About pomegranateguild18

Since 1982 the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Textiles has brought together people who are interested in studying and creating textile art and needlework based on Jewish themes. We welcome people of all ages and skill levels, from professional artist to novice stitcher. Anyone with a desire to learn new techniques and/or anyone with an interest in Judaic textiles is asked to participate.

Jewish Treasures of the Caribbean

Posted on March 15, 2015 by pomegranateguild18

Dorion invites us:
Please join us at Beth Tzedec Museum on Thursday, March 26^th at 7:30pm to meet and hear Wyatt Gallery (a person) who is the photographer of the exhibition, JEWISH TREASURES OF THE CARIBBEAN. We also expect representatives from some of the Caribbean islands.
Entry to the building through the back doors off the parking lot at the security booth.
March 9 through April 24, come see our newest exhibit, Jewish Treasures of the Caribbean, a travelling exhibition by photographer Wyatt Gallery capturing the little-known history of the Sephardic Jews of the Caribbean. and continuing through April 24. To book a tour, contact museum curator Dorion Liebgott at 416-781-3514 ext. 232.

Celebrate: the holidays with Laya Crust

Posted on March 11, 2015 by pomegranateguild18

Anna Vandelman reports on our January and February meetings:

JANUARY: If you were lucky enough to come out to our meeting on Wednesday January 21^st, you would feel well prepared to devote your artistry to Passover.

Laya Crust, our talented, amazingly creative Artist-in-Residence took us through a review of the experience of the Exodus, showing us along the way how the themes and rituals of the story inspire creative responses. Slavery and freedom, burning bushes, plagues, sacrifices and matzah can all be interpreted – in art in general and textile art in particular. Haggadot through the ages have added and altered the text and illustrations to speak to contemporary communities.

Since the Seder is a family and community meal, table linens, cushions, matzah and afikoman covers can all be part of an artful celebration. Guild members shared some of their special preparations and programs. Susan Rosenstein includes a map of the exodus in the middle of the table, Anna Vandelman’s guests have played Passover Jeopardy, and Marilyn Levy has made special plague memory aids to help everyone participate.

Laya’s resource notes are available to members on the Members’ page of this website.

FEBRUARY: Bad weather (at least on Pomegranate Guild Wednesdays) has been a theme for us this season! Once again on a dark and dismal Wednesday evening February 18^th, Guild Artist-in-Residence Laya Crust helped warm and brighten the night for us. Using her very special megillah as a specific example, Laya led us through a discussion of key aspects to fulfilling a commission.

In the first part of the evening, we talked about the need to merge creative ideas with business sense to successfully complete a commission. We discussed the usefulness of logbooks and spreadsheets to record time and materials. We also talked about the intangible costs and benefits related to working for close friends and relatives, demanding clients, working in new (for us) media. And we found that successful work often comes of establishing a good relationship with a client.

In the second part of the program, Laya took us through the specific process of creating a commissioned illuminated Megilat Esther. She sourced materials and techniques, sketched and practiced, and then scribed and illuminated a ten and a half foot scroll. It contains 32 lavish illustrations rendered in 16^th C. Persian style. The original piece is written on parchment using historically authentic tools and painted in gouache. The Megillah has been reproduced in a limited edition series.

What an illuminating evening!

Engineering and Design Students Collaborate on Image Transfer Megillat Esther

Posted on March 11, 2015 by pomegranateguild18

We hope you all had a festive Purim last week.
Maybe next year you will read from a textile Megiilat Esther

Follow the link to a story about an engineering and design collaboration to see a machine embroidered (actually, knitted) Megillat Esther and a short discussion of the themes that the creative team considered in its production.

Thanks to Laya Crust for this link!

Celebrating and Making Textiles – March 2015

Posted on February 28, 2015 by pomegranateguild18

March is a great month for us to celebrate textiles and make more: Edge of the Forest, Threads of Hope for African Grandmothers, and a great opportunity for quilters to respond to a call for entry.
Members Melanie Siegel and Rikki Blitt have been instrumental in launching a Surface Design Association Canadian members’ touring exhibit, The Edge of the Forest. Both Melanie and member Barbara Goldstein have work in this wonderful exhibit. And Sheila Thompson, a past presenter at the Guild has been extensively involved.
We urge everyone to come out and celebrate their work at its premier opening in Richmond Hill on March 11.

Threads of Hope for African Grandmothers at the Miles Nadal JCC. “In honour and admiration of the remarkable African grandmothers, Waterloo-based Omas-Siskona (Grandmothers Together) produced Creating Futures: Threads of Hope for African Grandmothers. They invited Ontario textile artists to create and donate pieces celebrating the ongoing strength and resilience of grandmothers in Africa. The result is a stunning display of artistry, technique and inspiration.” Follow the link in the title for docent hours.

Sacred Threads – Call for Entry Juana Sleizer has brought this to our attention. The time frame for entry is tight, but many of you may have qualifying quilts to submit. For more information, click here, or the title above.

It’s a great week for learning!

Posted on February 9, 2015 by pomegranateguild18

Two great opportunities this week to see and learn something new.
Wednesday February 11 at The Textile Museum

And Thursday February 12 at Beth Tzedec

Pomegranate Guild visits Hadassah – Hatikvah chapter

Posted on January 21, 2015 by pomegranateguild18

On Tuesday January 20 Pomegranate Guild member Barb Goldstein led the members of Hadassah – Hatikvah chapter of Thornhill in a bracelet felting session. Colourful fleece, some soapy water, and Barb’s engaging instruction left participants with beautiful bracelets to take home. Melanie Siegel and Karen Chisvin attended to help with set up and chat about the other activities of the Pomegranate Guild, welcoming all participants of the evening to become guests or new members of the Guild.

