Sulaam
December 2020
24” x 18”
paint and tissue paper collage on paper (mixed media)
This is titled “Sulaam,” and was inspired by this year’s reading of Parashat Va-Yetzei. Of course every year, a parashah can hit us differently. I don’t recall ever noticing before how compelling it felt to me that the angels, simultaneously, moved both up and down Jacob’s ladder. During all the COVID restrictions, and still soon after my husband’s death, I had a visceral reaction to the parashah as a metaphor for my life: part of me was always moving up, and part of me was always moving down, and by extension, going forward and backward as well.
Using paint, tissue paper, and my Styrofoam stencil, I strived to create a mistful and mystical feeling. It is both regretful and hopeful, optimistic and reflective.
