JEWISH ARTS MONTH IS HERE!

A great exhibit and sale just opened at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. You don't have to be a member so stop by and check out the art! It's all for sale and there is usually an artist on duty! (6651 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland OR) All the artists are members of ORA Northwest Jewish Artists.

This is week one . Featured artists include: Brauna Ritchie, Glenn Dercherd, Sharon Segal, Ellen Green, Wendell Russell.

Photos coming soon!!!!!

This exhibit will remain "up" through Friday afternoon March 1.
Sunday March 3 a new exhibit will remain on display for a week...and finally, March 13 our 3rd week of artists will rotate in.
That's my week, so I'm pretty excited to see my work go up at the MJCC AND at Milagro Theater all at the same time!

Week 4 will feature art created by students at Portland Jewish Academy.

It's a great opportunity to view, appreciate, and buy Art!!!!!

tallit clips commission

Many thanks to ORA photographer Bob Sorkin for taking this picture. It was a pleasure to make these Torah shaped tallit clips for a lovely young woman who celebrated her bat mitzvah today. Her beautiful tallit was a mixture of browns, golds, orange and beige.

Michael's Eyes

The kiln is too hot to open, but here is a glimpse at Michael Chandel's eyes, pre-fired.

Michael is a reporter who covers a variety of social justice issues. He is a tireless organizer for the Left. His politics make for insecure housing and risk taking that carries him to Guernica as a war correspondent.  

You might be wondering about the stripes on his face He was a supporter of the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. These were the colors of their flag.

If you are checking my blog for the first time, please scroll down to read about my mask project. 

Today I begin focusing on Jakob Daw. Jakob is a writer/story teller.
I have already cut out his face blanks...but now I have to commit to whatever design edits I come up with....and I need to make it happen now!Hopefully he will go into the kiln Friday.

Hats Off

Michael Chandon's Hat before firing

For those of you just "tuning in", I am working on a series of character masks for the Page-to-Stage production of Davita's Harp staged by Jewish Theater Collaborative right here in Portland.

The big "reveal" will come next month when the masks go on exhibition at Milagro Theater.  

In the mean time, I am sharing progress notes but won't fully reveal the masks until they are on display.

Michael's hat will be embellished with a hat band, press card and political button. I'll share it with you soon!

Saw skill put to the Test

Some of my most prayerful moments are when I need to use the saw to cut a very slender, fragile piece. This is part of an eye....Michael Chandon's right eye, to be precise!

Michael Chandon; reporter, husband, and Davita's father...goes into the kiln this evening!

Clearly Baba !

Base glass for Baba Yaga....

Commission Mounted!

KILN SHOT

MOUNTED ON THE WALL- LIGHTS ON

                                                  Lights Off

The wallpaper is textured with tiny glass beads.

Much gratitude to the owner who took these photos and gave me permission to put them on this site!

Not quite ready for prime time!....

It's attention to detail that I hope will make these new masks reflect the personalities of each character

This is Baba Yaga's left eyebrow. Yup, that's the only other detail I will reveal until she emerges from the kiln. 

It all feels a bit diabolical....like the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. Hopefully Baba Yaga can adapt and "go with the flow" when she "bakes" at 1450º. 

Baba Yaga & Davita in development

Working hard to get both Baba Yaga and Davita into the kiln tonight..... They are shaping up!

Baba's teeth ! poor oral hygiene, I guess. Oy!

Baba and Davita need eyes and noses.....Baba is going to have some pretty amazing hair.....

Davita finally has some hair!

Scroll down to the earlier posts to learn about this project!

...stay tuned!

KILN CLEANING

I look like a space alien!!!!  Gotta clean out the dust and fired shelf paper before I can move forward.  The dust is toxic, thus the crazy mask. Dust is not welcome in the kiln, or other parts of my life.... grateful for the HEPA filter on my shop vac!

A little saw mishap today "cut short" my efforts to finish the Davita face...but I will resume her hair tomorrow and also tackle one other base... perhaps her father Michael, or her "Uncle Jakob."

More to post tomorrow!

Davita Continues To Evolve

Once the hair is in place, Davita will make her first appearance in the kiln. 

The white glass you see is the base glass for the piece. The purplish glass is actually a clear iridized glass with a tinge of pink-purple. It is a striker glass so the color should intensify a little when exposed the heat.

Once the base layers are set I'll begin working on her main features.

Just in case you haven't been following the blog...I am making a set of masks to be on display during the run of DAVITA'S HARP in the Page to Stage production by Jewish Theater Collaborative directed by Sacha Reich.  

The Masks Begin In Earnest! Davita

As mentioned in earlier posts, I am making a set of masks that represent characters from the Book "Davita's Harp" by Chayim Potok.

Yup, that's Vaseline! I'm prepping the pattern to "waterproof" the edges before cutting it on my ring saw.
I can cut most of this by hand, however the deep narrow cuts are impossible without the help of my ring saw.

The weather was stupendous today...about 60º in February!!!!!
I moved my cutting table and saw outside....I'm dog sitting, so my dutiful assistant brought his hedgehog along to cheer me on!

This was outdoor studio view today!

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