Wisdom Cloak: Grounded, wool embroidery on wool felt (detail)
We have a cold sunny day here for the winter solstice. It will begin getting dark at about 4:30 in the afternoon. A good day for soup. I had thought that Grounded was finished last spring, but I had a hard time getting the light and color just right when I took photos, and the more I looked, the more I felt I needed to rethink the design. Rethinking has been my theme for 2020, so I am ending the year with a newly envisioned cloak, covered with wool stitches, inspired by the lavishly abundant embroidery of Eastern Europe. I was remembering the dark stories set in a winter wood, with wolves, witches, and wise women inhabiting a strange and mysteriously powerful forest place.
A couple of good books I have read recently: Uprooted, by Naomi Novik (this is where my interest in the magical woods started); Disappearing Earth, by Julia Phillips; Circe, by Madeline Miller; The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makaii (I loved this book, set in Chicago); and The World in Half, by Cristina Henriquez.
After a difficult year, I am ending 2020 with a hopeful heart. Our family will be zooming in for Christmas, looking forward to being together again in 2021.
BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON AND A JOYFUL NEW YEAR!