Claire-Marie buffet. Designer cloak.

It is a special assignment to make a new cloak for O.L.V. Sterre der Zee, which gives the image a beauty that is difficult to capture. I have tried to incorporate the many faces and symbols in my textile design, her gentleness, her love, her purity, her grace, her grace, but also her poverty and simplicity.

The flowers in the design mentioned that goodness and generosity. But the design is mainly presented on the lily, with long petals. I tried to emphasize the beauty and vulnerability of Maria. Normally the lily is white, because I especially wanted to emphasize the radiant beauty and its sovereignty, I chose well.

Because I thought it was important to express the goodness of god in light, I therefore took the divine light from the stained glass windows as a source of inspiration. In my design the pattern of the lily is visible but also the sun with its sun rays, the golden color gives the whole a lush appearance. In addition, I also chose three rosettes that symbolize the three stars that are often used in Maria’s iconography, and the details of the altar behind her are integrated into the design of the new cloak. I bought the gold fabric especially at a market in Paris, the other fabrics come from Maastricht.

I used modern technology, laser cutting to cut out the pattern, this is done by FabLab in Maastricht. This technique makes it possible to make very fine cuts, making it look like lace and it looks very refined, the fragility gives the whole a delicate appearance.

Elwy Schutten. Designer buckle.

What I am honored to hear, after I heard that I made the buckle for the new cloak of the Virgin Mary statue of the Lieve Vrouwe Kerk Maastricht allowed. After the first consultation with Claire-Marie, I knew that I wanted to design something with the “lost” pieces of the mantle. These “lost” pieces emerge from the cloak and together form the buckle. Claire-Marie was inspired by Mary’s lily and fragility for the mantle. We wanted the buckle to be an addition to the cloak. So I also got inspired by the lily and the fragility.

I made the figures of the mantle in brass and sawed them in, a fine contour line was created, through which I positioned them in a fan-like position, such as the lily. I let the final part play along with the image, so that one side of the mantle runs smoothly into the other side. Now that the design has been realized, I am proud to present it to you. I hope that you, like me, will enjoy the buckle and the cloak!

A while later the employees of the Lieve Vrouwe Kerk Maastricht asked me if I wanted to make a pin for the little Jesus’ travel jacket.

The inspiration of goldsmith Elwy Schutten for designing the brooch, which is pinned on the travel jacket of the Jesus child belonging to the image of the Star of the Sea.

“HOPE FROM A ROUGH SAPPHIRE”

A jewel for the child Jesus, which is worn on his travel jacket and is in harmony at the end of the Sterre der Zee travel jacket, which was offered on the occasion of 600 years of Sterre der Zee worship in Maastricht by the 300-year-old Brotherhood of Haar in 2014 . The jewelry, the brooch, is based on the design of the lock of the Sterre der Zee travel jacket that Elwy Schutten designed at the time.

The design is based on the remaining pieces of the shell fabric during manufacture, which flow together into a lily: A lily of purity.

Faith gives strength and hope, a hope that it gets better. Even though we must first go through a difficult and sometimes painful period. We start as a rough stone and are sharpened in difficult situations. We learn how to do it and how to be pure, to be as beautiful as a gem at the end. Grinding can be painful, but something beautiful always comes out. Be your own and form your own gem. Elwy wants this piece of jewelry to help give hope in difficult situations.

Easter Monday 2017