Quilts from Canaan

Bird of Paradise Quilt

As I have mentioned in my previous post, I am working on a quilt based on one of the designs by Stefan Karakashian. I have first seen this ceramic in a book about Armenian ceramics in Israel, and fell in love with it. I took the design and interpreted it in fabric. It is not a direct copy, but you cannot miss the source... Anyway, I  have found the "original" in the Jerusalem Pottery studio. I was surprised to discover that it is a very small tile (approximately 4"X8"), but this ensured a reasonable price, so now I have this piece in my living room and can enjoy it daily.

On the left is the tile with Stefan Karakashian's original design...

...and below is the top of my Bird of Paradise quilt, based on this design.

The quilt is hand appliqued and now I am hand-quilting it. Somehow the soft effect of the hand applique doesn't seem appropriate for machine quilting. After the quilting I plan to do some embroidery on the flowers.

 

Armenian Ceramics in Jerusalem

Last weekend we were tourists in Jerusalem. The agenda included sightseeing and getting a permission to use a design by a renowned Armenian pottery artist, Stefan Karakashian.

We dedicated Friday morning to the old city of Jerusalem. For me, it is a magical place, and I regret not visiting it more often.

 

We dedicated Friday morning to the old city of Jerusalem. For me, it is a magical place, and I regret not visiting it more often.

 

Karakashian's pottery shop is located on the Via Dolorosa. The shop has a tiny window and is easy to miss, but if you are in the area, it is a must visit place.

 

The shop displays hand painted tiles and vases, rooted in a long tradition of Armenian pottery artists from Kutahya in Turkey.

You can see the beautiful Karakashian ceramics, and read about Armenian ceramics in the Jerusalem Pottery website.

The Armenian ceramics of Jerusalem are inspired by the Ottoman designs from Kutahya and by local art of the Holy Land.

Many of the designs are based on a famous Armenian Bird mosaic, that is currently closed to the public due to rennovations.

   

There are also tree of life designs that are based on a beautiful mosaic in the Umayad palace in Jericho.

I find these mosaics very inspiring and plan to interpret them in quilts in the coming year.