Fiber Art
Ritual and other facets of "spirituality" are major aspects of the human experience. From the beginning of recorded time, humans have used earthly elements to explore and express their spirituality. We harvest foods for rites and religious celebrations, use raw materials to depict the invisible, mark and protect the sacred places we discover or build. My series "Holy Ground" depicts places where I experienced an undeniable presence of history and sacred ritual. The series "Psalms as Ancient Poetry" uses images from nature that define and describe the God of the Israelites.
14″ X 14″ Hemp – hand dyed, appliquéd and stitched. As part of the “Cradle to Grave” exhibition in Suwan, Korea, this piece represents a life well lived. The background fabric is hemp, the textile used for Korean burial garments. Black is the color of mourning in Korean culture; red text is used to write […]
Medium: Textile: hand dyed, appliquéd, printed, stitched Dimensions: 27″ x 19″ x 0″ Samhain, the “between” time when the dead returned to the earth, late October, early November. Celts celebrated the end of harvest with bonfires, carved turnips, apple bobbing and dancing. Christians converted this festival to All Saints/All Souls days and more generally, this […]
Medium: Textile: hand dyed, appliquéd, printed, stitched Dimensions: 27″ x 19″ x 0″ Imbolc, marking the beginning of spring, is held on or around February 1. Believed to have originated as the Pagan feast of Brigit, Goddess of Fertility, it has been Christianized as the feast of St. Brigit. On this day, people would visit […]
Medium: Textile: hand dyed, appliquéd, printed, stitched Dimensions: 27″ x 19″ x 0″ Beltane, named for Bel, the God of Light, introduced summer. A large bonfire was built where sacrificed lambs were cooked. May Trees were decorated and yellow flowers such as primrose and gorse were displayed on doors and windows or fastened to cows […]
Medium: Textile: hand dyed, appliquéd, printed, stitched Dimensions: 27″ x 19″ x 0″ Lughnasa, the Celtic festival named after Lugh, God of harvest, occurs in early August. It includes a meal with a mandatory dish of blue bilberries, athletic competition and match making. People climbed to high places where they buried first fruits, to honor […]
Tencel – Hand dyed, screened, embroidered 29″W X 43″H Tokyo, a fast paced, densely populated city, has pockets of solitude and silence such as the Shinto Shrine of Emperor Meiji. To get there, you take the train to the Harajuku Station in the Shibuya District where packs of teens change into the extreme fashions of […]
Silk – hand dyed, screened and embroidered 32″ W x 40″ H Eucharist comes from the Greek verb Eucharistéō deriving from two nouns translated as “good” and “grace”. Ritually the “Breaking of Bread” has occurred for millennia in multiple cultures and religions. Detail image
Silk – hand dyed, screened and embroidered. 23.5″ W x 35″ H Detail image
Silk – hand dyed, screened and embroidered. 23″ W x 33.5″ H Detail image
Silk – hand dyed, screened and embroidered. 22.5″ W X 32″ H Detail image
Silk – hand dyed, screened and embroidered. 21.5″ W X 26″ H Detail image
Silk – hand dyed, screened and embroidered. 21″ W X 27″ H Detail image
Silk – hand dyed, screened and embroidered. 24″ W x 37″ H Detail image
Silk – Hand dyed, screened, embroidered 26″W X 42″H The Incas came into power in the 13th or 14th Century Peru, believing they were descendents of the sun and with ritual centered on the solar patterns. While there were a number of temples to the Sun, the site most familiar to us is Machu Picchu, […]
Silk – Hand dyed, screened, embroidered 26″W X 43″H The Concentration Camps of Eastern Europe were so massive and incomprehensible that words can’t possibly capture the horror. These places are not “Holy Ground”, as are the other locations in this series, but at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC, there is an overpowering need to […]
Silk – Hand dyed, screened, embroidered 27″W X 44″H Originally constructed in 360, burnt and rebuilt twice, today’s Hagia Sophia was opened for worship by Emperor Justinian in 537. The size of this edifice, the filtered light that permeates the place, the floors worn down by centuries of foot traffic, the Christian altar that is […]
Silk – Hand dyed, screened, embroidered 29″W X 44″H Five thousand years ago, people in Ireland and western Europe were constructing large passage mounds such as the one at New Grange, County Meath Ireland. At dawn on the days of the winter solstice, sunlight pierces an opening above the door as a beam, gradually widening […]
Silk – hand dyed, screened and embroidered 32″ W X 40″H In Japan, the ceremonial preparation and presentation of tea has been highly ritualized, including equipment, clothing, floral arrangement, food and environment. Originally a religious ceremony, over the centuries it evolved into a status symbol for Samurai and other elite. Detail image
Silk – hand dyed, screened and embroidered 32″ W X 40″H In Australia, the Queensland Aboriginal peoples gathered every three or four years for the harvest of the nuts of the bidwilii, the bunya pine tree. People travelled great distances for these gatherings to strengthen the sense of community by celebrating family events, conducting marriages, […]
Silk – hand dyed, screened. Appliquéd and embroidered. 36″W X 32″ H The Mayan’s believed that man was created when the God’s planted and harvested corn seeds. Detail image
Silk – hand dyed, screened. Appliquéd and embroidered. 36″W X 32″ H Most American Indian tribes had an annual festival celebrating the planting or harvesting of corn.
