Inner Garden
In his seminal work, Letters to a Young Woman, Rainer Maria Rilke writes:
"Winter is a time to tend to our inner gardens...".
He reflects on winter as a time to heal one's mind and spirit.
Rilke's insight resonates.
Throughout the grey colder months, I find joy and contentment in carefully hand-stitching, drawing, weaving, folding, beading, moulding, shaping, coiling and painting. During this time, I am drawn strongly to the meaningful moments of solitude and self-reflection. The luxury of time spent in focussed concentration which nourishes the mind and spirit, as it were, tending to my inner garden.
I have a fascination and passion for textiles and textures. Objects that are created by humble repetition over time and the perseverence of human hand and mindful spirit. These processes require attention and care, time and patience to triumph. The admirable result, the very tactile quality of textiles created by human hand, that inspires me. I find delight in its intimacy and imperfections...
This winter, I meticulously selected contemporary and vintage fabrics, and carefully hand-embroidered, stitched and beaded them into pages according to seven themes.
Finally, the pages were hand bound into seven Artist books.
Their titles are:
- Reflection
- Nurture
- Gardening
- Threads
- Spiritual Oasis
- Giving Thoughts Wings
- Ideas
The artist book collection by the well-known Jack Ginsberg, as well as the books created by the French artist, Louise Bourgeois, continue to inspire me.