Diamonds & Rust - mixed media - painted and stitched cotton and beads

As a challenge to myself, I often switch gears from my representational work and morph into the abstract realm to concentrate on the pure beauty of the fibers and embellishments. For many years, I worked with metals and loved the relationship between silver and copper so I started out just playing with those two metallic colors. As I was cutting pieces of fabrics and yarns for this artwork, the Joan Baez song "Diamonds & Rust" kept haunting me. It made sense; here was the contrast between diamonds, the precious gems created over time from coal, and copper, a beautiful, shiny metal that transforms as it ages and rusts. "We both know what memories can bring, they bring diamonds and rust." (With permission of Joan Baez.) Collaged and stitched cotton plus ribbons and beads. Ready to hang with sleeve and slat. Hang away from direct sunlight or bright interior lights. © 2008 Patricia Gould 32.5 x 31 inches