Inside the star is a luminescent hammered glass which glows at night. I also chose glass resembling the famous Jerusalem stone for the frame and the Chai.

If you would like to see or purchase this piece, visit UNIVERSAL STAINED GLASS on Nine Mile in Oak Park. Ask for Brenda and plan to have a memorable time with a charming artist.

The Chay Star measures 15″ X 15″

R O M A W A I T I N G P A T I E N T L Y

Pictured here is Roma, a gorgeous and independent cat. My friend Rachel rescued her and, after a period of time, Roma seems to understand that. Roma can act distant and self-sufficient – or dependent and demanding. Call her and SHE will decide if she wants to answer. Pet her and SHE will decide just how long she will honor you with her presence. Cats are like that…

Here Roma is waiting for Rachel to return. As self-sufficient as Roma is, she sometimes misses Rachel & gets lonely…

Quite a few people have been inquiring about this piece and I thank friends for their compliments. This work is one of the larger pieces I have created: it’s 16″ X 22″ and, since glass is particularly difficult to photograph, I’ll tell you it’s done in various shades and types of pink and violet glass. The design was originally drawn to be shown upside down from how it is displayed, but at the urging of others, I chose to display it like it is. And – they were right. I’ve also chosen to display both a daytime and nighttime shot of this work. The glass, the textures the mood all constantly change with the changing light.
Why call it doors? Lonnie suggested it looked like doors opening. I like that thought. I like to think that these are the doors which open when other doors have been shut. For me, this piece was the gateway which moved me away from Jewish iconography into a more free and limitless design. Thanks for your continued support in my growth.

While I’m in the Christmas spirit… I figure I’ll continue with the Christmas presents I have created for my colleagues at JFK. In order to understand what I’m talking about, you’ll have to read down a few posts. For those of you new to reading blogs, that’s what we do. In order for a continuing blog to make sense, you may have to start at the beginning (The Sound of Music?).

Also – I really need to clarify one point. Many who know me have said: “Ron! Retire? Never!” Well, they were partially correct. I have retired from public school education but I begin teaching at the U-M on January 3rd with orientation for my class of student teachers of World Languages. So that, along with my job at Beth Israel, working with Habonim and my glass work should keep me off the streets and out of the bars. Well, at least off the streets…

Today I’m posting creations for another two of my former colleagues. I really shouldn’t tell you more than these are for Gail and Susan and let you figure out what each teaches. In fact, that’s EXACTLY what I’m going to do! Let me know if you can guess. If it takes more than 3 guesses – YOU should go back to the public schools.

Hint: Your choices are Chorus and Art…..

For me, this is a very special piece. Heather Watts came into my life 20 years ago as a student in my Spanish classes. Back then, she was Heather Roosevelt – a bright, charming and effervescent young lady eager to master not only Spanish, but German as well. I would never have dreamed that two decades later I would have the privilege and the honor of teaching alongside her and mentoring her. As a student, Heather was fun to be with; as a colleague she was a wonder.

As Heather is a deeply religious Christian, I chose as the design an “H” for Heather with a Cross as the crossbar in the “H”. More than any other piece, the luminescence of the glass emphasizes the cross which is surrounded by blue skies with wisps of clouds.

HEATHER’S GLASS

In this post I’m going to leap to the present. At the moment I’m working on a series of images for the wonderful friends with whom I worked at JFK High School in Taylor, Michigan. Having been department chair for a group of charming, bright and sweet co-workers, I decided to try to represent each person in a work of glass. In this moment I can only hint at these works; they may check this site and discover ’something’… but I wanted to post just one. This is for my good friend Courtney. Courtney has dozens of rubber duckies in her office. I placed my design of a ‘duckie’ inside a “C”. I hope Courtney enjoys this as much as I enjoyed creating it – AND as much as guests to my home have enjoyed looking at the sun streaming through it.

COURTNEY’S ‘RUBBER DUCKIE’

The next image I created was a combination of the hamsa and the dove of peace. If you haven’t read the previous post about the history of this icon, take a second and review it. This piece uses a much more traditional image of the hamsa. I chose the colors blue and white of the Israeli flag with the plumage of the dove forming the three middle fingers of the hamsa. This simple piece is one of my favorites.

If you would like to see or purchase this piece, visit UNIVERSAL STAINED GLASS on Nine Mile in Oak Park. Ask for Brenda and plan to have a memorable time with a charming artist.

Last spring, at the urging of family and friends, I dove back into stained glass by taking a class at Linden Art Glass in Plymouth, Michigan. I wanted to continue working on my own designs and I sketched a modern looking hamsa.  My hamsa has a symbolic Magan David – a six-pointed Jewish Star with a crystal in the center.

The Hamsa or Khamsa is a symbol used in amulets, charms, jewelry, door entrances, cars, and other places. An alternative Islamic name for this charm is the Hand of Fatima or Eye of Fatima, in reference to Fatima Zahra, the daughter of Muhammed. An alternative Jewish name for it is the Hand of Miriam, in reference to Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron as well as the Hamesh Hand. It serves as an ancient talismanic way of averting and getting protection from the evil eye, or more generally of providing a “protecting hand” or “Hand of God”. It appears, often in stylized form, as a hand with three fingers raised, and sometimes with two thumbs arranged symmetrically.

Some sources link the significance of the five fingers to the five books of the Torah for Jews, the Five Pillars of Islam for Sunnis, or the five People of the Cloak for Shi’ites. This significance may have been attributed after the fact, as considerable archaeological evidence suggests that the hamsa hand predates both religions.

In recent years some activists for Middle East peace have chosen to wear the hamsa as a symbol of the similarities of origins and tradition between the Islamic and Jewish faiths. The fingers point up or down usually. (Wikipedia)

I especially liked this thought and so began my Hamsa Stage. My first hamsa is pictured above.

I had mentioned in my previous post the work I created in honor of Eitan. This is the first piece I made using the copper foil technique. It was a challenge and not bad considering the number of pieces of glass in this project. I enjoyed making it- learning as I designed and executed this piece. For the first time I realized that one never sees the project until it’s completed. What I mean is I could see individual pieces of glass – I could even hold them up to the light , but until the piece is complete and held up in it’s entirety, the full power of the piece could not be felt.

As I said yesterday, my first inspiration was my son Ari.  Looking back at this piece a couple of decades later I impress myself with the workmanship and the detail.

My next piece was in honor of my son Eitan.  Eitan means strength – fortitude!  There is a Chanukah song which states:  “Each one of us is a small light, but together we are an Ohr Eitan – a powerful light!  That is what I am trying to express with this piece of glass.  The Chanukah Menorah fully lit on the last evening of the holiday suggests the strength of unity.

This was the first piece I ever created.  I love the piece and am still proud of the work and the finished product – almost as proud as I am of the subject of this piece – my son Ari.

Hi there. This is my first post and I’m very excited to share my creations, ideas and questions about My Stained Glass Works.

I began working in glass a couple of decades ago but then put it aside until last spring. Now, in retirement, I have more time to pursue this passion. I invite you to view my work, and comment on or offer helpful advice.

The designs are entirely mine and often come from Jewish sources as well as personal connections with friends and family.

Why glass? I started working with glass on a lark. I took a Rec & Ed class and discovered the challenge and the beauty of designing and executing my vision. My first piece was in honor of the birth of my son, Ari. Ari is Hebrew for lion and the design is primitive with his name in Hebrew intertwined with the lion’s tail.

The next few pieces were also dedicated to people with their name and a symbol representing their personality or interest.

Now I’m expanding to pieces experimenting with shapes and colors. I hope you enjoy!

Ron