Sacred

Our inspiration word for July was "sacred."

Marcia - I did not finish my piece. I was a bit frustrated in the beginning. I wanted to do a piece based on my church. I started by trying to take a photo but the church is tall and I could not get the entire building including the steeple unless I was quite far away. Then I had hills and angles to cope with. Finally I got the best pictures I could and used them to make applique shapes. I think I did the steeple about 6 times over before I was happy with it. I want to do some more work on the granite steps. Stay tuned for a picture of the finished piece.

Joan- I have always been drawn to vintage religious medals; especially if they include the madonna. I love the image of this French madonna and child. I printed the image of the medal on to fabric and appliqued it into the middle of this piece of fabric I have had for a long time. The fabric has Latin text on it and seemed to fit with the image.  It still need to be quilted.

Melanie - This piece combines several sacred symbols. The background was created with soywax batik on linen. The resulting luminous colors are reminiscent of a stained glass window.

The tree is an interpretation of the “tree of life,” a common motif in various world theologies, mythologies, and philosophies. It alludes to the interconnection of all life on our planet. The term “tree of life,” is also used as a synonym for sacred tree.

In this piece, the tree of life is created with yarn “couched” on to the fabric with a small zig zag stitch.

The Spiral, is the oldest symbol known to be used in spiritual practices.It reflects the universal pattern of growth and evolution. It represents the goddess, the womb, fertility and life force energy.

The roots and branches of the tree in this piece terminate in spirals. The background quilting also incorporates spirals.

This is a scared geometry symbol for the center of the Flower of Life, a sacred blueprint of all creation. The pattern appears in most early religious traditions in the Middle East. The overlapping circles represent the omniscience of Creation honoring the infinite connections of all life circles. The Seed of Life also represents acceptance for all beings, all cultures, all beliefs and resonates tolerance and infinite energy for all beings.

In this piece, the “Flower of Life” is overlayed in gold on the “Tree of Life” enhancing the sacred symbolism.

Cathey - This piece uses Tibetan prayer flags to represent sacred. The background is collage pieced to represent the Himalayan Mountains. I used several different fabric types for the background including poly with burned edges. I sprayed "radiant rain" on the mountain top snows. The prayer flags are loose on the piece and provide dimension.

Hope - I had a piece of fabric that I batiked with soy wax and dye. It had some beautiful light areas that reminded me of a stained glass window. There is also a line through the piece that suggests a cross. I added an "arch" in the finishing to enhance the stained glass window effect.

Sheila - This piece is "Krishna." In it  I used hand painted silk, sari silk waste and lots of beading and stitching, As always, everything was done by hand. The backing is peacock fabric because peacocks are sacred Krishna symbols.

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Here are some additional pieces of mine.