Paradise Lost

Artist Statement

This image came to Pauline in a dream.

Adam and Eve have eaten forbidden fruit in Eden, the garden of abundance that God had created for them.  When God asks what they have done,  Adam starts, “The woman thou gavest me ……”, blaming first Eve and then even God!  Adam takes no responsibility for his own actions.

Now banished from Eden, Adam (“man” in Hebrew) is ragingly angry; Eve is desolate and weeping.  Their journey will involve encountering tribulation, thorns and thistles.  The thorns depicted, hint at a “crown of thorns” and future redemption by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

The “floating” stitch-drawing portrays their profound anguish at the loss of Eden and detachment from God.