New Mezuzot for Chapel

These are the two new mezuzot I made for the remodeled chapel at Robison Jewish Home @ Cedar Sinai Park in Portland.

The Chapel has been named in memory Sarah Glasgow Cogan z"l and it also houses the ark doors I made.

The orange and the red glass is the same as was used for the flowers in the ark door windows.

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. 

The beginning of a New Glass Journey

Green, green amber, striker orange and red
iridized glass

I've been involved in various volunteer efforts for Cedar Sinai Park for many years.....so many that I don't have an exact number. I remember being there with my mom to visit  patients and residents and often playing accordion and guitar for various programs there. I've been helping to lead services and since my retirement from the school district I have been volunteering as a writing teacher, service leader, hebrew tutor, and I also serve on the board of directors.

If you don't know about this amazing organization, you should. It is a model for how to provide services to those who need convalescent care as well as for the elders in our community who desire independence or semi independence in a stimulating environment that feels like HOME! 
Go to: cedarsinaipark.org to learn more.

Lots of construction has been happening on site as new buildings have been built and the old building is getting a remarkable facelift. The synagogue at Robison home has been gutted...and as I write this, drywalling is happening.  A brand new ark has been designed by Gary Pearlman, a most talented artist and interior designer. We recently worked together on a metal and glass Tree of Life for the synagogue lobby of Congregation Neveh Shalom....and NOW I am thrilled to be part of this new project. I'm going to build 6 fused panels for the ark doors. Each panel will be 15"x18". This is a new endeavor on a few fronts for me, so I want to chronicle this adventure here in my blog.

Step 1: Consult on the design with Gary and discuss the limitations and advantages of fusing vs. stained glass. 2hrs

Step 2: A field trip to Bullseye Glass. 1 hr

Step 3: A trip to a large format copy machine to create 2 full size cartoon patterns. 30 min

more tomorrow!

Total time to date : 3.5 hrs

MORE TALLIT CLIPS

A sudden burst of commission requests for Tallit clips!

More clips yet to come....stay tuned!

Another Commission- early stages

In Process

It's a flat tray with raised handles. It's called After "Gee's Bend"....inspired by the remarkable quilts made by a community of women quilters in Gee's Bend (Alabama). Their history is long, dating back to times of slavery. Their quilts were made from scraps of material and then put together in artful and non western ways. This pattern is more western but is patterned after a quilt I saw in an exhibit and then later on line.

Chair Affair + PROJECT UPDATE

I'm taking a break from updating the Community Warehouse Chair Affair + project. I need new glass for the top of the dresser.....and the glass sale starts February 5th. Meanwhile, I will catch up on some long overdue commissions. I'll be posting those soon.

Some very messy construction to shore up our garage and deck have kept me out of the kiln shed....so hopefully Sunday, I will resume firing. Temperatures here in Portland have dipped below freezing.

It sounds a bit strange, but it is best not to start the kiln below 39 degrees! So I will simply assemble numerous pieces and head to the kiln as soon as it warms up. 

See you all again as soon as I have some photos to post!

When 2 Coats Are Not Enough!

Magenta is not burgundy!

I want Burgundy!

                       

Two coats of paint on some of the dresser helped. I laid a first coat

on the drawer faces. The color definitely deepened, but the difference between magenta and deep burgundy is huge. Basically this color screams HOT PINK! I do not like hot pink!

So what's next? On the advice of an artist (painter), I will investigate streaking the surface with burnt umber. That should deepen the tone. If that doesn't work, I will mix my own paint and start again.

I still haven't had a chance to get everything coated with at least one layer of paint, so it's time to remove the mirror and have at the back facing of it. 

It'll be two weeks before I get back to the dresser. Meanwhile, my mirror plans are firming up. See you on the 19th!

WEDDING BOWL

This fused glass bowl is the perfect wedding gift .  
I love working on commissions like this because the work is customized to suit the needs of the purchaser and the recipient. This large glass bowl is crafted with unique Bullseye glass. The beautiful rainbow dichroic glass used to form the hebrew letters were  also manufactured here in Portland, Oregon by Spirit Glass.

There are 36 (double chai) dichroic "dots" on this bowl. The dark blue river is actually sparkling aventurine blue glass and the names are cut from rainbow dichroic glass. Photographing glass remains the ultimate challenge for me....but this bowl really "pops!"

No two items are alike. Every piece is handcrafted with care and comes with a written explanation of the symbolism contained within the design.

You can contact me directly if you are interested in ordering a personalized gift :  sparksofspirit@gmail.com