Size: 6″x4″ (unfinished)
Stitches: Cretan Stitch, Bead Stitch, Couching
Materials: Black Dupioni Silk, Varigated Over-dyed Silk Floss, Peacock Feather, Glass Beads, Frieze/Bullion Gold/Silver Combination Thread, Peacock Feathers
Status: Available

This is an experimental abstract portrait of the Queen of Sheba. Inspired by an astonishing midrash on her and King Solomon in The Nakedness of the Fathers: Biblical Visions and Revisions

It’s on Dupioni Silk with variegated over-dyed silk floss (cretan sitches), peacock feathers, gold/silver (real) couched cord, and glass beads. You can see the line at the top which is the top edge, the peacock feathers break that line a little — so it’s a touch bigger than 6×4. I wanted to capture her beauty, seductive power and mystery — which is why I went abstract. My intent is to evoke the sinewy lines of an hourglass figure with the mystery and beauty of peacocks, which I associate with Solomon’s temple and gardens. I almost started seeing a beautiful mysterious woman doing a fan dance with the peacock feathers.

An interesting turn came when I started pulling some of the individual feathers from the central “stalk.” The stalk came off in these gorgeous curls. When I started to play with how to use them, frankly it started to remind me of pubic hair. I’ve softened that effect in the final version, but you may notice that the curls are towards the bottom of the figure.

My husband actually thought the piece went this way:

He saw land, sea, and sky just by turning the image on it’s side. I’ll leave it to you to decide which is better! I am planning on doing a few more Sheba’s, once I get some more gold/silver thread. I’m really liking working with natural fibers, so I don’t want to use “metallic” floss on this if I can help it. This piece is also my unofficial entry to “Take a Stitch Tuesday” as this weeks is Cretan Stitch. I finished it last week, but something made me think to use Cretan Stitch!

This piece is unspoken for, so if you are interested let me know by leaving a comment and I’ll get in touch with you.

Technorati Tags: queen of sheba, sheba, nakedness of the fathers, fiber art, embroidery, peacock, goldwork, cretan stitch, take a stitch tuesday, silk, dupioni, beading

I decided to finish this piece as larger than 6×4, but I wanted to submit to the 6×4 challenge, since that’s how it started out, so I scanned it now. The edges are unfinished, so I cropped it at the 6×4 marks. I’m planning on adding dimensional tree branches across the larger open area on the right, with natural dried leaves to continue the garden beyond the flat image. It’s matted on green felt, and there will be felt vines coming out of the background.

It’s intended to represent the moment when Chava (Eve) decides whether or not to eat the forbidden fruit. The snake is not present, because the focus is on her decision. In my midrash Chava makes a choice, she is not tricked by the snake. She listens to the snake and then does something she’s never done — she makes a decision on her own — thereby beginning history (herstory, if you like).

At this past week’s Kohenet intensive, I also realized that this represents Chava as the archetype of the Seeker to me (more on this later). It’s the moment of seeking knowledge — and then changing the course of her life beyond what she could imagine.

Technorati Tags: kohenet, chava, eve, pomegranates, satin stitch, long short stitch, french knots, linen, ribbon stitch

Moon on the Water
Originally uploaded by Me!

Size: 6″ x 4″ (approx)
Stitches: ribbon stitch, bead stitch, appliqué
Materials: button, glass beads, silk & organza ribbon, linen
Status: Available

This isn’t specifically Judaica, but the inspiration was. I received these beautiful buttons from Raspberry and immediately saw the blue ones as pools of water, which lead me to the well of Miriam.

For this one, it’s not specifically the well of Miriam, but rather the moon reflecting on the water. It’s a bit abstract, and I’m not quite sure it worked. I created this as part of the 6×4 challenge group on Flickr. Like the mezuzah it’s just a size constraint, but it gives me a little more room to work than a tiny mezuzah!

Technorati Tags: embroidery, experiment, moon, water, fiber art, buttons, bead