Pumpkin, detail from watercolor painting of Three Squash, 2009
Or any other holiday or reason to gather and eat. I like collecting recipes. Maybe one day I’ll actually try some of these.
Two of my children have paintings on display at the Highland Park Public Library in November. These are not the ones in this post; my son, who did the paper airplane landscape above, has tall, surrealistic pencils on display.
My daughter has fuchsia flowers painted on a bright blue background at the library. The ice cream painting above may look familiar to loyal blog readers; yes, the students copied were inspired by my painting of ice cream from last spring. Thanks for coming up with that flattering idea, Jill Caporlingua, and for being a devoted, creative and energetic art teacher.
Pajamas, watercolor on paper, 2010 by Leora Wenger
The inspiration for this watercolor was a possible post on networking for my tech biz blog. The idea is many people who work at home would rather spend the whole day in pajamas than attend a networking meeting. I’m not sure this is obviously pajamas; my husband said a blanket? a jacket? before I pointed to the pajamas that were draped over a chair all week in plain sight.
If nothing else, it got me focused on a painting all week. I had been having artist’s block for several months.
Click on each thumbnail to find out more about the siman (symbol) of food that is eaten the first night of Rosh Hashana:
Simanim for Rosh Hashana
Some people use the head of a lamb (that we be like the head and not as the tail). I now have a post on dates. And I may put out celery, for a raise in salary. Past post of simanim details here.
Here is a post from G6 of new fruit for the 2nd night of Rosh Hashana. I bought a sabra, a papaya, some fresh figs and a starfruit. The idea is you need a fruit that you haven’t eaten all year, so you can make the blessing called “shehiyanu.”
Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is in less than one month. So I started looking at past posts I wrote about the holiday. I have an idea for a new way to present the simanim (symbols) – I plan to post it next week.
Ilana-Davita wrote part one of Jewish History in Hamburg. She also has a fascinating photo of a kosher dining room, where Jewish passengers ate before traveling to America in the early 20th century.
I read Nomad by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – she has led a difficult life, and what she has to say is not easy to hear, but she is a good writer and her story is gripping. I read the book in only two days. I can’t say I agree with her conclusions, but her story of growing up in Somalia, Kenya and Saudi Arabia, then running away to Holland because she doesn’t want to marry the man her father has chosen for her is quite a tale. I amazed that she has made it as far as she has in life (at one point, she was a member of Dutch Parliament; now she is a fellow at American Enterprise Institute).
On May 19 and 20 we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot (one day in Israel). Why do Jews eat dairy on Shavuot? For standard answers see seven reasons behind this popular custom.
However, customs vary. For example, a friend writes that her Hungarian grandfather ate the blintzes her grandmother made then they waited a bit and had a meat meal. That’s basically how one brother-in-law handles the holiday. My vegan friends are eating neither dairy nor meat. For myself, I will limit the amount of dairy I eat, as my body just doesn’t do well with dairy (I am lactose-intolerant and beyond).
On Facebook, I asked: “Looking for funny, historical, hysterical or creative reasons why Jews eat dairy on Shavuot.” Some of the responses:
You’re milking this for all it’s worth. We’d butter not fool around. (She also came up with the title of this post).
A naturalist answer: It’s approximately the time when goats wean their kids and the mothers have additional milk that’s not being used otherwise.
Because you may go to a shiur where real ice cream is served. There ought to be one Jewish holiday in honor of cheesecake.
From a vegetarian: You meat-eaters get ALL the holidays. It’s OUR TURN, people. 🙂
What kind of world would it be if we didn’t have license to eat cheesecake guilt-free at least once a year?!
I’ll conclude with a joke:
Upon Mt. Sinai, Moses is receiving the Torah.
God proclaims through the burning bush “THOU SHALT NOT SEETHE THE KID IN ITS MOTHER’S MILK.”
Moses is a bit confused. “What does that mean, Lord? We should not cook meat in milk?”
God repeats “THOU SHALT NOT SEETHE THE KID IN ITS MOTHER’S MILK.”
Moses responds “But what do you mean, Lord? We should never serve meat and dairy in the same meal?”
Again, God repeats “THOU SHALT NOT SEETHE THE KID IN ITS MOTHER’S MILK.”
Moses continues “Do you mean that we should have two completely separate sets of ovens and cookware? One for meat and one for milk?”
Finally God agrees, “OK, Moses, have it your way.”
One more joke:
Elijah the Prophet resurfaces on Planet Earth in New York City right before Chanukah. He gets very excited when he sees Chanukah decorations, Chanukah parties and Chanukah cards and hears Chanukah music. He declares: if this is what Jews do for Chanukah, I can only imagine what they do for Shavuot!
I “met” Lisa when she friended me on Facebook. I took a look at her art both on Facebook and on her blog, and I thought, these are wonderful paintings! What a treasure to find in New Jersey. Here are a few questions she graciously answered for this blog:
1) When did you realize you wanted to be an artist?
When I was 9 yrs old. I went to my first summer art camp program at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Oh I remember it so vividly. I overheard my teacher tell my mother not to worry because when I am older I will be able to “see” more. (I was the youngest in the class). That day, I forced myself to “see” more and painted a house with every detailed shingle on the roof. That painting won an award at the end of the summer. The president of RISD approached my mother to purchase the painting, but she declined. To this day, I challenge myself to look more than I think I know. I challenge myself everyday to paint better than yesterday. Little did I know at nine I “caught the creative bug” that has since fueled me for 44 years!
Thankfully, I have the painting on my bedroom wall. Every morning, it reminds me why I am an artist.
2) How have you used social media (Facebook, blog, Twitter) to promote your art?
I post on blog, twitter and facebook regularly so I can keep my collectors and followers current on new paintings (sometimes still wet on the easel), news and upcoming exhibitions. Also, it’s a great way for followers to join in on the conversation, especially on Facebook. Posting my next exhibition, 9th annual Spring Open Studio on Facebook helps spread the word virally. I still send out postcards to my list and press releases to periodicals. It all works together!
3) What advice would you give to other artists about marketing?
Network.
4) What is your favorite part of being an artist?
Seeing magic happen.
5) Where do you look for inspiration?
Flowers and gardens. I think I was a fairy in my past life. :0)
