Planning on a double sided piece.  One side has my sigil and the other the kohenet sigil.

The Kohenet symbol is stitched in vine stitch with this amazing silk floss.  The word “kohenet’ in the center was transfered with brown Sulky pen and then inked over with a blue fountain pen.

Ketzirah’s sigil, on the left, is a pomegranate with the Hebrew letter Kuf in the center, and a honey bee in motion around it.  The pomegranate is done with a specialty floss that has an outer net layer and inner cord. The top is done with straight stitch, and the body of the pomegranate is couched with the net layer stretched out to create the shading.  Under the red is also red Sulky transfer pen coloring.

The bee is done with modified long/short stitch in the body in DMC “flower floss,” and backstitched wings with DMC metallic black.  The bee’s motion trail is french knots in 3 strand DMC cotton.

WIP: Shame Offering 1 by Ketzirah

I’ve written before about the Sacrifice|Offering project, and not too long ago I wrote about searching for the image I would use as the central symbol.  I had a moment of inspiration and found the image recently.  After some work, I created it in an illustration program is this is the first work-in-progress.  I’m calling this the “shame offering” series, because it really is such a shame how wasteful Western culture has become.  We take too much for granted and too much is disposable with no thought to what happens to the waste.  The floss for this series, I’m making from plastic bags that my daily newspaper comes in.  I cannot tell you how much floss I was able to spin from a single bag – yards and yards.  On the right you see a “spindle” with both purple and white floss, both from the same plastic bag.  The photo is blurry, but I’ll post better ones soon.

I’m planning on selling each of these for $36 and then immediately investing the money on the micro-finance website Kiva.org.  Eventually, I’ll get the $36 — but it seems really right to “pay if forward” before I do.  It’s possible I might use some of it to fund amazing other artists on Kickstarter, but my plan is for these pieces to fund Kiva.

WIP of “The Journey”.
16×20″ fiber art wall hanging

See more pictures of the Journey in progress.

Prayers are always heard, maybe a bit delayed, but are always heard. - Photo by Sundaram Ramaswamy (legends2k) used by Creative Commons Attribution Permisions.

I recently posted about my Sacrifice | Offering project.  While I always have many projects and pieces I’m working on, the next I know I want to do in this series is offering me unique challenges.  I want the next piece to also serve as my first submission to the EGA Master Craftsman i program I’m enrolled in.   I believe it’s the right fit.

In my explorations around sacrifice and offerings, I was looking at the “Women of the Book” project.  I noticed that Parshat Tzav wasn’t taken assigned to anyone yet.  While I don’t know that my work will fit their criteria, I did realize that this was a clear sign.  It brought together my concept around Sacrifice|Offering, Torah study, and the framework for my first EGA master craftsman submission.  I’ve actually had two ideas for what this Tzav inspired piece could be.  One is a broader vision, closer to something that would fit the Women of the Book project.  The other is a simpler diptych that would work well for the master craftsman program.

The master craftsman program  submission, which is focused on color for embroidery design, needs to be the same design in two different color schemes.  What I’m searching for though, is a shape, and idea, a form that fits both Shalom Offerings and Sin/Guilt Offerings.  When I read Tzav, I read the sin and guilt offerings really as one offering (כַּחַטָּאת וְכָאָשָׁם) - Leviticus 6:10.  Although, with deeper exploration I  may need to do three pieces to encompass all three offerings. I’ve begun researching and playing with shapes and ideas, but I really am interested in using this to create a bit of a dialogue, all through the process.

So, I’ll put it to you all — what shape do you see when you think of an offering that can be both for Wholeness (Shalom) and for Sin/Guilt, if you just change the colors? What reaction do you have to this whole idea? What do the words Peace/Wholeness and Sin or Guilt trigger for you?  If you read Tzav (Lev 6:1-8:36), what images and feelings does it evoke for you?

This project is intended to explore what it means to sacrifice something and/or give an offering. Our modern Western society is very disconnected from the idea of sacrifice. This is not only in spiritual terms, but also in every day life.  There has been an amazing cultural shift. Only a couple of generations back, people were regularly asked to sacrifice for the greater good of society, or just their own families. Imagine if the government of today asked us to ration a single product like coffee, let alone everything that was rationed in WWII.

