ABOUT STORIES ON SILK
The inspiration for this group of work came from a flyer posted in a window for a lecture on Ancient Glass of the Holy Land at the de Young museum in San Francisco. Especially intriguing to me was discussion and image of a mosaic ‘table’ that had been found in pieces that when fit back together formed a simple arch shape, like a doorway or window. It was surmised that it had lain face down in the earth for 1,500 -2,000 years.
I learned that evening, about gold glass. The bottom layer was often tinged blue or green, next a gold leaf cut-out was laid on top then a layer of clear glass was poured over, sealing the gold inside into a ‘glass sandwich’.
I’m not a glass artist, my medium is silk and what I’ve attempted to do is capture the translusence of glass in the way I’ve mottled the dyes. I’ve used words from the Song of Songs around the rim of the piece from lower left to the right. The silk ‘tiles’ are each handpainted tracings of ancient Islamic tiles, some of which refer to the words in the poem, the gazelles, the birds, the flowers as well as patterning.
I set myself the challenge of capturing the feeling of the glass in silk. I chose the Song of Songs as the subject and created silk ‘tiles’ with images from Islamic tile designs that related to the words in the poem. There are gazelles, birds, flowers, and the words are in Hebrew. Although I don’t speak the language, I am aware that the letters themselves are powerful and evocative, each a world unto itself.
I’ve collected stories, each of which is an invitation to learn. Those stories lead me to research, to dream and ultimately to begin the dance of making and remaking, of letting the piece tell me what it needs and wants to be until it feels like it has become.
Putting A Silky Finish On Spiritual Textiles, The Jewish News
