Legend notwithstanding, the unforgettable image of Moses dividing the Red Sea in the 1956 epic “The Ten Commandments” was not handed down at Mount Sinai. Nor was it the product of director Cecil B. DeMille’s imagination, although he assuredly basked in the oohs and aahs of audiences and critics. In fact, a gifted Jewish storyboard…
In 2017’s movie “Wonder,” a little boy named Auggie with a rare medical facial deformity endures relentless bullying at school. Mr. Browne, his fifth-grade teacher, introduces the class to precepts. The first one is “When given the chance to be right or be kind, choose kind.” Unfortunately, Auggie’s classmates do not make kindness their first…
When Beth Benowich first began making jewelry nearly 14 years ago, her goal was simple – to fill up her jewelry box. Today, she is an acclaimed jeweler and successful entrepreneur who helps others fill their jewelry boxes with her contemporary necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings and pendants. Beth is one of nearly 100 artists who…
Traveling abroad presents many challenges for people with special needs. A new service in Israel, Yad Sarah for Tourists, provides personalized assistance to those who want to visit Israel. Without charge, Yad Sarah for Tourists arranges loan and delivery of medical and rehabilitative equipment to the tourist’s hotel or host’s residence, such as an electric…
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella Broadway National Tour is currently at ASU Gammage through Dec. 24, and it should not be missed. I had the pleasure of seeing the show on opening night and I felt as if I was living the fairytale with the rest of the cast. It has the usually story elements featuring…
The call for the “Spiritual Voices” exhibition was directed to Jewish artists in Southern Arizona, primarily around Tucson. It read, “This invitational exhibit provides a venue for artists who see their work as an expression of their spiritual journey.” While many of the pieces in this show of work by 20 artists may not obviously…
When you walk into Allison North’s home studio, your eyes don’t know what to focus on first. Everywhere your gaze falls are thoughtfully created vignettes of her completed designs that draw you in, and wherever you turn you notice a detail that escaped you before. Nestled amongst the finished artwork, is a variety of metal…
Joan Tandet Nelson jokes that she can’t draw stick figures and she can’t paint. But, give her some colorful fabric and a sewing machine, and her creativity instantly starts to flow. Her canvas is the fabric, and rather than brushstrokes, she stitches different shapes and textures together to create bold, abstract wall pieces. Joan is…
Mosaic artist Morrine Maltzman’s studio in Scottsdale is a veritable explosion of color, texture and tactile delights. Turning traditional mosaic art on its head, Morrine utilizes a seemingly limitless cache of objects she finds locally and around the globe. India, Italy, China, Czechoslovakia and Etsy are just a few of her sources. “I am always…
Judy (pen name J.E.) Laufer started writing children’s books to fill a void, both in her life and in the library. She was working as a kindergarten teacher and writing curriculum for the school board in Montreal, Canada when her father passed away. Her niece, who was 5 at the time, was having a difficult…
