May Her Memory Be for a Revolution!

 

Ruth Bader Ginsberg z"l.  I made this mask of her a few years ago and I can honestly say that this mask generated more comments and praise than my other masks. A woman admired from afar by so very many of us. The mask sold and now lives in a loving home in California.

Below is a copy of my recent post on my FaceBook page:

I don't write posts on Shabbat or on holidays. Tonight is different. Tonight I have much to say.

We conclude 5780 on too many sad notes.

It was my father's custom to memorialize all the members of my family who perished in the Shoah from Rosh Hashanah through the end of Tishrei. . We don't know when they perished. I continue his tradition and also include my family members who survived but are no longer here. Their names are inscribed with gold ink on black glass "stones.

Tonight I cannot include Ruth Bader Ginsburg among those stones. But I certainly have begun grieving for this monumental woman. How many plagues must we endure? Covid, Fires, Droughts, Hurricanes, and explicit Permission from the leader of our country, to express hatred not only verbally, but also through acts of violence. And now the death of a spectacular jurist and human rights advocate makes the list of enumerated plagues.

Earlier this evening Rabbi Sari Laufer posted this message that I would like to quote: "The traditional Jewish response to hearing of a death is Baruch Dayan Haemet- Blessed is the True Judge, orBlessed is the Judge of Truth." "....A more radical response: May her memory be for a revolution!" My most recent ancestors were denied democracy and it cost them their freedom and their lives (yes, even those who survived....they paid a costly price. Survival doesn't mean good health, and it doesn't mean they were ok. It means, they survived."

Please , please...act on behalf of RBG. Let her legacy of truth, equality, and justice prevail. Get active, vote, encourage others to vote...and deny the powers that be the opportunity to act hastily in the name of "POWER" in order to strip each of us of our own power.

We all must grieve...but you can simultaneously honor her memory and the memory of all who lost their lives because they were denied the opportunity to live their lives without suspicion , hatred, and violence.

I don't think we can reasonably say kaddish for those we love and not act in significant ways to regain and retain true justice.

This is my prayer for this Shabbat and Chag.

May we all be blessed to breathe freely, and be accepted for who we are. May we take action to save our planet putting aside our personal wants and focus more reasonably on our true needs. May we learn to talk out our differences and come together to create a better world for EVERYONE. May 5781 bring us true healing.

ART in the TIME of COVID

 My husband and I have been hunkering down since March. We stopped our social and vacation adventures in February. Our excursions now involve  either a quick trip to the grocery store one every couple of weeks and a daily trek to the dog park.

As you can see from his picture, he loves the park and is thoroughly exhausted until it's time to play again!

So back to making art in the time of Covid. In March, April, May and much of June I did very little glass. I made tallit clip gifts, I shopped in June for glass at Bullseye...yes I shopped in person. They allowed customers to make an appointment to come in and purchase sale glass! But still I did not glass.

COVID loomed on my mind. My mother-in-law, at age 93 was recently widowed and two weeks later she developed an eye in her remaining "good" eye, and went blind. Suddenly her world shifted, since she could no longer remain in her independent living apartment. She moved to convalescent care in the same complex. Oh, did I mention...she lives in Florida! We don't!    Once Covid struck, her isolation grew. No visitors, including a stellar care giver who faithfully came multiple times a week to provide her with companionship as well as helping her with routine chores she couldn't manage on her own.

The questions without answers kept bouncing around my head. How "at risk" am I?  How at-risk in my husband? When we we be able to see Mom in Florida again? When can we see our son and daughter in-law again? 

And then George Floyd was murdered. 

I had already grown numb to the antics of #45. But now....now it appeared that America was waking up to the realization that racism is no longer living under a rock somewhere. It has been right there...in our faces....taunting us, daring us to do something. 

His murder caused those of us who were paying attention (I'm talking about white folks) to understand our complacency and our lack of awareness. Complacency is a luxury no person of color can afford. 

Lenny Sternberg who is the director of cultural arts programming at the MJCC invited ORA artists to submit a piece of art for an upcoming show called Art in the Time of Covid. I signed up. I had no art and no ideas...but I signed up.

Lenny asked us to document our progress on a piece and then submit it all to a virtual show that the MJCC would host. At the time, he thought there was a possibility that we could entertain an opening night...live...in person! Indeed, the "J" is open to members now...but only a few at a time may enter with an appointment to work out. Our show will be hung September 13th...and we celebrate our opening virtually over ZOOM.

So, how did I move from no art making, no ideas, and no motivation to actually submitting a piece? There were several factors that all seemed to collide at once. Nightly protests in downtown Portland...and I couldn't attend! Rayshard Brooks is murdered by police in Atlanta just weeks later. Then Breona Taylor murdered by police in Louisville. Interspersed with the nightly news about police violence directed at people of color were the updates on the Corona Virus. How many people tested positive? How many people died? How many people are predicted to die....and the reminder that more people of color will die. 

I have a studio in the basement of my house, but I try to work outside on my lower deck whenever I can. We are neatly tucked into a patch of forest. It is a soulful place for reflection. I sat there pondering what I could do. I drew a blank. No ideas! I tried redirecting my thioughts and I landed on one of my most favorite poems written by the Hebrew poet Zelda. I only know the translation provided by Marcia Falk. It's called: Each of us has a Name. My source for this poem is The Book of Blessings by Marcia Falk. I read this poem often and for a variety of reasons. It begins...

Each of us has a name                                                                                                                                           given by God                                                                                                                                                                        and given by our parents.

Just past the midpoint of the poem Zelda wrote:                                                                                                            Each of us has a name                                                                                                                                                                         given by our enemies                                                                                                                                                                    and given by our love.

Zelda concludes this piece:                                                                                                                                      Each if us has a name                                                                                                                                                given by the sea                                                                                                                                                            and given by our death.

 "Great...." I thought to myself... It's a great poem. What do I do with it?

TO BE CONTINUED..........    

COVID ART SHOW!...VIRTUAL!

 I am quite pleased to be in this show....I will show some of my process in upcoming posts...

In order to attend out virtual show you will need to register! It's free! You don't have to be a member of the MJCC (our co-sponsor and host).  Art is available for purchase...but there is no pressure to buy....

COME LEARN ABOUT THE PROCESS EACH OF US ENGAGED IN DURING THIS BIZARRE TIME OF COVID!

This is piece is different from anything else I have done. I am excited to share it with all of you!

Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAtfumqrz8uG9U5CcRupkenyf--NGMkaAIg