UNART - Bais Chana Art Book

‫פשת‬

‫ אור החיים‬ ‫רמז‬

Ananlogy, Metaphor ‫ מדרש‬ ‫דרש‬

Abstract - Sacred ‫סוד‬

Mathematical Constructs

Light Extension, 2017
Mushky Denberg

Acrylic on Canvas

95

Creativity is expressing that which lies in
potential. When an idea is manifested, it is
now something seen, something remembered,
something relevant. And, it is certainly a bit of
heaven unearthed!

Aarah Aizman

Serendipitous Dots, 2017
Chanie Deutsch
Ceramic

97

COPS AND ROBBERS

Chanie Deutsch

Cops and robbers was my favorite game as a child.
Until I became the real life robber,
Cops became my enemies,
Robbers became my friends.
And the precinct was the place I often found myself in
Every time I’d make bad choices,
I’d go to the home of my enemies, hell to my friends.

My bad judgements led me to be in the dark,
Scary hole people call jail. I call it
The contemplation room.
Until a man in a suit,
Hired by some lady I was taught to call my mom,
Interrupts my contemplation, and gets me out.
Being a felon to my choices, a convict to my dreams,
A murderer to my hopes, and a burden to my life,
Was thrilling. Blood rushing. Adrenaline coursing.
Until I crashed.

I stumbled, and fell, and imprisoned myself,
Into my own dark scary hole people call depression.
My choices led me to feel like all I wore was orange.
All my skirts became jumpsuits, and all people saw
Was the big “I’m a failure” sign on my forehead.

Where to turn to? Cops or robbers? Good or bad?
Torah or superficiality?
So I started questioning Him.
But all it felt like was a one way conversation…
Then I remembered G-d is the judge, He wasn’t talking to me,
Because it was my turn on the stand.

And so I ran. I ran from myself. I ran from reality.
“Just a few sips,” I told myself, “Just one hit.”
I was in my own fantasy world. The run was a soul-searching marathon,
Racing against myself, obstacles on the way…
Just when I thought I hit the bottom of the rock,
I realized there was no rock to hit,
Since my heart and my mind became the rock,
I built a brick wall around me.

To protect me from the judges, to protect me from getting caught,
To protect me from me. Until I realized
I built my mind to be a contemplation room.
I was my own cop, I was my own enemy.
Those sips and those hits were robbers.
I had no friends. And so, I turned to Him once again.
This time with an open heart.

Every word taking down another brick from my wall,
Softening my heart, creating a bond, crying out for help.
And He answered. He answered me with a warm embrace.
I felt my eyes filling up with tears. This time tears of relief.
Relieved to know that the judge is He, Not you and not me.

99





BEING EFFECTIVE IN ANY FORM OF ART
INVOLVES ELEVATING THE KELI (VESSEL/MEDIUM)
AND BRINGING DOWN THE LIGHT. THAT IS
KEDUSHA (HOLINESS).

- Rabbi Manis Friedman

Untitled, 2015
Anonymous

Acrylic on Canvas

103

DANCE

Jenn Harrell

Dance is an art,
An art that makes you feel free,
Free through your mind,
Calms your mind from depression and anxiety,
And stretches your emotions from pain.
Dance calms you down from everything,
Makes your mind refresh
And makes you healthy in general.
Dance is an art that makes you feel free
Through your mind,
It makes you feel good and happy.
Dance is an art.

Untitled, 2017
Dalya Holder
Photograph

105

Do it from your essence... not your mood.
Use the oil.
Start with oil. Love, fear will come.

Tea Set, 2014
Danielle Tashman

Ceramic

107

EVERY LIFE SHOULD BE CREATIVE . . . LIVE YOUR LIFE
THE WAY YOU WERE TAUGHT TO DANCE. HARMONY.
BALANCE. THESE THINGS ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE
STAGE. THAT’S LIFE. EVERYONE SHOULD BE DANCING
THROUGH LIFE. EVERYONE SHOULD LIVE GRACEFULLY.

