Sparks of Heaven

13"x15", cotton cloth, hand stitching, silver beads, stencil created with molding paste, silk photo transfer (Dead Sea Scroll), silver leaf, blue trim.
The letter Tsadi (four examples above) is a letter of commands beginning in words that are about doing good deeds and repairing the world with healing efforts. Turning back even and revisiting past mistakes. Beautiful concepts of mending divine sparks.

I tried applique' for the first time with the letters, ironing a thin fabric to the painted cloth and then stitching. I needed to hand stitch this whole piece because I created a raised stencil (molding paste) and I was worried the needle would break if I tried to machine stitch.

Update: Well, Spring is almost here and we didn't get the rain we had so hoped for...I'm losing two large tree like shrubs and will miss not only the privacy but also sharing living space with the little neighborhood birds. I know others have too much snow and rain and here I am complaining...need to follow my mothers advice: Bloom where you are planted.

"Markings"

13" x 13" bleached, over printed stamped cloth and stenciled cloth, leather piece, canvas sides cross-stitched and blanket stitched top and bottom framing, Hebrew, Aramaic & Greek writing examples found at Qumran.

Creating this piece was interesting and involved many efforts and changes. I was considering the forty years of desert life reported in the bible and for a time it felt like this piece might take me as long to finish! It started with the frustration of tearing apart my old leather purse.There was a fuzzy backing glued to the underside of the leather making it impossible to remove or to stitch. I wound up using a decorative panel from the purse as it had the X stitching motif. A high point for me was teaching myself cross-stitching. The two white narrow side panels have a row each of my cross-stitching. I like learning and getting out of my comfort zone and I'm all for breaking rules but I do find in these older years high levels of brain freeze! I really had to practice on those cross stitches and looking at examples and reading instructions became a waste of time. On that same note I'm going to attempt screen printing. In all my printmaking courses, I never took silk screening? I want to explore some innovative approaches but before I do that, I need to familiarize myself with the basics. I'll post some of my samples in the next few weeks. Still staying with the desert series focusing on texture & colors. Wish me luck....might need a few dinners out, some catalog shopping therapy and if all else fails....champagne!