Baile Rochel Tries A "New" Art Medium

 Since, as my sister says: 

"We're from a family of artists."

I'm always on the prowl, the intrepid searcher, for a new art medium which will make me feel like one of the clan. Luckily my cheerful, optimistic disposition hasn't given up the fight against PTS post traumatic stress from all the times my horrendously unsuccessful attempts to draw and paint got me nothing but clear unmistakable mockery and criticism.

Thank Gd, a few decades ago I discovered photography and more recently mosaics which are art forms, art media, requiring no drawing at all. Jackson Pollock got away with splashing paint all over the place, but early in his career he showed that he could produce stunning realistic images. The same goes for Picasso. They didn't go abstract because they couldn't draw.

A few weeks ago I found myself signing up for a two session Pottery Workshop. There were two things going for it. One is that the price is subsidized, though I'm still not sure what it will cost, and secondly I envisioned myself producing a beautifully designed and molded mug for my morning coffee to be photographed for my daily #morningcoffeehaiku and #cinquains. 

The Art Center is a short walk from my house, but of course I got there ridiculously early and helped the young woman in charge set the room up. As the other participants showed up, I realized that they were young enough to be my granddaughters. I had even been at the weddings of the parents of two and am friends with their grandparents. But I'm used to being the oldest... Of course I was also the only one masked, since I don't know...

We finally got started an hour or more after I had arrived*, and my eyes were shooting poison arrows at the teacher. While we had been waiting everyone was chatting, and some were noshing. The leader kept asking me to participate, but I was embarrassed to say that I'm waiting for my hearing aids to be ready. They weren't even at the age of reading glasses. I could barely hear them, so I kept tuning out.

I understood the instructions, but deja vu nothing I tried to form looked like it was supposed be. The clay I rolled into strings looked like a snake that had feasted on a few mice, rather than the perfectly identical diameter strings I was supposed to produce. After trying to make some sort of bowl, similar to others, I gave up. My attempts looked like the awful "worst in the group" blobs of my childhood memories.

I squished it all together and decided to go in a totally different direction, a "plate" for the Passover Seder. 

"A Seder Plate?" my classmates asked.

"No, just something to place the matzah on." I answered.

"Maybe you should make it more perfectly round" they gently suggested when I was almost finished.

"No, hand matzah isn't usually perfectly round," I replied with the confidence of a true artist.

The teacher has taken all of our "pottery" to dry and then bake in her special oven/kiln. Next week, Gd willing we'll get to paint our art before being baked again. 

*Gd willing, I'll expand on this in the future, since this story is long enough.

Experience Van Gogh in Herzliya

Today I went to the most amazing Van Gogh state of the art experiential exhibit at the Herzliya Marina, Van Gogh Exhibition, Arena Mall, Herzliya January - April 2020.

This isn't your usual museum art exhibit, nor was it in a museum. We saw images and illusions, not real paintings. Actually, I don't even know how to properly describe the experience. Yes, it was more an experience than a classic art exhibit.

The explanations were in Hebrew and Russian. The very friendly helpful staff assisted me and some of my friends, and of course other visitors to the exhibit, in downloading and using Google Translate. I learned how to aim my phone on Russian text and then see a translation on my phone screen. To be perfectly honest, it was rather hard to read it. I guess that's what dyslexics have to suffer through. My illustration/screen shot to the left was among the "clearest" of the translations. White on black is far from my favorite, but there were much better things to come.

We entered a large room with all sorts of chairs and lounges. On the floor, walls and ceilings of this room were the most amazing projections. I can't really describe them. Vincent Van Gogh's most famous paintings were not only projected, but they morphed and moved as if alive. Look at the videos and photos.

Once we were pretty sure we had experienced the "whole show," we continued to the next part. There were desks, crayons and "coloring book pages" of some of Van Gogh's most iconic paintings. We felt tempted to sit and color in the artwork, but curiosity drew us away.

We found ourselves experiencing a surreal virtual reality.

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is a 360 degree experience in the universe of one of the greatest geniuses of the last century.

