The Opus is finished

After almost a year of work, my opus is (just about) finished. I’ve even done the backing! Because this piece is so complex, with flat and 3D sections, and because it’s a very important piece, I think I’m going to get it professionally photographed. Meanwhile, here are my totally non-professional detailed images:

I finally sewed in all the gold thread (no, not real gold. My crit group talked me out of struggling with a very troublesome material). The section behind the globus crucifer is now slightly padded, to help give it a rounded appearance. I gave up on the reflection spots on the clay jar and just sewed over them.

(Below) The name “OPUS ANGLICANUM” is subtly stitched into the frame on top…

(Below) …and the name “THE PARACAS TEXTILE” is stitched into the frame on the bottom:

(Above) Staring from the left with a Chancay figure from Peru, then figures from a Hmong story cloth stand with women from a Chilean arpillera. Two tiny Guatemalan worry dolls are tucked in front of them. A woven Candelaria figure looks like he’s beating on the head of the kneeling soldier.The Nishapur woman now has 2 small friends - an green applique copied from a Harriet Powers quilt, and a bad version of a Seminole Palmetto doll. A Russian goddess figure is embroidered overlapping Nishapur’s feet.

(Above) Oops - left a needle in there! On the right side of the Russian embroidery, I wedged in a tiny bit of a tablecloth that has some authentic goddess embroidery (dyed to match the rest, so impossible to decipher visually) AND another embroidered figure (who looks like she’s hugging the goddesses dress). The African Nkisi Nkondi power figure is embedded with needles and pins instead of the traditional nails. Then, another Candelaria woven figure slightly overlaps a Tinglit button blanket. My embroidery of an Aboriginal figure is standing in the corner, even though he’s not truly authentic (couldn’t find any real Aboriginal figural textile images, so he got a pass along with the Nishapur woman).

(Above) Leaping just over the Tinglit Blanket (you can see a few of the buttons at the bottom of the picture) is one of my original figures, sewn when I was still waiting for the center to be printed. He’s constructed of authentic South American textiles, but does not represent any specific people. However, right above him we have one of my favorite sections: my beaded copy of a beaded Yoruba figure, pushing into the center. Please realize that the image of the Opus being pushed had to be dealt with in the original design phase. He’s not actually pushing the cloth, it’s just part of the design. The Yoruba figure looks like he’s got one hand near the mouth of a Paracas figure’s head. And we have another Haitian sequined figure on the far right.

(Above) A Jewish refugee figure, in woolen applique, based on a figure by Mara Loytved-Hardegg; an Indian figure sewn in the traditional Kantha stitch, and another of the Paracas figures. If you look very carefully at the Paracas figure, you see that he’s grabbing the border with one hand, while he reaches underneath with the other hand.

(Above) Moving along up to the top right corner, we have the Adire fabric stencil (or at least my best copy of it) . She’s crowded over a Japanese funerary figure (which are made of stone, but wear knitted caps and shawls) on the right. At her bottom left, she is just over the eye of an actual Fon applique flag. Then another Chancay figure from South America, and a beaded Yoruba twin doll (didn’t realize quite how many of my African figures are Yoruban). The twins are positioned in front of some lovely old embroidered flowers.

(Above) Yes, this is the top section you saw earlier - now you get the explanation. Working from our right, you see the very edge of the Yoruba twins. The beaded figure is based on a detail from a women’s ceremonial beaded skirt of the Sarawak people in Malasia. If you look extra carefully, you might be able to see one of the beads she’s dropping onto the Opus. Meanwhile, a small Paracas figure flies over. Then we have another Inuit figure, this one based on the work of Inuit Art Pioneer Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq, followed by my sorry attempt at Navajo blanket weaving. Last of this batch is a full Fon applique figure.   You may notice that some of the figures have small, discrete labels (FON, INUIT). They’re not easily seen, but if some viewer of the Opus is truly interested, these labels provide small clues for further study.

(Above) Two little Paracas fellows here - one is very busy interacting with threads from the Opus. Obviously, he is one of several figures pushing, pulling or doing something with the Opus. But what, exactly, isn’t made clear. They may all be damaging the tapestry, tearing at it. Or they may be helping to mend it. Or perhaps just examining it. These figures, representing the incredible textile skills of the Non-Western world, are busy on the edges of the Opus, which represents the height of Western textile achievements. What are they doing?

Anyway, behind them is a Hawaiian carved stone figure (now made of cut cloth) and a Indonesian batik figure.

(Above) We’ve made it to the top left hand corner. The flat-looking fellow in the tall hat is based on Turkish shadow puppets, which are made out very thin leather. Behind him is that adorable Putto I told you about last week, and a Kantha figure fussing with his wings. The Aboriginal embroidery was originally very light, and had to be darkened down several times to fit in visually. Finally, we’ve got a copy of ….oh, damn, something from Indonesia.

