Rokmot - the Embroidery Club

Lately I've been reorganizing my life and one of the things I feel compelled to do is help women from Sderot use their god-given and hard-earned talents to help support their families.  Rokmot is an Embroidery Club of sorts. The women who belong are all immigrants from Ethiopia, long time citizens of Israel who've yet to find financial stability. I've already met with them several times, and I'm honored to help them discover the world of virtual marketing.

In our first meeting we talked about their dreams and what's out there, in general.  What's needed to make this happen - after all, none know how to use a computer, speak English... there are a lot of new skills for them to learn.  In our second meeting, we experimented with my digital camera.  For all but the program director, it was the first time they'd ever held a digital camera - we spent time photographing each other and their work.  This is Kasah, showing an embroidered skullcap/kippa/yarmaka that she made, surrounded by her projects.



Kasah

All the women are quite talented.  We have high hopes - together we're going to open an Etsy shop for Rokmot. They'll learn to photograph, price, and ship their work. They'll eventually learn how to create their own listings and manage their shops. 

 

 

There are several regulars:  Bosanah learned to embroider before she immigrated to Israel 21 years ago.  She's lived 20 years in Sderot.  Genetiah learned crafts from her mother in Ethiopia as a young girl.  Her baskets are quite amazing. In Ethiopia she wove her baskets from palm fronts and dyed plant material. Genetiah still uses palm for the structure, but she has added a modern twist and wraps the fronds with gift ribbons to create complex patterns.  Tefetah embroiders because it makes her feel good.  She also enjoys the social aspects of sitting with friends who are also crafters.  Kasah comes to Rokmot because it makes her smile.  Her 5 children have all grown up and left home.  She explained to me clearly:  "I enjoy doing this work because it keeps my hands busy."  



Genetiah and one of her beautiful baskets

This isn't a short term project - but if you can help, we need craft materials and encouragement. You can contact me at cec235@hotmail with questions and messages for the women of Rokmot. All proceeds from their future Etsy shop will be used at first to keep the program running.  We do hope for enough sales for the women to take some money home, too.  I know we'll get there!

Leaving... on a jet plane.....

The Dondero Windows are finished, and heading to their new home.

Last week I completed and delivered the third Dondero Window. In two days all three panels will be (carefully) packed up and shipped to the Dondero home in New Mexico, where they'll be hung in a large and sunny entrance hall.  For those who missed the first postings, here are the first two panels with their owner. 

Suzanne and Russ had me make these windows in honor of their three children - Yasmin, Aaron, and Ariela.  Each panel celebrates one child.  The three panels, when hung correctly, form a flowing depiction of the history, geography, and agriculture of Israel. 
Here's me making Aaron's window (the last of the three):




In the first photo, you can see that I've started to cut the glass.  I only enlarged one copy of the pattern, so I had to be very organized.  As I cut each piece, I put it exactly in its place in the panel design.  I only cut out a few pieces from the pattern each time so as not to get them mixed up.






In the next two photos, I've started to foil the pieces.  Naturally, this is only after each piece was ground, washed and dried.  As I was doing this step, I had the missing piece with Aaron's name in my fusing kiln.

The last photos show the panel completed.  You can see that I've not only soldered everything, but I've also added strong lead borders, top hanging wires, and little curling grape vines from wire. 

This was a wonderful, fun project to do.  I always love the challenge of creating something for someone else - it requires that I work with their imagination as well as my own, and often the results are quite surprising.  My new custom project - a huge project! - is a set of 4 windows with a peacock standing in a jungle for a client in Arad.  I"m still enlarging the pattern, so the bulk of the work still awaits me :-)

Shopping Links

I'm pleased to offer a sampling of the items I sell through Etsy.  This display automatically updates when I add new items to my shops; clicking on any of the thumbnails will bring you specifically to the item in the photo.  You can also click into my shops by clicking on the shop name that appears under each photo row. 

Happy browsing!

Ariella's Window....

A long-time friend commissioned three windows from me, each in honor of one of her kids.  They'll spend only a short time on display in Israel before being packed up and flown to New Mexico, where they'll be hung in a large window for all to enjoy.

I created the patterns for all three windows with the final destination in mind.  A huge stained glass window would be prohibitively expensive, so Suzanne suggested three separate panels, hung across the space.  These are the three patterns, and this is how they will eventually be hung.

The green band, which runs through all the panels, represents "prozdor yerushalayim," the forested route that crosses the country and leads up to Jerusalem.  The blues at the bottom represent the Mediterranean Sea, on Israel's coast.  The light blue section towards the bottom of the middle panel represents the Dead Sea, and the rocks underneath it are the cliffs that rise above the Dead Sea, along the Jordanian border.  A lot of the brown is desert. The grapes, pomegranates, and wheat depict Israel's agricultural bounty. The town at the very top is Jerusalem.

And this is the first of the windows, ready for delivery (shown next to its pattern).  It was made for Ariella, a charming toddler. 

You can see photos of the entire process of making Ariella's window (cutting, foiling, soldering, preparing the fused piece, applying patina, etc) in my Facebook page, Glass & Light, Israel.   Hope to see you there!