Torah Mantle for Rescued Scroll

Posted by on Apr 29, 2013 in Jewish Ritual Art, News, Public Art | 0 comments

Torah Mantle for Rescued Scroll

Some 1,500 Torah scrolls were confiscated from Czech Jewish communities during the Holocaust, and many have been restored and respectfully placed in thriving new communities where they are in use today.  Goucher College Hillel in Baltimore, Maryland acquired one such scroll, and after extensive restoration, it has been put into service at the college. I was given the honor of crafting a new mantle and wimple (sash or binder) for the scroll.  Students were encouraged to fill out a questionnaire I designed, and from those answers and consultation with the Hillel directors, we decided that this cover would be muted earth tones with a tree in full leaf representing continuity of life.  The Hebrew words L’Dor Va’dor (from generation to generation) provide a connection to this and future generations of college students who will read from the scroll.  Tiny Czech glass rocaille beads embellish the letters. The mantle cover is constructed of silks – raw, shantung, and dupionne.  Thickly quilted and lined, with hardwood rings on the top, this mantle will serve for years and years to honor and protect a precious rescued...

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Beyn Gavra

Posted by on Apr 28, 2013 in Jewish Ritual Art, News, Public Art | 0 comments

Beyn Gavra

A happy byproduct the explosion of interest in Jewish ritual arts over the last 30 years is people have been delving deep and ‘recovering’ knowledge of objects and ceremonies have gathered generations of dust in many American Jewish communities. The Beyn Gavra is one such object.  Though many people are familiar with the custom of respectfully covering the Torah scroll with a decorative cloth or it’s mantle during lulls between readings, most people are unfamiliar with the name of covering. The Beyn Gavra has recently been embraced as another opportunity for congregations to involve in act of “hiddur mitzvah,” the enhancement of ritual observance by making it beautiful. Here is needlepoint Beyn Gavra designed for synagogue. It was crafted by several different needleworkers working on small looms. When completed, the segments were professionally assembled. I sewed a sleeve on back it served as focal object hung next the ark not use over the Torah scroll. I painted the needlepoint scrim, counting the holes so that the designs on all four sides lined up exactly when finished and assembled. Sadly, this piece was lost in accidental fire at destroyed the synagogue. Lost, too, were the needlepoint doors of ark and these 5 Torah mantles, each of which I had designed. One of the remarkable stories that came for event is mantles, heavily stitched in wool and perle cotton and back with heavy velvet, took the brunt of heat, water, and soot that destroyed the ark, and served to protect that scrolls, which were restored after the...

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Pomegranate Torah Mantle

Posted by on Apr 28, 2013 in Jewish Ritual Art, News | 0 comments

Pomegranate Torah Mantle

Students at the Goucher College Hillel responded to a questionnaire I constructed with requests that one of their two Torah mantles feature “jewel tones” and a way to convey to future students and visitors that Goucher has provided an inclusive, inspiring springboard for life within and beyond the college campus.  The words “Hazak V’Nitkhazek”  (Be strong, and let us strengthen one another) was the text the Hillel directors and I settled upon, and the beauty and recognizable ritual familiarity of the pomegranate represents the richness of the college experience and also a recognition that for most of Goucher’s history it was a highly regarded women’s college. The materials are thickly quilted silks, hand-braided cording, garnet and Czech glass beads, and Lumiere fabric paint....

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In God’s Image Papercut

Posted by on Apr 24, 2013 in Awards, Certificates, and Commissioned Works, News, Papercuts | 0 comments

In God’s Image Papercut

When a dynamic rabbi announced to his congregation that his path would be taking him to another synagogue, I was asked to craft a papercut to capture the values he was able to instill and realize during his tenure.  Access with great respect – Inclusion B’Kavod – became the synagogue’s watchword, and in education, worship, and physical accessibility, the community embraced a way of living that continues to bring Jews who are wired differently and who face a variety of challenges to be totally integrated in the life of the shul.  And so the committee chose the Hebrew phrase meaning “In God’s Image” to present to Rabbi Aronson as a lasting token of gratefulness and love. The papercut is intricately cut from one sheet of paper and mounted, floating 3/8″ above a background watercolor painting which is a swirl of the deep colors mentioned in the Torah as those colors of the original weavings and priestly garments in the desert:  Purple, Blue, and...

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In Every Generation

Posted by on Apr 24, 2013 in Awards, Certificates, and Commissioned Works, News, Public Art | 0 comments

In Every Generation

For many years, Professor Yehudi Lindeman and Irene Angelico have conducted a special annual seder on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Commemmoration Day. They developed their own beautiful hagaddah, a guidebook to those who wish to recreate the ritual.  I was honored to be asked to create some few calligraphic touches for the book that was recently published by Vehicule Press in Montreal. This panel translates roughly to mean “In every generation one should look to oneself as though he or she had personally left Egypt.” The original painting is lettered in gouache over a watercolor wash....

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