Grace - Divine favour
Grace - Divine favour
I see it as an honour that I witnessed the passing of my Father and to have taken the time out of my busy life to spend his last months together. In this process, I received my own gift of Grace.
Dad did, too. We gathered each day at home, surrounding the elegant man I once knew as a child and showering him with love, care, and laughter. For me, everything was an honour, to do the smallest of tasks, to bring a glass of water to his parched lips before he dozed off to sleep, like he did for me at the other end of my life.
You could say my family and I loved him to death. We asked the questions we knew we wouldn’t be able to ask one day, of how life was when he was young, why he started gardening, how he met our Mother, and what his parents were like.
We knew each extra day we were given was an act of grace, divine favour for us and him, one more go on the merry-go-round. The days were ethereal and whisper soft like this peony I’ve called Grace, sometimes upside down where all the blurred lines of our lives, past and present, were lovingly stitched together.
What remains? Love. Dad’s on another ‘plane’ now, but the love remains, so much love. He lovingly built and cared for our family with Mum, and when his time came ‘to leave the land of the living’ as he would say, he departed with grace, leaving a trail of beautiful memories, love, and gratitude.
ABOUT THE BEAUTY OF LIVING AND DYING PROJECT
This project was born out of grief, a time when my Father was dying and the world had been locked down in 2020.
For weeks, my only escape was a handful of flowers, a piece of black cardboard, and a small space.
Some of my flowers were in the stages of dying, just like my Father. I studied them curiously as they changed shape and form, finding them enchanting just as they were when they were in full bloom. I saw my Father as an old man at the end of his life, still dignified, as the lines blurred with the tall, handsome man I knew as a child.
I sat embroidering my flowers with my Father, sharing stories, memories, laughter, and tears as he gently surrendered to saying goodbye. I stitched little bits of gold on a leaf or a stamen, like one would embellish a couture gown, or to pay my respects to the creativity of Mother Nature. In each gold stitch, our stories — our past, the present, the old, the new, and the heartbreak of passing — were sewn together.
In the heightened awareness of death, the smallest things seemed to hold great wonder. I saw life in all its stages as ethereal and fragile, and discovered even in dying, in heartbreaking circumstances, there can be beauty, grace, and dignity.
Collaboration with Luz Editions
A project that started out as something personal in a time of grief found a second life when Paula Franco from Luz Editions suggested a collaboration.
I am a longtime super fan of Luz Editions and their devotion to handmade artisanal products that are meaningful pieces. I loved the idea of creating a piece of art on a different medium, exploring a new material by printing the images of The Beauty of Living and Dying onto linen. Together we worked to create a very limited edition precious artwork that had a story and meaning, giving a new life and a voice to a subject rarely discussed or celebrated, Dying.
The project took on an even deeper meaning when an elderly group of women known as ‘Grandmas are Coming to Work’ joined ranks and became involved to handstitch gold thread onto selected parts of the linen flower images.
Their story is amazing, like many elderly people full of creativity, wit, wisdom, experience, and energy; this group of grandmas said no to becoming overlooked and obsolete, and banded together to create a dynamic workroom taking on handmade projects, sharing, teaching, and passing on the know-how of techniques to newcomers.
Known as ‘specialists in optimism’, with slogans such as ‘Old is the new young’ and ‘Grandma is not for sale but the products she makes are,’ we had all the ingredients to make a beautiful piece of art, a keepsake that maybe would touch others who too had their own experience of a loved one passing or simply a piece of beauty to live with daily.
So many wonderful artisanal ingredients came together: Paula’s vision, each image screen printed onto linen, no two the same, leaves stitched around the edge to create a beautiful border, the Grandmas’ careful hands and stitches embellishing and beautifying, and the linen's earthy, organic appearance lending a timeless quality to the images of this project.
We hope you love them and decide to treasure them as we do.
ABOUT THE PRODUCT
No two pieces of linen are the same, therefore the give and take between the image and the texture creates a mystical layer, kind of like the process of working in the darkroom where chance is also involved, and each linen artwork is slightly different to the next one.
The linen fabric softens sharp edges and blends colors subtly, giving the piece a warm, lived-in feel, creating a sense of authenticity, nostalgia, and transmission just like the passing of a loved one.
The pieces can be hung in your home using their beautiful black tabs or pressed and framed as you would do with any piece of precious artwork. As it has been hand embroidered with love, we don’t recommend using it as a tea towel as it is tender and made with love.
- 70 x 47 cm
- 100% Linen, 180gsm
- Screen printed and hand stitched in Portugal
Care Instructions
This linen art print is dry clean only and should not be washed. If you wish to smooth out creases before framing, a gentle steam or a light press with a low iron will restore its finish beautifully.
SPECIAL OFFER:
Purchase 2 or more linen art prints and receive 15% off your order.
Discount automatically applied at checkout.