Image of the Week: Shirat Hayam (Song of the Sea)
Shirat Hayam – acrylic on paper – from The Jewish Eye 5779/2019 Calendar of Art
© Durga Yael Bernhard
What a sister Moses had! The spirit of Miriam shines through the story of Exodus. Her courage and determination are notable throughout, as it is she who defies Pharaoh's decree that no Hebrew baby boy should live. It is she who dares to approach Pharaoh's daughter and saves her brother's life. And it is she who leads the Israelites in song and dance when they have miraculously crossed the Red Sea. Miriam lifts her arms in praise, reaching out as the women rejoice around her. Almond blossoms, first to bloom in the spring, fill her billowing sleeves, while the other women hold aloft matzah and grapes.
This is a small painting, acrylic on watercolor paper, with some colors thinned down to create transparent washes. It's a study for a larger painting. The structure resembles a Jewish star – that is, intersecting triangles. One triangle opens downward from the sun, passing through the women's wrists. The other opens upward with their outstretched arms. Divine energy showers down as the future opens. And the people actively receive that energy, reaching into a future of freedom.
I love the way clouds break up after a storm. A swirling of light on dark, dark on light, the clouds voluminous, the energy palpable, expansive, the sky lifting. That's the sky I see in this painting – but since it's only a study, small and quick just to anchor the image for a larger, future canvas – I could not fully articulate such clouds, whose lushness could go much further – as far as the expanding reach of the newly liberated slaves.
The Jewish Eye 5779/2019 Calendar of Art has been named "Amazon's Choice" of Jewish calendars for the second year in a row. Calendars are $18, including shipping, in my webstore; and on Amazon.
This painting is also for sale. Email me if you're interested!
A good week to all, and welcome to my new subscribers who have purchased my calendar this week.
D Yael Bernhard