Eileen Harrisson

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Millennium Altar Cloth, St. Marie's R.C. Church, Rugby


In 1999 I was commissioned to design and make this Millenium Altar Cloth.  The brief was slightly unusual in that the high relief of the birth of St Anne was to be left visible, giving the cloth the form of a 12 inch frieze across the top with a 3 foot panel on either side.  Other specifications were that the date of the new millenium was to be shown in roman numerals and two shields commemorating benefactors of the church should be incorporated into the design.

Wishing to produce a cloth modern in concept but in keeping with the fabric of the building which was  designed by A.W. Pugin in the middle of the Nineteenth Century, I chose to marry elements of Pugin's design, such as the particular form he gave to his angels' wings and colours in wall paintings and in the stained glass windows, with my own vision of Christ for the new Millenium and beyond.  Included on the cloth are the words, "Know I am with you always, even to the end of time."

A book of preparatory sketches and drawings was given to the church for the Parish Records.




© copyright Eileen Harrisson 2010.  All text and images are the sole copyright of Eileen Harrisson and are not to be reproduced without permission.