paean to the 'point

"The Pleasures of Needlepoint" on cover of Elle Decor October 2018 issue

Eyes zoom in. Laser focused. Nothing else is visible. The gods could be showering me with rainbows and pots of gold, but I am blind. Elle Decor has a cover story on The Pleasures of Needlepoint!

Sheila Marikar, a self-described New Yorker currently living in LA, gives a sweet ode to my beloved needlepoint:

" . . that's the benefit - while it doesn't physically remove you from your surroundings, needlepoint shifts your consciousness elsewhere, allowing you to focus on the facile task of completing the pink petal of a rose. I've been yearning for it lately, at a time of screens and talking heads and institutions breaking down or changing too fast. The needle comes up through the canvas, then loops back down. Up and down. Rhythmically, forevermore."

'Point pal Marikar hits it on the head for me: needlepoint is meditative. Creating a canvas, independent of any pre-determined colors or lines, gives me a freedom of spirit, not unlike venturing off the marked trail in the forest. It is a soul soother and a wonderful release for the inner happy spirit, so often burrowed by the cares of not just my world, but the whole world.

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." ~ Picasso

@sheilaYM

#elledecor

#newyorktimes

@thenewyorker