St. Mattress Cathedral

This article is about one of our prized pieces the “Cathedral Bed” The inspiration for this majestic bed originated after a trip to the National Cathedral in our nation’s capitol, Washington DC. If you haven’t been, I recommend it, as it is one of the “must sees” in our glorious country. It has a fascinating history as well as it is one of our countries true cathedrals. As I was wandering though the many chapels that are underneath the main sanctuary I wandered into one where I felt a very peaceful feeling. As I sat and rested in that feeling I was visually moved by the massive vaulted arches and columns. When I returned home, I brought my idea to the design team and we began to make plans and drawings for the piece of art that was to function as a bed. In the design of this piece there are specific details I would like to share with you, because it’s these things that make this bed so special. • The Pointed Arch: (canopy) The Shape points towards heaven. To the faithful, the pointed arch thrusts the soul of man closer to his creator. • Four pointed star: (found on the base of the columns) each point of this star represents a point of the cross. We chose that place because it’s the foundation of the piece. What we put our trust in to hold us. • Quatrefoil: (molding detail) the quatrefoil in Christianity unites four different entities, one in each of its leaves. The top leaf symbolizes God as creator, and the two side leaves represent Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The bottom leaf is believed to symbolize the church of Christian followers. • Color Espresso (black paint that is sanded down in various places): Black is the color you get when you mix all colors together which represents all the people of the world. God delights in diversity. Sanding down represents Gods use of trial in our lives to show us amazing things that we wouldn’t see without them. “As Christians we are simply called to follow Christ and love the people in this world. But how we do that in real life completely depends on our individuality.”. [editor’s note: who is this quote attributed to? If you use quotes, state who said this as in, Nelson said. Since this entire piece is you speaking, there is really no need for quotation marks. I would delete them. • Color Crimson (found in the hand painted artwork on the inside of the canopy) is used to remind us of sin, and that it is completely forgiven through Christ. • Color: Gold (found in the hand painted artwork on the inside of the canopy) Deity, wealth, Kingliness, Refining Fire, the Godhead, glory, purification, Divinity, majesty, righteousness, Divine Light, mercy. • Sword: (found in the hand painted artwork on the inside of the canopy) the sword with the maple leaf symbolizes power, protection, authority, strength, and courage. • Maple tree leaves: (found in the hand painted artwork on the inside of the canopy) Symbolizes promise, longevity, balance, love and longevity. • Number 8: (found in the 8 sides of each column and also the number of points on the top of the canopy) Eight- The number of new beginnings. It is 7 plus 1. Hence it is the number specially associated with Resurrection and Regeneration, and the beginning of a new era or order. When the whole earth was covered with the flood, it was Noah "the eighth person" who stepped out on to a new earth to commence a new order of things. "Eight souls" passed through it with him to the new or regenerated world. • Gold: (the chandelier body that the crystals hang from) Deity, wealth, Kingliness Refining Fire, the Godhead, glory, purification, Divinity, majesty, righteousness, Divine Light, mercy. (you get it) • Clear Crystal: (the chandelier) A gem stone that symbolizes wisdom, making it representative of spiritual revelation. Crystal speaks of clarity of thought and purity that is difficult to corrupt due to its transparency. • Amber Crystal: (the chandelier) represents God’s Glory and the brightness of His presence, fiery passion, and the Fathers heavenly care for us down here. As you can see there is a lot of intentional detailing in this piece; detail that has great meaning and depth. It is always such a pleasure to be part of a process in creating a piece of art that will last for generations. In just a few months this magnificent bed will be featured in a coffee table book from Posh Publishing. We will keep you posted when it comes out. I guess the last thing to say is this, you no longer need to be part of a monarchy to sleep in a regal setting. Blessings, Nelson J. Nelson