Ancient Design

Eileen arrived at the airport in Guatemala City in October of 1988 and was welcomed by San Diego friends Lauralee and Wayne Bennett who draped this colorful, hand-woven shawl around her neck. Eileen was crazy about the design and knew she wanted to “somehow paint it.” But how? “It took me a year to decide how to paint it. I wanted to represent the design, softened with folds. I didn’t want people involved because that would compete with the shawl’s design.” She draped the shawl on a rope and manipulated the folds. Painting was a long and tedious process with so much attention to detail. Since the artist stood when she painted, it was also exhausting.