(Above) Another Paracas figure meddling with the Opus threads. Behind him is a small leather doll (which probably doesn’t belong, but for now….)

(Above) An Indonesian Puppet figure if poking into the Opus, causing ripples. I love the expression on the figure behind her.

(Above, from left) An Ethiopian angel on horseback, an appliqued figure from India.. and a Pay Back doll from the Mendi Valley of Papua New Guinea. I have read that long ago, if someone was killed, the family of the deceased would make this sort of doll to remind them that revenge was needed. Make of that what you will.

Last Photo! Starting with a timbuwarra (the one with a green hole in his stomach, also from Papua New Guinea), a Mola doll (made from an authentic mola!): under them is another Paracas figure, a Haitian sequined lady, a very small figure from New Zealand, another Chancay doll and a beaded African figure holding one of the tiles from the edge of the Opus. (taking it out or putting it in? Your call).

I do need a name for this piece. ‘Opus Anglicanum” translates to English work. Since Mundi is Latin for world, would “Opus Mundi” translate to work of the world? Suggestions welcome. I am so glad this is finished. Now what?

How we really stitch ourselves...

Lots of work going on here. I’m researching more and more figures - googling story cloths and narrative textiles and figural stitching and then looking at many screens of images until one says ‘yes, me’, and then going down that road until I either find amazing figures or the path dies out. I keep making new (better?) figures and retiring others.

FIRST: HAITIAN DRAPO SERVIS

(Above) Haitian sequined flags are not hung on flagpoles. They are entirely covered in sequins and beads. They originated as drapo servis, which are important religious icons. Kept in shrine rooms, they are carried by flag bearers in elaborate ceremonies . A drapo servis will include an image of a Catholic saint or an  emblem of a spirit.

Art flags show much wider variation in size and theme than drapo servis. Some flags are closer to tapestries. In the 1950s collectors started to buy drapo Vodou, and the priests began to make them for sale as a source of income.

. My small figure is based on images found by Googling Haitian flags sequins. I simplified the figure, printed it out on cloth and instead of shiny sequins, I punched circles out of the foil covers from wine bottles (tiny, non-shiny sequins!) and sewed those on.

NEXT: MORE HAITIAN SEQUINS AND A PARACAS FIGURE

(Above, the originals) Among the frame figures, I’m including several figures copied from the edge of the Paracas Textile. I wish I could have gotten to the Brooklyn Museum to see the actual textile in the cloth, but it’s a pandemic no-go. How big are these figures? I’m estimating them each at around 5” tall, which is only slightly larger than mine, yet look at the detail of those stitches! Truly - artistry at least on a par with the Opus Angelicanum. And another sequined figure, again, much more detailed than mine (Below, my versions)

NEXT: CANDELARIA WOVEN FIGURE (Below) Last week I showed you my crude attempt at a Candelaria woven figure. I ripped that one out, and wove this one onto the cloth. I sewed the warp stitches first, then wove in with a needle. She’s superimposed over the Inuit figure, and I still need to work on her face.

NEXT: COPTIC PUTTO (Below) I fell in love with this little Coptic Egyptian Putto - the facial expression, and the wavy lines of the weave. In the height (depth?) of obsessiveness, I deconstructed an old linen towel and dyed the threads to weave this little guy. If you look closely at this and compare it to my other woven figures, you can see a slight difference. Why am I changing all the colors? Because they have to be hidden in the dark frame.

NEXT: ESTHER KRINITZ In one of the hunts for narrative textiles, I came across Esther Nisenthal Krinitz and her stitched account of her experiences in the Holocaust. To be honest, I don’t remember for sure if this figure is one of hers, but I think it is. Read more here: https://www.jewishchronicle.org/2017/02/03/esthers-quilts-tell-a-startling-uncomfortable-story/

AND LAST: (Below) I’ve gotta do better on my record keeping. I can’t find the original information on this angry guy. I know he’s from an 18th century Chinese embroidery, but he’s a composite of several different images. The stitching came out pretty well though. And another Paracas Textile figure, this time just a face.

SO - research and sewing and more sewing and research. If you’re interested in this whole area of how women picture themselves in their sewing, you can read more at http://www.storyclothdatabase.org/database and

Zimbabwe Artists Project (ZAP)    https://uusalem.org/2017/09/30/zimbabwe-artists-project-sale-october-1-october-8/zimbabwe-artists-project-2017-09-02/

or

http://tashanda-africa.blogspot.com/2011/01/zimbabwe-artists-project-zap.html

Apologies for poor photography and slapdash writing, but good art is coming!

NEXT: I’ve gotta do better on my paperwork. This angry man is from an 18th century Chinese embroidery, but where did i put the original image? This is the one I printed out, a composite of several different figures