We had the pleasure to conserve two pieces of Ken Ellis’ textile art for a private collector: the Shore Family, above, and Elizi Danto, bottom.  It was a simple treatment, to clean as best we could some staining from a combination of wood smoke and steam (the Shore family was next to their kitchen) and do some simple needlework reparation.

Before see the dark brown line of the smoke along the top?

Wet cleaning the painted piece.

After cleaning, a good deal of the smoke was lifted!

When I saw the images emailed to me they were nice; when I saw them in person I was bowled over.  Ellis has caught subtle expressions and nuances in the simplest of forms, painted textiles and embroidered art.  I love the eyes on the man shown in the header.

Elizi Danto expresses the joy of mother and child; the figures all around her are dancing their inner joy!

She expresses the love I had for Guadalupe when I was a small girl growing up in a Mexican Southern California Catholic church; I always lit candles asking for help to Madre, and I always thought she heard me.

Ken Ellis, thank you for the honor.

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