Introducing “Tent of Protection” Fiction by Fiber Artist, Louise Silk

March 5, 2013 - PRLog -- Shortly after WWII, a worker clearing land for new construction that was formerly part of the Warsaw Ghetto unearthed a container filled with Hebrew manuscripts by the Polish Rabbi Kalonymus Shapira buried before he perished in the gas chambers of Treblinka.  

Reading Rabbi Shapira’s writing inspired fiber artist, Louise Silk, to fashion the life of his wife into her new fiction “Tent of Protection”. Rachel’s story begins in a small Polish suburb outside of Warsaw in 1939 and continues into the Warsaw Ghetto. In both locations, she counseling followers along side her husband and finds consolation from her troubled life through her needlework.

The other main character in “Tent of Protection”, Leah, was inspired by the life and death of a personal friend of Silk’s. Leah is a retired librarian living in Pittsburgh. Discovering that she has terminal cancer shakes her core into a new unleashed form of creative expression with her avocation as a quilt maker.

The story alternates between the two main characters, both accomplished needle workers facing life threatening conditions, who discover first comfort, second purpose, and finally a means of spiritual awakening through their fiber experiences.

The names, Rachel and Leah, are the same as the matriarch wives of Jacob in the Hebrew Bible to give them a spiritual connection to history and each other. It is said that every woman’s lineage can be traced back to her namesake in the bible.

The theme of this story is the interconnection of all things through any process, in this case needlework, as a means of overcoming personal obstacles and achieving greater human potential.

Tent of Protection is published by lulu.com and available in paperback for $12.95 and eBook for $7.99.

Louise Silk, founder of SilkQuilt, resides and works in Pittsburgh, PA. For over forty years she has been creating art that celebrates the loving and healing capacity of spirit.

She began making Memory Quilts when she personally experienced the transformational healing power resident in the process of selecting, cutting and re-stitching clothing into quilts as she mourned the loss of her parents.

With her wealth of experience, Louise creatively transforms t-shirts, clothing, ties, and wedding dresses, into lap or bed quilts, wall hangings, pillows, shawls, baby quilts or carryalls. These become meaningful and functional gifts to celebrate any occasion or special event.

She is the author of "The Quilting Path: A Guide to Spiritual Discovery through Fabric, Thread, and Kabbalah." published by SkyLightPaths Publishing.