Recap of CBE's Parsha Project

It certainly was an inspiring semester on the art side of The Parsha Project at Congregation Beth Emeth's Chai School. What a joy to watch these students take a piece of text and turn it into a unique, visual drash. The room was always full of energy as the students talked with each other about the parshot and shared ideas on how to convey meaning visually. While each student worked on their own piece, there was a great deal of collaborative juice flowing. As a teacher and an artist, I was thrilled! The end result is an amazing collection of works primarily about Breishit. And fourteen students have their pieces on display at MOCA DC Gallery through January 30, 2010.

I am often asked how I get students to produce such works of quality. I always say that I teach my students to trust the process. And I trust my students to engage in the process and see it through to the end. Here’s a summary of the process we used:

First, each student picked a parsha. Using a focused questionnaire, students amplified their understanding of the parsha by making associations. The questionnaire also assisted students in formulating ideas about colors, lines, textures, enabling them to create depth in their artwork.

When it came time to create the artwork, we began with the background. Using a variety of media—acrylic paints, gel medium (for texture), and papers—students created backgrounds for their pieces based on their answers to the questions, layering in ideas based on emotions, textures, colors, and lines they associated with their chosen parsha.

The next phase was to create the foreground elements. During this phase, the students created the images that tell the story. The story may be a literal interpretation of the parsha, or it may be an emotional or psychological response to the story. Students used a variety of styles (representational, abstract, modern) and a variety of media (paints, paper, beads and buttons, gel medium, fur, etc) to create these mixed-media pieces. Upon completion, each piece is more than simply a representation of the story of the text; each piece is a multi-layered visual amplification and interpretation of the chosen parsha.

Our last class, on December 20th, was cancelled due to snow, so we had a make-up session on January 3, 2010. Several students came that day to finish their pieces. I even began teaching a few of them how to wire artwork for hanging.

A special aspect of the Parsha Project is the opportunity for students to show their work at MOCA Gallery in Washington, DC. Fourteen students have their work on display in the gallery from January 8 through January 30, 2010. We are having an artist reception for the students on Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 7-9pm.

I’ve enjoyed having the chance to work with these young adults! They are all so very creative and I am proud of all that they accomplished during our time together.