This is the first of my proposed three sacred cloths using the palm motif. I tried once again the technique of Momigami. The green rectangles and also the tan rectangle in lower center. This tan cloth began as those thin brown recycled napkins and after oil and crumbling it became a soft delicate cloth?! The jar is a silk transfer of an ancient jar with Hebrew letters incised into the pottery...a very rare find. I see this cloth as a collection of memories both the sewn jar and the transferred image seem to be as faded memories of daily desert rituals.
On a personal note some of my sweetest childhood memories were of spending an occasional few days at my grandmother's house. I was 6-7 and now that I recall she was my age that I am now. Our mornings were spent moving a gigantic garden hose around her yard watering her beautiful flowers. The garden was glorious and there I learned about azaleas, carnations, wisteria, roses and daisies to name a few! After our gardening she would prepare my breakfast which was always the same: a soft boiled egg perfect with salt & pepper, golden toast generously buttered and a warm mug of coffee mostly milk. Sacred memories for me!
I like the light and shade effect on the backgrounds and how it hints at the shifting of fragile memories. And I love your account of watering the flowers before breakfast. I'll be smiling about it next time we haul our own gigantic hose to the allotment tap!
ReplyDeleteAnnie, Glad to share a smile with a fellow gardener! Thank you for your comments on fragile memories...I so agree!
DeleteHi Mary Ann. Oh my gosh it's hard to believe this beauty started with a brown napkin! Your colours and lines and values are exquisite on this cloth. Sacred memories for sure. You might be interested in having a peek at my blog post (June 5) showing my installation piece which reflects upon my memories and heritage of my thrifty Scottish Nana. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteCarol, Thank you for your remarks about this piece...I really had fun with the brown napkin! Ahhh grandmothers...I will get over to see this installation of memories!
DeleteThis is such a beautifully unique piece, very special
ReplyDeleteBren, Thanks so much...I'm staying with this ancient theme of the desert which I am finding so rich in colors and textures!
DeleteWhat beautiful memories to put into that sacred pot. They stir up similar memories of my own childhood.
ReplyDeleteI am so intrigued by the variety of materials and techniques you're incorporating into your series. Love the idea of crumpled, oiled napkins becoming fabric!
Lynne, This art making does stir up memories and I was so surprised to clearly remember those early mornings at my grandmother's. Nice to have stories to tell.
DeleteThere was a little olive oil and plenty of crumpling and uncrumpling to get to the feel of fabric! Some papers ( for me magazine paper) turn out awful so there is an element of surprise and disappointment.
the stitches add so much texture... and I am so taken with the story of your grandmother, especially with the vessel as the back drop for your story... our grandmothers teach us so much, it is such a sacred and holy relationship... thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteCaterina, Thank you...learning new stitches has been such fun and combining with machine stitching has allowed me more room to compose.
DeleteAhhh, grandmothers...a true gift to have the love, attention and fun of a grandmother even if for only a short time...long lasting memories for sure!
Such mystical beauty..I like that it changes every time I look at it..magic! Grandmothers..always the best...
ReplyDeleteThank you...I so like magic! Grandmothers can be a place of such a sweet connection and for a short time, my grandmother was my prize!
DeleteI just love fabric used in collage. It adds such a different dimension. Your work is lovely.
ReplyDeleteJo Murray, I surprised myself taking on this fabric thing but I'm having a great time with all the possibilities!
DeleteLovely work Mary Ann! Gardening and soft-boiled eggs - perfect ones! Nothing better. Great memory.
ReplyDeleteKaren, A great memory...some memories and lessons of loved ones last a lifetime!
DeleteFragments of precious memories.... I really feel it in this piece, Mary Ann. Your memories spark mine. Gardening, textile fragments and soft boiled eggs remind me so much of my mother.
ReplyDeleteRobyn, Nothing beats a perfect soft boiled egg! We carry these sweet memories for our whole lives!
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