Origami For Kids

I went to see the fantastic " Pharaoh in Canaan " exhibit now up at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, which is both a historical-archeological show and a display of fine art, zeroing in on the period when ancient Egypt was the administrative power in the land where I'm living now. That was 3600 to 3200 years ago: a period that overlaps the Biblical account of the Exodus, with the two stories not always jiving happily. What a wealth of forms and images are in this show! with “Canaanites” and “Egyptians” stereotypically depicted in the papyrus art, and the ceramic, stone and metal products of each culture and their cross-influences here. Also on display is the steele with the oldest Egyptian inscription where the name of “Israel” has been found, so far (circa 1209 BCE). It boasts, in reference to one of several minor states and peoples recently vanquished in Canaan: “Israel is wasted, its seed utterly destroyed." But it seems they did not catch quite all of us. Yet i...

This work is in honor of Hana Hertsman , Managing Director of the Municipality of Holon, and Israel's premier builder of museums and cultural institutions in her city:  the envy, and object of emulation, of other towns here and abroad.   Even with the tectonic shifts taking place in the design world and now in Israel's Design Museum as well, her past achievements and present powers are never out of sight. Saadya Sternberg

I'm just back from the opening of "Paper Creatures" at the Jaffa Museum.   Many magnificent  works (about half origami) and much to think about--it will take me several days to ponder it all and write it out.  For the time being here is an unsorted preview of the few things I have decent photos of. Meanwhile--I have my own pieces in this exhibition too, which if they do not lower the average level, certainly do not lead the works in it. As a place-keeper I'll just post the text that I wrote a few months ago to go with the display. --------------------- The Concept "The city of  Zaragoza, in Spain, is famous as the home of Europe's first museum of origami art. But it is also the birthplace of Francisco Goya: and while visiting there I saw a series of etchings of this artist -- a tour de force called " Los Caprichos ", with humans behaving like and turning into donkeys and other animals. In  one image , a handsome man falls asleep at his desk and beh...

If you care about high art--and not just in its origami forms--and you like great splashing colors--and just happen to be in New York City this month----may I suggest you RUN to see Aviva Green's  "Clouds, Canyons and Waterways" , a show of paintings at Kenkeleba House.  (Wilmer Jennings Gallery,  219 East 2nd Street @ Avenue B, East Village, 212 674-3939). These are impressively powerful paintings but deliberately, I think, hard to put words to. For the aim is to express a definite mood without invoking fully definitive objects and scenes.  That this actually works is quite an achievement. And the show itself is exquisitely laid out. The opening reception is on Sunday, September 18,  but you can slip in for a quiet meditative preview now, without the crowds. That's how I like to do it. If you weren't aware, this is also a plug for my Mom, Aviva Green, who is one of the greatest colorists and mood-painters that I know.  Saadya

I have Ilan Garibi's "Paper Creatures" exhibit, upcoming September 9 at the Jaffa Museum in Israel (more on that soon), to thank for getting me back into the swing of things.  These pieces are not actually in the exhibit but are some of the later products of the swing, which is ongoing.  Smiles, S

and here are some more birds from the same series, a little later.  These next ones were shown in the "Folding Squared" exhibit of OASIS, the O rigami A rtist s of Is rael, at "Siman She'elah" Gallery in Kibbutz Amir, Israel, December 2016. A few other images from that exhibit are here .

These are all from uncut A4 sheets of cover-stock.  And of the A4-- I'm only using the bottom edge, so that three of the paper's edges remain untouched (except of course for the consumed parts). The aim is to have the face peer out mysteriously from the interior of the sheet. You get the idea. Of course there's no law that says these have to be kept in their flattish state:   Cheers, Saadya