When the world is ready

For the last year and a half, we drove by an open field peppered with what looked like sculptures, saying sometime we should go see what it there. Last Saturday, the first sunny winter day in a while, the three of us ( the dog was more than happy to join us) finally did it. I did not expect much, and maybe because of this the combination of the huge sculptures made of natural materials combined with the mid-day light filtered by the clouds took me by surprise. The world seemed ready for me to just click the shutter. And I did.

Surely, the day will come

The light in the Great Mosque

A church turned mosque, an underground water reservoir transformed into a mini lake. A Titian painting, a 1300 year old aqueduct, a market bursting with color, and ah, the warm smoothness of the best 'Mesabaha' in the country. The kind light of a beautiful February day, shines on the Muslim, the Christian and the Jewish buildings, on the old and the new that make the unique DNA of city of Ramle (Ramla in Arabic).

"Surely the day will come when color means nothing more than skin tone, when religion is seen uniquely as a way to speak one's soul, when birth places have the weight of a throw of the dice and all men are born free, when understanding breeds love and brotherhood....". Amen.

The reservoir, Ramle, Israel

The entrance to the Orthodox church, Ramle Israel

Looking up, the Orthodox church in Ramle

A treat for graffiti lovers

No idea how it happened, but since the first time I saw graffiti art - I fell in love with it. it's filled with life, emotion, a truth that does not hide beneath layers of respectability, should's and politically correct statements. It's loud, kicking, vibrant, eclectic, surprising. No better place for it than the center of Israel's liofe - Tel Aviv. A city filled with a hodgepodge of architecture from Bauhaus to Modern skyscrapers, the home of millionaires and refugees, high end stores and traditional markets, Tel Aviv is an endless source of surprises. Last week, we went to see Kiryat HaMelacha, a neighborhood that used to house lots of small businesses and during the last years slowly changed into a thriving artist community, the forefront of the local contemporary art. Here is a taste of the local graffiti art that cover the industrial buildings that house more than 200 artist studios filled with all imaginable kinds of art. 

Not a place for people looking for clean, immaculate streets, but what a treat for art lovers!

Growing roots

Almost six weeks since I last posted. Not from lack of events, quite the opposite: too many to choose from. Reclaiming our house and recreating the garden, Critical Mass Top 50 happened as well as preparing for a group exhibit in Boston and the first exhibition here, in Israel.

Not enough quiet time to reconnect with the land, the place, me. Somewhere I read that 'Planting flowers means growing roots'. I am growing mine. 

Jaffa - I love it so much, how come I never really get to know it?

2000 years ago, where I stand now, people lived, grew grapes, made wine

Imagined realities

I know the beach at Netanya for more than 40 years.

That's where I spent time as a young girl. 

Where I studied for high school exams. 

Where I had my first kiss....

It's the view my dad saw from his apartments' window until his last days. The building is still here. His body is not, but for me his spirit still looks at me when I am on this beach.

Now, before leaving, I went to say goodbye to the beach. With the camera. Trying to capture the present and the past. And who knows, I might have captured a glimpse of the future as well.

Self portrait, Netanya beach June 2015

Girls at play, Netanya beach June 2015

Who's this girl? Netanya beach, 2015