"Israel Revisited: Bethlehem" Silkscreen Print

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Free shipping. This print will be shipped flat. Please allow 2-4 weeks for shipment. If you have any questions, please contact info@bethamesswartz.com

About

An historical and visual statement, “Israel Revisited” arises out of Beth Ames Swartz’s study of the Kabbalah and her work with the ancient elements (fire, earth, air, and water) as media. After several series based on findings in sites in the Southwest and Hawaii, Swartz decided to revisit Israel, the source of her heritage as well as the place that originally inspired her to work with fire. In reacting to her research into Judeo-Christian history, she felt the need to find, acknowledge and honor women. Swartz wanted to connect herself and others to that source of feminine energy that is part of everyone's heritage, but not part of everyone's knowledge. In studying about the feminine aspect of God, the Shekhinah in Kabbalistic literature, Swartz began to feel that She, especially, exemplifies the concerns of “Israel Revisited.” In Israel, ten historic sites associated with women whose stories spoke to Swartz were chosen. The women symbolized the message of the Shekhinah - that God has many names and can speak through women as well as men. At each site, she performed a Kabbalistic ritual relating the woman or women honored with an appropriate Sefirah (sphere of energy) as her starting point. Then within the consecrated circles, she created scrolls using her personal process/ritual of ordering-disordering-reordering. The scrolls were taken back to her studio in Paradise Valley, Arizona and became the beginning of each series.

This piece, Bethlehem, honors Rachel, who is revered as a Mother of Israel. Rachel is often associated with the Shekhinah. She is the suffering mother weeping for her children and looking to the day when she will be reunited with them.