High Holidays Torah Mantle

Torah Mantle for the High Holidays

 Rabbi Elkin, of the Narayever Synagogue, was very pleased with the Torah Mantle I had created for their new smaller Torah.  So pleased in fact, that he asked me to create another one that would be used exclusively during the sacred High Holy Days.    This would mean that it would need to have a background of pure white as all the Torah Mantles used for these holidays are white, but beyond that I had artistic license to create.

Doodling on fabric with thickened Procion dyes

I knew that I wanted to create something completely different, and decided on an abstracted, rather than literal design, and my sketches led me to the notion of a twist,  or a spiral type of shape.

It occurred to me that this shape connects everything.  We can see it in the twisted vine, the trunk of a tree, the shape of a ram's horn, and even as it turns out (pun intended) in the shape of our DNA.

I found a beautiful bright white cloth with heavy weight, intended for outdoor furniture with a coarse weave.  It felt right. It absorbed the thickened dye well after I found the right consistency.  My first efforts to create a three dimensional image of a twist were woefully sad--see above--- but after some practice, a few tutorials, and some input from other creative spirits, I began to like what was happening.

I worked with the composition, as it needed to be effective even when only viewed in part, but especially when only the central part could be seen.  I chose the colours to represent honey, an important element of the rituals of our new year celebration.

When the painting was done, I wanted to add some stitching and embellishment.  Something that would be a very special addition.  A secret element appliqued.  For those who have a deep desire to investigate and know all..... see answer at the end..... but at this point in the story, try to imagine what those round gold filigree shapes are made from.  They are found in nature, and are provided by very small animal after her work (which is highly valued) is done.

The completed composition on my work table

Just checking it out from a distance

Detail: focusing on the central element to make sure it still 'dances'.

Rabbi Ed Elkin, receiving the new Torah Mantle.

Artist Statement

Preoccupied with the shapes that we share I notice the twist in a rose covered vine, a ram's horn, or the mapping of our DNA strands. These shapes are found everywhere, one only needs to pause, look, and notice.  True too these steps are necessary for creating connection between us and others as well as between ourselves and mother nature.  In this work I chose to highlight these curved twists to allow the viewer to imagine what they may represent.  The colours were chosen to represent the honey that sweetens our new year celebrations: the gift of the honeybee who offers us her bounty.

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For those of you who have given up trying to guess what the gold round filigreed shapes appliqued onto the Torah mantle are:  they are gold Cricula Cocoons lovingly spun by the industrious Cricula silkworm.  They are the lacey caps the wild silkworm spins and attaches to a tree branches from India to the Philippines, Sulawesi, Java, and Sri Lanka.

The gold colour is completely natural, all I did was cut out the round shapes and flatten the forms.  when examining them closely one can see a very intricate lacy filigree design:

another wonder of Mother Nature!

 

Aloft

32 " wide x 43 " long

Detail

My son is a climber.  A climber of all things, since he was able to walk, he wanted to be 'aloft'.  This work is based on a self portrait he took, while he was up in the crown of a tree.  The photo was enlarged and then printed on cotton.  

Detail

I 'free-motion quilted' every branch of the tree which I found to be a very meditative pursuit of hours,  probably weeks, all told.

Back

In this full photo of the back one can clearly see the density of stitching. 

Back, detail

Back, detail

After I completed the stitch work, I added a few hits of a bright green dye.

Detail, back

Although this is an old photo, he is still climbing, if not trees, as an arborist, then boulders, as a rock climber in British Columbia.  This is a passion that has sustained him, kept him 'Aloft', throughout his life.  This work is a tribute to this impressive singularity of purpose and passion.

 

Now We are Three

Now We are Three

37" x 64"

Another Beautiful Mama- to-Be 

This lovely young woman was expecting her first child and had some reservations about colour when it came to decorating.  Her home is quite "Maria Kondo", which means there is a lot of white, no clutter, and is impeccably neat and clean.  This felt quite challenging to me when designing a quilt for her baby but I was up for it.  My first step was to go with her to a quilting store.  We went to "Sew Sisters" in Toronto and after much browsing and great deliberation, came up with a nice big stack of bolts with enough colour for me, but not too much for mama.

As we reviewed our choices, all together, the combination felt soothing.  We knew that the baby was a boy, and so leaning into blue felt right.

Deciding on the pattern was left up to me, and I chose this pattern by Kim Schaefer.  In her book, Cozy Modern Quilts.  She illustrates it in deep reds and yellows but I hoped that  it would work well in our muted tones.  What I loved best about the pattern were the three rectangles at the centre of every block.  This led me to name the quilt;  "Now We are Three".

As most quilters know, most every good quilt begins with a lot of cutting.

Once the blocks were created, it was time to lay them out.  This is always a great use of the dining room table.  I had decided to create the blocks  randomly but with as much contrast that I could generate, given our muted tones.  I was a bit worried that such a low contrast collection might not make for an interesting quilt.

Once arranged, it was time to quilt it.  I quilted it simply, with straight stitch.  

It seemed the best choice for the design.

The completed project.  

I was frankly quite pleasantly surprised.  

Despite the limited range of colour, the completed design does make a statement.  

I think it is  quiet but elegant.

I pieced the back as well.  If the parents feel that the front is too busy, they can just flip it over.