What’s Jewish about felted bracelets? Their bagel shape, and an artful outcome of being under intense pressure!

Celebrate: with Artist-in-Residence Laya Crust

Posted on January 19, 2015 by pomegranateguild18

The Pomegranate Guild is excited to start our work up close and personal with Artist in Residence, Laya Crust, for four programs in 2015. Over these programs we will be exploring the creative process as we examine how we can create textile work to enhance our holiday celebrations. On January 21st we’ll start “at the very beginning.” See our calendar page for more details.

Laya is an accomplished artist and generous teacher. You can read more by and about her at her website and her blog.

Members have already met Laya at earlier meetings, and some have had a chance and talk to her about their personal work. Come early to the meetings and talk to her about your work!

Before the meeting think about:
What do you love about Pesach and the seders?
What do you find challenging about Pesach and the seders?
Is there something you’d like to change about the seder or the haggadah?

And, bring examples of Pesach art to talk about, too.

Celebrate: Ourselves

Posted on January 11, 2015 by pomegranateguild18

Anna VanDelman reports:

Once again Guild members had to embrace a dark and windy rainy/snowy drive to Temple Sinai, and it was well worth the effort. Anne Marie Desaulnier’s work is entirely breath taking! It is an excellent example of an intuitive approach to art-making that reveals the maker.

Anne Marie with her work

Anne Marie has a passion for techniques and a love of fabric, paper, beads, recycling and found objects. Many of us recalled her last presentation to us which left a deep impression. She is a self taught artist who credits her current direction to a combination of early exposure to fabrics as a child, school art classes, books and the internet. Robin Atkins’ on-line bead journal project continues to play a role in her life. Anne Marie is a curious, intuitive fibre artist with a serious magpie mentality who excels in the blending of techniques and materials. Serendipity, colour, nature, family, friends and visual journaling are the threads that tie her work together.

http://artfuldreamer.blogspot.com for more by Anne Marie, and info@beadfx.com to inquire about her winter and spring workshops.

Fibrella

Anne Marie’s soft fibre arts doll “Fibrella” caught our attention as we walked into the room. And we were caught up in the amazing pieces of beaded work in fibre stitchery she had on display for us. Her dedication to journaling is special as she says it helps to put her into a piece by exploring what’s going on in one’s life and family. While working on a textile memorial to her late brother she became obsessed with beading and she showed many magnificent examples of her work. Among her other explorations, Anne Marie has experimented with three dimensional beaded forms (requiring curved needles and lots of patience) and fibre bowls formed on balloons using wallpaper paste.

In the second half of the evening, as Rikki Blitt generously emptied her beading collection onto the workshop tables, Anne Marie came round to each table to demonstrate and help us with several bead stitches. In addition to beads, Anne Marie uses everything possible in her work: buttons, jewellery, leaves, odd ends of jewellery, glass, doll faces out of paper clay, found objects – among many others.

Textile Self-portrait

Anne Marie showed us several examples of beaded textile self-portraits that formed the impetus for our upcoming 2015 challenge. It was an amazing evening that encouraged us all to continue to work on our beaded samples and to learn from Anne Marie’s philosophy: ALLOW YOURSELF TO PLAY.

For more textile portraits, see this Pinterest board, or do a web search for “textile self-portraits. http://www.pinterest.com/dianey1/textile-portraits/

Thanks to Reesa Wasser for photos, and Anne Marie Desaulniers for permission to share her work!

Celebrate: Celebration in Jewish Tradition (and the first hint of winter)

Posted on December 27, 2014 by pomegranateguild18

Celebrate: Celebration in Jewish Tradition – Launch of new Pomegranate Guild Exhibition
Anna VanDelman reports:
On Wednesday November 19th, 2014 fifteen intrepid Guild members and two guests braved the first snow of the season – and treacherous driving conditions – to attend a wonderful presentation by Rabbi Elliot Diamond.

To kick off the launch of the call for our new exhibit, Celebrate, Rabbi Diamond gave an inspiring presentation. He began with a quote from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel:

“People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active state, an act of expressing reverence or appreciation. To be entertained is a passive state–it is to receive pleasure afforded by an amusing act or a spectacle…. Celebration is a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent meaning of one’s actions.”

Rabbi Diamond has generously shared his notes with us. Here is the overview. More detailed notes will be provided on request.

1. Categories of Celebrations:

i. Holidays: Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Purim, Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur

ii. Life Cycle: Birth, Bris, Zeved HaBat, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Wedding, Birthday, Anniversary, yahrzeit

iii. Accomplishments / Milestones: Graduation, job, siyum, business achievement, being the first to…., Chanukat HaBayit, Inauguration

2. Role of Celebration

3. What Does “Simcha” Really Mean?

4. The Secret of LeChaim!!

After the presentation, Janis Katz walked us through the call for entry requirements for the next exhibit, and Artist in Residence Laya Crust facilitated a discussion to help us start imagining our response to the call.

“Textures:” Member Juana Sleizer’s work on view

Posted on December 19, 2014 by pomegranateguild18

During January, come to North York Central Library to see Pomegranate Guild member, Juana Sleizer’s work on view!

Artists are selected for libraries in the Toronto Public Library system through a rigourous adjudication process. Congratulations, Juana.

North York Central Library
5120 Yonge Street
Viewing hours:
Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 8.30 pm
Saturday 9.00 to 5.00 pm
Sunday 1.30 pm to 5.00 pm

From Friday January 02. 2015 to Saturday January 31 2015

Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Textiles Toronto

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