Thangka Series Artist’s Statement

• Thangkas

• Peonies and Pentagons is a video about the inspiration and creation of the Thangka Series.

The centuries-old form of the Tibetan Buddhist thangka gives shape to this series, a contemplation of beauty and decay.

With their gracefully draped cloth covers, thangkas convey reverence, majesty and mystery. It’s easy to understand why they have been used for monastic instruction and personal meditation focus.

The central image . . .

of a traditional thangka is a Buddhist deity, a scene, or mandala; the media is paint, embroidery or appliqué. For this series custom-printed fabrics made from my peony photographs and pentagon designs take center stage.

Peonies as timekeepers

While the beauty of peonies is timeless, they also convey the passage of time with their annual return and their beautiful transition from a tightly-packed bud to a lavish display to a seedpod. Pentagons, sheer fabrics, and contrasting threads are symbols for these and other transformations.

The Door

Some traditional thangkas include a rectangle of contrasting cloth below the central image. This “door” is where one enters the world of the deity. The doors on my thangkas use window screening and cloth pentagons. The latter are made using English paper piecing, a traditional patchwork method in which fabric is wrapped over paper shapes and held in place with hand stitches.