2005
51”w x 51”h
hand dyed cotton, discharged, painted, fused, quilted
$1,800.00

 After spending a week with my sisters for the first time in our adult lives I was compelled to express my feelings for them visually – but what is the shape of love? The poem, “Psalm To My Beloved”, whose author is Eunice Tietjens, created an image of what I was feeling and art began to take shape. So what is the shape of Love? Running water, fluid and changing. A peaceful brook, swift river, or mighty ocean tide... myriad drops of water becoming one.

Psalm To My Beloved

Eunice Tietjens

Lo, I have opened unto you the wide gates
of my being, and like a tide,
you have flowed into me.
The innermost recesses of my spirit are full of you
And all the channels of my soul
    are grown sweet with your presence
For you have brought me peace;
The peace of great tranquil waters,
And the quiet of the summer sea.
Your hands are filled with peace as
The noon-tide is filled with light;
About your head is bound the eternal
Quiet of the stars, and in your heart
    dwells the calm miracle of twilight.

I am utterly content.
In all my being is no ripple of unrest
For I have opened unto you the
Wide gates of my being
And like a tide, you have flowed into me.

“Sisters: The Shape of Love” is in the Husvarna Masterpieces “Art Takes Shape” exhibit. To buy your own copy of the exhibition catalog please contact your local Viking sewing machine dealer and ask them to order one for you ($10)

Click here for more information on Eunice Tietjens.

Thank you to Lauren  Thibodeau for finding the correct title and author of this poem!