Another Prayer

One of the groups in Swapbot is sponsoring a monthly prayer flag swap. The facilitator posted it twice, once in a group that is called Transcendence, and once in the public domain. The Transcendence group profile says it goes above the material, thinks outside the box and goes beyond usual limits in thinking and art.

Yesterday's mail brought this wonderful package that included five fat quarters of red & white geometrics. I washed them with TWO Color Catchers that turned pink, and unfortunately the FQs did too...maybe not as pink as the Color Catchers, but still pink.

So that made me think about doing another Prayer Flag and giving the fabric a chance. This would be the third PF I made this month with that theme. I am working with the quote, "Every Broken Heart Can Heal". Everyone has a broken heart at some stage in their lives either from loosing a dream or a relationship. Healing the heart and soul ripples out to every relationship we have and every act we take. 

I like the tatteredness of the fabrics. They are supposed to have un-hemmed edges so they fray or come apart in the wind. Traditionally, when the flag deteriorates and falls to the ground, it means the prayer is answered. 

The first one I made, hanging on the door, is the one I am keeping. The rows of scrap squares are meant to invoke the elements. Blue for Air, Red for Fire, Green for Water and Yellow-Gold for Earth.

The second one I made was with only the Fire element represented in it, and has 3.5" strips in layered rows in various shades of red.

The third is all 1" strips folded over the top of the foundation piece, using the red & white (bled-to red & pink) fabric which was also cut at 1" strips for a fully broken-hearted look. Almost looks like a doll dress the way it is laying for the photo because the foundation is cut.

A couple of things are happening for me with this work. First of all, any prayer we say starts from within our own soul and touches us as much as the one we pray for. And secondly, I am interested to receive the two prayer flags, one from the public group and one from the Transcendence group. Of course, we cannot compare artists, and in no way can we really compare the energy of spirits. What is seen above are my three efforts and how different they are from the same Fabric Artist, using the same concept. Different, as I have written before, is only different, not better nor worse. I am still interested to sense the energies.

I do think that the more I made the Prayer Flags, the better I have gotten into the feel of what I want to create. I see how formal I was in the first one for this month and how my personal evolution continued.

This is a monthly swap (if it continues). My plan is to keep working with the concept of tattering fabric.