Paint The Kotel In Rainbow Colors For The 17th Of Tammuz !
I have pulled this post from the archives, as it is truly a perfect one.
Today is the 17th of Tammuz, a solemn fast day on the Jewish calender which marks the beginning of a three week period of mourning for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, (The Holy Temple/King Soloman’s Temple.) So with the boys home from school early, and my daughter just starting her summer vacation, there is no time like the present to try and get back into our crafting groove which I have missed greatly! So today I pulled out the watercolors, and grabbed a white corrugated cardboard box, and we all spent some time painting the stones of the kotel, and I just love the results!
Yes, my boys smirked when I told them to use bright and beautiful colors for the stones that they know as beige, but I explained to them that we were painting the stories that the stones had surely witnessed, and all the beautiful prayers whispered in front of these stones every day by countless individuals from both near and far.
And the results are truly gorgeous, right?
And yes, many children need their mother to sit down with them at least to get them started, so my way too controlled version of the stones can be seen in the top photo, bottom right. My kid’s versions are so much better, though it always takes lots of convincing to get them to believe it!
So whether you are looking for a craft for today, or something for the next 3 weeks on the Jewish calender, or just a relaxing way to pass some time creatively, I can’t say enough about the magic of watercolors! Just do make sure to buy the relatively new watercolor palettes that have larger wells of paint and more brilliant colors than previously on the market.
3 Comments
Michelle L
I love how you came up with such a beautiful reason to change the artistic mood of the stones – lovely way to get the kids painting with verve!
Sara Rivka
Thanks Michelle, honestly I had the kids already painting when I came up with that explanation, at first I just said that we have cameras to take pictures of how we actually see things….so we dont need to try to copy what we see, and that really there is color in everything, we just dont see it! Then fortunately I came up with what I wrote in the blog, much more poetic!
Brenda K. McNeely
This is so lovely! I really enjoyed the way you got the kids involved, and I also loved …”that we have cameras to take pictures of how we….there is color in everything, we just don’t see it!” Very inspiring to someone who loves to recycle so many things and turn them into my own art. I haven’t been motivated lately, and have been trying to get back into my creative groove. I find inspiration in some of the most interesting places, thank you for sharing so much…definitely reminds me that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be art, and to always try to just put my heart into all that I do! <3