In this piece, I hope to express tranquility in a chaotic world. By extending the olive branch, we share the sentiments of peace beyond ourselves. Hence, lives are realized across the continents.
There’s too much suffering in this world. I don’t want to add to the sadness. So, when I create art like “Dove of Peace”, I dream that butterflies can survive in the cold and so forth. My art shows places “coming together”. Perhaps these are figures and scenes made of cloth, beads and thread to some; but to me and, hopefully, those who view it, it’s much more than that. They are gentle gestures.
In the idealistic world of “Dove Of Peace”, dreams and wishes bring tears of joy. Pleas for civility are answered by a sense of calm, solitude and wonder. If only for a moment.
The dove in “Dove Of Peace” was created from a skein of pure cotton yarn for the wings. I knew I had to take the yarn apart to get the desired effect. So I separated the strands, overlapped them, and carefully wove them together with embroidery thread.
Pearly white and iridescent cube beads helped create the feathers and an accent for the dove’s eye. Sometimes I find my art “dripping with beads’. I also love to work with silk thread. I use it as an accent often. If this were a painting, I probably would have used gold-leaf on the wings, because of the precious meaning associated with the peace dove.
And although I used beads on the olive branch carried by the dove, I also used frosted glass leaves around the sun to represent ‘reaching out’. I believe the true meaning of the peace dove is still held close to our hearts.
