Carol Ritchie -The Banner Lady

Carol Ritchie- The Banner Lady

It doesn't take very long

 after walking into

 Our Savior Lutheran Church -

 Laurel, Maryland 

to notice that a Visual Artist

is a part of this community.

A Banner for the Ordination 

and Installation of Rev. Derrick Miliner.

The Pentecost Banner

Like most visual learners, 

I see pictures when speakers use words

 that evoke mental images. 

Some Pastors are quite adept 

at bringing images to mind as they speak, 

and I usually draw in my bulletin 

when I’m moved by the words they’ve used. 

The doodles, though quite small, 

often remain virtually unchanged 

when translated into a 

full-size design for a banner. 

The Pastor’s words become my

 “homilies on the wall”. 

 I prefer not to include words, so many are left to be interpreted by those who stop to see them, 

though I do offer an explanation

 in the bulletin when they are first used. 

Some ideas spend quite

 a long time being worked and reworked 

in my head before being made,

 others seem to come fully ready

 for immediate pattern design.

 On the other hand, a number of my banners

 have grown out of

 LWML convention themes 

when I was asked to create

 a banner for that purpose. 

Those designs developed as I worked

 with how each particular theme 

could best be portrayed.

Christ has set YOU free!

I’ve used many materials in the banners 

I’ve made but continue

 to appreciate the base structure

 able to be achieved with well-made felt. 

Some banners have many layers, some are quilted,

 many are three dimensional. 

Our banner stands require a six-inch casing

 at the top, and felt can be squared

 to hang properly without fear of its stretching in some undesirable way.

 I use stitching or fusible web between layers -

 I don’t use glue. 

On one banner, I couched endless yards

 of decorative yarn

 into intricate patterns by hand 

while sitting on the floor on top of the banner. 

Ideas can sometimes get out of hand that way!

For a church celebration- anniversary.

For the Grief-Share Ministry

Celebrating ministry with children.

A Lenten Altar setting prepares
hearts and minds for worship.
Carol certainly sees how all things-
visual- fit together.


Carol is a member of 
Our Savior Lutheran Church,
Laurel, Maryland.
We give thanks for her God-given talent
 and her work that gives Glory to her Creator.