Red thread on watercolour paper (300 gsm) and vellum paper (180 gsm)
12x12in (30x30cm), framed
2025
HILDEGARD (1904-1979)
This piece honours the peaceful final moments of my great-grandmother, Hildegard, who passed away quietly in her sleep, still smiling. That afternoon, my mother (then 19 years old) and her cousin visited Hildegard, as they often did. After searching the house, her cousin found her resting in her bedroom. She came downstairs and simply said, “Grandma is asleep, but still smiling.”
The stitched window and its cast shadow evoke the quiet view from Hildegard’s bed, perhaps the last thing she saw during her midday nap.
Although I never met her, this story has become a quiet inheritance, one of serenity, softness, and emotional warmth. The stitched lines suggest stillness and release, like the final exhale of a life well lived.