This group represents my first serious effort to make art and use it to explore spiritual themes. It was in response to my anger over the role and value of women within the churches, past and present. I determined that I must try to make a positive contribution to help change that culture, or depart the church.
“The Wisdom Tapestries” were created in response to that need. They are a set of seven textile works created to expand my own and others’ awareness of the many feminine images used in Christian and Jewish traditions and scripture. They make use of ancient symbols of Wisdom, sayings from Wisdom literature, personal and family history and my own experience as a woman. These works take seriously as an artistic medium the materials and skills which have traditionally been associated with women and which have historically been devalued or ignored for that reason. I use a variety of textiles, yarns, and threads in free form embroidery, applique and a variety of needlework techniques to express a particular artistic and spiritual vision. They are both iconographic and abstract, and have both symbolic and literal meaning.
Although called The Wisdom Tapestries, they are fabric collage and free-form stitchery, not traditional woven tapestry. They were created between 1986 and 1994.
