Found in cyberspace

Actually, the artist Geoff Smith is in Toronto, Canada but I found him this morning while I was perusing google. I was specifically looking for siddur covers (which Geoff designs) but some of his other work is what stopped me in my search. I contacted Geoff's company and quickly heard back from them (thank you Carole). I learned that Geoff paints each and every canvas himself and that all canvases can be personalized. Geoff is more of a 20th century man and prefers the telephone to email so you can call him to discuss a customized design.

Here are a pair of canvases that I think are really wonderful.

Crowning glory

The piece of fabric which lies behind the neck when wearing a tallit is an atarah, which strictly translates to crown. While I admire people who attempt to make an entire tallit, a more manageable endeavor would be to make an atarah for a premade tallit.
Here are some beautiful examples of atarot designed by Lisa Sambol, a graduate of M.I.T. who now creates such things in Israel. How lucky we are that Lisa is channeling her energies and intelligence in this direction!














While I was surfing the almighty web on this topic, I found there was an interesting discussion in 2000 on a website whether one should wear a decorative atarah or not. There were those who found them flashy and distracting and those who said they were family heirlooms. I find them rather beautiful. But for those of us who are not silversmiths who want to make our own atarot, I recommend looking at a couple of websites The Magic Needle and the California Stitchery. If you make something, why not send me a pic?
And to end today's posting, a couple more of Lisa's atarot- ala Agam