One If By Land, Matt Horspool

Native Human Embroidery | Instagram: @native_human_embroidery

Hsiao Chin 蕭勤 (Chinese,  b.1935)

Esther Scroll, Ancona, early 18th century

Handwritten text, unfinished decorated cut-away parchment Parchment, 8 membranes, 39 text columns,  23x458 cm Carved wooden roller Gift of Mrs. Erna Ascoli in memory of her husband U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art ON 0495

This scroll is a beautiful example of the particular style of decoration that flourished in the Italian towns of Ancona and Lugo in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Artists in these towns specialized in a laborious technique whereby the parchment was cut away to create an intricately patterned frame for the text that reminds us of the beautiful lace used in fashions of that period. This elaborate technique was employed to adorn megillot, ketubbot and a variety of Judaica objects. Only a few such Italian cut-out parchment scrolls remain today.

“Healing Hobbies”

A few weeks ago I was sent back to the hospital with another infection.  I ended up being there for two whole weeks, during which I even celebrated my birthday.  Fortunately we made the best of the situation bringing in cupcakes and a few decorations the nurses allowed me to hang up in my room.  It was up to me to how I wanted to spend my time there and I didn’t want to be bored and miserable.  So of course I also brought my embroidery supplies to keep me occupied while I was there.

I already had the sun and mountains piece on the go when I got there.  Once I had enough energy back in my hands, I got to work filling in the outline with bright colours.  Then I had the idea to layer in even more colours to a few of the sections just to add a bit of dimension to the piece.  One of my aunts loved the finished product so much that she asked if she could buy it off of me.  Obviously I’m going to give it to her since she is family.

Anyways, once that piece was done I needed more to do.  Thankfully my mom brought in some  hoops I had prepared beforehand for me to work on.  I managed to make the two smaller pieces while I was still there.  Having this hobby is just what I needed to make it through this most recent stay at the hospital.  It kept me busy while I laid in bed receiving numerous medications to help me get better.  Working on a bit of embroidered art was just another way for me to heal.

[Exposition 🖼️] Dernière ligne droite avant l'ouverture de la grande exposition "Le Mur et l'Espace" vendredi au Centre Jean-Lurçat à Aubusson.

Wear them with good health, Zhanna Kadyrova

Follow us on Twitter & Facebook for more

Rheannon Cheri | Instagram: @rhea_cheri