Perched on stools, we were helped into hi-tech masks which blanked out the room we were in and substituted something otherworldly. We felt we were traveling, even though we could feel the floor when we let our feet down. The trip felt so realistic, we held onto the stool, so we wouldn't fall off. Somehow we entered Van Gogh's village. This was a 360 degree experience. Look up, down and around, and we weren't in Herzliya by the Marina. We saw a small European village from about a hundred and fifty years ago.

My description doesn't do the Van Gogh Exhibit justice. You must experience it yourself. The entrance fee is high, but there are ways to get discounts. Enjoy, and tell me what you thought of it.

Finally Wore My Hand-Painted Shirt

Months ago I did a project with my older grandchildren, or more accurately, I planned one. I came with a bunch of shirts and sweatshirts for myself* and their whole family. Some were even specially bought the occasion. I decided that we would paint/decorate them.

Photo taken by my husband just before I went to bed when I remembered that there was no photo of me in the shirt.

Well, it was a good idea, but only the youngest, age seven 7, was interested or willing to participate. I just came home with one shirt, which wasn't suitable to the winter weather. Yesterday, before getting dressed, I finally took out my iron, which I hadn't touched for at least a decade, and ironed the shirt to "set the paint." Then I wore it. I hope that is got hot enough, or it will wash out when laundered.

I don't know if my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter have ever worn theirs. But I had always liked this shirt and am happy to have hidden the store logo so creatively. There's still some paint for more fabric projects.

*The idea came to me when I was trying to figure out what to do with all the shirts and sweatshirts I had with the "Yafiz" logo from my six years working there. I had returned the one shirt that I had signed for, but nobody wanted or would wear the others.

Great Evening in Israel Museum

The other night I took advantage of the free programs in the Israel Museum. There are always gallery tours in Hebrew and English, and sometimes there are free performances. I was happy to get to parts of the Museum I rarely see.

I highly recommend that you use the earphones, so you can listen to the explanations.  Enjoy!

Street Art- Decorating the Neighborhood

One night when I was walking around the neighborhood I saw that someone was starting to paint the shelter that is now used as a Shabbat synagogue, the Senior Citizens activities and a few other things. When I passed there again a few days later, in daylight, I discovered that some serious mural painting had been done. 

The painting of buildings and store shutters, like in Jerusalem's iconic Machane Yehuda, is a very popular genre of public art here in Israel. 

There have been other buildings so decorated in Shiloh, but these pictures are different from the "fun stuff" usually seen here. I'm not quite sure what the artist had tried to portray. Is it Ancient Biblical Shiloh, Jerusalem or just total fantasy?

The new storeroom next to the shelter was also painted as you can see.

Culture in Jerusalem, Painting Exhibit

My friend Ellen Lapidus Stern  gave me a call before Passover that she was opening an exhibit of her paintings in Jerusalem, on 45 Emek Refaim Street. I promised to make a great effort to get to see it, and today I did go.

The exhibition is open everyday from 8:30-9pm and is closing on May  10.

It was wonderful seeing her paintings up on those walls in the old building. In some ways the well-worn walls were the perfect backdrop for Lapidus's art.

I hope you can get there to see all her meaningful and beautiful paintings. Yes, they are for sale.

Here are some photos of the paintings. All of the photos here in this post were taken by me, Batya Medad.

Wonderful Day in the Israel Museum

The other day I went to the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. It's a favorite place of mine. There are some new exhibits opened of late. Actually I had been there the week before, but since l didn't have much time, my friends and I had only seen one of the new exhibits.

This time I made a point of going through their "Fiftieth Birthday" exhibit. On display were all sorts of things you'd find in Israel fifty years ago. I had been told that I'd find a Hazorea bookshelf just like the one we have in our house. And yes, I did.

I bought ours forty-four years ago for our Bayit V'Gan apartment. They were still selling the same model in 1977, because we bought another section when we returned from shlichut in London. Ours are still in use, though in worse shape than the one in the museum collection.

There was some massive youth event the day I was there. My guess is that children who participate in art programs in various community centers from all over the country came for a fun day of activities. That's why you'll see so many children in the photos.

I'd rather let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy!