SPECIAL PROJECTS > GOOD SHEPHERD ANNIVERSARY DESIGN

QUATREFOIL AS DESIGN INFLUENCE
QUATREFOIL AS DESIGN INFLUENCE

The quatrefoil is used throughout the church architecture so it influenced the shape of the cross. The quatrefoil shape was about the only parameter I was given at the beginning of this project.

After researching the quatrefoil as a symbol, I fell in love with it for what it represents and the large "canvas" it provides for me to fill with designs to weave a story.

The full symbolism of the quatrefoil below:

The quatrefoil is an evocative or suggestive cross, as opposed to an obvious cross. In historic Christianity, the four petals of the quatrefoil represented the four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John who wrote the Gospels. They can also represent the "four ends of the earth," or North, East, South and West, serving as a symbol of our call to take the gospel to the corners of the world, or ends of the earth. A quatrefoil is constructed with four equal foils or lobes, representing equal proportion and symmetry. Each foil is balanced and round, suggesting wholeness and harmony. It doesn't protrude or intrude, it fills and includes, it is whole. It is a symbol of inclusivity. It can be a symbol of global communion, global oneness. Lacking sharp external edges, it can remind us that somehow, our faith walk and that of others must co-exist compatibly, to proclaim the truths of our own tradition without hard edges or harsh boundaries.