- Rabbi Manis Friedman

Untitled, 2014
Raizel Gutnick

Watercolor

109

To the degree that you can’t think positive, to that degree it happens.
We create reality. Perception is a force of nature, if you use it, it works.

Untitled, 2015
Yael Scholle

Acrylic on Rock

111

AND THE SURVEY SAYS WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT A PIECE OF ART
YOU MADE THAT HAD AN UNEXPECTED
OUTCOME?

■■ It took unfiltered emotions out of me and placed them onto a creation of my hands.
■■ The process was left imprinted on my soul.
■■ I liked how free it was.
■■ The fluidity. I tend to be quite rigid as an artist, with certain rules and parameters.

Here I just went with flow and really surprised myself. I think it was actually a turning
point for me as an artist, my style is now quite fluid.

■■ I was proud that I now owned something I’d made myself - it gives one a bigger

sense of pride and liking toward that piece of art.

Untitled, 2014
Anonymous

Mixed Media

113



115

SCHOOL IN ANOTHER WORLD

Miriam Golick

The school doors open
And the students begin to drag themselves
To their first classes. Like zombies, they disperse -
Still half asleep and only half sober after the weekend.

They all look the same
Rainbow hair, pierced eyebrows, noses, and lips.
Only a few students, those who swim against the heavy current
Those who are strong and brave enough
To go the opposite direction from everyone else.

It is difficult to do so, I wish I had the strength to swim against this tide.
But I must, I am naturally different from all others
I have two souls instead of one within me
I infuse them with the energy of the Torah.

I must not allow myself to be carried like the carcasses
Of dead animals and marine seaweed being washed up on shore.
I must swim against the current
In order to overcome this challenge G-d has placed in my path.

What else is there for me to do?
This is the only way I can become stronger.
I can finally become an individual.

Se˜nor, 2014

Betsy Rosenberg
Ceramic

117

Think His thoughts, speak His words, do His deeds
to align yourself with G-d.

Where the Heart Is, 2017
Leah Zeledon

Paper Collage on Form

119

TRUE ORIGINALITY CANNOT BE HIDDEN
OR SUPPRESSED.

- Rabbi Manis Friedman

The Whole World is a Very Narrow Bridge, 2014
Aarah Aizman
Photograph

121

ALL THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW

Risa Mond

They say being different is good. They say being different is amazing.
They even say being different is cool. They even say being different is needed.
But when that separation is But then I come home to a family -
Shoved in my face day in and day out - A family of warriors and supporters.
It’s become something I fear. Asking me if I’m oppressed,
Begging me not to hate my gay cousin.
I wait for the question, I shrink.
“What’s it like being different?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll add color” The place where I’m supposed to feel at home
And I duck. Becomes the place where I’m an outsider.
A shoot and a hit They say being different is fine.
With the bulls eye They even say being different is normal.
Right in-between I couldn’t help but feel the shame.
My over-sensitive eyes.
The urge to hide
Overcomes me,
And the urge to be normal
Comes out.

Yet in that one moment, I am not handicapped,
That one powerful moment, I am gifted.
When you looked me in And in my home you’ll find
My over-sensitive eyes All the colors of the
And said Rainbow.
“I’m proud of you.”
The shame drifted away.

I started to see it wasn’t me
Wearing white in a room full of black.
It was me wearing purple,
Next to orange, next to blue, next to green.

And I started to see.
My home transformed.
Turning me from a stranger
To a builder of my own.

123

AND THE SURVEY SAYS THE FREEDOM TO BE AUTHENTIC AND DO THINGS
YOUR WAY - WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
WHERE IS IT TAKING YOU?

■■ I feel like it comes from my soul, from my very essence. I think it’s guiding me to follow

my heart to find my ultimate purpose.

■■ Everywhere.
■■ I’m not sure where it comes from but I know it is taking me in a positive direction.
■■ It comes from my Neshama wanting to dance and sing and make beautiful things.

