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My practice focuses on hand stitching, specifically thread painting and contemporary needle lacing. I approach stitching as a reflective process and a form of inquiry. It allows me to slow down, to listen to the art being created, and to experience a healing power that emerges through making. Inspired by personal experience, nature, and my connection to something larger–my I Am Presence or what others may call Spirit, Creator, God–I contemplate how we move through the world, how we transform, and the unseen patterns that shape our lives. Art created from the heart holds a frequency; it speaks through vibration and soul rendered tones. Each piece is infused with intention and records a conversation between materials, repetitive stitchwork, memory, imagination, and the story that unfolds. Stitching brings me joy and continues to guide why and how I create.
“Grandma, how do you deal with pain?”
“With your hands, dear. When you do it with your mind, the pain hardens even more.”
“With your hands, grandma?”
“Yes, yes. Our hands are the antennas of our Soul. When you move them by sewing, cooking, painting, touching the earth or sinking them into the earth, they send signals of caring to the deepest part of you and your Soul calms down. This way she doesn’t have to send pain anymore to show it. … The pain will not pass away. But it will be the best masterpiece. And it won’t hurt as much anymore, because you managed to embroider your Essence.”
Elena Barnabé
Choosing to stitch my cat Trumann allowed me to be open to the Cat Spirit and what cats can teach us about paying attention to ourselves, our surroundings, and how we move through the world.
Again and again, life reminds me that limitations are not always obstacles. Sometimes they are the conditions through which beauty becomes visible.
Mother Spider moved with complete trust in her own nature. There was no visible frustration. No hesitation. No questioning whether rebuilding was worthwhile. She simply returned to work.
