Illustration Friday - Strong

This drawing was made yesterday for illustration Friday. The word of the week was "Strong".

In the past week I've been dealing with some medical issues that were somewhat painful but mostly really frightening. I felt like both my body and my mind was feeding of each other making me feel worse and worse about how I'm feeling.

I really hope this will get solved in a couple of days, I do try to remind myself to stay strong through it and not let my mind or my body take over.

Illustration Friday - Theater

The word of the week for "Illustration Friday" was Theater. I used to love theater in high school, I don't really like acting but I love studying the plays and history and going to the theater to watch plays.

One of my favorite theater genre is "comedia del-Arte" which is basically the root of all modern comedy.The characters are almost always the same, and the plots are very similar, the show doesn't really follow a script but just put up a story guideline that allow the actors to make fun and joke and improvise all the time.

In this illustration I wanted to not only show the characters of the play, but mostly to give the feeling of a theater - the way that theater is a little perfect world of it's own, and so I created a couple of shadow boxes made of paper showing a few of the characters from Comedia del-Arte.

There were supposed to be 4 pieces in this series, but, building stuff out of paper is a pretty fragile thing and one box didn't make it, so I had to change my plans. looking at the figures in the box made me think of those butterflies in display cases and so I decided to give this a shot as well.

Impossibility

So strange to blog 3 times in one evening after not doing it for so long, but I guess I'm trying to clear out my desk from all made but unpublished yet artwork. So, maybe 3 is a charm! which I think it is since while I was scanning those I had an etsy sale from someone who bought a tarot deck and a cup!

This is a 3 drawing series I made a couple of days ago, they are meant for illustration Friday, the word of the week was "impossibility". It's interesting to try and illustrate an impossible thing. I was thinking of what would be the most impossible thing to do, and I thought of my memories and my past and how hard (and actually impossible) it is to see reality as it is and life as they are, rather then through the filters of memory and emotions and old thinking patterns.

Talisman

A series of drawing for illustration Friday. The word of the week was "Talisman". I had a few ideas, both about repealing evil spirits and something general about jewelery and comfort objects. Eventually I just decided to make some drawing that invoke different things I wan more or i want to preserve in my own life.

Illustration Friday - Subtract

This is an illustration Friday piece the word of the week was "subtract". I wanted to create a paper cut for it, and use a subtracting technique instead of an additive one, like adding paint to paper.

This is also an artistic response to this beautiful and moving blog Entry about love and fear, weakness and strength.

Instinct

This is a part of a 3 drawing series i made today for "Illustration Friday" the word of the week was "instinct" It made me think of the owl tattoo I got last week and how all my Tattoos aside of one are of Animals, because I feel they represent best different state of minds and massages I want to bring into my life.

The series shows the same model (Sierra) in 3 different state of minds, each followed by an animalistic inspiration of the moment.

Celebrate

A couple of days ago, Ned and I shot a model, she was telling us about making a beautiful Valentine's for her boyfriend, it was made in the shape of hands and when you open the card, there's a pop up human heart. Then she dumped him 3 days before Valentine's, it just wasn't working for her.

I don't like Valentine's, it seem a stupid tradition of mostly shopping and feeling obliged to show emotions in a very artificial way. I much rather celebrate my love ot Ned every day then dedicate just one day out of the year to it.

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Saying that, we did have a super romantic Valentine's - we weren't really planning on celebrating, but somehow, we ended up getting drunk having super passionate sex on the photo shoot backdrop, while taking pictures, catching a couple of rats who took over the kitchen (which doesn't sound like a romantic thing, buy somehow it was) making art, and getting new matching tattoos (of owls!)

Contained

I actually had a totally different idea to the word "Contained" which was also supposed to be a cool product for my Etsy store for valentines, however, it became more and more complex as I was trying to figure it out and eventually, I dumped it ot a simpler and probably cooler idea anyway.