And as long as I put in some effort, it’s taking me to becoming a more and more
authentic person.

■■ Talking about it is therapy as we speak.
■■ It comes from the soul inside me that prides itself on not being shunned and every

day feel a little lighter and closer to G-d which itself is my own true expression. It
takes me closer to fulfilling G-d’s will and interpreting His wish into everything I do.
The freedom of thought and speech in Uncamp was truly a motivator for all this,
I learnt never be too afraid to explore your deepest parts of yourself

Untitled, 2015
Tamar Guterson
Acrylic on Canvas

125



127

Chochmah (wisdom) can be a slippery
thing. When you catch a glimpse of
something that needs to be brought into
the world - grab it, give it expression,
give it life.

Aarah Aizman

Untitled, 2016
Aviva Pechenik

Silk Painting

129

WHEN I FALL

Adina (Maddie) Stirrett

She kisses me, hugs me, shows me her love, I’m her best friend and will always be,
Her hand on mine fits like a glove. The only person I’ll protect is she.
She’s my best friend and will always be, She taught me well and stayed by my side,
The only person she will protect is me. When she needed the same, I did provide.

She taught me how to be a nice young lady, We both know we’ll do anything
I now know what to do when I have a baby. For each other,
When I fell, tears covered my face, Because that’s the love
She patched up my wins Of a daughter and a mother.
And showed her grace.

When my heart broke in two,
I cried for a while,
But being with her brought back my smile.
She feeds me, clothes me,
Influences my emotion,
She speaks to me, helps me,
And develops my devotion.

I look up to her every second of the day,
And when she got hurt, my smile washed away.
I kissed her, hugged her, showed her my love,
My hand on hers fits like a glove.

Little Peace, 2017
Leah Zeledon
Ceramic

131

Untitled, 2014
Miriam Olgin
Ceramic

133





TRY

Shoshana Howard

They say "it's pretty" or "that's nice"
They say "Yeah, I've tried it once or twice"
----- but maybe it’s not enough.

Maybe once or twice, well here's some advice.
They also say "practice makes perfect,"
Maybe once or twice is not enough to realize
The potential inside you burning, hotter than the sun,
Brighter than a straight A student
Who just won the spelling bee.

Once or twice is for roller coasters until you feel dizzy.
Give yourself some credit!
Try a little harder, look a little deeper.
Because "possible" is surrounded by a word of "I’m"
Fearful and afraid to keep going.

First steps are not only for astronauts,
They are for you, too.

Climbing Vines, 2017
Leah Zeledon
Ceramic

137

Sincerity = leave things as they are
no unnecessary ingredients are needed
“Here I am, this is all I am“ - no facade
Sincerity cannot be refused.

Eitz Chayim Hee (The Tree of Life), 2016
Abby Raice

Acrylic on Canvas

139

I love that creative womb these young women
forge as a group when they work - it empowers
each individual to say big things in their work.
Things that can’t be said with words. Our world
needs to listen up and see what is being said,
in a way only art can explain.

Aarah Aizman

Untitled, 2015
Anonymous
Watercolor

141

FIRE

Tamar Riskin

Fire. Fire. Fire.
What you find above a candle,
What you find deep in your heart,
What brings you love, warmth, and light,
What is very exciting and bright,
What is it?

What kindles your soul with excitement?
What is the importance of fire?
It is important to be excited for holiness,
For holiness, G-dliness that is life,
Choose life! Kindle it!

Find the best channel for you,
An environment where the Torah light
Is best reached and felt.

If you’re not kindled, if you are careless and indifferent,
The fire will arise in a place where you might deep down regret.
But fires, big fires, can be great as long as the oil is pure.
It can be lit anywhere, on any corner of the globe,
Because the light of Torah is very close to you,
In your heart and in your mind,
So do it now!

Bright Shtetl, 2017
Zeissa Spadone

Acrylic on Canvas