Sundancers, Wild Women and DreamWeavers

Orthodox Novo-Tikhvinsky Cloister - embroidery revival

Arghhh! The Chinese have a wonderful curse: "May you have an 'interesting' life." Life has been all too "interesting" lately. I had a mild heart attack last week - that, in addition to the newly found Reactive Hypoglycemia, (the stuff puts diabetes in the shade for difficult-to-manage) is putting me way behind in the articles I have in progress. You can expect, I hope, one decent article a week and a boodle of links for a while.

I've begun putting together what I can for the Colorado Nework Project. It begins with Pueblo, Colorado, my home town. There are a few interesting references there with links - Pueblo has excellent websites - pop in for a tourist moment.

On to today's great link: The Novo-Tikhvin Womens' Monastery located in the Urals of Russia (or whatever it is called now). Novo-Tikhvinsky, a Russian Orthodox cloister was revived in 1994. Bygone traditions are gradually being revived at the monastery, including icon painting and what they term as "the new embroidery". This consists of "traditional church vestments for clergy, canonicals for churches, monastic clothes, and everything necessary for this big household." All these are traditional patterns, but done via computerized machine embroidery. "The cloister tries to revive the relics of the Urals land as best as it can."

It's a lovely website, full of information, history and pretty decent pictures. Every page is packed with fascinating insights into what was hidden from the world for all too long.

Elsa Wachs, ecclesiastical textiles

Elsa Wachs has been creating fiberart since the 70's. Her creations encompass the whole range of fiber techniques from hand stitching to thermography & handmade paper.


Her portfolio centers on Judaic ritual garments, traditional ritual items - Torah mantles, bridal canopies - and personal expressions in the form of soft books and family heirlooms.


At right is a tallit (prayer shawl), "Hear, O Israel", honoring the 50th Anniversary of the State of Israel. The "High Holy Day Shulchan Cover", here, is embroidered with the Hebrew verse and translates : "Mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other." I especially was delighted with her explanations of Judaic tradition, design sources & technique that accompanied each work shown.


Family memorabila, Hebrew verse, traditions and history are combined to make each creation a unique treasure. She incorporates family names, bits of family vintage garments, and a wealth of scanned objects applied via thermography.


On rare occasions, I've been lucky enough to see a piece of work so right that I am utterly lost in it. This woman's creative spirit and soul shines & reaches out. I wish there were links to larger photos... textile details deserve to be seen.