In ancient and Eastern religions, physical offerings and sacrifices were a core part of the experience. But in modern Western religions this concept of individual sacrifice, especially from the idea of giving a physical offering of some kind to enable the receipt of something else, is mostly forgotten. There are some vestiges of this in modern life.  In Jewish tradition there are true sacrifice rituals that are still observed by some such as the kapporot ritual of Yom Kippur and Pidyon HaBen (redeeming of first born) ritual, and it was a core part of the ancient tradition.  Catholics have a remnant of this concept visible in the lighting of prayer candles, at least to outside eyes.   But for many people raised in modern America physical religious offerings are truly a foreign practice.

Many people may look at money or time as what is offered now, but for many people it’s not really a sacrifice.  A wise friend has always told me, “for it to be a sacrifice – it has to hurt a little.”  So what does it mean that so many people give offerings now that are not a sacrifice. And is it possible that people are making sacrifices, but they are not acknowledged or respected?

To understand what the difference between an offering and a sacrifice is, we should start at the beginning with the definitions.  Offerings are fairly easy to define.  This definition from Websters Unabridged Dictionary is fairly consistent with most definitions.

Offering: “That which is offered, esp. in divine service; that which is presented as an expiation or atonement for sin, or as a free gift; a sacrifice; an oblation; as, sin offering.” (Websters Dictionary)

Sacrifices, however seem to have some range in definition. The range is really an issue of nuance, but the nuances in this case are important. For the sake of this project, the follow definitions, from the Websters Unabridged Dictionary, will be used.

Sacrifice:  “Destruction or surrender of anything for the sake of something else; devotion of some desirable object in behalf of a higher object, or to a claim deemed more pressing; hence, also, the thing so devoted or given up; as, the sacrifice of interest to pleasure, or of pleasure to interest.” (Websters Dictionary)

“Anything consecrated and offered to God, or to a divinity; an immolated victim, or an offering of any kind, laid upon an altar, or otherwise presented in the way of religious thanksgiving, atonement, or conciliation.”
By utilizing both of these definitions, the project can be inclusive of many cosmologies, world-views, and spiritual paths.

For the first phase of this project a series of fiber-art embroidery pieces will be designed and executed, each with a unique theme or intention.  The pieces will be designed with a careful eye to color, and primarily using abstract or highly symbolic imagery to allow people to make their own associations as to what type of offering it should be.  Natural materials will be used, and herbs and spices may be stitched into the offering to enhance both the visual and visceral experience of the offering as a sacrifice. The designs will be intricate enough to ensure that, even though these pieces are intended to be destroyed, they are true examples of artistry and workmanship.  Along with this a ritual will be designed that will allow each piece to be given as a sacrifice/offering.  Some offerings may be burnt, some buried, some left to the elements, given to someone else, etc.

Each offering will be photographed before and after (if possible) its sacrifice.

The first piece created for this series was an Oroboros offering.  It was used as a burnt offering in a Samhain ritual on November 6, 2010.

Updates:

• 12.16.10: What is the Shape of an Offering?
• 3.29.11: Flickr Set, Work in Progress and Completed Pieces
• 3.29.11: Shame Offering 1

The theme of the swap is:

COMICS/CARTOON. Basically anything with text relating to an image, original or interpretation. You can interpret that as narrowly or widely as you like!

I’m a comic book geek so at first I thought I’d grab an iconic frame from something in my collection, but nothing was really speaking to me.  So I broadened my concept to the text/image but not comic book.

Concept 1

I love the Alice in Wonderland designs that Urban Threads has done, so I thought I might do something with that — which is where Concept 1 comes from.   The girl is my crappy sketch of the Urban Threads Alice,  which I would use if I did this one. This concept is kind of half-baked.  The layout isn’t even close yet.  The quote is from a book of poetry that my Great-Aunt and Uncle gave me when I was a kid.  I still have the book.

All my friends seem to like this design the best, so even if I don’t do this for the swap, I may do it and give it away!

