New Masks on the Horizon

Davita's Harp by Chayim Potok

I'm just wrapping up the drawings for my next set of masks.
                        Oh what an honor this is! 

Sacha Reich is the director of the Stage-to-Page version of Potok's book Davita's Harp. This wonderful production will be staged by The Jewish Theater Collaborative (JTC) here in Portland, Oregon at Milagro Theater.

Sacha saw my masks at the A.R.T. lobby last spring and asked if I would be interested in creating masks featuring the main characters of this book.  I am grateful for such an invitation. Of course, I said yes!

I have to say, it is a bit like studying Torah. One must "turn it, and turn it, and turn it again" to discover the layers of meaning and glean from the white spaces between the words and the lines.

I confess to having fallen in love with these characters. I have read and re-read the book. I sat in on the first reading by the actors, attended a book talk, and then returned to re-read again.

It'll be another few days before I can cut the glass and get everything rolling. First I have to work on Davita's eyes, Annie's lips, and Jakob's nose. This is the challenge for me. DRAWING!

Once I can get past this phase, I am certain I will discover new challenges....but for now I'm just going to pretend that it will be smooth sailing from this point forward.

I'll post photos of my progress and will also share how I thought about each character as I construct the masks.

I'll speak more about JTC in future posts, but for now I'll just direct you to their link because you must get tickets to this production!
http://www.jewishtheatrecollaborative.org

Another Sneak Preview!

The letters will be polished to a brilliant reflective silver. The background metal will be dark.

This is part of a large metal ribbon banner that will drape across a beautiful metal Tree of Life. The letters were cut by a water jet just as the leaves were (see older posts).

The calligraphy was done by local Portland artist/hebrew calligrapher Gary Pearlman. 

I wish I could show you more of the project, but some good things are worth the wait.... A full reveal will hopefully occur within a month. Stay tuned!

Gesher Bowl

This bowl was inspired by the Hebrew words: Kol Haolam Kulo Gesher Tsar M'od...All the world is a very narrow bridge.

It lives in Eugene, where I was visiting last week.

Gesher means bridge. The phrase comes from a teaching from Reb Nachman of Bratislav. The  rest of the message is: And above all is not to fear.

Walking on a narrow bridge is risky, daring, frightening...and yet..... life often requires us to take such metaphorical journeys with frequency.

What gives us the strength to face such adversity? What kind of faith is required to  face adversity?

My bowl is a reminder that faith is required....
I used clear glass letters embedded in the red...In the right light you can see some of the letters, but other times they are invisible...and yet they exist....

Faith requires us to believe in that which we cannot see.

A Good Name

Bill Stinnett served the Cedar Sinai Park organization  for many many years. Tonight he was honored on the eve of his official retirement. It was such a pleasure to be in the audience to hear how this man mentored his colleagues; always acting with wisdom and grace. 

I was so proud to be asked to make a piece of glass to honor this man. Bill isn't Jewish but because he served the elders of this Jewish community , the staff and board wanted to honor him with  something that was Jewish but also touched on his own Christian faith.

This is the written document I crafted to accompany the glass piece.

The Board of Directors and Staff of Cedar Sinai commissioned this piece of art in honor of your many years of service to the organization.

The hebrew lettering quotes a passage from Ecclesiates 7:1: “ A good name is more precious than oil.”

It is explained that the scent of aromatic oils travels but a short distance within your house, while a good name travels from one end of the earth to the other.

In addition, you will find two red letters bookending the central tablet. The red letter on the right is first letter of the hebrew alphabet, aleph. On the far left is the final letter of the alphabet, tahf. The middle letter of the hebrew alphabet is a mem (there are two in the line that scans across the middle tablet.) These letters aleph, mem, tahf  spell the word Emet which means truth.

The glass was fused in the kiln at 1450 degrees for 15 hours. Visible through the clear glass tablets is copper mesh. Copper represents longevity and durability and is frequently mentioned in the old testament as an adornment for the Tabernacle. The central letters are cut from dichroic glass, a precious glass made by burning minerals in a vacuum chamber. The fused glass is mounted to a piece of acrylic which is mounted to a piece of hand-polished aluminum.

