Westminster Abbey Pavement

Home Page	Short Biography	Exhibitions	Gallery	Westminster Abbey Pavement	Contact

TIMELESS MANDALA

Westminster Abbey:
Floor Plan & Location
of the Pavement

	Introduction
	Brief History
	Symbolism
	My Purpose
	Textile Process
	My Hope
	Lost Connection
	Work in Progress
	View Details

Hand and machine appliqué, free motion machine embroidery, textile painting, hand pieced, hand quilted; 235cm x 235cm (92.5" x 92.5")

INTRODUCTION

In 1996, I made my first visit to Westminster Abbey in London, England. Upon returning to Canada, the book "Patterns of Thought - The Hidden Meaning of the Great Pavement of Westminster Abbey" by Richard Foster fell into my hands. I was shocked that I hadn't seen this exquisite and important pavement while touring the Abbey, but the book explained why I had missed something so large - it was simply covered by carpet! And here my journey began...

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GREAT PAVEMENT

Sponsored by King Henry III (and possibly the Vatican), this 24-feet square Pavement was completed in 1268. Created by Italian "cosmati" craftsmen, it lies before the high alter in the heart of the Abbey and is the largest and most complete work of these famed Roman marblers north of the Alps. Although the Pavement is one of the most precious treasures of medieval England, and the site of many royal coronations and burials, it is little known to present generations because of it's protective covering. Since 1989, the Great Pavement has been uncovered for a few days each year when thousands of people file around this rich, symbolic work built seven centuries ago.

SYMBOLISM IN THE PAVEMENT

Using the language of sacred geometry and numbers, the schemata of the Great Pavement represents Divine Order; an intricate design of medieval symbolism open to subjective interpretation and contemplation, much like the mandalas of Eastern religions. Every mandala is built around the Five Essential Elements: space, air, fire, water and earth, and in Eastern beliefs, it is a spiritual place of emergence, it brings order to chaos, and is a healing tool in practices such as acupuncture, shiatsu, ayurveda, psychology, etc.

Back to the top

WHY I RECREATED THE PAVEMENT

I believe there is a great need to awaken common understanding and experience; to recognize interconnection within the universe. As a student of Eastern beliefs and practices, I recognize the mandala in the Great Pavement of Westminster Abbey, but it is a somewhat lost symbol in western culture. By recreating the Pavement, I have attempted to "uncover" the Great Pavement in textile form, hoping it provokes contemplation, as designed in the original. It was also a great personal joy to reconstruct an architectural fragment of this gothic sacred place.
Back to the top

THE TEXTILE PROCESS

Compelled to recreate the Pavement after having struggled with the idea of imitating someone else's work, I now consider the project "my apprenticeship with medieval masters". I was not sure how I would use textiles to present stone; how technically to achieve the minute detail; how to capture every nuance from the only reference I had - a picture 22cm square. Working in 1:5 scale, I began a multi-level journey which would stretch my mind, my technical and problem solving skills, and my understanding of myself and the Universe.

On the technical level, referring solely to photographs in Richard Foster's book, I drafted a paper pattern to scale, created a fabric outline, and, by using different techniques (paint, embroidery, et cetera - and often a magnifying glass) to represent each unique stone, slowly built the mosaic. Some of these pieces are smaller than the end of my finger.

By practicing being in tune with elemental energies while working on the pavement, all the necessary information came to me at the right time. Little did I know the work would grow with me for six years, witnessing many changes - leaving my shiatsu practice, cutting my hair after 22 years, entering the XXI century, my first solo shows.... After its completion, I realized I had grounded myself consciously in life and am now fully committed to my textile works and my beliefs.

Back to the top

MY HOPE

My sole hope during this six-year journey has been that the piece will be installed in a public space to be viewed by people - hopefully to inspire, to teach, to reflect through its content. And in some small way, bring more beauty to the world.

Reference:

Richard Foster, "Pattern of Though; The Hidden Meaning of the Great Pavement of Westminster Abbey"
(Jonathan Cape, London, 1991)

Paloma Pajares-Ayuela, "Cosmatesque Ornament; Flat Polychrome Geometric Patterns in Architecture" (W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2001)

Reginal A. Ray, "Secret of the Vajra World" (Shambala, 2001)

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, "Healing with Form, Energy and Light" (Snow Lion Publications, 2002)

Thinly Norbu, "Magic Dance" (Snow Lion Publications, 1998)


	Back to the top
	Site created & managed by Vajra Studio
	Copyright © 2003, Evita T. Schvallbe. All Rights Reserved.