Concept 2
Most of my work is spiritual in nature, so I wanted to at least try and come up with something I would have done anyway for the swap. I do like to mix things up and just do some fun stuff from time to time, which is what Concept 1 is all about.

This concept is a visualization of the following quote:

“The water conceived and gave birth to darkness.
The Fire conceived and gave birth to light.
The wind conceived and gave birth to wisdom.
The earth conceived and gave birth to life.” (Adapted from Genesis Rabbah 13:3 by RK’Jill Hammer)

The cool thing is I could do this piece in English or Hebrew.  Also, I didn’t want the piece to be so overtly spiritual that the recipient couldn’t enjoy it at face value.  I’m still working on the imagery options for light. I did some additional sketches that had a sunrise and lightening bolts.

I think this is clearly the stronger of the two designs, which makes sense. Mr. X Stitch, who runs the PHAT Quarter group voted for this one as my swap entry.  So did my awesome husband, Art.

Life Begins Now - a work in progress

Almost done!!!!!  Finally after nine months of work, I’m almost done. The entire canvas has now been filled with chain stitches, twisted chains, and french knots.

I’ve used probably 20-30 skeins of variegated ecru perle cotton floss.  I’ve done hundreds and hundreds of french knots.

The final step will be to balance it all out and add the rest of the color "sparks."  I’m still planning on doing that in stainless steel silk to give it even more texture.

Sketch for a kippah design I’m working on.  I need to move the name over a bit so it sits just a little more nestled in the tree, but other than than I rather like it.  I’m not sure how it will look on someone’s head.  I still have to think about that.

I’m wondering if the roots would go in the front (at forehead) or if the roots would be at the back of the head?  I guess I could leave that up to the wearer.

[update: 1/15/2011]
[update: 5/1/2010]
[update: 4/25/2010]
[update: 3/13/2010]

This is the first stages of a new piece created in tribute to my Kohenet sister Yosefa.  I drew this the morning before I left for her funeral.  The piece isn’t about grief, it’s about all the color Yosefa brought to the world.  The floss on the left side is a gorgeous variegated cotton floss from the Caron Collection.  I bought it at the best embroidery shop in the DC area, which is still a haul from my house.  When I actually get down there I stock up on all kinds of fun things.  But I digress…

I’m planning on continuing with the tambour-stitch style I’ve been working in, but really stepping things up and doing some serious surface embellishment.  I feel inspired by the work of Sharon B. and her “Sumptuous Surfaces” class.  I haven’t taken it (yet), but I’m already inspired.  So I’ll start with the tambour style, but mix it up after that.

Anyone who knew Yosefa would understand this.  She was an amazingly colorful, highly textured person.  Here’s a tribute with one of my favorite pictures of Yosefa.  I don’t know what I’ll do with the final piece.  If the Seattle Women’s Tattoo Forum, which she co-founded, has their art show again next year I may see if I can donate it to them.

I’ve become really fascinated by Habu Textiles stainless steel silk yarns.

I first saw it in action at Artomatic this year when my friend Rania had incorporated some into her amazing mixed-media artwork. She told me about how amazing it was, but I wasn’t sure that I could work with it because I’m not a knitter. I started playing with some ideas and finally gave in and bought some.

I’m experimenting with “net stitch” vessels. My stitch work here is kind of messy, because the stuff is hard to get used to. Even so, I’m really happy with this experiment. I love that it’s so sculptural. I think I’m going to invest in more and use it as part of the final work on “Life Begins Now,” because I really want that to have a sculptural quality.

For a knitter the thread is probably expensive, but considering how little I used for this experiment — it’s not too bad for me!  I purchased my first batch from Purl Soho, and it arrived very quickly and the colors were exactly as I expected.  I love their blog, so I’m happy to be able to support them through a purchase finally!  The fabric is scrap from my favorite linen from Scarlet Letter.  I’m pretty sure it’s the “golden flax” evenweave.

Oh, if you are looking for more inspiration on how to use this amazing yarn — check out Flickr.  There’s tons of pictures of what people have been doing with it.   Stainless Steel Silk on Flickr.

[tags]habu textiles, habu yarn, stainless steel silk, fiber art, embroidery[/tags]