The Witness Quilt: Positive Vidui
Vidui, the spiritual center of the Yom Kippur liturgy, is a confessional prayer at the boundary of personal and communal responsibility. It is an alphabetical inventory of misdeeds, recited in the first-person plural: We have sinned. We have transgressed. We have…
Tips for Traveling in India
Start/End each encounter with namaste, along with Añjali Mudrā, the gesture of folding hands. 🙏🏾🙏🏾 Do not say anything to beggars and people selling on the street, including no thank you. It is best to simply ignore them. Any acknowledgment, positive or negative,…
At One With India
Jaipur is the capital of India’s Rajasthan state. It evokes a sense of royalty, stemming from its pink trademark building color. Staying in a restored hotel near the opulent royal residence City Palace, we met a guide who took us through the palace, shopping, and then to the…
G@ds & Holy Cows in India
Alters & shrines adorned with flowers, incense, and other offerings are everywhere. It's like the impromptu memorials we create along the roadside for loved ones, but much more elaborate, permanent, and in this case, dedicated to deities. This one in our hotel, honors…
Report from Kolkata
I experienced the perfect Kolkata destination wedding site for you- RAAJKUTIR, KOLKATA, run by SeleQtions hotels, is a magical oasis inspired by the traditions of Bengal’s heritage. Never imagining it could be built on an old garbage dump, but it was, we felt the exquisite…
Contrasts From India
Every quilt maker knows that the secret to a successful quilt is contrast. Indians brings that concept into an incredibly rich physical reality. As a case in point, the two cities we have visited so far; Delhi appears modern and sophisticated, more like a Europe (not exactly,…
Confluences Lead To India
I decided to take a break from working on my next one-person exhibition and make a random art quilt. I pieced some of my old quilting fabric favorites into multiple triangle- pieced sections. For contrast, I added triangle sections from light colored men's shirts. To…
Louise Silk: A Patchwork Life Reviewed
Louise Silk: A Patchwork Life that was on view at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from September 1, 2024, through May 26, 2025. The exhibit follows the timeline of my quilting experiences through my connections to community, art,…
The Tale of a Quilt Double
It started with a rejection. AAP had a call for Pittsburgh related art. I made what I thought was the perfect piece: A Steele Town Angel. It was denied entry into the exhibit. The rejection fueled me- a common problem for Quilters is not being accepted in the art world…
I'm attending No Kings's event, “NO KINGS Pittsburgh” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
Quilt National 2025
If you are interested in seeing the pulse of contemporary quilt making, there is no better place than The Dairy Barn in Athens, Ohio, the host of the preeminent Quilt National. There is no bigger honor than to be included among these ahead of the curve Artists. QN25: Gabriel: A…
A Meeting Of The Minds
Allow me to introduce Traci Arieli, a certified end-of-life doula. I met her through an article I wrote for Hadassah Magazine. (The article is on page 38 in the link.) We spoke through her podcast, Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Stitching Stories in…
Memory Quilt 2025
Memory Quilt; 75 X88; Machine Pieced & Hand Quilted Hailey’s Bags, Witness Quilt Contributions, Wisdom Patches, Steve’s Jeans, Work Shirt & Tee, Eli’s Napkin Fabric, Wedding Tie, & Basketball Uniform, Annie’s Wedding Dress, Tee-Shirt Quilt Remnants, Black Clothing Remnants,…
Witnessing
Creating The Witness Quilt hinged on my unwavering faith in the creative process. I would not see the quilt in its totality until six months into the exhibition. My studio wall did not accommodate its massive size. Time limitations required both the veiled kittel under-layer and the…
The Application of AI to Me
There is a program this Thursday at The Heinz History Center where the request was for me to speak about "art, history, and activism from a Jewish perspective". This request put me into a panic- what do I have to say about art, history and activism in my work????? I…
Our Fiber World in Woven Stories
Sarah and I work together as SilkDenim. You can see our product line on ETSY. We also share a birthday. This is a portrait I made for her to celebrate our latest one: In addition to what we share, we each follow our independent interests. Sarah is a feldenkrais…
In My Own Words
For many years I have been documenting my life, first with journals, then with the text, The Quilting Path, with self-published books from The Quilting Path to The Container Blog and finally (for now) A Patchwork Life. Here is the list and links to see them: The Container Blog was…
THE BLESSING CORD
Screenshot To celebrate the UNMAKING of THE WITNESS QUILT, I offer the ritual of the RED STRING. The Red String offers protection. Red attracts and impedes negative forces, converting the darkness of judgement into the mercy of light. This creates a forcefield that diverts the…
UnMaking The Witness Quilt
Witness עֵד2023-24. 1200+ individual detachable patches.Overall:178”W X 101”L. Panels: Right_Front7/Back_Left1 19”WX71”L; Right_Front6/Back_Left2 22”WX78”L; Right_Front5/Back_Left3 22”WX 87”L; Middle_Front4a&b and Back4 52”X 101”L; Left_Front3/Back_Right5 22”WX87”L;…
Yichus-Part IV
My cousin Gerrie Shapiro was recently featured on page 42 of Whirl Magazine. You may know her as a dog trainer and/or as an artist; for me, she is the keeper of our heritage. She had in her possession my great-grandfather's wallet; now housed in the Jewish Archives Shapiro Brother…
The Eight Pointed Star
Relatives were here for the holidays and the quilt our niece choose to snuggle under was a SILKDENIM version of the classic 8-pointed stars made from men's shirts and denim: A Patchwork Life at the Heinz History Center includes my first 8-pointed star, shown here as a…
Portraits
One of my greatest inspirations is Sheila Hicks. She is the artist who best uses fibers as her medium of artistic expression. Here is a her portrait for an exhibition currently being shown in Germany. Like most people, I find it challenging to select and then view portraits of myself. In…
Gut Yontif!
A Patchwork Life continues at the Heinz History Center through April 6, 2025. I am often there working in the miniature studio. Come and visit! Gut Yontif is our programming series celebrating the Jewish Holidays. The next installment of our Gut Yontif! series is Dec. 28 with a fiery…
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