The word "Contained" made me think of a closed environment, like a terrarium or a fish tank, somewhere that's it's own little self sufficient safe world, that's comforting and beautiful. I guess with everything that's been going on, having a calm peaceful place to hid in seem like a great idea right now.

So I made some Instant Koi Fish Ponds for people who wants that calmness of a small enclosed enviroment, but don't have the room or temperament for growing live fish.

Illustration Friday - Resolve

When I saw this week's Illustration Friday topic which is Resolve, I knew I wanted to make something about the war in Israel \ Palestine. I usually don't care much for political art, nor do I really do anything or very involved in what's going on. I just read the news far more often then I actually want to, worry and being sad. Non of my family lives near fighting is going on, which I'm grateful for, talking to people in Israel, it seem like everyone I know are just tired and sick of everything.

The art piece I wanted to do originally, were supposed to not take sides and just express "resolve it already" intending both Palestinians and Israelis to stop being stupid and start solving this problem instead of making it worse.

While thinking about this more, and thinking that honestly, it's very hard for me to take the Israeli side when I see photos of dead babies and that it also very hard for me to take the Palestinian side when reading about missiles and bombs landing on schools and kindergartens. This war is doing nothing but produce the next generation on enemies and terrorist - for both nations.

However, I am an Israeli, I can't ignore that, I'm frustrated being in Brooklyn and observing this from afar, and I'm sort of happy not to be involved. But I can't ignore the fact that Israel is my homeland and that, like it or not, I am a side of this. And so, I choose in this series of paintings to take the other side, I choose to draw the Palestinian suffering, hoping that maybe someone on the other side, on the Palestinians, know that I can see the suffering and pain of my so called enemies.

I do hope this ends soon, and that peace will be achieve in my generation.

If those pieces sale, I'm donating the money to Gasa Children in need.

Opinion

My illustration Friday for this week (haven't done this in a while) I think it's still an attempt to process the whole being deleted from flickr thing.

The day of the week was "opinion" I've tried to figure out what my opinions are, surprisingly enough non of it had to do with politics, and most of it was about the type of person I want to be.

Late

I've incorporated this week "Illustration Friday" in a body of work I was working on this week for an Art show in Chicago next month. This is a part of the Queen Bee series - an emotional expression of my thoughts and feelings about Colony collapse Disorder (CCD).

Funny how sometimes "Illustration Friday" gets the right word for me for what's going on at the moment.

I finished this body of work last night! 35 pieces in less then a week! I really need some sleep now...

Vespine gallery show

So a few weeks ago Ned gets this phone call from an art gallery in Chicago, it turn out that they were looking for me for a few weeks, I usually don't answer my phone and for some reason I didn't get any of their e-mails. They wanted to give me an art show in their gallery.

This is not only my own personal dream (and art show without having to run after the gallery, but them running after me) but probably the dream every artist I know.

I couldn't bring myself to call them, but I e-mailed, Ned did, he told them I'll e-mail them and so I did.

So then, I never heard back, which made me a bit sad, but I sort of moved on. Then about 2 weeks later, they called Ned's phone again. It turned out that for some reason, again, I didn't get their e-mail. They needed the artist statement, and bio and know when I'm sending the pieces and so on.

Again, I couldn't bring myself to call, and Ned did. He's been doing all the communication for me, even e-mails, that I'm usually not so anxious about. He consulted a gallery owner that we know about prices and arrangement and what to ask and do.

It turned out that this is the only show in the year in which participant artist don't have to pay for the space. the gallery is giving me one of the most amazing gifts and opportunity I could ever wish for. Everyone around me who Ned have told to about this are so happy and helpful and wonderful about this.

Yet, I feel so scared and anxious and like I'm messing up. I've been creating a second body of work for this show, about 30 drawings in less then a week. I've written a nice enough artist statement, later improved by Ned, a gallery owner \ friend and Ned's dad. And yet I feel like I haven't done a thing and like I keep messing up.

Everything is so good, I just paralyzed with fear waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The show is going to be at the Vespine Gallery in Chicago on November 15. We are already planning a motorcycle trip to come to the opening!

This week has been such a crazy emotional roller coaster.

I just want to sleep (and for all my painting to sell in the show of course...)

Party like it's 2009

I worked on this all week and I'm happy that it's finished on Jewish New Year's eve! It's a wall calendar filled with illustration of important and interesting historical events. I love useless trivia and this calendar definitely fit in that category...

I'm so happy with how it came out!

You can see it here

Clutter

It's just what I'm feeling this week, cluttered, my mind is working so fast it doesn't get anywhere, I'm tired and wired, the apartment is a mess and so is my head.

I hate this obsessive way of thinking, it feels as if I'm running around in circles.

I miss some peace of mind. A couple of really nice things happened this week and I'm s obsessed with everything that didn't get done, I can't even bring myself to enjoy any of it...

Illustration Friday - Sail

I really like this week's word! sail is such a beautiful notion and it makes me think of running away and moving fast, I get sick on boats but if I hadn't I know I would love it...

Also, this week's word was dedicated to a woman who died of cancer. My father in law just started another series of cancer treatment, he's been battling cancer for years now, and it keeps coming back. I'm really sad and worried, he's one of the nicest people I know and I really hope nothing bad will happened. I'm angry that he's got to go through it all again. It feels so unfair.

You know how in movies, when some successful business man get sick and have to slow down, he learn to value life and family and understand what's important in life?! Well, he already done all that, and so by movie standards we shouldn't be having this sequel now. But it's not a movie, it's just life and in life people get sick even when there's nothing to be learn from it. He has been extremely positive through all this, and I really admire how he works so hard to keep his routine and not surrender to self pity and a sick state of mind.

I decided that when this series of drawing sales, I'm going to donate the money to the American Cancer society. I guess I just want to feel like I'm doing something and not completely helpless about his illness.

For sell here.

Poof! Illustration Friday

This is such a strange word - poof?! It's not even a word really... It made me think of poofy hair and poofy dresses, and so on the person that represent poofiness more then any other, Marie Antoinette! that whole period in history was probably poofier then any other!

For sell in the store.

dead words butterflies

This started as an illustration Friday piece and sort of grew from there. The word of the week was "canned" which I didn't like at all, but it did made me think of those animals and insects that are preserved in formaldehyde, and how, preservation of something, often destroy it, not because the thing itself is gone, but because the meaning and the use of them is gone, and so a beautiful spontaneous and very fragile thing, like a butterfly, or even a spoken word sometime, becomes useless when it's dead in a box or written down in a book.

Enough - Illustration Friday

A series of 4 drawings I made today for illustration Friday. The word of the week was "enough" it reminded me of a line from a dead Kennedys song that goes like this:

Is my cock big enough
Is my brain small enough
For you to make me a star
Give me a toot,
I'll sell you my soul
Pull my strings and I'll go far

It made me think of how I feel so not good enough so often, how between the beautiful women in the street, a more successful friend and the media, I too often feel not rich enough, not pretty enough, not thin enough, not friendly or nice enough.

The reference for those images are from vintage playboy magazine ads, portraying those images of "just buy this product and you'll get those beautiful successful life you always felt you should have".

New Painting

I made this drawing for Illustration Friday, the word of the week was "foggy" and though nothing in this illustration has to do with fogginess, it's mostly has to do with my state of mind in the past few days...

I'm really down and depressed over nothing in particular, I feel like I can't think properly. Nothing bad happens, it's just hard to focus or do anything, and every small thing, whether it's an e-mail or some work, feels like a humongous effort.

At the same time, reality proves that I'm making a lot of art and good art at that, but all that doesn't feel real to me right now. I had a really great idea for a shoot and then another great idea for something to do with the pictures, and though those 2 things are happening now and are really exciting, I feel really useless.

This painting is for sale hare

Sour

Illustration Friday word of the week was sour, it's really hard to do a drawing of a flavor...
Eventually I remembered a friend I used to go out drinking with in Israel and who always had Whiskey sours. I miss that bar...