Santa Barbara, USA: what my eyes saw, the lightning years

Hand embroidery on a modern mixed fabric sheet (2017 -2023)

230 × 270 cm

Travelling in California and Nevada after trips to Kochin, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, New Delhi and Thrivandrum in India, the sunsets and sunrises were always a spectacular start of any day. Skies turning from lilac to orange to gold to pink to smashing red, all the while with palm trees, ocean waves or mountaintops in the distance. There was also an unique experience by inhaling the perfume of masses of orange blossoms in the grounds of the Huntingdon or the lilac creepers, huge bougainvillea and lost deer around the Getty Museum in LA. This mixed bag of visual impressions and smells stimulated a new piece of work, Santa Barbara, what my eyes saw. Gifted loads of silk and cotton threads from different general stores in India and California, the first stitch in yellow silk for this piece of work, recreating in particular those different ever changing horizons, was done on a modern white sheet at the Santa Barbara beach. All embroidery is done by my own hand, other materials used consist among others of cashmere, wool, cotton, silk, purchased in Paris, Venice, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Lisbon, London, Estoril, Workum, Bolsward, Mumbai, New Delhi, Thrivandrum, Kochin, Ahmedabad.