The skeletal texture of a dried cholla cactus sits on the desert floor, surrounded by the very much alive yellow wildflower blooms. The complementary colors speak to the opposites of death and life, hard and soft. The cholla skeleton is created with Casalguidi stitch (raised stem band) on an irregular ground area of four-sided stitch. The delicate yellow flowers are a combination of French Knots and other surface stitches.