Queen of Sheba

Posted by Ketzirah on Jan 26, 2007 in News & Updates | 2 comments

Size: 6″x4″ (unfinished)
Stitches: Cretan Stitch, Bead Stitch, Couching
Materials: Black Dupioni Silk, Varigated Over-dyed Silk Floss, Peacock Feather, Glass Beads, Frieze/Bullion Gold/Silver Combination Thread, Peacock Feathers
Status: Collection of the Artist

This is an experimental abstract portrait of the Queen of Sheba. Inspired by an astonishing midrash on her and King Solomon in The Nakedness of the Fathers: Biblical Visions and Revisions

It’s on Dupioni Silk with variegated over-dyed silk floss (cretan sitches), peacock feathers, gold/silver (real) couched cord, and glass beads. You can see the line at the top which is the top edge, the peacock feathers break that line a little — so it’s a touch bigger than 6×4. I wanted to capture her beauty, seductive power and mystery — which is why I went abstract. My intent is to evoke the sinewy lines of an hourglass figure with the mystery and beauty of peacocks, which I associate with Solomon’s temple and gardens. I almost started seeing a beautiful mysterious woman doing a fan dance with the peacock feathers.

An interesting turn came when I started pulling some of the individual feathers from the central “stalk.” The stalk came off in these gorgeous curls. When I started to play with how to use them, frankly it started to remind me of pubic hair. I’ve softened that effect in the final version, but you may notice that the curls are towards the bottom of the figure.

My husband actually thought the piece went this way:

He saw land, sea, and sky just by turning the image on it’s side. I’ll leave it to you to decide which is better! I am planning on doing a few more Sheba’s, once I get some more gold/silver thread. I’m really liking working with natural fibers, so I don’t want to use “metallic” floss on this if I can help it. This piece is also my unofficial entry to “Take a Stitch Tuesday” as this weeks is Cretan Stitch. I finished it last week, but something made me think to use Cretan Stitch!

This piece is unspoken for, so if you are interested let me know by leaving a comment and I’ll get in touch with you.

[tags]queen of sheba, sheba, nakedness of the fathers, fiber art, embroidery, peacock, goldwork, cretan stitch, take a stitch tuesday, silk, dupioni, beading[/tags]

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