MANY of the world’s great art works, whether they be sculptures, paintings, carvings or indeed musical works owe their existence to religion.

   J. S. Bach produced a cantata a week for the Sunday service and teams of painters worked under the direction of Michelangelo to produce some of the most monumental religious paintings of all time.

   Even far back in antiquity, teams of artisans chipped away at huge chunks of marble to create glorious statues to honour their Gods.

   The creators of these works all shared a common sense of devotion to their work. They had to, because the works often took many years of selfless dedication to complete.

   East Jindabyne resident, Elizabeth Mackinnon has been producing exquisitely detailed altar kneelers and seat cushions for various Anglican churches and chapels in Australia for the past fifty years.

At her home overlooking Lake Jindabyne, Elizabeth spends many hours plying the needle.

   ‘Counted Thread-work’, (not tapestry) is a technique dating back to Tudor times and involves creating lavish and intricate designs hand stitched onto ‘Flova’ canvas cushion covers.

  It is not possible to draw on ‘Flova’ canvas so all the work is done by counting threads from designs made on graph paper; hence the name, ‘Counted Thread-work’.

   Using around seventy types of stitches and a vast array of coloured woollen threads, texture and dimension can be created to produce that instantly recognizable plush regal appearance.

A close up showing the detail in Elizabeth's unique signature design.

   The variety of stiches used also ensures that there is no distortion of the canvas, which means it can be worked without the aid of a stretching frame.

  
    Each cushion has a life span of several centuries.

   Modern coloured dyes are much more lasting than they used to be.

   In fact one of Elizabeth’s jobs involved replacing all the 400 kneelers and cushions in the Guildford Grammar College Chapel in Perth.

   “They had all turned brown so we had to undo and expose the inner seams, which were unaffected by the light, to discover the original colours,” Elizabeth told me.

   Working on average five hours each day, a single cushion takes about three months to complete.

   A single eyelet measuring 4mm x 4mm takes 16 double threaded stitches to complete.

   This gives an idea of the time, care, skill and dedication needed to produce such a work.

   Generally the main designer will complete the centrepiece and most demanding sections of each cushion and then enlist the aid of others to finish it off. 

   Elizabeth’s esteemed reputation in this field led to her latest commission to design and produce cushions for the chapel at Bishops Court in Adelaide, home of the Archbishop.

Elizabeth Mackinnon is off to Bishops Court in Adelaide. She's seen here with one of her kneelers and seat cushions.

   The kneelers and cushions celebrate Archbishop Ian George’s time in Bishops Court 1991-2004.

   Elizabeth has her own special signature design included in all her work and is currently in Adelaide presenting the cushions. 

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