Thursday, November 29, 2012

Nativity Exhibt for Christmas Lights

Theater #1 is being transformed from a movie theater to an exhibit of nativities for the Christmas Lights event beginning on Thanksgiving Day.

These large containers hold decorations and ornaments for the trees waiting to be decorated.

Someone probably knows how to transform this chaos into a meaningful exhibit.  I'm glad it's not me!
 
That 'someone' is Sister Fuller on the far left.  She and her able team of helpers spent three days sorting through the boxes and decorating every corner of the room to enhance the nativity sets. 

Once they had the tables and Christmas trees set up, they started setting out the nativities.  These interesting set came from Peru.

I enjoyed this nativity made out of native Arizona wood - note the palm trees in the background. 
 
A quilt was delivered to the center from the Church Museum in Salt Lake City.  The quilt is a nativity scene done by a sister living here in Arizona. 

I was fascinated to watch it unfold.  Unbelieveable!!!

This quilt is truly a work of art created from fabrics instead of paint.  It is intricately sewn using a technique called 'needle-turn applique."

Speaking of art, many paintings by local artists were hung on the walls around the room to enhance the beauty and ambiance of the nativity sets.

The artist who did this amazing painting is only 15 years old.  What a talent!

Setting up Christmas trees in several areas in the room lent beauty and additional light for the nativities.  We are so grateful to these sisters who freely share their time and talents to make this exhibit spectacular for the thousands of guests who will view it.

The tables were covered with brown silk as a backdrop for the different nativity sets.  Each nativity represents a different country of the world.

I loved this Navajo nativity.

This set came from Israel, carved from the wood of an olive tree.

These African statues represent the country of Kenya.  We currently have a sister missionary serving from that country.

 
This set from Honduras also represents a country from which we have a sister missionary currently serving here in the Visitors' Center.

Anyone looking for a project for Family Home Evening?  I imagine children would love finding rocks to use as the basis for a nativity set.  Very creative!
 
From the land of France we see another lovely nativity.  We currently have two sisters serving here from that country.

This beautiful kreche is another artist's concept of the miracle of that sacred night.

Here we have a lovely set from Mexico - Sisters Aquino and Aranda come from this country.  We recently said goodbye to Sister Falcon who returned to Mexico City in November.

I loved the idea of this nativity that was created from needlepoint. 

This was a little nostalgic for us - a nativity from The Netherlands, complete with windmills and blue and white porcelain made from Delft's blau (blue).
 
The sisters who were setting up the room frequently stopped to confer over different aspects of the display.  They wanted it to be just perfect. 

I can't believe the difference three days has made.  All of the boxes and containers are gone, the tables are laden with beautiful nativity sets, and the final step will be to insert the cards identifying the country from which each of the nativity sets originate.  It has been an interesting process to watch unfold.  We are so grateful for the hard work these sisters have expended.

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