a chuppah in the making...

as often happens in life, a loss is contrasted by a rebirth, renewal, and celebration of life. in this case, by the upcoming marriage of a dear friend and the creation of the chuppah for her wedding later this year! it's times like these that i am so very grateful for the skills that have been passed down to me, what better use could they be put to than to aide in the creation of a special object for a friend on her big day that will then be passed down through her and her husband's family? i have to say, i'm completely humbled and honored by the thought!

for those who are not familiar (i myself was a bit foggy on it when i started the project), a chuppah, "is a canopy under which a jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony. it consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held up by attendants to the ceremony. a chuppah symbolizes the home that the couple will build together. while a jewish marriage is still considered valid in the absence of a chuppah, a chuppah is still considered a basic requirement for a jewish wedding."

as you can see in the photo above, the bride and i are knee deep in fabric and floss selections, the design (the drawing in the center there, by moi) having been settled upon recently after a few rounds to make sure it was just right. now that the project is really coming together, i am starting to get excited and anxious to see the final result...good thing the wedding is not until september because it's going to be a long labor of love since the finished piece will be 6 x 6 feet! i'm going to be using a mixture of mediums to complete the chuppah, mainly applique (for the leaves, berries, and text) and diluted fabric painting (for the tree trunk), all accented and outlined by embroidery.

just one point i wanted to throw out there to see if i could get any suggestions from you guys: the only method i can think of to transfer an image on this scale to the fabric is those old overhead projectors that teachers used to use like this where they drew on a clear sheet and the image was then projected onto a screen. in my case, i'd just hang the fabric of the chuppah up in place of a screen and trace the projected image onto it. only...where and how does one procure an old projector that doesn't cost a fortune? or does anyone have any other ways they can think of to accomplish this?? your suggestions are most welcome!