I had one completed block left over as well as scraps so I decided to create a pillow to match.

The making of the pillow

I had made the binding of the quilt out of left over scraps, and I had left over scrappy binding so I decided to make a flange.  I had never done that before and wasn't exactly sure how to deal with the corners but after a couple of trials and errors, I managed.

The corners seem to be a bit gathered and I am not sure what I did to create that effect, but I did turn the corners as I would have were it binding.

I was pleased with the end result

The front of the pillow is actually a 3 layered quilt, and I quilted it with free motion quilting of hearts.

The backside of the pillow is two overlapping pieces of plain cotton so this will be easy to remove for cleaning.

this is the pillow in its new home.

and here are the pillow and quilt being road tested on the parents' bed.

A beautiful baby boy enjoying it for the first time at 3 weeks old!  

He seems very comfortable with it.  

 

Torah Mantle

The Torah mantle, or the 'coat' for the Torah is a cloth cover that is used to decorate and protect the Torah scroll.  The Torah is the most sacred object in Judaism, so giving it protection is very important, and I considered it a great honour that I was asked to create one for a synagogue in downtown Toronto

This is an image of the entrance to the synagogue.  They recently did an extensive renovation and created a modern, warm entrance.

The Rabbi began by introducing me to the Torah Mantle's that they already had.  

He liked the warm earthy tones of rusts and browns but wanted a look that was modern.

As I had never made one before, I was interested in exploring how they were put together.

There were several wooden elements, and I wasn't sure how I was going to find? Buy? Create? these.

The Torah is an amazing thing to see up close.  Every letter is made by hand by a highly trained scribe who uses a special type of lettering.  It looks like a form of Hebrew block letters with some embellished with crowns.  Each letter is said to convey a mystical meaning.  The scribe inks each letter with a feather quill.  The parchment sheets are sewn together with animal sinews to form one long scroll.  The parchment is made from the skins of a kosher animal that has been tanned, scraped and parchment- cured, (anywhere from 62 to 84 sheets).  

This Torah had recently been acquired by the synagogue and was slightly smaller than the other ones.  The Rabbi had wanted a smaller, lighter Torah as they very regularly have women and children handling their Torahs during services.  This is a synagogue that is egalitarian and inclusive.

                                       I noticed this brochure as soon as I entered the building.

I decided to begin by dying cotton fabric.  I wanted to create a variety of intensities and tones that would blend with the colours of the mantles that the synagogue already loved.  Several of them had been created by Temma Gentles who was a very well known fibre artist in the Jewish community.  Hers were big shoes to follow!

I dyed two different kinds of cotton, the second set had a woven feel that I thought might add interest to the project.

While my dye pots cured I worked on my proposal.  This was the sketch that I created.  I had asked the Rabbi to consider themes that he would like represented in my work.  He shared that the song that is sung when the Torah is returned to the ark is usually translated as "her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace" and he suggested that a theme of peace would be relevant today (and always).  As well, it is significant to this congregation that their cherished objects reflect equality of men and women.  "God created them in His image"" in reference to Adam and Eve.  This verse is often used to stress our commonality with all human beings, and the dignity that each one is owed as an image of God regardless of their ethnicity or gender or religion.  

In my sketch I created human figures that are overlapping, and thus connected, of all different shapes and sizes, and they are covered by peace doves.

While I was working on the design, I was also exploring how to deal with the wooden elements of the mantle.  I had been hoping that these could be purchased, on their own, without the cloth covering, but I soon discovered that this was not a possibility.  The Judaica shop I visited had no idea how to acquire these pieces, they only sold complete mantles.  Luckily, I am connected to a wonderful group of women who are part of the "International Jewish Quilters".  I asked for their help and they came through!  A generous woman, Paula Miller, kindly lent me the templates she had (photo above).  I wasn't quite sure what the purpose of all 3 pieces were but I was happy to have them.  And then another lovely friend, Brian Goldstein, kindly offered to duplicate these pieces for me.  This was becoming a group project!

After drawing the figures on freezer paper, I ironed the chosen fabrics onto the freezer paper patterns folding over the seam allowance.

Then I pinned the figures in place.  For the background I had chosen a brown/taupe cotton velvet.  When I saw it in the store, it just screamed Torah to me.

Then I added the doves.  I wanted them to appear to be flying around the people.

This was the finished composition, before I worked out how it would be lined and turned into a 'skirt'.

I created a quilted cover for the wood top, covering it in batting, and then upholstered it with the velvet.

This is the composition lined and ready. Here you can clearly see how all the figures are overlapping and connected as the doves are circling them with bowers of leaves.

Having never constructed anything like this before, I consulted an upholsterer.  But in the end, I was most comfortable with pinning it in place and sewing it by hand to the upholstered wood.  With the pins on, it looked like I had made a crown!

                          Here is the new Torah Mantle in its new home as it embraces its Torah.

I am very happy with how it blends in with the other Torah Mantles and yet still stands out with a modern motif.

Artist Statement:  This Torah mantle was designed to suggest two overlapping ideas.  Firstly, as our humanity binds us to each other it is our responsibility to recognize and magnify common ground-- to work towards finding the smallest seed of mutuality, where our values and goals overlap, and to there, lend focus.  And secondly, that this effort, in and of itself, can lead to peace.  We may never finish this work, but it is our responsibility to take it on.