Starting in 2019, I’ll be giving away amulets regularly to Patrons at the $3/month level and up. Check profile link for details!
Just in case you need another reason to join Patreon, and support my work as a Patron. I’ll have a few pieces for general sale to the public over the year too, but most will reserved for the Devotaj Sacred Arts community on Patreon. Want to see what the first giveaway will be in 2019? Swipe!
Giveaway for this piece will be selected on January 1st, 2019 — anyone who is a patron will be eligible. . . . . . . . . . . . . . #sacredarts #sacredart #amulet #giveaway #patreon #evileye #feministart #feminism #judaica #judaism #jewitch #priestess #abudance #spiritjunkie #mixedmedia #fiberart #fiberartist #goddesstribe #divinefeminine #watercolor https://www.instagram.com/p/Br8CmNqnXFr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=b9j7pvt8tx8j
Only 5 days left to pre-order the Eht/Aht: a Netivot Wisdom Oracle deck! (see profile link).
If you missed the Kickstarter,thenpre-ordering not only guarantees you get the deck at the Kickstarter price of $36 (plus shipping), but also that you get a deck!.
This is a limited print run, and I don’t know when I’ll do another one.
As I can’t do the pre-order with international shipping, I am reserving a few decks for folks that have reached out about that.
Amulet for protection of brides and their households, North Africa, n.d. Each of the orbs is engraved with a quotation from the Hebrew Bible:
בן פרת יוסף בן פרת עלי עין מזל טוב (Genesis 49:22) ישמך אלהים כשרה רבקה רחל ולאה (Ruth 4:11) רבות בנות עשו חיל ואת עלית על כלנה (Proverbs 31:29) קול ששון וקול שמחה קול חתן וקול כלה (Jeremiah 33:11) שקר החן והבל היפי אשה יראת יי היא תתהלל (Proverbs 31:30)
Tétouan, Morocco, late 19th or early 20th century, brass, cast; brass sheet, pierced and engraved
Inscribed in Hebrew: “Let the seven lamps give light at the front of the lampstand” [Num 8:2]; “Blessed shall you be in your comings and blessed shall you be in your goings” [Deut 28:6]
This Hanukah lamp from Tetuán in northern Morocco bears a depiction of the menorah on the centre of the back plate, between two twisted columns, each surmounted by a decorative bird. The biblical inscriptions were believed to endow the lamp with the power to protect the home. But along with the decorative elements, they reveal a connection between the craftsmen and the Jewish professional scribes who illustrated marriage contracts (ketubot) and various types of plaques for the home or synagogue, using similar patterns. Tetuán was a thriving centre of Torah study and Jewish learning for centuries. Its Jewish population consisted of descendants of Jews expelled from Spain, as well as Jews from other Moroccan cities and from Livorno in Italy.
Printers: Giovanni di Gara, together with the publisher and proofreader Israel ben Daniel ha-Zifroni
Venice, Italy, 1609
letterpress, woodcut, and watercolour on paper, H: 35; W: 23.5 cm
This Haggadah was widely used in 17th-century Europe. It includes commentaries on the Hebrew text in three languages - Ladino, Yiddish, and Italian - as it was intended to serve diverse Jewish communities in Italy and across Europe.
i drew the four matriarchs (Soreh, Rivke, Leah and Rahel) potentially as part of making a very jewish deck of cards but also maybe just for their own sake. i also lined them up with two other famous jewish fours: the four levels of interpretation and the letters of the name (in reverse order, the way they correspond to the four worlds of creation)
Happy Purim! I’m proud to debut the latest entry in my annual tradition of Purim package design, creating elaborate boxes to fulfill the ritual of mishloach manot, giving gifts of food to friends. (Find the last few years’ here, here,here,here,here,here, and here.) This year’s boxes were inspired by the mashrabiya and jaali, latticework traditions of the world “from India to Ethiopia” — regions ruled by Achashverosh (Esther 1:1). Each little box is filled with fun treats, as well as a little LED balloon light. Close the box and place the light in the peak, and the words “Happy Purim” shine on the tabletop.
Colloquially called “harem windows,” these screens provided privacy and shade to those inside. In the Purim story, Esther lived hidden in the king’s palace. But when the time was right, at the darkest time, she revealed herself and saved her people. She shined. “The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honor,” (Esther 8:16), and so may we all.
I made two designs while prototyping this box, and being unable to pick which I liked better, I made both! Which do you prefer?
