Showing posts with label sheela na gig. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sheela na gig. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Some Knitting and Embroidery

 I'm making another long, mock-cable cardigan. This time in the color "oatmeal" and a little bit larger than the last one.


Finished up my Sheela Na Gig embroidered pillow, too. All my hand embroidered works are one of a kind pieces, and I never use a machine in any part of the project, all hand sewn. You can find my Sheela Na Gig Pillow at My Good Babushka


Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Sheela Na Gig Embroidery



Some churches in the British Isles are decorated with Sheela-na-gigs, stone carvings of old women with exaggerated genitalia. It is theorized that these were symbols for warding off evil. I am making a Sheela-na-gig embroidery. It will probably be a pillow. I'm embellishing around it with a floral motif, sort of kalocsa or Hungarian folk embroidery inspired.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Sheela Na Gig



Sheela na gigs are figurative carvings of naked women with exaggerated genitalia often found in Ireland and Great Britain on churches. They are a variety of grotesque carving. The anasyrma- the gesture of exposing oneself- was thought to have a warding effect on evil.

I am making an embroidered sheela na gig and combining it with kolacsa-inspired Hungarian floral embroidery in this piece. The hair is very snaky and Medusa-ish, but kept pretty symmetrical to have a bit of an abstract, decorative feel.