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.

Painting on Silk, Another New Hobby!

Being old is such great fun. I've been getting to learn new things in the Shiloh 60+ club, like crafts I've only dreamt of or not even realized they could be done by mere mortals like myself. Yesterday, for the very first time in my life I painted on silk and I'm in love with that art medium!

As usual, I had no idea what I was doing. There was also an option to take a printed piece of silk and fill it in with the colors of your choice. A couple of the women were working on those and producing extremely professional looking pieces to either be hung on the wall or finished off as Challah Covers.

The rest of us were more interested in discovering the surprising dynamics of the medium and the various abstract effects we could generate by giving the silk, paint and salt a chance to do their magic. We were also happy with the unexpected lines produced by the "crinkled" plastic underneath the silk.

I plan on wearing the long silk piece, Gd willing. And next time we do this craft, I want to write "שבת שלום" or "המוציא לחם" on the square one to use on Shabbat or Jewish Holidays. The challenge will be finishing them off, the hemming, and lining for the Challah Cover.

I dream of doing this as a "retirement business" and selling unique, one of a kind Silk Challah Covers and pillow cases. Of course it depends on how complicated all of the rest of the production really is. I understand that after they dry they must be "steam-set" or something like that, and then there are the hemming and lining for decorative pillow cases, Challah Covers or wall hangings. I doubt if there's all that much a market nowadays for scarves to wear.  Of course, dreaming and doing are two different things...

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.