Last week I completed a painting I’ve been working on for many weeks. Its name comes from the text written on its face: “Over every blade of grass an angel hovers, whispering, ‘Grow, grow.’” This isn’t even close to an exact translation of the Talmudic text from Bereshit Rabbah 10.6 on which it is based, …
My husband and I were watching a TV program in which a young girl’s parents die suddenly, leaving her in the care of a grandmother she has never met. I told Rick I needed to stop watching, then burst into tears. “I was that little girl,” I told him. Not because my circumstances matched hers, …
We watched the three-part documentary Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity on Amazon. I highly recommend it. Shorter, who passed away last spring at 90 years of age, was imagination and creativity personified. The film illustrates a point I’ve made countless times in my writing and speaking, that many people vastly underestimate the degree to which young …
I’m letting my hair go gray. My hair is not the main thing I want to focus on in telling you about my new painting, but as this ever-changing reality presents itself to me every time I pass a mirror, it bears mentioning. Also, if like me, you always got a gratifyingly surprised reaction when …
Pre-order my forthcoming book: In The Camp of Angels of Freedom: What Does It Mean to Be Educated? NOTE: This post is to introduce you to the 24th episode of François Matarasso’s and my monthly podcast, “A Culture of Possibility.” It will be available starting 16 December 2022. You can find it and all episodes …
I have been learning so much from painting since I resumed in earnest three years ago after a very long hiatus. (You can read more about how and why here.) The first lesson isn’t about painting per se, but about planning. When I picked up my brush again, I began painting portraits from life as …
“Tikkun” is a Hebrew word usually translated as “repair.” In the phrase “Tikkun Olam,” it has a traditional spiritual meaning associated with Jewish mysticism’s creation story in which the Source of Life shaped the vessels of this world, breathing divine energy into them. The container shattered, unable to hold the infinite light. That left humanity …
NOTE: This post is to introduce you to the 13th episode of François Matarasso’s and my monthly podcast, “A Culture of Possibility.” It will be available on 21 January 2022. You can find it and all episodes at iTunes along with miaaw.net’s other podcasts by Owen Kelly, Sophie Hope, and many guests, focusing on cultural …
More than twenty years ago, after drawing or painting nearly every day from the time I could hold a crayon, I stopped making visual art. Why? It’s a bit of a story. Something that happened on New Year’s Day made me want to tell it. My husband’s and my annual new year’s ritual has two …