May you be blessed in your retirement. May your memories of Cedar Sinai Park be joyous, and may your good name continue to be known .

Happy Passover!

This is one of my more favorite seder plates depicting the journeys we have taken as a people. It has small fused glass "blobs" or "puddles" that are tack fused to the surface of this plate. Hints of sparkling dichroic glass are mixed in with white and silver-gray glass.

As the holiday approaches I wish you all a sweet and joyous Passover!  Chag Sameach!

Mayim Chayim: Waters of Life

This beautiful serving dish sold immediately but is a sample of this popular design. I have cut a river (channel) in the top glass and filled it with chips of dichroic glass. The "banks" of the river are outlined in a white gold ink that is baked into the glass.

Another one of these in another color has been commissioned and will go into the kiln tonight.

Adding A Little Mica

Another yahrzeit candle holder. I'm layering some white sparkling mica and copper to the base glass before clear capping. More decorative elements will be added on top of that!

New Commission!

These are the blanks for 3 new yahrzeit candle commissions! The letters are cut from copper foil and then are sandwiched between a layer of color and a layer of clear. When heated, copper turns a gorgeous shade of dark red.

The middle blank surprised me. Instead of the pretty amber I was expecting, the glass turned red. Yup, RED! It was striker glass that I clearly forgot to label. 

I may need to make a new blank for the customer....which is fine. She deserves to get what she wants! ....and I can easily use the red blank for one of my next shows.

I'll get to work on the glass name stones tomorrow.

HAPPY CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

I love it when my clients are happy!

This just in from a customer who ordered 4 Yahrzeit Bridges!

"I received your work and it is simply awesome.  It is both beautiful and poignant.  My husband saw it on the counter and commented that it is a very awesome way to remember.

Thank you for working with me on this.  As I prepare for this first (of many) anniversary, I appreciate the ability to hold my father's name, and see it all reflect, as I reflect." SW in Missouri

Wedding Bowl Commission- almost complete!

In the kiln waiting to be slumped

I took longer than I had planned with this but am quite pleased with the result. 

Why the delay?

The design was borrowed from the wedding invitation and then adapted for glass. I wanted the right glass and the right effect....which meant playing a bit with the glass. Then I stumbled across what I thought was the perfect glass...but didn't have enough of it with which to experiment!

 The glass I chose for the water and sky was a mottled blue. Apparently I had failed to label it. It was a striker glass so in the heat it flashed purple....I liked it even more! I wasn't happy with how plain the sky looked, so I used more of the same glass to create streaky clouds.  Lucky me, some of the glass failed to strike and remained blue! The mountains are cut from gold iridized glass, speckled with clear glass dots. The trees are cut from dichroic glass and offer just a little "pop" to the whole piece.

An inscription written in gold ink on the back includes a phrase from a Pablo Neruda sonnet that was recited at the wedding. 

I am grateful to my customers for bringing this project to me....it was a fun adventure! As always, I'll include a printout containing information about how the dish was made as well as care instructions.

MORE TORAH POINTERS!

Both yads allow "magical" light to pass through them....

SOLD!!!!!!
The green yad I posted last week has found a home in New York! 

SInce I have an upcoming show/sale in May, I have made a new green Pointer and a flashy friend to add to my display.

These are still in process. They need to go through a little more polishing and then back into the kiln for a fire polish. These yads are actually wet so you can see what they will look like when they are finished. Dry, they have a matte finish that is dull and lifeless.  It's amazing what a little scrubbing action and heat can do for glass!

Interested? Send me an email (sparksofspirit@gmail.com) or visit me at Portland's Mittleman Jewish Community Center the week of May 19th. I'll post my hours when we get closer to the date.

Journeys Seder Plate

Slumped and ready for a seder!

Yes, there are 6 spots on this plate for  traditional seder items....

....you just can't see them!

The color of this glass camouflages the dips. That means that this seder plate is also perfect for display on a stand. 

Some of the glass beads are translucent dichroic glass which give off interesting color shifts.

This plate is available for purchase and will be on display May 19th-24th at the MJCC (6651 SW Capitol Hwy- Portland) during the Jewish Arts Month Exhibit and Sale in the lobby.

