The summer of 2015 our family traveled to Israel. And by family, I mean the whole mish-pa-CHa, (that’s family in Hebrew…make sure to accent the “cha” with a gargly gurgle sound.) We were 13 in total including my parents, my husband and four kids, my brother and sister in law with their two kids and my sister.
13 in Judaism is actually a good luck number for it’s when a child becomes a Bar Mitzvah or an adult in the Jewish community. In a way, our family experienced a Bar Mitzvah traveling to Israel together. It was politically awakening, culturally exhilarating and most of all spiritual. We became educated on Israel’s modern technology, their innovative approaches to agriculture and their secrets to surviving in the middle east. Learning how to farm fruits and vegetables in over 100 degree weather where water resources are miles away was truly mind blowing.
The Israeli’s are known for creating underground mazes of irrigation systems, channeling water for crops from the Sea of Galilee. What a surreal sight it was to see lush orchards of pomegranate, clementine, fig and date trees. Imagine dessert sand and rock and then fields of yellow, where sunflowers grew to be farmed for flour. The Thistles picture was inspired from a photo that I took in the Golan Heights. I had a personal date to wake at sunrise and photograph the northern terrain as the sun burst pink rays across the fields. The thistles glowed with lush hues-indigo, violet and gold. I returned to the states with not only amazing memories, but over 2,000 photographic gems that continue to inspire my art.
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