The inspirations of Thomas Roach’s heart, tuned through his eye and nourished by his soul, are brought to new life by the work of his hand. Based in Vancouver for more than 25 years, Thomas has been inspired by the power of cloth, particularly when it connects personal, communal, and sacred stories. In addition to art making, he teaches, leads community art projects and makes liturgical vestments. Drawing on his background in earth sciences, he is inspired by place – seeking to capture the essence of a place with natural dyes on cotton, linen, silk and wool. He finds the repetitive qualities of hand-stitching to be spiritual and meditative.
StatementI have always loved rounded stones and cobbles. I like feeling their weight in my hand, their smoothness, their varieties of colour and texture. These touchstones are embodied prayers using scrap dupioni silk printed with the prayers of the communities that I have worked with as part of church vestment projects. My hand stitching with silk threads is my own personal form of prayer and meditation. The form of these 'cobbles' is a Reuleaux tetrahedron and is a shape that to me symbolizes the Divine energy of the Universe and of Creation.
