it's been a hard year....

...during which I've been drawing, drawing, drawing through it all. trying to make sense of it. trying to give form to something that is hard to talk about. the 'I am still alive' omer drawings were part of that. and they continued into other drawings, more personal and reflective. here are some of that on-going series

woman in hiding

new paper-cut

God did not create woman from the head so she will not be lightheaded. The eye, so she will not be inquisitve. The ear, so she will not eavesdrop. The mouth, so she will not be talkative. The heart, so she will not be jealous. The hand, so she will not be acquisitive. Nor from the foot, so she would not seek public acclaim. Rather, she was formed from a hidden part of a man's body, creating each limb saying 'Be a modest woman.' Genesis Rabbah 18:2

it's been a while. I thought the series of paper-cuts - the Ladies Guild Collection - was finished. There were 10 in total, which is a nice round neat number... unfortunately there is just too much rabbinic misogyny to fit into a neat round number.

This text from the midrash is something that has been preying on my mind. It goes through and dissects the body into its potential for sin, and so concludes that women should remain a hidden modest presence.

Women must be hidden, not attract attention, not interact, engage or err. A woman's body must be hidden away not just because of the sin that they might incite, but because it must never be exposed. Women are a hidden presence. And what happens in women's bodies, and in women's heads, must also be hidden and not part of the discussion.

The quote is surrounded by naked women drawing attention to the parts of the body defined by the modesty literature as the edges of being naked - the elbow, the knee and the collarbone.

some of these women are shamed and hiding, and some are defiantly promoting these borderline parts of the body.

storahtelling torah cover

goodbye 5771 and hello to 5772.

whilst I was not able to be in a service for much of rosh hashana, or any of yom kippur, it was nice to know that a piece of mine was playing its part in a ritual. I had a sort of presence somewhere. My torah cover for storahtelling was finished, shipped and arrived in NY in time for it to be used at their HighHolidays services (despite my fears about customs delays, shipping times or damage in transit).

it was a great project to have worked on. I have written more about it, and a slideshow of the process from sketch to construction to finished piece here.

front view

back view

fun with a staple gun

every-so often I get an idea into my head that I can just do something I have never done before.... how hard can it be? I wonder.... and so I find myself with staple gun in hand attaching fabric to a MDF cut-out wondering why it isn't aligning properly.... it will be fine, a few tweeks and alterations and It. Will. Be. Fine.

it will be fine.

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

omer drawings day 29

omer drawings week 4. days 22-28

4 weeks. just over halfway... a friend came over to the studio and remarked at how small these discarded objects actually are. they are the tiny things that it is easy to not notice and walk past... this walking & drawing has me concentrating on the ground. one of these days I am going to bump into a lamp-post.

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