Pattern Seeker
Sept 19, 2022
We had a wonderful conference in Asheville, NC. At the reception, it was announced that I was stepping down as 
President of the Society of Gilders, after 8 years. As a surprise, they had commissioned these candlesticks, with gold leaf supplied by my dear friend and past-President, Peter Miller.
Later in the week, I was again surprised at being presented with this framed photograph of me, surrounded by loving wishes from many of my gilding friends.
“True, you are the first and you are the last (Emet, ata hu rishon v’ata hu ackaron)” is one of the benedictions recited every morning following the Shema, the Jewish statement of faith. A Mobius strip is a twisted loop of paper; if you follow it along one side, you seamlessly transition to the other side, on an infinite pathway. The blessing and the physical construct seemed to go together in my mind. The verse begins at the bottom left going upwards, circles invisibly, and finishes by descending from the top left to the bottom right. It is not easy to navigate, but as my teacher Michael Gilbert taught “Art doesn’t always have to be easy”.
The word “Emet”, means “true” or “truly” and is not only one of the names of the Lord, but it is made of the first, middle and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet aleph, mem, tav. I love this.
The background and one of the mats are covered with different marbleized papers, courtesy of Jill Deiss at Cat Tail Run Hand Bookbinding. The Mobius loop is made of Unryu paper, with inked lettering. Framed, it is 11.5″ x 18″ and 1″ deep.
In May, I moved to Falls Church, and in September I moved to a different apartment in the same building, that is a bit larger. It was just as much work as the first move, but well worth it. Now I have a balcony, and I can put my bird bath (by Tom Torrens) out on it. I have already had some visitors!
It is wonderful here! I can walk to almost everywhere, or take a bus, or the Metro.
I am volunteering at a non-profit theatre group, helping make costumes and scenery. I am also making some friends. And of course, I am still the President of the Society of Gilders, which is a labor of love.
My studio and sewing room are completely unpacked, and I now have room for everything.
I hope to soon have some new artwork to share with you. The only down side is that I now have to charge 6% tax on everything. In Rhode Island, original artwork was not taxed.
Meanwhile, take a look at the “Current” work that is available now; I am ready to ship everything.
Stay well!
In order to be closer to family, I have moved! I am now in Falls Church, VA.
It is lovely here, and I am unpacking and getting to know the neighborhood.
This is how things look at present:
And that’s just one room! But I am getting my studio area set up, and I hope to be back to work and taking commissions soon.
Stay well!
