Sheila
Schaeffer-Hirsh
"Tree of Life"
 (Photo by Tom Caroll) |
 (Photo by Tom Caroll) |
 (Photo by Charles Fyer) |
A few days before the class with Anita started I visited my friend John Wood who was in hospice care. After telling him about my busy life he asked me “When are you going to do something for you?” This mantle is my answer to John.
I thought about the theme of my mantle “Tree of Life” for many months before I began sewing it. Although I had a vision of what I expected the finished mantle to look like, many of the design ideas happened spontaneously as I work. Sometimes I felt like the mantle was telling me what to do. For example: I decided to make it reversible after I saw the sewn outline of the tree on the inside of the mantle.
The two sides of the mantle show two seasons in the cycle of life – fall and winter. The variety of falling leaves can be compared to the great variety of people who live together on earth. Although we each live a unique life, ultimately we all have the same ending.
LIVE YOUR DREAMS AND BELIEVE IN YOUR VISIONS.