thirty six hours in a day - stitching

the earthquake series - together

and here they are all together in the manner I plan to frame them, with a black background

final earthquake embroidery

I finished the sixth and final embroidery in my earthquake series.  it is pretty self-explanatory:

 

the piece is red felt with red dupioni silk on top and a piece of velvet ribbon.  the silk is sewn down with meandering feather stitch which couches a sparkly (Caron Rachelette) thread.  some of the large "beads" are Chinese jade.  the predominant color is red, the Chinese color of hope, prosperity and good fortune.

the next task is to work out how to mount the 6 pieces so they can be framed.   i have an idea!

earthquake embroidery, fifth of six

I've had a bit of time in the last few days of our holiday to make more progress on my earthquake embroidery.  This is the last "pictorial" piece of the set.  The final one will be a dedication to commemorate the earthquake and its victims. 

In this piece I have tried to think about the future of the many people who have suffered as a result of the earthquake.  The previous piece was about rebuilding the houses, schools, hospitals etc - the things - that they will need to restart their lives.  This piece is about rebuilding their spirits.  PTSD, suicide etc are extremely common after such a traumatic event as the Wenchuan earthquake.  Very early after the quake, the Chinese government with support from the international community (UNICEF, Red Cross etc) rapidly put in place trauma counseling for the quake victims.  We have heard quite a bit about these programs as we have traveled the earthquake area, so it is obvious how important this part of the recovery effort this is.

For many the symbol of the earthquake trauma and hope for recovery is Li Yue, the 12 year old girl from Beichuan county, an aspiring ballet student before the quake, who lost her leg as she was being rescued from the rubble of her school.  She was under the rubble for 70 hours, at first she was able to talk to her classmates also caught under the rubble, but gradually their voices fell silent.  She was one of only 7 students to be rescued from her school.  Her story was widely reported in China after the quake, and as a result, she was invited to dance at the opening of the Beijing Paralympics in September. 

Li Yue danced from her wheelchair to the music of Ravel's Bolero.  She was surrounded by a troupe of deaf dancers who, using their arms, danced as her legs.  (There is a photo here.)  The deaf dancers were conducted by four women standing in a circle around the stage.  Towards the end of the piece, Lu Meng, China's most famous male ballet dancer came out and danced with Li Yue.  The image of this little disabled girl in a wheelchair surrounded by a sea of dancing legs was incredibly moving.  It is very difficult to describe in words, so if you haven't seen it, I suggest watching this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2XvhMWsZaA

While Li Yue is one of the most well-known earthquake victims who has shown courage to recover her life, of course she is just one of many.  Everywhere we travel in the earthquake area we meet government officials, farmers, workers, people of all walks of life who have lost loved ones - children, spouses, parents - or who themselves were buried and saved, or have been injured in the quake.  I am constantly amazed at the way all these people are conquering their own trauma to contribute to the recovery of their communities.  I have written about this in my recent blog post on my work blog.

Li Yue is a symbol for all these people who, step by step, begin to recover. 

When I think about all these people, I think about the lyrics of the Lee Ann Womack song "I hope you dance":

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

 

So, for all the victims of the earthquake, and especially for Li Yue,

I hope you dance:

  6 x 6" embroidery and applique on felt.  various stitches, bead embellishment.

(P.S. 1/30/09 - I have replaced the photo as I have changed the lettering on this piece from the original white alphabet beads to black ones.  better, I think!)

Earthquake embroidery, four out of six

Well, now I have finished the fourth earthquake embroidery piece and I have decided that I will complete 6 in total.  When they are done, I'm thinking about mounting them on black silk and then having them framed. 

As you can see from this one, I have turned the corner on thinking about the impact of the earthquake and the vulnerability of the victims, and I am now concentrating on the next steps - rebuilding.  There is so much rebuilding to be done, it is difficult to imagine how it can all be done in just a few years as planned.  Still, when visiting the area now, there is quite a contrast to several months ago.  Nowadays it is possible to see houses under construction.  Large piles of bricks are everywhere on the sides of the roads where they have been delivered to the farmers to help them build their houses.  People are industriously helping themselves by getting on with it and getting the houses built.

The enormity of the task - more than 4 million houses to be rebuilt, not even counting the infrastructure, roads, bridges, pipes etc etc etc - reminds me of a Chinese saying by Lao Tzu (600 - 531BC):

a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

千里之行，始于足下

Four million houses, but each must be built one brick at a time:

 Embroidery on felt.  6 x 6", applique in silk dupioni. beads.

Now onto the fifth one, which is about the recovery of the children after the quake.