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aedifico42| Past Master’s Apron

Posted at: 1:23 pm

It’s probably the most challenging exercise I have encountered to date. Choosing the right design for my Past Master’s Apron.

Some just go to the catalog and pick the one that suits them best. I have no problem with that. But to me, there is much more to picking the right design than just fixing your eye on the pre-designed pattern that suits your fancy at the moment. Again, while this type of selection process is plenty for some, it does not reflect the full exploration of the self that this episode can achieve.

Who is the person wearing it? What does he want to reflect about himself in this aparel? Who is the audience, and what messages will be sent through the symbols thereon? The lengths you go through to make these decisions can help you to recognize a great deal about yourself.

At one point I thought a plain white apron would suffice. Not using anything more than the apron presented to me at my Initiation would have sent a powerful message not only to those seeing it, but to myself each time I put it on. I also considered a black on black design (black leather with black felt and black embroidery). This stark contrast to the norm certainly would have made a statement, but is it the statement that I want to make about me? I also went through a phase (that I am exiting through this exercise) where I considered a large skull and crossbones instead of the typical square and rocker. Although the meaning would have been lost on many, those who knew the real Masonic significance of this symbol would have appreciated its message, and it would remind me always of one of the most basic teachings of our Craft.

I have doodled hundreds of versions of using two broad tassles as columns, surmounted by globes; dividing the apron into the square and compass using the “v” of the flap as the square in the design. I have thought about colors, angles, fields, moods and motifs. It has been a wonderful education…trying to describe myself as a Past Master on a static apron from now to eternity.

The challenge and the exercise has been worth it. In fact, I am still no closer to a final design than I was when I started.

But I am closer to understanding me. That’s the important thing.

Will I ever come-up with the perfect design for my Past Master’s Apron? No. Perfection is for that guy in the sky. I will, however, make the best effort to design something that speaks my language. Something unique but understandable. Something that continues to remind me of the lessons of my Craft, while communicating to others that yes, for a time, I did sit in the East.

Maybe something checkered with gold fringe and red trim…

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