Still Life

Artichoke and Pumpkin

Oil on prepared Jerusalem stone ground on board, 17.5 x 25.5 cm, 2014

With my studio close to the Mahaneh Yehuda outdoor market for many years, fresh produce always is a source of inspiration. This work is done on a ground made from the local building material, Jerusalem stone.

A Pair of Hybrids

Oil on Jerusalem stone- prepared ground board, 34 x 24.5 cm, 2000

This painting is of a pair of citrus fruits, similar to a tangelo available in Israel. The characteristic elevated nipple at one end identifies them as a cross-breed. It was a good fit to describe life as newcomers to our adoptive land, neither quite all-American anymore, nor really Israeli as veterans were quick to point out, but an amalgam of two cultures. We had become something new, gaining flavor and new qualities, such as resilience, melded from both places.

Blue Straw (Diet Iced-Coffee)

Oil on prepared Jerusalem stone ground on board, 30 x 24.5 cm, 2008
(private collection)

With carry-out coffee shops on nearly every corner, this work focuses on quick gratification of the single-use culture – drink and toss. The surface is a hand-made gesso that has a stone-like quality similar to a fresco. Once ready, the actual painting begins. Using traditional methods, the oil paints slowly build up layers of transparent color. The lengthy efforts contrast with its subject matter from contemporary throw-away culture. As a diet drink, it highlights the expectation to be figure-conscious.

Rachel’s Tomb on Memorial Candle with Budding Pomegranate

Oil on linen, 20 x 30 cm, 2017

Part of a series of paintings that seek to break the convention of the traditional flower-in-a-vase genre by pairing non-traditional holders with unusual contents. Here a memorial candle tin holder depicts matriarch Rachel’s tomb – where barren women often come to pray – holding a broken-off pomegranate bud, a Jewish symbol of fertility and plenty. These elements contrast with the original purpose of the vase, marking the anniversary of a death by lighting a memorial candle, a Jewish mourning custom.

Sprouting Purple Onion

Oil on linen, 23 x 38 cm, 2013

This simple onion in a bowl attains a dream-like quality as if it glides along tranquil waters.

Beloved (baby food jar and pomegranate bud)

Oil on linen, 20 x 30 cm, 2018

This is one of a number of works using empty baby food jars as a motif. The jars represent the end of babyhood, but also the transition to a different stage of life in the empty-nest years. The cut budding pomegranate marks the end of fertile years. It can also be viewed as a halt to child-bearing as the traditional purpose of many women’s lives. Seen in the context of bereavement for a child, the child-care years appear to wash away the parental role and efforts.

Egg Cartons Tower

Oil on canvas on Jerusalem stone-prepared ground on board, 120 x 40 cm, 2002 (private collection)

This work was done in response to the Twin Towers tragedy of 2001. This stack is comprised of ten open trays of market eggs that are loosely bound together with twine. The ovoid shapes represent humanity in its essence, each with life potential. The twine places them in connection to each other in their fragility and interdependence. Existence in the carton is a waiting zone of sorts. A sharp pull on the twine would bring them all to a shared fate of destruction.

Pair of Sufganiyot

Oil on linen 25 x 27 cm, 2014

This sustained study of the Hanukkah doughnut treat compels us to regard simpler times before bakeries outdid each other with elaborate fare to celebrate the holiday. By considering the pastries as a pair, we view them as representing the female physique. The oozing of the jelly directs our thoughts to violence against women in culture and to the harsh decisions women make regarding treatment for cancer on the one hand, or for questionable elective cosmetic treatments on the other.