Mother - daughter collaboration between
Yehudit & Tamar Shadur
Following the tradition of artist – weaver collaboration to produce magnificent tapestries, Tamar has translated into tapestries several of Yehudit’s designs. Rendering the intricate play of negative and positive shapes into rich areas of color with woven yarns, particularly in mural size scale, Tamar has created wall hangings ready to grace the walls of public spaces.
More details about each project below:
He is Like a Tree, Psalms 1
The Righteous shall Flourish Like the Palm, Psalms 92
How Beautiful Upon the Mountains, Isaiah 52
Yizkor - holocaust memorial mural tapestry
Design and Cartoon: Yehudit Shadur | Adaptation to Tapestry and Weaving: Tamar Shadur
H: 5’ 8” x W: 4’ x 9” wool and chenille weft, cotton warp
Woven in the classical Aubusson technique (from the back, on a low-warp loom), it is a highly skilled, labor intensive creation using fine wool in durable, non-fading colors at a warp density of 10 e.p.i. (warp-threads per inch).
The tapestry is intended as a Holocaust memorial for a synagogue or other Jewish institution. The symbolic elements with their multiple layers of meaning have been recurrent themes in Jewish ritual and folk art through the ages.
The Hebrew word Yizkor means Remembrance. Jews recite the yizkor prayer in commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust. The seven flames of the Menorah, the ancient emblem of Israel, converge into the Crown of Torah. Two heraldic Lions of Judah stand on columns suggestive of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, the focus of Jewish worship and nationhood. The gazelle, Tzvi Israel, encompassed by grapevines with their deep running roots, is symbolic of the Jewish people.
These emblematic themes in Jewish ritual and folk art evoke the spirit of East-European Jewry and synagogues destroyed in the Holocaust. The few remaining black and white photos of the paintings on walls and ceilings of 18th Century wooden synagogues inspired Yehudit Shadur to create the design and cartoon for this tapestry.
As the weaver, I was committed to interpret my mother’s painted design giving it a life of its own, a vibrant presence in tapestry, to tell the memorial story. My own weaver’s marks, my personal memorials, are woven in the border. The Hebrew letters spelling my late father’s name Yosseff (Joseph) and my late brother’s name Raphael are embedded vertically along the left side. A discerning eye will discover the blue letters “WTC” in the center of the upper border. I wove these in while listening to the ongoing radio reports following the tragedy of 9/11 to memorialize the gravity that the destruction of the World Trade Center represented. - TS
How Beautiful Upon the Mountains, ISAIAH 52
Design and Cartoon: Yehudit Shadur | Adaptation to Tapestry and Weaving: Tamar Shadur | 20" x 26" wool, rayon, metallic weft, cotton warp 12 e.p.i | SOLD
A Peace Prophecy: the Dove of Peace spreads its wings over the walled City on the Hill. The Messenger (deer) brings news of salvation.
He is Like a Tree, Psalms 1
Design and Cartoon: Yehudit Shadur | Adaptation to Tapestry and Weaving: Tamar Shadur | 18" x 24" wool, rayon, metallic weft, cotton warp 12 e.p.i
The Righteous person “ is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, whose foliage never fades.”
THE riGHteouS SHALL FLOURISH LIKE THE PALM , PSALMS 92
Design and Cartoon: Yehudit Shadur | Adaptation to Tapestry and Weaving: Tamar Shadur & J. Paul Maynard | 66" x 57" wool, rayon, metallic weft, cotton warp 12 e.p.i
Psalm 92 is recited or sung in synagogues during Friday eve services to welcome the Sabbath. The rich and bold design and colors of this mural tapestry make it a striking work of fiber art for hanging in a public space or in a large home. It is ideal for a prominent wall in the synagogue or in front of the Torah ark where it can be installed in a way that it can be shifted to the side before opening the ark.
