Gaelle Chassery

As our Dream Map Project* unfolds, I will be featuring artists taking part in this collaborative piece of art. Today, we hear from Owen Kelly,  a 5th Generation Stitcher based in Ireland who has been creating stitchwork for over 50 years.  Owen uses intuitive subconscious symbolism drawn from classical & contemporary experiences in a distinctive "Flow Stitch" technique, combining intense and diverse stitches & a strong use of colour along with surreal sardonic humour. Owen's dream  " Quilt Dream" was made with r eused denim, cotton thread and artist silk.   "So tell me what do you dream & what does it mean. To stitch in time, lost in worlds sublime. An image forms & flows, while colours seed and sews within my mind, a sleep. To turn, to swim before the finish & after begin. Do you dream in colour? What colours do you dream? In no sense for when I wake with all the forms I will make, a quilt to wrap from life to death & stitched betwi...

As our Dream Map Project* unfolds, I will be featuring artists taking part in this collaborative piece of art. Today, we hear from  Molly House, whose embroidered Dream is called Night Birds." "There is a sense of foreboding as my daughter and I approach the cliff face. We turn back and see the shadows approach. With little to lose we hold hands and leap out from the precipice. To my surprise, instead of falling, we fly like birds, over the trees and to safety." Molly Anand is an embroidery artist. Her words are inspired by patterned tiles and are slow stitched as a form of meditation.  The design was inspired by Portuguese azulejo tiles. The tiles are typically blue and feature an intricate quartered design. Azulejo translates as a "small polished stone," which makes Molly think of a precious gift.  Azulejo designs have been used to tell stories. In this case the design illustrates Molly's dream.     How did you come to textile work and what is the meaning...

As our Dream Map Project* unfolds, I will be featuring artists taking part in this collaborative piece of art. Today, we hear from  Kimberly Mascaro. As an artist, psychologist and dream-worker, Kim bridges the inner and outer worlds through creative practices and expressions. She was taught the age-old practices of embroidery and cross-stitch (her first art) by the many female elders of her Italian-American family. As an adult she went on to earn university-level degrees in fine art as well as psychology, while always holding those women of the past and the teachings they imparted, close to her heart, who continue to visit in her dreams. Kimberly's embroidered dream is called "Keep the Fire Going," and here is what she says about it: Re-membering our interconnectedness with the Earth's elements is a process. Through everyday activity, but more so through dreaming, I re-establish these relationships. In this dream, I walk a path under the night sky, then recognize the...

As our Dream Map Project* unfolds, I will be featuring artists taking part in this collaborative piece of art. Today, we hear from Homani Ahava and her embroidery "Stitching A Dream" along with the powerful poem she wrote to accompany it, and a lovely interview. Photo credit: Adi Ziv Av. STITCHING A DREAM  by Homani Ahava  (December 2024 / Month of Kislev 5785) During my stay in the land of the butterflies, they showed me their way of life.  Food neither comes from the blossoms of flowers, nor trees.  Their nectar of life, sweet, golden, bliss, runs through a network of hearts.  All butterfly beings are interconnected  through tubes in their middle -  an intricate, dynamic, flexible grid in whose center beats the heart of their world. There is an endless exchange of honey. They intentionally contract their hearts, pumping liquid warmth into communal tissue - while receiving nourishment  in return through their chords.  Sucking in juice by for...