Taken from Dayenu: It Would Have Been Enough by Louise Silk

Part of the Exhibition at Brew House Arts in the summer of 2026.

· Unknown Arising · Wisdom & Understanding · Continual Transformation ·

In the Tree of Life, chokmah, is the singular pinpoint arising from something unknown, a novel creation. My most poignant chokmah moments occur waking up in morning with an uncluttered mind, allowing space for clear insight. When nothing seems to be coming into focus, sleeping on it, helps achieving my chokmah moment of clarity.

Triangles are basic patchwork forms made from squares cut on the diagonal. The Flying Geese patchwork pattern enhances the triangle’s ability to create movement, the symbol of action and growth. 

Blue denim is a universal clothing material. Its seams & density work against its success as a traditional quilting material, but victorious SilkDenim experiences have helped me discover & utilize its unrealized potential.

The red/pink, remnants from making Pussy Hats was an early response to Trumpism. The red color offers protection against the evil eye. The ancient idea is that the evil is attracted to red, in this case pink, diverting it, freeing the space for good to prevail. Materials, color, pattern, all comes together in this quilt, a powerful visual statement of possibility.

FLYING GEESE 2022. 75”H X 70”W. Machine Pieced and Hand Quilted Denim.

As my mom used to say,”mitn derinen“, Steve and I have been completely absorbed in an unforgettable TV series called The French Village. We came to the series via Sarah Longwell of Bulwark fame. Part of the beauty of watching the series is that Sarah and her colleague, Benjamin Wittes do a pod cast that follows the whole series, episode by episode, making for a much richer, in-depth understanding of the people, the village, and the time (WWII) in which it occurred.

Everything about this series is worth your time. It is a longitudinal study of characters during the Nazi occupation in a small town in France. The show first aired in France in 2009 and ran through 2017. To convince you that it is worthy of your time, watch this interview with Richard Sammel who plays Heinrich Müller

It’s hard for me to sit and watch television without doing something with my hands. In this case, it has to be something very simple because the whole seven seasons are subtitled. My activity of choice is to deconstruct jeans as shown here or simple stitching.

Taken from Dayenu: It Would Have Been Enough by Louise Silk

·Quilt Metaphor · Universal Form · Life Creation·

WITNESS. עֵד. 2026.

WITNESS is my case study of process. Originally conceived as the ending for Dayenu, it became the centerpiece of The Heinz History Center Exhibition. To make it work required multiple accommodations and adaptions. Its final iteration, here, brings me to the heart of a transitory state with never-ending variations and unlimited possibilities.

Every quilt in Dayenu / It Would Have Been Enough is a testament to taking a risk and reaching into the unknown. My creative process made these Dayenu art works possible through practices like these:

• Identifying through personal experience.
• Allowing space for deep feelings.
• Revealing the bigger picture, larger connection.
• Being open to change. 
• Seeking practical solutions.
• Identifying seeds of regeneration.
• Taking the time to simply be. 
• Dayenu.

THE WITNESS QUILT. עֵד. 2023-24. Full View with BubbeWisdoms at The History Center.

THE WITNESS QUILT עֵד. 2023-24. Full Unveiled View at The History Center.

When the world was struck by COVID-19 in 2020, I began a ten-year completion process that began producing fourteen flags, a kimono, a quilt, and a book that visually pieced together my historical process. The textiles I gathered were the leftover silks on hand. Most, my parents brought me from travels, difficult to use, but significant in memories. The idea to use flags came from creating Tibetan flags for our garden and a flag installation on the High Line in NYC. These are the A Patchwork Work Life flags:

The process was successful; encouraging me to try again for the Dayenu Exhibit. These flags are a little more eclectic, using more remnants and repurposing small works, continuing to center the mind on the values and concepts inherent in BubbeWisdom.

My exhibit Dayenu: It Would Have Been Enough includes fourteen art pieces, 28 flags, eighteen Leftover Quilts, and two texts, totally over 70 individual objects. This is the third blog entry of three introducing The Leftovers.

