Embroidery art, gardening, baking and monkfruit candies

This is the first and only garden I’ve ever had. My shoulder was hurting and I couldn’t embroider, so gardening became my rehab. I had prepared the soil the previous year and made it a mandala. I was able to reap zucchinis, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, carrots, beets, green peas and grapes.

Nuidô, or « the way of embroidery », as it is taught at the Japanese Embroidery Center, is a holistic lifestyle combining embroidery, gardening, and meditation. It has always been an ideal horizon for me, but living in the Paris region and long-term caregiving led me down a different path. I guess I could sense some of it through mandala making, which was a healing time.

Backyard, 2023