I cannot choose!

Sometimes when I am looking for the "IT" for a blog item, I find I can't just find one item that fits my imagination OR in the case of today's post, I can't choose just one particular picture.

Juggling Frogs is a blogger extroirdinaire. Not only is she an amazing artist in multiple media, but she shares instructions for her art and her recipes with her readers. While searching for some beautiful Sukkah Banners, I came across this page. Not only were there bannners galore (as shown on the left) but she shows step by step how to make BLACK AND WHITE COOKIES (kind of apros pos for this election season). But for those of you not in the know, Black and Whites are a quintessential New York deli cookie. Carolyn calls them Creation cookies but they are what they are!

Thank you Carolyn... you are truly a woman of valor!!!

Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbat in the Sukkah...

Every time I think I have exhausted my ability to find a new artist I surprise myself with a novel discovery! Lynne Feldman of Rochester NY was an oil painter but the proximity of her studio to a Fabric Store inspired her to dabble in Fabric Collage. Thank goodness for LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!! Lynne describes her process: I begin each piece as I would an oil painting by stretching canvas over wooden stretchers strips. The entire composition for the work is then drawn onto the canvas in charcoal. Fabric is then cut and pieced to fit into the shapes of the drawing as well as painted with acrylic paints. I layer the work back and forth with fabric and paints until the surface of it is thick and rich in color, pattern and texture. When the collage is completed, it is removed from the stretchers and sewn onto a colorful fabric backing. Tabs (much like those on curtains) are sewn onto the top and the piece is suspended from a brass rod. The finished piece can be suspended from a ceiling or loosely from a wall. The effect of this kind of display is a gentle undulation in the fabric as in more conventional tapestries.

And for your Sukkot reading pleasure buzz on over to J. to read a story about Jews, Bears and why the two should never meet in a Sukkah (which reminds me if you have not read Once Upon a Shabbos you really need to do so).

And remember: Honey, honey. Sweet as Shabbos!

Sukkah, Sukkot and a New Year!

Sukkot will start this Thursday, the 27th of September and will continue for 7 days until Wednesday, the 3rd of October. Without the proper attitude one can feel bombarded by the holidays this time of year. This makes the sukkah an even important place, allowing us to separate from the hussle and bussle which surround us. To sit within the walls of a SharonSukkah must be a delight for the eyes and spirit! The Sharon Sukkah is a unique collection of wall hangings and panels for decorating the sukkah, combining Hebrew calligraphy, Biblical verses, and contemporary designs of themes associated with the Land of Israel.


Sukkot is the Jewish New Year?
The days are growing shorter, the breeze is picking up, and in my area, the leaves are just starting to display a tinge of yellow. In a few weeks, it will be time for the new year: Rosh haShanah, the day on which human beings were first formed out of the earth. Traditionally, Jews spend the two days of the New Year eating sweet foods as a siman (a sign, symbol, or blessing) that the coming year should be sweet, and reflecting on their past deeds in order to improve in the future. It’s a day of rebirth, a day of looking back and beginning to move forward. Yet originally, the day of Rosh haShanah probably wasn’t the new year at all.

If one reads the Bible, it becomes clear that Sukkot—the harvest festival that falls on the full moon two weeks after Rosh haShanah, also known as Chag haAsif, the Ingathering Festival— was the new year. In the Bible, Sukkot alone is called tzeit hashanah, the departure of the year. This was a day of pilgrimage when farmers brought their first fruits, and the pilgrims and priests drummed and danced all night to the light of giant torches. At dawn, palm branches waved, water was poured on the altar as a sign of blessing, and the assembled crowd chanted praises to the Divine and the Temple. Today, Jews still process in circles with their lulavim on each day of Sukkot, symbolically turning the wheel of life back to its beginning. At the end of Sukkot, the Torah is re-rolled and a special “bride” or “groom” of the Torah reads about the creation of the world. Doesn’t that sound more like a new year? Read more here.