THE EGYPTIAN INSPIRED PRINTS

The Date Palms were chosen, simply, for their presence and graphic qualities.

The Crocodile People, inspired by the crocodile's representation of the god Sobek, who was associated with water and fertility, is one of my favorite border designs and the motif that I've most closely designed with an Egyptian sensibility.
	The Lion Griffin motif is based on a gold plaque found in Mesopotamia. Its Roman influence compliments the overall Egyptian theme and The Date Palm print, and I've featured the lion griffin on one of the pillow prints and its borders.
The Falcon, an early emblem for Egyptian royalty, symbolized Horus, the patron god of kings and represented the sun god Ra. Every living Egyptian king was referred to as "Horus," and when the eye of the falcon was used in burial tombs, it was believed to keep evil spirits away and to assist in the journey to the underworld. Because I loved the graphic, I chose it as a motif for both a border print and an overall print to compliment my print featuring The Date Palm.
	The Ibis Bird's head was used to depict the god Thoth, considered to be the divine Egyptian god of wisdom, magic, the moon and time as well as the patron god of scribes and all written things. Some believed that Thoth, in his own hand, wrote the most potent secrets of magic. Because of its unusual shape, I chose the Ibis Bird as a centerpiece and border for one of my pillow prints.
The Pyramid Cheops border print represents the great pyramid of Giza, the passageway to which was believed to be "the straight gate which leadeth unto life." It symbolized the creative principles of nature and illustrated the principles of geometry, mathematics, astrology and astronomy. To enhance the design of the pyramid, I incorporated a design based on the stones in The Temple of Dendur.
	The Column is inspired by one of those found in the Temple of Dendur. A monument of intrinsic value, it was built by the Roman emperor Augustus as a shrine to the goddess Isis and to honor Peteese and Pihor, two deceased brothers who were sons of a Nubian chieftan and revered by the local population as saints. Threatened by the waters of the Nile, it was dismantled in 1963, donated by Egypt to the United States and remains on view today at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.