An Art Journal For Sefirat HaOmer

We are now in the middle of the seven day Passover holiday, which also means we have started a period on the Jewish calendar called sefirat haomer, which means the counting of the omer. This is a 49 day period between the 2nd night of Pesach, and the holiday of Shavuot, when we receive the Torah. There are many deep aspects of the counting of the days during this period, but lets just say that it is a time for character refinement, and for those who wish to delve deeper it is a time to really learn about how the sefirot of kabbalah influence our everyday.

For those of us for whom creativity is an important part of life, what better time than to create an art journal for the counting of the omer? It could be a simple journal for writing and sketches or something more layered and artful. Or maybe it is something that can be used over the period of a few years to act as a daily journal? The only problem is that we really can not create anything during the holiday of Passover, so last year when this idea occurred to me, I was already a week behind before I even started the journal! This year I will finish the one I started last year and maybe start another to finish next year? Never mind the time limits, get those creative juices flowing and you will be more than ready to receive the Torah! Give it some thought, and whether you choose to start a daily sketching of journaling practice as soon as Passover ends, or create a homemade handstitched journal as I have the main thing is to just do it!

Here is is page 1 of my very first art journal, made to count the omer. I used watercolor paper with a coat of gesso, and then acrylic ink, tape, sticker paper and collage, plus acrylic paint for paintings, and a white gel pen for drawing.  I will share some of the journal through out the coming 49 days, so stay tuned!