Praying With Fabrics

For the last few years, I have been slowly working on a series of fiber art pieces inspired by Judaism’s weekday morning service.  I have designed, re-designed, created, and tossed aside many pieces and am moving slowly forward with several distractions.  Now, with an exhibition opening on July 21 at the Park Avenue Synagogue, I am inspired and motivated to create the piece I’m most excited about it the series – Psukei D’Zimra.

Psukei D’Zimra is the second section of the service.  First, we recite a series of blessings thanking God for all of the gifts of life as we rediscover them each morning.  After that, we move into Psukei D’Zimra, a series of psalms praising God.  This section moves us from the physical world of waking to the spiritual world of prayer.  The piece I have designed to show this transition is a three-dimensional spiral which transitions from heavy textured fabrics at the bottom to sheer fabrics at the top. A sketch of the piece is to the right.