Mazal tov to a very special Bar Mitzvah boychick! 

My student was fabulous...bringing his complete heart to  his service today. 

His tallit is a hand-painted silk shawl created by Diane Fredgant. It reflects his passion for nature. His parsha, Tetzaveh, talks about the garments the high priests wore. The "choshen" were breastplates with 12 jewels representing each of the tribes of Israel. 

Each of us is thought to be a priest and I wanted to make him clips that would match in terms of color, but would also serve as a reminder that he too should see himself as a priest. 

Boychick will be a leader in his community; perhaps as an environmental activist and/or maybe a religious leader. He will be a leader regardless of his profession. Blessings to you boychick!!!! And a hearty mazal tov!!!!!

The clips are made of an aventurine green base topped with dichroic beads with a gold chain. 

Hummingbird Tallit Clips

 Iridized cobalt blue glass with dichroic glass

A silver chain will grace this sparkling set and will pair nicely with a beautiful hand-painted silk tallit. Mazal Tov to the Bat Mitzvah girl who has a passion for art and nature!

New Clips from the Kiln

The magen david and the doves have already been claimed! I need to add chain and box them...and then they are off to their new owners.

I have more but they need to be photographed. Jewish Arts Month is around the corner, so if you need to buy some affordable hand-made clips come see me at the Jewish Community Center here in Portland Oregon the week of March 18-23 or contact me directly to order custom clips.

Artist Statement Reviewed

Hebrew letters and other images often dance across a fanciful screen in my mind’s eye. Translating this dance of letters and images becomes a meditative experience. I journey deeper into the meanings and fight the limitations that a solid yet fragile medium offers me.  The rest of my world is put on hold, I lose track of time, and I become fully absorbed in  meanings beneath meanings and beyond meanings. The product of my meditation is rarely as complex as the journey I have taken. I laughingly refer to my work as shiny, pretty things....but beneath that language is a hidden urge to share my relationship with the sacred.

I'm going to start preparing for Jewish Arts Month in March. I'll have a table in the MJCC lobby for a week (more details will follow soon.)

Trying to take it easy as I recuperate from that nasty cold, I am trying to take on small projects that aren't too taxing. Today's effort was revisiting my artist statement. 

It was actually comforting to see that the same things that motivated me several years ago still holds true for me today. This one is shorter, but essentially the same message.

I worked in Stained Glass for a good bit of time...I introduced it to my high school students  who quickly developed the skills to make beautiful small windows. Ultimately, working with stained glass as a medium never really resonated with me in any significant way. I was blessed to stumble onto glass fusion and for the first time I had artistic visions.

Artist statements are challenging....often they are written in the third person...as if the artist asked someone else to speak about them. I do think it works in many cases...but I think my statement should reflect me. It should sound like me, and it should sound like it is coming from me. 

The exercise is important. Why am I doing this work? Why do I create? Why am I obsessed with these shiny, pretty things?