A safe practice for quilting is to have more than enough yardage on hand to implement each project. There is always a question of what to do with the extras after the original project is completed. For Dayenu, I wanted to use every bit of the fabric. My solution was to fashion additional quilts until all unused fabrics were depleted. The Leftovers is the 15^th piece for the exhibition; an assemblage of those quilts.

My exhibit Dayenu: It Would Have Been Enough includes fourteen art pieces, 28 flags, eighteen Leftover Quilts, and two texts, totally over 70 individual objects. This is the second blog entry of three introducing The Leftovers.

A safe practice for quilting is to have more than enough yardage on hand to implement each project. There is always a question of what to do with the extras after the original project is completed. For Dayenu, I wanted to use every bit of the fabric. My solution was to fashion additional quilts until all unused fabrics were depleted. The Leftovers is the 15^th piece for the exhibition; an assemblage of those quilts.

A Personal Guide For The Making

I. Set Up: Define the purpose. Visualize the objects. Ask for what is needed. Not a retrospective, a quilt display, nor a one-person art exhibition; it is an expression that sums up deep knowledge and skills acquired through a series of quilting experiences. Another step on an arduous journey, beginning without a 70^th birthday celebration due to COVID.

II. Intention: Take a view as vast as space and actions as fine as thread. Think outside the box, even better without a box. Apply core values to modern circumstances. Dedicate equally to tangible and intangible. Recognize the fluidity of form where nothing is fixed and there is a universal synchronicity. Transform continually. Express gratitude for what is received. Find the meaning in the now.

III. Formation: Self-Care enables care of others. Lead with honesty. Incorporate flexibility. Be compassionate. Own talent & skills. Include community. Listen & express feelings & emotions. Face fears, break habits, include the unseen. Be with impermanence & nonattachment.

IV. Attributes: Big picture vision. Always say yes. Ahead and to the left. Diving deeply. Value process over product. Reticent to get involved yet too quick to jump in. Understanding derived through personal experience. Transcending words and concepts. Big hearted generosity and kindness. Gratitude.

V. Tools: Connect with spirit. Deconstruct. Release misconceptions. Let be whatever arises. Seek to uncover what is unseen and already there. Bring others into the vision. Tell stories. Scan the body. Let go of resistance. Create rituals. Reflect with more of the heart and less of the mind. Do something, even if it is small.  Be dedicated. Be responsible. Look for practical solutions. Go from being to doing and back again. 

VI. The Work: Apply 10 divine attributes. Move between worlds. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Transform personally. Combat prejudice. Advocate social justice. Seek resources. Accept support. Admit mistakes. Find peace of mind in the present moment. Try.

VII. Mission Statement: Piecing together philosophical values, moral knowledge, physical consciousness, psychological emotions, ephemeral spirit & common sense to improve the likelihood of right action, in the right way, at the right time, to encourage & celebrate the loving and healing capacity of spirit that enhances the quality of life for all beings.

Second Edition. The Loft. 2025

With the greatest pleasure, I invite you to come to Brew House Arts for my one-woman exhibition: Dayenu: It Would Have Been Enough. The exhibit will run from July 16th through September 5th, with the opening reception on Thursday, the 16th from 6:30-8:30.

DAYENU: It Would Have Been Enough , is a completely new body of work encapsulating quilting as my vehicle for life-learning. I echo the organizational system generated in A Patchwork Life, using the 14 letters in its title as an acrostic guide to craft fourteen original fiber works. I assigned each letter a transcendent Kabbalistic concept that then employed a collection of materials, a quilt pattern, and the appropriate stitching techniques. 

Toward the end of the Passover Seder, we sing the song Dayenu / It Would Have Been Enough. Each verse of the song lists a separate miracle and concludes with Dayenu, affirming that the event deserves profound gratitude because it, on its own, would have been enough. For this exhibition, each quilt is a worthy Dayenu.