This semester, the painting class was about identity. I spent the semester painting about child abuse. For the final project, we had to do a painting only we could do. So I did a quilt. About being Jewish.
After the disastrous election, I saw a design in my. head: a Star of David and a hammer. In the Hanukkah story, the Jews were ruled by a powerful, evil king. Jews who didn’t pray to the collection of the king’s gods were killed. Finally, Judah had enough. He gathered a band of warriors and they defeated the king’s vast army. End of rule by evil king. Judah was called Judah the Maccabee. Maccabee means hammer.
I thought about how people have been trying to wipe us out for about 6000 years. So far, they’ve failed. I saw my quilt as an expression of hope and perseverance. Since October 7, 2023, the Anti-Defamation League has received reports of more than 10,000 acts of antisemitism. Jews on college campuses have been physically attacked, muzazahs have been ripped off dormitory door posts, hamas supporters have called for the elimination of Israel and the killing of Jews. This is nothing new. We are still here.
I used matching thread to write out my feelings because I wanted people to look at my work. “We are still here” “Am Yisrael chai” (it means the people of Israel live and it’s a battle cry). The shin (Hebrew letter) has an “sh” sound and is frequently put on a mezuzah. It’s the first letter of the prayer: Listen Israel. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. That’s what set us apart from all the other nations which had many gods.
“Fighting for our right to exist”
My family hid. I refuse to hide.
This was the first time I had used my embroidery machine with a quilt. It was an interesting experience trying to get everything straight. I didn’t always succeed.
I looked forward to the final critique until the day of the critique when I received an email saying my class would be combined with another painting class for final critique. That means we would rush through each person’s work. No one would have the opportunity to really look at my work and see what’s there. No one would get to hear my reason for using the images I used. I was horribly depressed and sent my teacher an email explaining why I wasn’t going to be attending critique. That was last Thursday. I haven’t heard from my teacher and I don’t expect to ever hear from him.
I’m depressed enough that I’m not looking forward to taking another painting class. Actually, I’m not looking forward to much of anything.
I’m linking with Nina Marie here: https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-best-of-christmas-gifts-quilters.html
My store, Deb Thuman Art, is here: http://www.DebThumanArt.com
Deb's Art 