One of two hand-embroidered banners for the Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas, TX. Hand-painted, hand-embroidered, and hand-stitched by our specialist craftspeople, the banner represents the idea 'To Seek and Serve Christ in All Persons', drawing on the imagery and style of the St John's Bible Heritage Editions.
We were inspired by the composition of Fra Angelico’s ‘The Last Judgement’: Jesus, glowing in gold and silver, is central, while various figures circle him, reaching out, themselves glowing with golden light. To emphasise the phrase to ‘serve Christ in all persons,’ we designed the figures in abstract shapes to grant a more personalised interpretation for an individual’s viewing experience; turned towards Jesus, their anonymity ensures the identities are not prescriptive. Elements were also introduced to ensure inclusivity amongst the congregation: the elderly, mothers with children, disabled persons can all be discerned from the crowd, united together through Christ. Of course, Texan details were woven into the design, including bluebonnet flowers, a longhorn, and a monarch butterfly; we simply could not resist adorning one of the figures with cowboy boots.
First, the silk of the banner was specially hand-painted before being richly hand-embroidered with our silks and colourful embroidery threads. Surrounding Christ, the congregation glows in our 'Gothic' silk damask, illuminated by the shining light of our Lord himself. The banner also features a bed of French-knot flowers and bullion-knot trees, as nature bursts forth around the people.
Rev'd Casey Shobe, from the Church of the Transfiguration: “The folks at Watts were absolutely wonderful to work with; they were brilliant and skilled. The deeply intentional work that they did researching and reflecting was wonderful because that is so connected to how The Saint John’s Bible and its illuminations came about too. It was a long careful process of discernment. They understand the sacred nature of this, which made them such a joyful partner for us.”
