“Map Rose”

Several weeks ago I noticed a North, South, East, West round marker painted on the front of an old farmhouse along Old Bethlehem Pike just South of Route 113. It is black on a white, stucco wall. It looks like those directional markers on old maps. It harks back to the time when the primary modes of travel were horse-powered or on foot. There were no cellphones. There were no satellites to provide one’s global position.

I got the idea that it would be cool to make these to adorn barns or sheds or even blank garage walls or fences. I did an internet search for these and learned that they are called “map roses”. I considered using a traditional one as a pattern, but, that is just not my style. I decided on a postmodern approach with a nod to the area’s PA Dutch heritage. I used lower case modern Fraktur font for the directional letters. The directional lines are marked by the edges of patches of ‘fabric’ in the quilt cross. NW, NE, SW, SE are marked by the corners of ‘quilt squares’.

So this map rose is colorful. It coördinates with the siding and trim of our shed. It is two feet in diameter on 1/2″ salvaged plywood. It is oriented on the wall to relate with reality, which means, when one is facing the shed, one is facing Southwest. I can make one for you that coördinates with your colors and will orient properly for your situation.

Didn’t weather well. Painted over.