I should write an ode to my neglected blog. It's been way too long since I've paid any attention to you. Perhaps now that it's summer and I have more free time I will be able to post more regularly.
Here is a piece I finished about two months ago It is a papercut of Israel's seven species with the text of the Separation of Terumah and Tithes written in calligraphy on the inside. I received a phone call from a woman in Jerusalem ( just read a book by A.B. Yehoshua with that exact title, but I digress...) who grew up around the corner from me in NJ, and has been living in Israel for the past 17 years. Her husband enjoys working on his garden in their backyard in Jerusalem and taking the appropriate terumah from the fruits and vegetables that he grows. To celebrate his upcoming fortieth birthday she wanted to know if I could write out the text of Separating the Terumah and Tithes and include in the piece a papercut of the seven species. What a fun project!
I looked at many, many images of the seven species and sketched them out in pencil, then painted over the pencil in gold and cut out with an x-acto knife the negative space.
Here we have some olives (excuse the shadow...a photographer I am not!)
some sheaves of wheat...
dates and figs....
and pomegranates and barley
I was really happy with the way it came out. I especially love how the gold glimmers in the light. My husband liked this piece so much he asked if I could make it for our home. My response? Buy an apartment in Jerusalem and plant a garden in the backyard and you'll get one too!
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