Marian Vavra Wheat Art: Crosses

If the art piece is already made, it will be mailed out in two to three days. If the piece needs to be handmade, Marian will need one to three weeks. Marian will be in communication with the customer through email, text, or phone during this time.

Material - Each piece is made from hand-cut Kansas Hard Red Winter Wheat

Tied Kansas Straw Cross: There is simplicity in the lines of this cross. Using just twelve straws this cross becomes a beautiful Christian symbol.
Size - The size varies due to the natural properties of wheat. The piece is sewn into place on a 5”- 5½” w x 7”- 10”h cardstock for packaging.

Cross with Red Heart: Wheat straws are tied into a Latin style cross. The center is embellished with the wheat heads and a red straw heart. Kansas straw is a fiber so it accepts the fabric dye used to color it. Here a scarlet red dye is used to create the heart as a symbol of Christ’s love.
Size - The size varies due to the natural properties of wheat. The piece is sewn into place on a 5½” w x 8”- 10”h cardstock for packaging.

The Cross on the Hill © 2000 Marian Vavra: From time to time Marian creates wheat art with a special purpose in mind. This is one of them and here is her story. The Cross on the Hill was designed in the fall of 2000 as the special workshop project for the Women's Retreat of Grace Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kansas. She was asked to teach forty women to make a symbolic reminder of their retreat experience. The retreat theme was based on finding Sabbath moments. The experience of making the cross provided a Sabbath moment for the women. The imagery of this cross is relevant to her surroundings. There is a real cross that sits on top of a hill in the middle of the Kansas Flint Hills. If you drive on the Kansas Turnpike, also known as I-35, north of Wichita, you come around the bend after leaving the Matfield Green rest stop heading toward Emporia. Looking up at mile marker 101 on top of the limestone hill you will see this old, wooden hewn cross. It sits in the middle of pastureland where it is a silent yet resilient statement of the Risen Lord. The Cross on the Hill was designed in the likeness of this cross, with the simple, tied straw cross arms anchored into the hill of wheat heads.
Size - The size varies due to the natural properties of wheat. The piece is sewn into place on an 8½” w x 10”- 11”h cardstock for packaging.

SEE BELOW FOR MORE DESCRIPTIONS
Manufacturer: Marian Vavra Wheat Art
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$16.50

Kansas Celtic Cross: This cross celebrates the Christian Celtic heritage by its use of a plaited straw eternal circle. The cross structure is made by tying ten or twelve wheat straws into the Latin cross style. Then the circle attached along with four wheat heads in the cardinal positions of north, south, east, and west. The two straw rose finishes the cross. The design comes from Donna Morgenstern, Kansas.

Material - Hand-cut Kansas Hard Red Winter Wheat, Eternal Circle is constructed of imported plait

Size - The size varies due to the natural properties of wheat. The piece is sewn into place on a 5½” w x 8”- 10”h cardstock for packaging.

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Tiny Dove Cross: The symbolic dove of the Holy Spirit makes this cross unique. The cross uses twenty delicate little straws folded in the Cathedral Step method. The center medallion is made with dyed and natural straw flattened and glued to cardstock. Then square and dove shaped punches cut through the appliqué and become the symbols of the Holy Spirit. 

Size - The size varies due to the natural properties of wheat. The piece is sewn into place on a 4” w x 5½”h cardstock for packaging.

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A Cross from the Manger © 2020 Marian Vavra: Coming from a dairy farm where oat straw is used for cow bedding, it is easy for Marian to imagine the manger of straw for Baby Jesus. Thus, this cross uses straw from the manger so-to-speak woven into her Christmas Cross. The rich texture of the cross comes from flat-plaiting five of the tallest straws from the field. Red pearl cotton is used for tying the straws. A folded two-straw rose graces the center which is highlighted by a red bead. All this Christmas imagery foreshadows the Easter story!

Size - The size varies due to the natural properties of wheat. The piece is sewn into place on a 4”- 5” w x 7”- 8”h cardstock for packaging.