The Canopy of Vows is a space where one or two people can stand and renew their own vows to themselves or to each other. It is inspired by the traditional Jewish wedding Chupah, a canopy under which the couple stands with the Rabbi for the wedding ceremony.

The Canopy of Vows is a collaborative work. Like a marriage, it is a coming together of individuals to create a single and unified thing.

When I came up with the idea for the piece, I sent emails to friends, clients and other artists describing the project and asking them to please make a strand exactly 6 feet long, no more than 3” wide, any material, weighing no more than 1 lb., words or no words, of whatever a vow meant to them.

I had no idea how many people would participate, only that a variety of work would make the piece much more interesting than if I made all of the vows myself.

Twenty two women created this Canopy of Vows.

Their vows are made of ribbons and beads, painted cardboard and velvet, book pages, dress patterns, hand-embroidered linen.

Some are written in the first person as a promise, a pledge. Some are personal wishes for the bride and groom. Some have no words at all. There is a vow to friendship. A vow to non-silence. Even a dialogue between an old couple with a play on the word vow.

Individually, each vow is as different and amazing as the person who made it.

Together, they hang from two interconnected hula hoop circles, creating a sacred and beautiful space where others can share their own expressions of what a vow means to them.