Serving Tray FInished

Ready to serve!

It's ready to go! (almost!)

All that's needed are four bump-ons on the bottom and this serving tray will be good to go. Delivery to its new home is scheduled for Monday!

NEW CHALLAH TRAY

This is one of my newest designs in my collection of Shabbat/Challah trays. The patterned iridized glass shifts in the light as do the letters which are cut from dichroic glass. 


The glass letters are all cut from the same glass but you can see the color shift in this photo......tilt the plate slightly and the letters all shift color again!


Look closely because the picture doesn't clearly show the six dichro dots of glass that point to Shabbat. 


Like the tray but not wild about the colors? Just contact me and commission what you want!

Finding refuge in my studio

My days have been far too busy....
I did a brief inventory of my glass stock and discovered I am shockingly low on new glass.
Pictured above was the most recent glass I made this sumemr...a seder plate called Wanderings.


Photographing glass is always a challenge. The colors are far more vibrant in person!


Tomorrow I'll post a photo of a bowl that will be fresh out of the kiln. It is based on the same wanderings concept but isn't judaica specific.


This morning I spent 3 glorious hours working on glass and rehabbing my kiln. For the past couple of weeks I have only had 30 minutes here and there to get anything done. I created the "parts" of projects I can now soak myself into. Hopefully assembly and firing will move swiftly and I will have fresh glass to offer at the Celebration of Art sale on October 30th. For more information simply scroll down this blog to my previous post. 


Over 25 artists will be represented.....the deli will be open and we'll have live music. Grab a friend and come see what is new. Support local artists.....in this economy, we need your help!


drop me a note if you read this blog entry...let me know you are here!....you can always sign in anonymously, if you are shy!

TIME TO THINK ABOUT SEDER PLATES

I will be accepting orders for custom-made fused glass seder plates beginning on January 1, 2011.
Posted here are samples of past seder plates made for commission or general sales. Contact me here, visit me on the ORA Northwest Jewish Artists website or send me an email: sparksofspirit@gmail.com and tell me what you'd like. I have many glass colors in stock and many designs to choose from.

I'll deliver your plate free in the city of Portland or arrange for low cost shipping to your location.

I have just drawn up plans for two new designs of seder plates styles which should go into production in a week or two....I'm vacationing at the Oregon coast but am also dreaming up new glass designs! It's very exciting!

I'll post new pix as the pieces emerge from my kiln.

In the mean time.....Happy New Year 2011!

Home show scenes

Here are some simple shots of my home display for last weekend's sale. We had slow but steady traffic.
I hope to post pics of Julie and Esther's display soon!

We hope to do more sales, perhaps in other people's homes. There is a different energy when you do a home sale in contrast to large group shows and exhibits. Although it is still a tiring experience, it is a more relaxed effort and you have control over the background music!

Now it's time to inventory what is left and pack it all up in anticipation of the next event!

Glass Has A Language of its Own

  04/08/09

       by  Eddy Shuldman

Glass has a language

with subtleties sandwiched  between

pounds of silica

heated,  melted,  then rolled

off the tongue

into poetry

hidden

within my lexicon of glass

What began as play

became a journey of metaphorical archeology.

Stuck to a shelf, exposed to the elements

The journey goes deeper

where Inclusions are cast,

bubbles form

pockets of air that failed to escape

are suspended, frozen in space

Hard, soft,

liquid, solid,

transparent, opaque…..

draping , fusing,

slumping, melting,

hot, warm,

cold.

There are meanings 

layered on top of meanings,

a language of love ,

frustration, and hate.

heat spikes that puncture skin

and fractures,

that grow

like spider veins and 

bleed to the surface

frit, powder,

a score,

breaking , shattering, exploding

and then

a search for some compatibility

a weaving together

coefficiency

New Tallit Clips

Taking photos of dichroic glass is always a challenge.
This is one set of dichroic tallit clips- doves of peace.  A gold chain is strung between them.
This set is sold but can be replicated in other glass by commission.
Lots of  designs are available...prices vary according to the complexity    
of the design and style of glass.   sparksofspirit@gmail.com