Prayer Flags

My flags are usually created in an intuitive way and whatever happens in the process is the result, it sort of develops on the way.

These last flags I created were for a specific reason.  A new mother-to-be in our family celebrated this coming event not with a baby shower but a blessingway ‘party’ and the woman in our family created a prayerflag for this spiritual event.

-Caroline Hofstede-

Joy, Love, Family

Making prayer flags has become quite a healing journey for me, as an artist.  Working on a smaller scale enables me to create works, without feeling overwhelmed.  As I pause to remember what is special to me at Christmas time, I see joy, love and family all around me.   ~ Jamie Fingal

Joy

Love

Family

from Alaska

Michele Bilyeu  sends these images and writes "During a time of intense personal challenges where I have often asked for shared prayers, and well wishes for members of my immediate family, the designing of prayer flags has been a natural progression of my fiber art.  I am always in prayer, and endlessly creating prayers flags from the simplest of fabric strips that I hang from trees or my prayer arch outside, to genuine Buddhist prayer flags specially delivered from the city of Mungpoo in the Darjeeling District of the Himalayan mountains from a dear Buddhist Himalayan blogging friend, to these special art flags that I created for Oceanside Museum of Art. 

I have followed this Prayer Flag Project blog for a very long time, and have loved all of the beautiful flags that everyone has created. So, it was a a delight to extend my thoughts, my prayers, and the making of my own flags to a greater, and deeper meaning as I created my prayer flags for submission to the Oceanside Museum of Arts Prayer Flag Project and their project submission, now to be included as part of this group!

My flags were made on my own painted fabric with raw edge applique, beads and inkjet printing. They include quotations from well known sources on their fronts, and my own prayer flag blessings (in poetic form) on each of the backs of the flags to tie them into my themes.  

Knowing that my three prayer flags are flying high with so many beautiful creations,in California,  I know that so much goodness and intent is being manifested during all of our personally challenging times and the current challenges of Hurricane/Super Storm Sandy on the East Coast.  We are all combining our energies of manifestation, and healing from East to West, and West to East and the thoughts and prayers of so many only intensify with the height, the depth, and the breadth that all of these external energies of rain, wind, and storm!"

wander...

Believe by Stacy Hurt

Breathe by Stacy Hurt

Wander by Stacy Hurt

Family by Stacy Hurt

Stacy Hurt sends us these 4 lovely flags.

a powerful flag from Carol Esch

A very powerful flag from Carol Esch.
She writes: "I made this prayer flag for my granddaughter Alison who has a chemical dependency.

hope

sobriety

love

She's a beautiful girl and loved by many.
Shortly after it was hung in my garden she entered a rehab. We all hope for the best for her."

Babies and Hope

Hope is a theme that goes well with new babies. I think we are all filled with love and hope for our children.....that their lives will be rich with experiences and relationships that bring them joy and happiness. Hope for a bright future, both in their lives and the world around them. My heart is filled with hope.

My hope flag is a collage of bits and pieces from the past. Trimmings from my first art quilt, some suminagashi I did with the 6th graders last year, painted dryer sheet and hand-stamped fabric garnished with couched hand-dyed chainette and French knots.

Carol Howard Donati: Prayers for Family

This series of four prayer flags was made by Carol Howard Donati in memory of four departed family members.  In Carol's own words...

I made this group of four hand painted prayer flags in honor of some dearly loved and remembered family members.  It was a meditative experience.  I enjoyed using a different process to create each flag.  To underline the family connections between them, I made use of an overall related colour scheme.  Each individual flag incorporates a special meaning particular to the person it represents.

I used the cell shape on my mother's flag because she was a biologist.  (Freezer paper resist, seta colour paints on cotton, embroidery, pearls).

The eye shape is used on Gram's flag, because she read tea leaves and had thoughtful visions for us all.
(Acrylic paints on cotton, dyed and pleated dryer sheet, embroidery)

I incorporated the cedar bough shapes on my father's because he loved the forest.  I also added a piece of fabric from my mother's flag as a testament to his great love for her.  (Marbled seta colour paints on cotton, fabric from my mother's flag, embroidery, dyed dryer sheet.

A translucent collage for my eldest brother's flag represents the brevity of his short life.  (Translucent paper collage, gel medium)

I celebrate them all.  Let their spirits kiss the wind!

Linda Miller: Trust

This lovely flag was made by Linda Miller.  I love how it is hanging among the fig leaves in her garden.  May we all trust ourselves...  

Here is the description in Linda's own words:


Trust is for all of us to connect with what is good in our lives, and to remember that goodness is always available within us.  For a start, I send this out to my nephew going to his college orientation.  May he trust himself enough to maintain a sense of openness moving out into the world.


To make the flag, I used some raw silk from my stash that I had covered with leaf rubbings several years ago.  To that I appliqued, painted, and embroidered further on the flag.


It is a pleasure tocontribute to another flag project in a new format, and to widen the creative circle.