Western Quarterly Meeting
Quakers believe that out of silence comes a healing, creative energy empowering us to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.
The "ABC's of Quakerism" will be on view to the public at
Kendal in the front hall during the month of June.
Yet stitchery is far different, as a stout heart and diligent concentration is at work here. The end result isn’t achieved in an afternoon but takes time, often lots of it, plus plenty of patience. A perfect example of stitchery was recently on view at Crosslands.
It was a four-panel piece that illustrated the “ABC’s of Quakerism.” Over the course of the work, words were stitched in perfect economy and harmony in burgundy thread. The text was written by Sally Rickerrnan, a member of both Mill Creek Meeting and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, and a Friend by nature and nurture, a most winning combination.
The stitching was done by both Rickerman and Agnes Snyder Pennock. The completed work was then placed in a cherry wood frame built by Edward Tatnall Pennock, a perfect wood in relation to the burgundy thread. The whole object is sculptural and painterly with the latter quality stressing the work’s creation as identical to how murals are made through being “charted,” which is the blueprint.
The whole creation was like a pamphlet writ large. The first panel is a title page of sorts with ABCs cascading diagonally down in large letters. The rich mass of bunched thread is something to behold and hints of green thread are an artful touch. The remaining panels offer the text, and it took a year apiece to complete the quartet, from 1994 to 1997. As for the frame, it was built in two years, 1996 and 1997.
The alphabet is worked through in 26 sections, with the text running, of course, from A to Z, “Anticipating” on through to “Zeal.”
The text itself is a lyric philosophy grounded in common sense, common decency and pure spirituality. What is stressed is brotherhood. In fact “B” begins with “Belief in the equality of all has helped Friends,” Though not a primer per se, Rickerman has well stated the basic tenets of Quakerism, which is not a rigid set of dos and don’ts, but a living entity of faith that fits our times well.
The prose here is very poetic, and the phrasing Rickerman uses possesses a rhythm that is close to scansion. Its sheer readability is very artful and over the course of the 26 sections. The relationship between the words and the stitchery is most interesting, in that though both activities are labor intensive, the physical demands of stitching the letters seems light years away from the actual composition of the text itself.
This is a truly collaborative effort, which itself illustrates tone of the goals that Quakers strive for, and in so doing set an example for the rest of us. From the effort at creating the four panels to building the frame and then completing this labor of love, this is a work of art that possesses a great spirit that is heartening to experience.
from The Kennett Paper used with permission.
Click here to see The ABCs of Quakerism, a publication of the Outreach Services Group, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, available from FGC Quakerbooks.com.