Artist Statement: This is the third in a series of art pieces in which I endeavor to illuminate the lost, obscured and
manipulated sacred feminine from the Judeo/Christian pantheon.
To begin, I want to acknowledge that I am not a scholar of religion. What I have brought
together is gleaned from reading and conversations and my own belief that expressions of the
Sacred Feminine existed in the past, are available in the present and are crucial for a more
inclusive future. That said, here is what I have gathered to add to my conviction.
Judaism arose at a certain moment in cultural history. For tens of thousands of years before the
rise of Judaism, the Great Mother was the central figure of Divinity throughout many traditions.
Images of the Great Mother deity from the fertile crescent area of the near east represent her
in the presence of a sacred tree, often accompanied by a serpent. Sound familiar? In the first
millennium B.C.E. the Goddess Kali arose in the Hindu tantric tradition, as mother of the
universe and all living beings, the giver of life and death, the arbiter of transformation and
revolution. Kali is depicted as a multi-armed woman meting out justice both violent and
nurturing. In this milieu the worship of the Goddess Asherah from Canaanite pantheon was
evident in the earliest stages of Judaism and was widespread in villages and sacred tree groves
throughout ancient Israel. Asherah was symbolized by poles that were sunk deep into the
earth, denoting the ground from which all life springs. Small figurines were planted in sacred
groves, symbolizing the peoples’ prayers for fertility in their crops and families.
As Judaism evolved it moved away from depicting the divine in representable form and the
worship of Asherah figures eventually were abandoned and banned as objects of idol worship.
Within this context the concept of Shekhinah emerges. Shekhinah is a Hebrew word describing
the manifestation of God's presence on earth in feminine terms. Shekhinah can be translated as
she who dwells within. She is the part of God that does not leave us. She is the guide for the
people in exile; she is said to be in the pillar of clouds by day and the pillar of fire by night that
guides the Israelites out of Egypt. She is the flame of the burning bush and the cloud on Mount
Sinai that Moses beheld. She who dwells within is our inner flame, she is always there to guide
us when we come seeking.
I see her in the ancient earth goddess figurines of cultures known and unknown. I see her in the
Hindu goddess Kali, I see her in the Asherah figurines of early Canaanite peoples. In the
Christian context I see Shekhinah in the Holy Spirit and most approachably in Mary the mother,
nurturer, and caregiver. Mary is often called upon to intercede on our behalf to a less
approachable, more remote, male depicted God figure. Shekhinah moves through them all.
Unfortunately, over place and time, mention of the sacred feminine has been redacted, erased,
and ignored from much of the Abrahamic religious readings, teachings and thought of Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam. Why this was done is a complicated question that is probably about
power and fear and a smallness of understanding. What I can do as an artist and a feminist who
participates in Christian life, is to try push the conversation, to rethink the perceptions. To
move beyond a binary choice of God being either male or female but both and more. I want my
art and its explanation not to be the answer but one of thousands and millions of depictions,
visions, and versions. When all the variations of experience of the vast power of the universe
that is called God are discussed, depicted, honored, revered, and revealed – then, and perhaps
only then - may we begin to come closer to understanding the true mystery and meaning that
can heal the earth and bring creation into balance.
My Shekinah is luminous and strong. She has four arms to suggest her capacity to embrace and
love beyond human knowing. In one set of arms, she nurtures and cradles the earth and us.
With the other set of arms, she holds a ball of thread and needle, forever stitching back into
balance the world we have damaged. Stitched in an arch of silver thread reaching from hand to
hand are the words she who dwells within which is a translation from the Hebrew of the name
Shekhinah.
The image on her dress is of water and lily pads invoking the dark mystery below the surface
and the knowable floating right there for us to see and touch. She has a winged cloak with
images of sparkling light reflecting on the rippling shallow water coursing over river stones just
below the surface to hint at the extraordinary within the ordinary. She floats in a pillar of clouds
at her feet and a pillar fire represented by stars of the distant cosmos above her, this is a
reference to Shekhinah as the guide and guardian of the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt in
the Hebrew bible. Behind her head are seven overlapping circles that create a pattern called
the seed of life. From the concept of sacred geometry this pattern symbolizes the seed of
creation from which all life resides, where life begins and returns. The seed of life pattern is also
stitched into Shekhinah’s dress with silver threads.
She is embodied in the figure of an older woman, silver haired and radiant - full of wisdom,
understanding and persistence. I have chosen the quilt as art medium for a reason. For me, the
use of fabric and stitch is connected to the act of being a doer and maker. It is something I
learned from my foremothers; the way that making a bedquilt, a garment or meal could be
both a necessity of life and a creative expression. Here I use the quilt form, that is rooted in
warmth and comfort, as the canvas for Shekhinah. She who dwells within – always there when
you chose to seek her.
This summary is greatly informed by two main sources. Rabbi Leah Novick’s book On the Wing
of Shekhinah: rediscovering Judaism’s Divine Feminine and the text of a lecture given by
Shaoshanna Fershtman at the Mendocino Coast Jewish Women’s Retreat in 2018. Also thank
you to my niece Francesca Rubinson, a grad student at Harvard Divinity School, for her scholarly
insights and to my friend Sonia Beck Doss for sharing her perceptions on Shekhinah and for
being my physical model. And finally, to my sister Laura Thorpe for being my hand model and
my biggest fan.
Bio: As an artist I am an explorer and observer first. I like to wander and
wonder, let things percolate while I ponder. I have numerous sketchbooks full of
chicken scratch drawings and cryptic thoughts. Over time (and often during a
long hot shower) an idea will keep rising to the surface, I might even push that
thought bubble below the surface, telling it I don’t have time for you, but the best
ideas won’t pop and so I move on from thought to action. I like to problem solve,
to piece and play with an idea until it can take shape as a visual idea. I love the
mess of dyeing, printing and marking my own fabric. I scan my collection of photos
in my phone to print on fabric and weave into my work. I like to transform the
everyday observations of delight and wonder from my life to the meaning driven
intent of my art quilts. I am drawn to the use of fabric and stitch as a reference to the
tradition of stitch as a feminine art that clothes and covers and comforts. It is
something I learned from my foremothers; the way that making a bedquilt, a
garment or meal could be both a necessity of life and a creative expression.
Over the years I have been a painter, a printer, a graphic designer, and
collage maker, but the medium that keeps calling me back is fabric and stitch. My
visual work is idea and story driven and often connected to words and writing and I
feel the long thread of connection between textile work and words. The etymology
of the words textile and text come from the same Latin root, texere, meaning “to
weave”. The art I make is about weaving a story, some are as complex as the story of
the Eve in the Garden of Eden, others are a as simple as a single phrase “Ask
Nothing”. Whatever medium I work in, I’m weaving a story for the viewer to step
into. The art is both personal and universal. Driven to pique and poke and ponder,
my work invites discussion and discovery and as an educator I like to participate in
forums and publications to explore and explain my work within the context of
feminist, spiritual and environmental themes.
Website: lisathorpe.com
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