Shiviti Fabric Drawings

 “Holy Holy Holy” series brings to mind a winged figure. It references the practice to envision ourselves as angels as we pray in an effort to concentrate on the transcendent rather than on the earthly. These large pieces are made from discarded ritual fabrics that had been used for years in one of Chicago’s oldest Jewish congregations. Over time, velvet tallit and t’fillin bags embroidered with floral designs wore out and were put aside to be buried. The beauty and richness of the decaying materials, embroidered dedications and initials, old remnants of paper, and wine stains echo sacred moments of awe and private and communal joyous celebrations and sad commemorations. To recreate the sense of this fragile spirituality and awe, I disassembled the bags and re-attached them, adding pieces of leather, silk, and velvet, then stapled the pieces together into a delicate tapestry.