A Cross for Saint Brendan
This cross for Saint Brendan the Navigator Episcopal Church in Deer Isle, Maine is dedicated to the memory of Ruth Eades McLaren Dayton.
The cross is made of labradorite, the magic feldspar that glows iridescently from within like the divine spark in all; it represents a congregation of 21 distinct individuals who join to form a simple whole.
The cross is embedded in a golden rectangle, 34" by 55". The labradorite is from Madagascar and the stone blocks in the corners are from Canada, Saudi Arabia, Finland, and Brazil.
Fibonacci Spiral
A Fibonacci spiral lies where the heart of the crucified would be, below and to the left of where the horizontal and vertical members cross.
The cross is supported on a golden scalene triangle.
E pluribus unum
An e pluribus unum design on the back of the support reinforces the idea that a simple whole can emerge from unique individuals coming together.
It is composed of 13 stones, each distinct in form and substance.
Meditation garden
The cross and its echo on the back are at the center of a meditation garden where parishioners may sit in communion, benches facing the cross. The benches are arranged as the sides of a decagon; this places them as the bases of sublime triangles with the apices focused on the heart of the cross. The cross, cross-footprint, and benches are all golden rectangles.
We intend to surround the garden with a hortus murus or living wall to separate the garden from the world. The cross and benches are oriented on an East-West axis as are other sacred spaces. The design of the hortus murus is discussed here.
Signatures