 'tree' of Jesus' cross. The green branches represent the 'green season' of the church year/the Time of the Church. The Church is the body of believers, a living, growing entity, represented by various 'shades' of green, growing, extending outward into the world, and eternity. Being a 'branch', connected to Christ, is also conveyed conceptually, by the manner in which the altarcloth is designed; All it's cloth pieces are angled, like a branch. The machine stitching on the frontal is also angled, and branch-like. In the center of the cross/vine is a red/orange diamond shape; this is, on the one hand, blood-like, to remind us of Jesus death for our sins. The red shape can also be viewed as a bloom, or simple flower-like shape - a kind of 'bearing fruit', that happens to the believer, who has Christ in his heart. Two 'double symbols/images' are embedded in the altarcloth design - the cross shape, and a flower shape with green branches.
There are numerous additional Biblical references to being 'rooted and built up in Him', which make the altarcloth and stole appropriate for many specific Sundays in the 'Green Season' of the church year.
53" x 5.5" (Hand-dyed cotton batiks, commercial cottons, thread, batting) 2003
Rev. Donald Loesch, model.