The Carmel Forest Fire effect on the Arts

The ongoing Carmel Region forest fire has consumed what used to be a charming, picturesque artists’ village. Ein Hod was established in 1949 by new immigrants and became an artists’ village in 1953 at the initiative of Marcel Janco, a renowned Dada artist who organized an unusually diverse group of artists and craftspeople to settle among the ancient stone houses. About 500 residents have been, engaged in all areas of art from visual arts, painting, pottery and jewelry-making, to literature and theater. They supported themselves with their art, their galleries and by running workshops and educational activities. According to media reports the fire consumed the village. It would be great to support these talented artists who have lost their homes and much of their available pieces of art. You can find the main page to Ein-Hod community in the link http://www.ein-hod.info/

Be an example worth following

Always remember that you are being watched. Your friends watch you, your parents watch you and your children watch you – everyone is looking, all of the time. Your actions are life lessons to the ones who see them and we should all take care to make the lessons we teach, be good lessons. Even the clothes we wear show who we are, to friends and to strangers alike. If we smoke we are teaching our children to smoke. If we are unkind we are teaching others to be cruel. If we are thoughtless to animals, we teach acceptance of disrespect and mistreatment to all animals and people, as well. But, if we take care, if we really think before we act, our impressions on this earth will be worthy of the precious air we breathe and the glorious ground we walk on and worthy of our brother's best interests, our brothers, different though they may be, but still our brothers and our closest kin.

Stand up and be counted

If you are a Christian, stand up and say so. If you are a Jew, tell people who you are. Remember that although using words to spread your message, does so, loud and clear, your actions are even more powerful and more believable testaments. Live your beliefs and demonstrate your commitments. It is great to give your money to those less fortunate and your time to those in need but don't forget to flash a smile, look in their eyes, extend your hand and freely lend a listening ear. We all must join in the global efforts for peace between peoples, respect of our planet and celebration of our great wealth in diversity.

Leaving Home

If you are like me, kindergarten was the first place that I was sent against my will. I was taken away from the safety of parents, my home, my pets, and toys. I did not understand how my Mama could do without me there, to be her best friend. At school, they would not let me sit atop the swing set or walk along the fence. I admit, I felt a little lost and forlorn. On the bright side, I was given my own little tub of paste with a little plastic paddle so that I could stick someone else's pictures on my paper and make them mine. At least the days were short, I was brave and quiet, and I managed those two years of transition without much complaint.

The next real blow was the summer after second grade when I was sent off to Girl Scout Camp for ten days. As I remember, I was continually repeating to myself that Daddy said, 'it would very fun' and continually trying to forget that I had told myself, 'it just might not'. Sadly, I was correct in assuming that the other girls in the cabin might not be so friendly. And, no, the food was not as good as Mama's. I don't know how I stood it because every night, I had to walk up the long path through the woods, heading for the yellow light bulb glowing over the outhouse door, alone. I worried that my dog might not remember me when I got back. I did not like it there. And the letter from my parents, with chewing gum inside, was immediately confiscated by the counselors. I didn't really see why they had paid so much money for me to come so far away to be so unhappy. Gee, it was so much more fun, at home.
The yearly sessions at camp or camps went on for most of my youth and thankfully, became enjoyable adventures. I learned to make friends and to know that home would still be there when I got back.

The next time I felt any real sense of separation again was when I went away to college. But even then, my Father called me every Friday afternoon and I would happily sit in a little cubbyhole in the lobby and talk as long as he could be away from his work. I was seventeen and he was still my best Beau. I remember hiding my sadness when he told me at the beginning of the second term that he would be calling every other week from now on, so that I could learn to be more independent. I wonder now, which of us was more brave, facing that? But, it didn't take too long to realize that college life was wonderful and I kept at it for a decade – but home was always still there for the holidays and still the place I called “my house”, even when I had lived in my own apartment for some years.

It was only when I packed up all of my belongings and stored them at my Aunt's or with friends who wanted to use this or that or into my parents attic and downstairs storage rooms that I began to feel the permanence of really, leaving home. I filled two army duffel bags with clothes and presents, left my parents broken hearts in the airport and set off to live in another country. I had a one way ticket with People's Express to New York and on to England. By the time I tried to collect my baggage at Gatwick, there was only one. Half of everything I owned was gone in one fail swoop. I tearfully, rode a bus to town, thanked my lucky stars to have 85 pounds less to drag down into the subway and onto the Boat train and was smiling again by the time I reached the huge ferry which took me on a 24 hour crossing of the rough, North Sea.

I would not see my parents home again for many years. By the time I got back, they had remodeled and built on and gotten older. It was not 'my house' anymore. I was heartily welcomed but I was only a visitor. It is only right to leave home and make your way out there with the strangers. Most of us are trained to take that leap from our very, early years. Step by step our parents ween us and teach us and even push us sometimes, toward the unknown. But, it is only when we are really able, due to maturity or chance, opportunity or lack there-of, money or promise of it, a love so strong we will leave everything to keep it or a mission that powers greater than our own compels us, that we brave the unknown and go.

Promises

It has happened to most of us – all of us, probably: your spouse, your friend, your boss or your workmate has promised one thing and then done another. 'So what', they must think, 'I changed my mind. My circumstances are different now and to honor my word would cause me hardship'. Rationalizing, they might feel tricked themselves – they might feel that you didn't keep your end of the bargain and so they have every right to protect themselves, from you. They might think that they have a right to change the rules midstream, because they, after all, made the rules in the first place. If you don't like it, you can just go away. No one is making you stay.

So what do you do when you are the recipient of such a miscommunication?

You can ignore it; you can pass it off as a misunderstanding, assuming that you misheard or have no memory or were just a victim of your own wishful thinking. But, if you do this, will you be sending them the message that they can walk all over you? Will they believe that they will not be held accountable for what they say to you? Will they lose all respect for you? Will you lose all respect for yourself? Will you become hardened and suspicious and untrusting?

Perhaps, you could try and have your way, despite them. You could trick them back, stealthily stealing what's rightfully yours, enjoying revenge or wrangling things to your favor, with your intellect and devious mind. But, if you did this, wouldn't you too, then become a dishonest person? Could your rationalizations and justifications be enough, to deem it alright? But, if you trick them back, won't you be just like them? If you steal what you feel is rightfully yours, won't you really, just be a thief? If you too, become unfaithful, can you ever like yourself, and if you continue this deception, will this scheming circle ever end?

Or, although, frightening, you could confront them. This would risk an embarrassing scene, risk rejection, and risk the future – the future which you thought held such promise. And, if you did this, would they admit their mistake and make it right or would they feign ignorance or perhaps even accuse you, of trying to abuse them? Maybe, they would simply turn their back and leave you hanging, empty handed? Is it worth such unpleasantness, just to prove you are right or to win the prize, however small, just because it was promised? Sometimes you wonder, if a friend would embarrass a friend, by even mentioning, such a thing? In the end, would you really have gotten anything you wanted and if you did, would it be worth it?

In Genesis 28:10 – 32:3, we hear the story of how Jacob worked seven years for the hand of Rachel just to be tricked in the end by Lavan, into marrying her sister Leah. Yet, after this deception, Jacob did not reject Leah, nor disgrace her. He simply took her as his wife and worked another seven years for Rachel. Fourteen years is a pretty long time for Jacob to wait and work for one, whom he knew in his heart, held no respect for him. Yet, the scripture tells us that the fourteen years went by quickly for Jacob. Perhaps it was only by having a forgiving heart and letting go of anger and releasing one's tormentor from guilt, that our heart can be light and our future, bright.

Photographers and Models work together as a team

Great fashion photographers have the ability to see beauty, or interest or excitement and capture it on film. They also possess a knowledge of human nature and have the communication skills to lead the model toward their most becoming and engaging posture. A good photographer puts the models at ease using words, tones and facial expressions to help the model's feel relaxed and able to be natural. Photographers are like orchestra conductors, coordinating the back ground music, temperature, lighting, venues and atmosphere to set the perfect scene. The skilled artist behind the camera, although invisible to us,is vital to a model's success.

Although, often not given enough credit for their art and talents, models are much more than just another pretty face. They must walk a tight rope. Firstly, they must fulfill the demands of the photographer and the client. They must be able to listen, understand and then reproduce. Secondly, models need to stay true to themselves, for it is only when they let their real personality shine through that they are believable and likable. They have the hard job of winning us over, of making us want to be like them, all, without words. On top of all of this, models must also present the fashions in their best light. We know that clothes can make the woman or the man but it is also true that models help to make the clothes. A good model does not distract us from the creations they are wearing but instead, inspires us to be similarly attractive.
Good photographers need to enjoy what they do because it is their excitement and enthusiasm that are the prime motivators for the models. Models need to enjoy what they do because their attitude shows in the very steps they take. Those with an eye for composition, a communicative spirit and an a flair for style and form may want to learn about fashion photography. Documenting the trends and styles of the day and influencing society through art can be rewarding both financially and personally. People with outgoing personalities and friendly, interesting faces might find a wonderful experience waiting for them in front of a camera. Taking care to be at your best, both physically and mentally and the ability to understand how to share the fun are qualities that will pay off in the world of modeling.

What is beauty?

What makes a woman beautiful? We have always heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We know that pretty is as pretty does. We know that when a man's in love, the girl looks sweeter. Yet, people believe that some women are more lovely than others. Who is it that finds these beauties and promotes them? Who is it that sets our standards?

Artists not only have the ability to see beauty but the talent and skills to transfer it to paper or canvas or film. They can see, perhaps better than we, the qualities that make someone worth repeating. Throughout the years they have exploited our desires, tempting us to want to see their reproductions and to need to possess their pictures. They have done this by simply by copying the beauty they see before them. If we examine the examples that they have chosen for their models, we can see similarities. What is it that these artists, with their gifted eyes, can spot? What is it that makes these women beautiful to us?

Perhaps it is the inner spark they capture escaping through her twinkling eyes or the secret held that we can glimpse, along the lines of her slight smile. Maybe it is the emotions we think are hidden behind a lowered glance or the hunger of a translucent plump cheek, pinched pink in color. Could it be the shape of her face, soft and leading, oval and almost symmetrical or her hair, pulled back so sternly it reflects the window's light or instead, billowing in curls, circling round her neck like soft caresses?

Whatever the qualities are that we admire, it seems that they are universal and they are timeless. The faces of women, through the ages, have entranced artists and their patrons alike. Their faces blend together to charm us. Is it our Mother's face we see, our wife, or ourself? They could be anyone.

Maybe beautiful women are all around us. It could be that some are just a bit more fair, a tad more pleasing, but, with our rose-colored glasses of reality, aren't we all beautiful, here, beneath the sun?