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"The Monastery Style" was conceived of and developed by Designer Rosanne N. Allen-Hewlett in 2002.
To further develop product and designs connected with the style Allen-Hewlett conceived of the "The Monastery Collection." This is a collection of various home furnishings and accessories which have been designed by herself and her company reflecting the beauty and richness of the style. "The Monastery Collection" will also include designs and items currently already on the market. these items will be cataloged on these pages. The idea behind the "Monastery Style" is to introduce into the modern home a sense of the spiritual beauty, depth and serenity which proceed from the ancient European and Buddhist monasteries throughout the world.
Fashion meets Spirituality when that which was once used to motivate the human soul towards a deep communion with Spirit, such as Gothic and Baroque architecture, becomes in and of itself, a globally accepted design element. The design element then evokes the same sort of spiritual depth and emotional serenity in others as it did in its originators. Such serenity and inner spiritual peace was often hard won by a person entering deep meditative states, going on long pilgrimages and working in a sometimes austere, but spiritually fulfilling activity. Such activities included growing herbs or foods in a monastic setting. They could also include herding animals, tanning leather, making implements for every day life as monks and nuns were wont to do in the Middle Ages.
The Symbols of Spirituality created in these contemplative places, often contain and express the Spirit itself.
The symbols and designs evoked their own inner journey and seemingly touched the very heart of spirituality. Crosses, monstrances, scallop shells, angels and cherubs, and thousands of other well known symbols speak to the human mind and soul of beauty heaven, serenity, trust and hope.
In her career as a designer Allen-Hewlett witnessed a unprecedented upsurge of spiritual need within the her clients. People wanted and needed a sanctuary away from the outside world. They sought avenues back to their spirits and roots. Prayer, meditation and contemplation are meaningful ways to promote good health and a positive outlook. Objects which promote a feeling of spiritual awe or beauty accent the soul's desire for balance and centering. Hence the development of the Monastery Collection, objects, accessories, architectural accents, lighting and furnishings, even paint or wall treatments all of which evoke the beautiful spiritual world of the serene soul.
Having been one of the founding designers involved in the establishment of the Southwest Style and Santa Fe Style which now commands a solid place in the architectural and interior design styles of the American West, Rosanne Allen-Hewlett took time to consider the newly developing style in the West as it was influenced by Spanish, Native American and European cultures now mixing with modern elements such as the style of Frank Lloyd Wright. Allen-Hewlett coined the term "Euro-Sonoran Style" as a word befitting the amalgamation of the more modern and eclectic designs coming out of the New derivatives of the Southwest Style. Within these relatively new styles of architecture and design Rosanne saw an element which flowed through them all, this she has termed "Monastery Style" as it proceeded from the Spanish Missions and Monasteries from the 1500's, as the Church established missions all over the Western United States. The people who lived and worked within the walls of these missions, the Latin speaking Europeans, mixed with the Native Americans to produce a lively and very distinct culture which was rich with symbols and designs based on what the Church artisans had brought from the Old Country. These were liberally mixed with Native American colors, symbols and patterns.
The idea that the ancient monks and friars were instrumental in bringing European culture wherever they went across the New World landscape,intrigued Allen-Hewlett. She began studying the lives of these monks and found that the bulk of all of Western Knowledge and the European lifeways were salvaged, promoted and expanded upon by the Monastery System of Europe. Beginning in far off places like Egypt and Ireland, the monasteries of Europe spread enlightenment and civilization throughout the lands devastated by the Fall of the Roman Empire. Everything Europeans treasured, from beekeeping and honey production to wine and olive production, to soap and candles, parchment and even the copying of ancient texts began in the European monasteries. Finding that the people who dwelt in these sacred spaces also developed symbolism and ways of expressing the Divine in mankind and in all life, evoked a sense of wonder and awe in this designer. So she began to see how the many works of art, designs, accessories and symbols and writing which had descended from the monastery system melded together to become founding elements in Western Civilization. Egyptian, Doric and Ionic Greek, Babylonian, Roman, Romanesque, Gothic,and Baroque architectures all grew out of the quest for spiritual serenity and a need to bring a higher sense of purpose to the human soul. Religion made art and art imbued religion with holiness. The religious clerics and monks tried to help mankind itself search for a way to bring together people in a society that worked towards everyone's best good. The "ideal" was invested in society as the Monastery, the religious and spiritual center of each outlying community. Monasteries in Europe and Asia were the most sacred and special places of learning and thought for thousands of years. The history was long and included the priesthoods of Egypt and Sumeria as well as the monasteries of the Essenes and later the Coptics. And what the monasteries brought to mankind were really the building blocks of all present Western and Eastern Societies. The triumphant spirituality of the Eastern Monasteries of Buddhism did for the Far East what Catholicism had done for Europe. Creating a situation where indeed, East can and does meet West in the deeper soul of mankind.
Those seeking spiritual bliss and enlightenment in the West now look also to the East and their symbols, designs, colors and patterns. The architecture and lifestyles, especially those of Tibet are very near those of the early Native Americans like the Hopi and Anasazi. So much so that these peoples may even be related by blood and culture uninterrupted for five thousand or more years.
The study of these patterns and lifeways brought Allen-Hewlett full circle and it dawned upon her that what people needed now, was what they always needed, serenity, common spiritual ground, belief in a higher power and a personal spiritual path to a "better way" for mankind and one's self. This concept gelled into "The Monastery Style" and "The Monastery Collection."
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