'On My Knees' was the working title for a piece of contemplative art work, before I even knew how the piece would be constructed & what it would look like! Initially it was the working title for another Prayer Mat, but then that title wasnt working for that particular piece, so the title remained in contemplative limbo...
...until my son came to visit. With him was his latest pair of discarded jeans. This time they were being relocated to my 'defunct-family-jeans' pile due to the bleach stains damaging the legs. ( His rental property had been in need of SERIOUS cleaning. ) It was the first pair of cast off jeans I'd had from him since he'd left home, which brought to mind his first ever pair of baby jeans, which I have kept. Both are shown above, side by side.
The bleach spots interested me in the dramatic way they affected the fabric. Hmmmmm...
It was time to do some playing! I'm not a big user of bleach in the home, myself. The impact on the waterways & the fumes keeps my useage to a minimum, so 'playing' with bleach required a bit of forethought & preparation! I played on a day when I could have ALL the external doors open, so LOTS of fresh air. I spent considerable time working out my experiments; folded & held with bulldog clips, scrunched & held with rubber bands, stamps, stencils & simple painting. There was a big bucket of water at the ready, for stopping the process & multiple rinses.
The results were impressive! I was very excited about using them, but how? Would I use all, or just....some? My thoughts had considered making an 'On My Knees' kneeling cushion, a tool used in some Christian traditions. Whilst I liked that idea, no other brainwaves came as to how. Therefore, I decided to stop complicating things, and have a go at making another Prayer Mat. This time...different!
I had been reading up on Tartan & the history of it. Naturally, this led me to thinking about the clans, & some of the traumatic stories in their history, namely the massacre of Glencoe. This led me to thinking about tribes & tribal disputes, which in turn led me to thinking about Tribal rugs! The road to inspiraion is a circuitous one! I did a bit of study looking at various Moroccan Berber rugs, enjoying their stripes & geometric patterns, keeping in mind also, the tartan & use of line there.
Time was moving on & I had a deadline....an exhibition opening date looming ahead! I created a design & started mechanically setting about constructing the pieces for it.
But I really wasnt happy with my decision. After many scratchings on scraps of paper, I finally came up with an idea that sang for me! Finally my head & heart were on the same page! Fortuitously, on this scrap of paper the print from the logo on the other side had soaked through. I saw this as a sign as to where my worn knees would go!
I had been stitching them to a background over several months, using kantha stitch. Such a slow & medatitive process allows one the luxury of thought! I got to thinking about the fact that bleach removes stains. And in human terms, any number of wrong decisions 'stain' our character, which led me to consider the lyrics 'on my knees, begging you please, please forgive me'. (I have no idea WHAT song has those lyrics , they just sang away in my head during this thought process!!!) In turn, I thought about forgiveness, a concept encouraged in the monotheistic religions. This led me to think of blame & accusation & lack of being responsible for our own participation in the escalation of conflict! There is such a LOT of conflict in our world today & it deeply grieves me.
As you can gather....lots of pretty heavy thinking going on here!!!!!
The stains of wrong decisions led me to do more playing! I wanted to stain wool, cotton & silk threads with substances commonly consumed in our household. The most effective ones proved to be red wine (no complaints there!), coffee & curry powder!
My idea was to stitch the stained threads onto the bleached marks of the denim. I photocopied a few samples & played with stitching options.
It was all coming together, both physically & mentally! Unlike my other work, this piece did not have a drawn 'map' , nor was I using contemporary reverse applique. It was a very vulnerable experience to be producing something so different from my usual work & I LOVED it!
I used other parts of denim jeans, skirts & a dress to frame & join all the patches of bleached & stitched work.
I liked the look of a chunky fringe, it reminded me of Tibetan prayer flags & it was also an opportunity to show more of the bleach resist denim. Onto one I embroidered 'forgiveness is the key'. The key to peace, harmony, hope...a chance at those things anyway! The word 'key' was important because I had used a 'keyhole' shape in the mid section of the prayer mat. On traditional Prayer Mats, this area is often decorated with a Mihrab shape. A Mihrab being a niche in a Mosque that points the worshipper in the direction of Mecca.
As it happened, I actually had some keys to embellish this Prayer Mat with! Some years ago, I had unearthed a ring full of keys, whilst digging in the garden. They must have been dropped by a workman years earlier & there was no way we could ascertain where & from whom they had come. So they stayed with all of our other keys for a long time, & then they found their way to my stash of useful possibilities!
'On My Knees Tribal Prayer Mat' has been an intense piece to work on & is embedded with a lot of personal attachment. I am SO pleased with it & hope that it continues to bring some sense of peace wherever it goes in this troubled world!!
* Please respect that the images above are my own & are not to be copied without permission. Thank you.
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