WARM COLOURS

This rug has known the sides of feet as much as it has known the heel. It knows the bounce of laughing stars, of old friends too it knows the feel. These lines are from a poem written by Tani for my series of paintings Conversations on a Hearth Rug of which Boteh is a part. The origins of the boteh motif are lost in the history of traditional rug making. Does it represent a tear drop, a flame, or a symbol of fertility containing more of its kind within its form? My title is a play on the French word for beauty. Rich colours and shapes invite the imagination to wander through time and space, the way illuminated by the flickering flames of the hearth.