Water Drawings - Omer 2017

Next week it will be Pesach. Which means it will soon be the Omer period, and the ritual counting of the seven weeks, the 49 days leading up to Shavuot. During temple times it was a daily barley sacrifice, which the rabbinic mystics interpreted as an opportunity for personal transformation. In the past I have counted the omer with a daily drawing practice. Exploring themes of loss, brokenness, baggage, fear and the poetry of numbers.

My starting point for this year’s omer drawings is a worn out old London A-Z. It was lying around at home, very out of date and little used now that we all have maps on our smartphones. It conveniently has 49 double spread pages, with a 7 x 7 grid at the beginning. While I was checking if it would be suitable to be appropriated to use in this way, I noticed that there is a body of open water on every double page spread, from fabricated canals and lakes, to natural rivers and ponds. Some pages it’s very small, but the water is there. I find this intriguing, I am not sure if this is unusual for London, or common to most cities. After all where there are humans, especially in a densely populated urban space, there needs to be water. Water is life. 

In Jewish mysticism, water associated with Chochmah, Wisdom. Chochmah is pure thought, that flash of inspiration, before it is channeled into language with Binah, Understanding. The relationship between Chochmah and Binah is that between water and it’s containers. Water flows, and has no natural form but fills the vessels it is in.

So these Water Drawings will begin with highlighting the bodies of water on each double page, and then lets see what emerges and flows from there. Like all the previous omer drawings, I have a starting point, and not entirely sure where I will end up. I'm currently reading a lot about clouds, highly recommend this book, so it might get metrological. And I'm also learning Sefer Yetzirah, so it might get mystical. And because the Omer is about personal transformation, it could get very personal. It’s a process, and I trust that just as it has in the past, it will reveal something… I aim to post these omer drawings to Instagram and Facebook. you are welcome to follow me and lets get wet. 

another year, another omer

last year I used the daily ritual of counting the omer, the period time between pesach and shavuot, to do a daily drawing exercise. which was more than just an exercise.... last year it was about finding the discarded, rejected detritus of life and marking each day with "I am still alive"... it was an interesting project, and whilst at the time some days it felt futile and silly, when I had the opportunity to view all 49 drawings together I realised that actually those little drawings added up to something more than the sum of their parts.

so the year rolls around. another year. another pesach is on the horizon and with it another omer count. I wanted to continue on the journey I began last year, and so I am repeating the daily drawings. but this time with a twist, and an addition. instead of focusing on the discarded, this year I am exploring the broken shards of life. gather the broken will be a shared omer counting with my friend and rebbe, Amichai Lau-Lavie. Together we will gather what is broken in our daily lives, and not rush to fix or throw away, but hope that creativity is only possible by understanding and acknowledging these imperfect fragments.

omer count starts april 8th, click on gather the broken to subscribe by email

I have no idea where this journey will take us, there are obstacles in the path - logistics and ego of sharing this with another. but you are invited to join us for the journey, we will limp along together. lets hope we will get somewhere.

omer drawings day 49

49th day - 49 days of walking, picking up the discarded, the remnants, the detritus in the street and drawing. walking and drawing the journey from the time of the narrow spaces to the place of receiving. have I arrived there?.... not sure... but here I am. and I am still alive.

wish you all a good shavuot - chag samech.

(for introduction to this project go to omer drawings day 1 & 2, drawings from week 1, drawings from week 2, drawings from week 3, drawings from week 4, drawings from week 5, drawings from week 6)

omer drawings day 44-48

the loyal ones amongst you would have noticed that I haven't been posting these drawings over the last few days. I was away in Berlin, but still walking, still drawing, still alive... just not with a scanner or on-line....

here is what you missed...

omer drawings day 43

omer drawings week 6. days 36-42

this week I almost stopped this project. I missed a day and got a bit despondent. Drawing little bits of nothing everyday seems nonsense. But not quite as absurd as quitting it with only just over a week to go. So here it is. This weeks collection of detritus and discarded remnants.

(for introduction to this project go to omer drawings day 1 & 2, drawings from week 1, drawings from week 2, drawings from week 3, drawings from week 4, drawings from week 5)

omer drawings day 42

omer drawings day 41

omer drawings day 40

omer drawings day 39

omer drawings day 38

omer drawing day 37

omer drawings day 36

omer drawings week 5. days 29-35

this week I lost colour, lost my way, and definitely took leave of my senses. on the up side it was uri's birthday. and as he taught me - lag b'omer is about celebrating our ability to start again despite the pain in the past. happy 40th motek. x

(for introduction to this project go to omer drawings day 1 & 2, drawings from week 1, drawings from week 2, drawings from week 3, drawings from week 4)

omer drawing day 35

from yesterday's broken glass to today's shard of blue and white ceramic...

omer drawings day 34

I'm getting late with these drawings. getting sloppy.
there are broken shards everywhere that can cut, slice and harm - but this one glistened in the sunshine.

omer drawings day 33

today was lag b'omer - the 33rd day of the omer - and my friend's birthday. As he said (more or less) - it is a time to celebrate our ability to get on with our lives, despite all the pain that has happened in the past. Amen sweet U - happy 40th motek x

omer drawings day 32

a day late. and just not feeling very colourful... it happens.

omer drawings day 31

omer drawings day 30