3 minute read

Tapestry exhibit honors life, freedom, Shoah

Tapestry exhibit honors life, freedom, Shoah

Jewish Long Beach Staff

The Gatov Gallery at the Alpert JCC is honored to present Trudie Strobel: A Life in Tapestry, on display now through May 24. Trudie Strobel, artist and Holocaust survivor, was also the keynote speaker at the Yom HaShoah Community Observance at the Alpert JCC on May 5, 2024. Strobel is a celebrated artist whose artwork captures vivid scenes with needle and thread. Her stunning tapestries have been on display in various museums and synagogues. Her works depict family members, role models, Jewish symbols and relics, nature, and her experience during the Holocaust.

Strobel was placed in a Labor Camp as a child with her mother, Masha. Her mother’s talent as a seamstress saved their lives and bought them enough time to see Liberations. Her artwork began as a way to heal from the traumas of her past. After surviving the Holocaust, Strobel wanted to forget the atrocities she experienced as a child prisoner of the Nazis. In her late forties, however, all the years of suppressed memory came rushing back and sent her into an almost catatonic depression. A therapist suggested that she draw if she could not speak. Strobel instead picked a needle and thread and began to tell her stories stitch by stitch. For Trudie, embroidery is also a way to connect to her Jewish heritage. “God told Abraham how the hem of his robes should be stitched with a border,” she explained. Her work employs ancient Jewish Yemenite techniques and stitches, each piece woven with a unique history and context.

The different techniques Trudie employs in her work hold different meanings. The ancient Jewish Yemenite stitching technique pays homage to Jewish text. The methodical, repetitive needlepoint techniques observed in some of her Holocaust-related work reflect the process of dehumanization she endured. Her favorite works are her freehand embroidery, with vibrant threading and detailed beadwork.

One such piece originated from the displacement camp she and Masha took refuge in after their liberation in 1945. In a discussion with Dana SchneiderChanzit, Director of Jewish Life & Culture for Jewish Long Beach, Trudie recalled being gifted a package of arts and crafts supplies by local Red Cross volunteers, which had included a set of colorful beads. “Look, Mama! Look at all these beautiful beads,” Trudie retold. Masha was moved by Trudie’s excitement, and willingly tore a piece of her skirt for Trudie to stitch the beads into. Eventually, those beads became the piece titled Trudie’s Goose, depicting a goose in flight, which she explained represents honor, resilience, and nostalgia for her childhood home.

This deeply moving, one-of-a-kind exhibit is not to be missed. The Gatov Gallery is open to the public seven days a week during Alpert JCC business hours.

This article is from: