Four Archetypes of Learning

Posted on March 18, 2013 by durga

 

Pondering Passover with Puppets


Yesterday I participated in a lively children’s activity called “Passover Wanderings”  at Temple Emanuel in Kingston, NY.   In preparation for next week’s holiday, groups of students wandered from “station to station”, each of which taught about one aspect of the traditional Passover seder.

My wonderful class of fourth-graders and I had made puppets together the previous week, to be used at the magid, or storytelling, station of the wanderings.   Our puppet-masks were simple: cut and colored poster board, with large eye holes, enabling the wearer to act out the characters: the Four Sons of Passover.

The Wise Child is open and interested in learning.

The Four Sons of Passover depict four types of children.  They are the Wise Son, the Wicked Son,  the Simple Son, and the One Who Does Not Know to Ask.  We accepted as a given that these could equally be daughters, but prefer to show four aspects of one child rather than two boys and two girls – for these are aspects of children; we have all these characteristics within us, inhabiting us at different times in our lives.

The characters may also be regarded as four archetypes of learning.  Appropriately, the four sons have also been depicted by various artists as the books of the four sons.  We decided to give our masks books, too.  The Wise Son’s book is a book of learning, presumably a Haggadah or a Chumash (printed and bound Torah) – hence the owl upon his book.  The Wicked Son has set his book on fire.  The Simple Son holds a blank book full of questions.  And the One Who Does Not Know to Ask dozes with a closed book.

The Wicked Child rejects learning and tradition.

As each group of kids came to my station, we talked about the Four Sons.  What do their characteristics symbolize?  We collected more words to refine our understanding, and wrote them on a chalkboard.  The Wise Child wants to be part of the seder, hear the story of Passover, and learn about the tradition into which he was born.  The Wicked or rebellious child wants only to discredit and rebel against tradition, and to eat.  He does not see a connection between the past and the present or future of his people or himself.   The Simple Child is open and curious, innocently naive, a potential Wise Child.  The One Who Does Not Know to Ask is simply not present; he is tuned out.

The Simple Child is innocent, naive, and full of questions.

 

 

 

The children took turns holding the four masks and acting out the characters.   To act out the Four Sons is to ask the questions each character would ask at the Passover seder.  What question would the Simple Son ask about the story of Exodus, the timeless tale of slavery and liberation?  What question would the Wise Son ask?  That was a tough one.  The Wise Son is encouraged to ask challenging questions, such as Why did the Eternal send ten plagues to free the Israelites from slavery, instead of simply lifting them out of Egypt?  

 

The Child Who Does Not Ask is disconnected and unaware that there is even anything to learn.

Next the children were challenged to put the four masks in order from the one with the most brain power to the one with the least.   The answer is shown in the photo at the top of this post.   Some children were surprised to see the Wicked Child in second place, but when they thought about it, they understood.   The difference between the Wise and the Wicked sons is not in how smart they are but what they do with their intelligence.   That brought us to one of my favorite Hebrew words, kavanah.  Kavanah means intention.  And it is intention that determines the difference between brains put to good use and brains put to not-so-good use.

It was interesting that the children listed the word “ignorant” under three of the four archetypes.  Yet they are different:  the ignorance of the rebellious child and the tuned-out child is deliberate, while that of the simple child is an innocent lack.


Finally I asked each group a question:  which child was the hardest to act out?  By far the answer was the Wise Child.  Everyone was able to act out the Wicked child (“This is stupid!” “I don’t want to be here!”), the Simple child (“huh?”  ”What’s that?”), and the One Who Does Not Know to Ask (“zzzzz……”).  But the questions posed by a wise child are hard to come up with.  Can you think of one?

I enjoyed making and using the puppets of the Four Sons.  I think the wanderers enjoyed this activity, too.  Why is it good to explore a tradition or ponder archetypes of learning?  Well, that might be a question for the wise and wondering child in you . . . or the cynical, rebellious one . . . or the naive simpleton . . . depending on your kavanah. 

Happy Passover and Happy Spring!!

D Yael

 

To find out more about school visits and arts-in-ed programs with Durga Yael Bernhard, click here.

JEWISH-THEMED BOOKS BY
DURGA YAEL BERNHARD:
(click on book covers for more info)

AROUND THE WORLD IN ONE SHABBAT
is a 2012 winner of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award.

GREEN BIBLE STORIES is available in both hardcover and paperback.  This unique collection retells classic Torah tales from an environmental perspective, and was an “honorable mention” book at the National Green Book Festival in San Francisco.

Posted in school visits | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fruitful Beginnings

Posted on January 30, 2013 by durga


The New Year for Trees

It’s deep winter here in the Catskill Mountains of New York.  In the forests around my home, the smaller streams are frozen solid.  With temperatures often dipping below 0ºF at night, it’s hard to imagine spring.  Yet the almond trees are already blooming in Israel, and Jews all over the world have just celebrated the Jewish arbor day known as Tu B’Shevat.

Tu B’Shevat — the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat (“Tu” is an acronym for the number 15) — is known as the New Year for Trees.  In the Jewish tradition, all trees are given a collective birthday, or new year, so that their age may be reckoned in allowing them sufficient time to grow before we harvest their fruit, as instructed in the book of Leviticus.  To celebrate Tu B’Shevat, we have a special seder, or ritual meal, in which the fruits, nuts, and seeds of Israel and of our local region are eaten and appreciated.  Special readings accompany the tasting of three categories of foods that grow on trees:  those that that have a tough outside and an edible center, such as pomegranates, oranges, and nuts; those that have an edible outside and a hard center, such as apricots, peaches, and dates; and those that are edible throughout, such as strawberries, figs, and carob pods.  Each of these attributes symbolize aspects of our human psyches as well.   Do you tend to be tough on the outside and soft on the inside, or the other way around?  My daughter argues that pomegranates fit into both the first and second categories.  Think about it!

The children at the Woodstock Jewish Congregation celebrated Tu B’Shevat even more by making decorations for our seder table.  I started the project by setting up tables with colored paper, drawing and collage supplies, and photographs of fruits and nuts from Israel.  There were almonds and figs, pistachios and pomegranates, olives, grapes, carob, and dates.  Then I added some local favorites: oranges, apples, apricots, and strawberries.  These foods are ancient archetypes of nourishment, abundance, and the sweetness of life – all themes of Tu B’Shevat.  We honor the trees that have given so much to us, to our ancestors, and to all of humanity.

Using the photos for reference, thirty enthusiastic students and madrechim (teenage helpers) made colorful leaf-shaped place mats, each a laminated drawing of a fruit or nut along with its Hebrew name.  Pairing up words with images is a great way to anchor new words and make language learning fun.  For those children who could not attend the seder, this was a way for them to contribute.  Other children drew beautiful designs on the paper tablecloths.  The hand-drawn place mats looked lovely arranged on top, together with plates and trays of fruits and nuts, cups of wine in shades of white, pink, and red . . . it was a festival of color!

While we were drawing, it was interesting to ponder the idea of a New Year resolution for a tree.  If a tree were determined to live a good year, what might it strive to do?  There are many answers to this question; I found some interesting ones in the Tu B’Shevat section of Chabad.org.  The tree could strive to grow deeper, stronger roots, and to give plenty of leaves back to the earth in autumn to help nourish the soil.  It might resolve to shelter the seedlings that live in its shade; or to reach faithfully toward the sun, always extending itself higher and further toward that which it can never reach, yet that which nurtures the tree every day of its life: the sun.  The tree could try to bend gently in the winds of adversity, accepting what G-d sends but never breaking or giving up hope.  It might promise to give fruits that are sweet, so that all who walk away from it have a smile on their face.   

What are the sweetest fruits we can offer to make others smile?  How can we grow deeper, stronger roots – and in what are we rooted?  What should we always reach for, even if we can never reach it?  Who or what do we need to shelter and protect in our lives?

These questions could take a whole year to ponder!  Not a problem, for a tree.

After the seder, we used the placemats as leaves on a big paper tree.  In Israel, many people plant trees on Tu B’Shevat.  Here in Woodstock, we have created a beautiful tree mural instead.  To me, these drawings are like luscious fruits, enticing and sweet as the faces of the children who drew them.  

Thanks to all the young artists at the WJC for adding color and joy to our holiday table.  It was a feast for the eyes as well as the mouth.  Thanks also to Dee Graziano for her assistance in coordinating this project, and to all the teachers and madrechim who lent a hand.


Whether it is already spring where you live or whether you look forward to warmer days, may it be a season of new awakening for you, and may new beginnings blossom and bear fruit.

D Yael


To find out more about school visits and arts-in-ed programs with Durga Yael Bernhard, click here.

JEWISH-THEMED BOOKS BY
DURGA YAEL BERNHARD:
(click on book covers for more info)

AROUND THE WORLD IN ONE SHABBAT
is a 2012 winner of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award.

GREEN BIBLE STORIES is available in both hardcover and paperback.  This unique collection retells classic Torah tales from an environmental perspective, and was an “honorable mention” book at the National Green Book Festival in San Francisco.

Posted in school visits | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Hand-Picked Paradox

Posted on December 6, 2012 by durga


Hands-On Research Harvesting Olives


A  few weeks ago, I traveled to Israel with my ten-year-old daughter Sage, to participate in the olive harvest.  This was my long-awaited opportunity to do hands-on research for a picture book  I’m writing and illustrating about an ancient olive tree.  I couldn’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get out in the olive grove.

There’s something special about hands-on research.  In this age of unprecedented convenience, we have the technological ability to access  information from all over the world in a matter of seconds.   But information obtained this way can lack authenticity, and often appears out of context.  Rarely do I have the opportunity to physically experience what I’m drawing or writing about.  But there’s no substitute for direct experience when it
comes to bringing a story to life.  

The morning after we arrived at Kibbutz Gezer, a half a dozen olive pickers gathered by the side of the road that encircles the kibbutz.  Inside the circle, the homes for approximately 400 people are clustered together.  Outside the circle are grassy meadows; a baseball field;  swimming pool; a field of eggplants;  a tel – an ancient town filled in over the centuries by debris until it becomes a flat-topped, man-made hill, now the site of an archeological excavation – and of course, the olive groves.  Hundreds of trees of approximately 30 years of age stood in grassy rows.  Most were heavy with fruit, their branches drooping under the weight of colorful clusters of olives.

The harvest technique is simple:  we spread black plastic tarps under the trees, and used small hand-held rakes to “comb” the olives from the branches.  Most of the fruit could be reached either from the ground or by climbing a few steps up the trunk.  The trees are pruned to stay low, and the limbs are encouraged to spread out like a basket, so that every part of the tree receives maximum sunlight.  It is said that if an olive tree is pruned properly, there’s enough space between the branches to allow a bird to fly through.  Olive trees are uniquely dependent upon humans for this pruning – they cannot thrive without it.  An olive tree that is well-pruned can continue to regenerate from its roots virtually indefinitely, with a lifespan of two thousand years or even longer.  Thus the olive tree has been a symbol of renewal for millennia.

Olive fruits are firm and smooth, with a chalky skin that turns shiny when you rub it.   Each fruit is a unique blend of color ranging from pale yellow-green to soft mauve to dark purple-grey.  Some are faintly spotted.  When they fall to the ground, they slowly turn to charcoal blue as the fruit begins to dry and wrinkle under the hot sun.  I dared myself to bite into one, with the anticipated bitter results.  Olives must be soaked and cured before they become edible.

My daughter Sage quickly discovered that the basket-like shape of a pruned olive tree makes it ideal for climbing – and relaxing.

During our breaks we picnicked on fresh bread dipped in hummus, olive oil, homemade tzchug and za’ater; pickled green olives; oil-cured black olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a cultured yogurt-like cheese.   We tried to make up olive songs and olive jokes – but none are worth repeating here.

The olive grove is a peaceful place.  Each tree is uniquely-shaped, and has its own special character.  The soft branches wave in the breeze like hair, causing the tree to change color slightly as each leaf reveals its silvery-white underside.  The blend of colors in an olive tree is a painter’s challenge – for this artist at least.  Flocks of doves rose from the trees and turned as one into the sunshine.  The air in the grove is sweet, as if the trees have cleansed the air of all impurities.  Olive leaves are known for their powerful healing properties.  According to Wikipedia, olive leaf and olive leaf extracts (OLE), are now marketed as anti-aging, immunostimular, and antibiotic agents.  Other reference books claim olive leaf extract is effective against viral infections, parasites, fungi, and even “super-infections” that resist antibiotics.

A study in gouache paint of the olive grove.  © Durga Yael Bernhard; please do not reproduce.

How ironic, in this peaceful place among young trees that promise to live for so long, to hear the concussions of rockets in the distance – for even as we harvested the fruit of the tree that symbolizes peace, hundreds of rockets from Gaza were being fired at the nearby cities of Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, and Rishon Letzion.  And Israel was retaliating with “Operation Pillar of Cloud”, a targeted defensive operation that took place the week we were there.  Truly, Israel is a land of paradox – of cultural, artistic and spiritual riches; unparalleled innovations in education, medicine, agriculture, technology, and energy conservation – not to mention wonderful people – yet Israel is also a troubled place, with internal rifts, economic problems, and seemingly-intractable conflicts with its Arab neighbors.  Traveling in Israel, it is not unusual to feel conflicting emotions.  Even as we worked in such a bucolic place as the olive grove, we were all aware of the location of the closest bomb shelter, which had been unlocked that week for rapid entry.

Sorting olives: After the olives have dropped to the ground, leaves and twigs are picked out by hand.

And we all knew that beyond the “green line” (the disputed border between Israel and the West Bank), Palestinians were harvesting olive trees just like ours.  This is not the first century, or even the first millennium, in which olive trees have been implicated in matters of territorial conflict.  For the olive tree is native to a region that is rife with inescapable complexities.  Rooted in a shifting tapestry of peoples and conquests, the olive tree stands constant as a living organism of renewal and peace.

A happy picker!

I loved the olive grove, and got into a groove with my yellow rake.   The conversation was lively: there were kibbutz members who had come to help, along with dogs of all shapes and sizes.  There were friends from Jerusalem, a traveling post-grad student from the U.S., and visitors from Norway.  Everyone was in good spirits as we gathered up the tarps and poured the fruit into crates.  These would be taken to the olive press at nearby Latroun.  An olive press is a huge industrial machine that is necessarily communal; no one can own their own olive press.  At Latroun, we saw Jews and Arabs alike waiting for the yield of their harvest, chatting in English, Hebrew, and Arabic as the olives were pressed, separated by centrifuge into pomace and oil, and finally decanted into containers.

The olive press at Latroun.

The leftover “mash” of fiber and pits is sometimes pressed into dry cakes to be burned as fuel – a great idea!

A 30-year-old olive tree

Hours after the picking was done, at the end of the day I returned to the olive grove to sketch.  I did pencil drawings and brush drawings, trying to capture the shapes of the trees, the texture of the leaves.  I tested a few colors, and tried to catch the contour of the land.  Birds twittered from opposite sides of the grove, calling to each other.  Dogs barked in the distance as the sun went down, mingled with the sound of a child’s laughter.

A 100-year-old olive trunk.

In the hush that followed, the peace of the olive grove was palpable.  My daughter sat beside me with her own drawing book, both of us sitting on torn pieces of cardboard on the ground while we sketched.  She drew a twisted olive trunk, then switched to fashion designs.  I hope when she grows up, she’ll remember that day.

In addition to the jug of fresh olive oil I brought home, I also harvested something else:  photos, sketches, notes, and memories.  These impressions from my week of picking olives will be gathered and pressed, spun and separated into the many components of a book.  This book has taken its time to ripen and grow, but I hope in the end it will be worth it.  The more I learn about olives, the more there is to know – from cultivation techniques to nutritional and medicinal benefits, from historical facts to political implications.  And the more I learn about olives, the more I love them.

Special thanks to Dani Livney and all the wonderful folks at Kibbutz Gezer for making this trip possible.   We hope to return next year to pick olives again!

חג החנוכה שמח!
 We are about to celebrate Chanukah, the festival of light that remembers each year the miracle of oil – olive oil – in a story that is rooted a mere bike ride’s distance from Gezer.  The Maccabean graves in nearby Modi’in is where the Hasmoneans, who ruled a Jewish dynasty in Israel, have been buried in the ground for more than 2,100 years.  Some of the olive trees that lived then are still alive today.

Happy Holidays to all –

D Yael

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Durga Writes About Art | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The Illustrator’s Toolbox

Posted on November 1, 2012 by durga

 

Teaching Tools of Perception at Mill Road Elementary School

 

CLICK ON IMAGES
TO FIND BOOKS
OF ORIGIN

All images
© Durga Yael Bernhard
Please do not copy or reproduce.

Last week I visited two classrooms at the Mill Road Elementary School in Red Hook, NY.  It was the annual “Author’s Day”, a festive day for booklovers of all ages.   Authors and illustrators get a chance to talk to teachers and parents – always a fertile exchange.  The seed idea for my award-winning picture book WHILE YOU ARE SLEEPING came out of a conversation I had with a teacher at this very event some seven years ago.  I’m glad to see familiar faces.

DETAILS: Many details combine to show how these Tuareg people, nomads of the Sahara, have learned to adapt to their environment.

There’s always a certain tension in the air when I walk into a new classroom.  Expectations have been raised in the minds of the many young faces that turn toward me as I open the door.  Often two classes are combined in one room so that double the kids may benefit from the teaching author/illustrator’s visit.  Today, that visitor is me.

Wading though a sea of curious faces, I make my way among the low desks to the front of the room.  The students are eager to be entertained.  For my part, I feel both excitement and pressure, as I know I’ll be short on time yet expected to impart to these children something of lasting value.  This is a one-time visit of little more than half an hour.  What can I give them, in such a short time?

 

STYLE as a tool of visual communication: choice of style in this illustration of a Lakota tale lets the reader know it is fictitious, and gives a taste of its culture of origin. The owl at the top of this post, styled in the manner of textile patterns indigenous to eastern Siberia, lets the reader know it is not real. All artwork © Durga Yael Bernhard; please do not copy or reproduce.

I begin with basic definitions of what I do.  First I introduce myself as an author and illustrator.  Then I ask the fifty children before me:  What is an author?  What is an illustrator?  We discuss the various forms of professional writing and art, ranging from the copy on the back of a cereal box to a glittery design on a t-shirt; from the educational posters on the classroom walls to a newspaper diagram about global warming.  Somebody has to write the words or design the images we see all around us each day.

 

Then I ask another question:  What is the difference between a painting that hangs in someone’s living room and a picture on a box of tea?  How is fine art different from illustration?  Many hands are raised and much discussion ensues.  It is not a difference of medium, for an oil on canvas may equally be a work of fine art or an illustration.  It is not a matter of the content of the picture.  Finally we arrive at two essential differences:

 

1)  Fine art may or may not be reproduced, and is not created for this purpose.  Illustrations are usually reproduced, and are created for this purpose.

 

COLOR plays a crucial role in creating both setting and mood in this scene from a Chinese folktale.

2)  Fine art may or may not be created with the viewer in mind.  It is a work of pure individual expression, and as such, bends to no laws save its own.  By contrast, an illustration must always serve the viewer, for its very purpose is to communicate.  Illustration exacts a higher sense of accountability than fine art.  Yet fine art is more potentially transcendent.  The point of the discussion is not to argue which is better, but to understand the difference.

PERSPECTIVE: The choice of both surface and underwater perspective gives the viewer a feel for the journey of this dragonfly nymph preparing to molt.

 

The next question I ask is, how do illustrators communicate?  I invite the children to imagine a special toolbox for illustrators.  What would we find inside?  What tools do illustrators use to communicate?  Not physical tools, like a pencil or paintbrush, but the tools of perception that an illustrator uses to make an image “readable”.

 

I open a book to find an example.  Normally I show art in both my own books and those of other illustrators, but for lack of permission to post the latter on this blog, I will focus on examples in my own books.  The images you see here are examples of how the “tools” of visual communication may be put to use.

FACIAL EXPRESSION lets the viewer know what the characters feel.

ARCHITECTURE:  another important tool in the illustrator’s toolbox.  Architectural detail places a scene both culturally and geographically.  This springtime residential neighborhood in Japan was a pleasure to work on.  I’ve always loved painting windows!

SKYLINE: if you can crack the look and feel of a skyline, the whole city falls into place! Here is Mt. Royal Park in Montreal.

After the two classroom sessions, I went to the library to join the other authors and illustrators from the region who had gathered for the school’s annual “Author Day”.   Amidst cookies, coffee, and books, we chatted and caught up on a year’s worth of news.  Soon the bell rang, and many children visited the library after school with their parents to browse the books.  I was especially pleased to see the school librarian, Barbara Shoemaker, as we collaborated together years ago when she taught kindergarten.  We both remember that class mural fondly!  And we both see potential for collaborating again.  I look forward to it.

BODY POSITION says it all. There’s no doubt about what’s happening to this reindeer.

As much as I enjoy seeing new faces, I prefer to teach residencies, which allow enough time to get to know children and work with them over a series of sessions.  Ultimately, the best way to learn is gradually:  step by step, brushstroke by brushstroke.

LANDSCAPE: both landscape and perspective help make the journey of these migrating reindeer palpable to readers.

 

 

Scroll down for more examples
of visual tools used by illustrators.

 

SCALE: contrast between large and small, modern and aging buildings helps convey the pair of opposites illustrated here: new and old.

DESIGN: the cover design of this book of opposites helps express the basic concept explored: the life of a child of divorce who goes back and forth from country to city.

SETTING: this common scene from India gives much information to the viewer about how peoples’ lives are different – and how they are the same.

FOOD: Get the food right, and you’ve communicated much about the people and culture shown. I learned a lot about Eritrean cooking in order to illustrate this scene – and even made my own injerra, the delicious flatbread made from teff.

TECHNIQUE: Outlining is a basic tool employed here to mimick the yarn paintings of the Huichol Indians of Mexico, the tellers of this unique creation myth.

CLOTHING: This girl’s costume places her story along the Amur River of Siberia.

Overall it was a great day!   Thanks to Maura Sullivan and everyone who volunteered their time to make Author’s Day happen.

For more information about my school visits and arts-in-ed programs, click here.

Happy reading to all!

Durga Yael

 

Posted in school visits | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Attachment Painting

Posted on October 4, 2012 by durga

 

Images of Attachment Parenting by a Painting Mom

ALL ARTWORK COPYRIGHT © DURGA YAEL BERNHARD
DO NOT REPRODUCE

SCROLL DOWN FOR OCTOBER SALE! 
2-for-1 special on attachment parenting posters & cards

Me with my daughter Eve, age 4 months, December 1991

A painting mom?  That’s not how I usually describe myself professionally.  My online presence is that of an illustrator, author, educator, and fine artist.  But the truth is, being a mom is my main occupation.  If you read Mothering when it was a printed magazine, you may have seen the above image as their 25th and 30th anniversary logo.  That image began as a linoleum block print that I carved when I was eight months pregnant with my first child.  I had just finished reading  “The Continuum Concept”, by Jean Liedloff.  That book chimed in accord with everything I knew in my very round gut.  It taught me about attachment parenting as it has naturally existed for thousands of years – and affirmed my decision to live accordingly as much as possible.

After my baby was born, my attachment parenting values easily found expression in visual images.  Nurturing babies and cooperating with nature’s intentions translates almost effortlessly into organic forms.  I had studied fine art and had little intention of pursuing commercial art, but finding a way to work at home and stay with my son became my top priority.  I could not bear to put him in daycare as a baby, and wanted to be free to nurse on demand and give him every immunological edge possible.  So I began creating original paintings for children’s bedrooms.  These brightly-colored gouache paintings reflected my love of folk art, with multi-ethnic children playfully interacting.

My first picture book, published in 1992.

One day, a colleague saw these paintings and suggested I get in touch with his wife, the editor-in-chief at Holiday House, one of the last independently-owned children’s book publishers.  My first book contract soon followed.  I was pregnant with my second child by then, and was thrilled to have a new way to work at home.  The finished art for WHAT’S MAGGIE UP TO? was painted with my newborn daughter nursing in my lap.  My baby nursed often, and I learned to work in short, frequent intervals.

I grew into the roles of new mom and children’s book author/illustrator simultaneously, while also continuing as a fine artist as much as I could.  Most of these paintings were mother-&-child images, and many were done partly while nursing.   Soon my husband, Emery Bernhard, and I became an author-illustrator team, and our book A RIDE ON MOTHER’S BACK: A Day of Baby-Carrying Around the World (Harcourt Brace, 1997) was born.   This book combined our baby-carrying lifestyle with our interest in parenting practices around the world.  Fifteen years later, this book is still selling strong.  It has become widely recognized as a multicultural handbook of attachment parenting for children.  The book affirms in simple terms the wisdom of indigenous cultures that trust nature’s intentions and support unrestricted nurturing.

An illustration from A RIDE ON MOTHER’S BACK
© Durga Yael Bernhard – do not reproduce

Thirty books later, I’m still doing children’s books, and I’m still painting.  I also do a lot of arts-in-ed programs for kids, using my books as a basis for creative projects.  My son is now a graduate student, and my daughter, age 21, is a wonderful big sister to my younger daughter, age 10.  All my children were born at home and all were breastfed for 3+ years.  Attachment parenting has been a monumental shaping force in my lifestyle and career both as fine artist and illustrator.

October is “Attachment Parenting Month“.  In honor of that, I’m offering a 2-for-1 sale on the following posters and cards.  Click on each image to read more about it, or visit my webstore.  For every poster or card you order from this selection, I will automatically send you two!  Posters are $12 each for 8.5×11″ size.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly.

Happy October and happy parenting!

Durga

2-for-1 sale on posters and cards:

“Mother & Child” (ver. 1) – available as a poster or card.

“Lotus Birth” was originally commissioned by Mothering Magazine. Available as a poster or card.

“The Mother Garden” is available as a poster or card.

“Beginning Prayer” is available as a poster or card.

“Family” (ver. 3) is available as a poster.

“Pregnant Sleep”, one of my most popular images, was painted when I was pregnant with my third child.

“La Guinée” shows a woman from Guinea, West Africa. See the baby’s feet? Click on image to see larger.

“The Bearers”

“Earth Mother”

“Spring Nursling”

“Sleep” is an 11″x17″ poster (2 for $16)

“Tree of Life”

“The Letting Go Spiral” was painted when my first child left home for college.

 

All artwork copyright © Durga Yael Bernhard.  Please do not reproduce without permission; it is a violation of international copyright law.  If you would like to license an image, please contact me for more information.

Posted in Durga Writes About Art | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Teshuvah: The Art of Return

Posted on September 27, 2012 by durga

When it comes to visual art, I’ve always believed in the power of restraint.  From an early age, I fell in love with Post-Impressionist art, and was very intrigued by the restricted palettes that such artists as Paul Klée, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso often imposed upon themselves, particularly in images that come from within.  When I tried working monochromatically myself, I found it to be paradoxically liberating.

“Intentions”, a monochromatic painting on burlap by Paul Klée, 1938

Yesterday I had an opportunity to try this concept out with children.  It was Yom Kippur, a day of self-denial and restraint.  For Jews everywhere, this is the holiest day of the year, when we seek to engage in תשובה – teshuvah, or return – defined by MyJewishLearning.com as “the process by which we recognize our sins, feel regret for having committed them, resolve not to do them again, and make restitution for any harm we may have caused.”  All the major prayers of Yom Kippur focus on these themes.  From sundown on Yom Kippur Eve until one hour after the following sundown, adults do not eat, drink, work, or spend money.  Many people also do a “technology fast”, refraining from driving cars, turning on computers and televisions or even talking on the phone.  Because Yom Kippur is a day on which we strive to achieve spiritual purity, there is a tradition to wear white clothes to synagogue services.

A “teshuvah” collage by a ten-year-old

What does it mean to be “pure”?  Purity, or the state of being pure, is defined as a substance that is unmixed, undiluted, and untainted; morally, it represents a state of mind that is without fault, or ritually clean.  On Yom Kippur, we strive for spiritual purity through fasting, prayer, and deep introspection.   For many Jews, that ritual purity is represented by wearing the color white.

Why does white represent purity?  For those of us who live in the north, the answer is obvious.  Anyone who has seen a winter storm blanket the world in fresh snow understands the transformative power of this color.  White is clean.  White is simple.  White is the color of life-sustaining milk, and clean, rushing water.  When it comes to man-made objects, it’s no accident that white is the color of everything from surgical gauze to bridal dresses, from the white stripes on the American flag to the shrouds in which the dead are buried.   

Yesterday, I led a children’s art activity at the Woodstock Jewish Congregation in which we restricted ourselves to white.  Two tables of collage materials were laid out – all in white except for basic brown paper (recycled grocery bags) to serve as a contrasting base.

What does teshuvah mean to children who are too young to fast and too young to be morally responsible for their own behavior?  For a child to “return” to his or her original self – the pure soul that resides within each of us – is a short journey.  For very young children, it is sufficient to introduce the concept of an untainted self that dwells within, and to build positive associations with the day of atonement.

Children are naturally attracted to white.  They like to wear it, and they like to work with it.  Every girl who approached the collage table reached for the white lace and paper doilies that were laid out.  They also liked the heart shapes and stars of David that had been pre-cut for kids with short attention spans.  But as always, some of the children became so absorbed in their work that well over an hour flew by before they asked for a snack or abandoned the classroom for the playground.  I am proud to share their collages here.

As for my own collage – well, to me teshuvah is represented visually by a composition that is simple and harmonious, light and free like falling snow, full of movement and shape, yet uncluttered and clean.  It was refreshing to work with just one color – or rather, one color relationship – that of white and a background the color of earth, the basic mud from which the first human was mythically shaped.  It is said that a heavenly gate opens on Yom Kippur in which our heartfelt prayers and intentions are received and inscribed for the coming year.  The staircase-like shape in my collage represents this manmade concept, and contains an arched opening which gives way to the random flutterings of nature and time.

My Teshuvah collage.

What will flutter through my life in the coming year is yet to be seen.  May it be a year of fruitful creation for all of us – and may the restrictions in our lives be liberating.

L’Shana Tova U’Metukah (a good and sweet year) to all my readers!

D Yael

To find out more about school visits and arts-in-ed programs with Durga Yael Bernhard, click here.

JEWISH-THEMED BOOKS BY
DURGA YAEL BERNHARD:
(click on book covers for more info)

AROUND THE WORLD IN ONE SHABBAT
is a 2012 winner of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award.

GREEN BIBLE STORIES is available in both hardcover and paperback.  This unique collection retells classic Torah tales from an environmental perspective, and was an “honorable mention” book at the National Green Book Festival in San Francisco.

Posted in school visits | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Straight Road

Posted on September 13, 2012 by durga


Drawing – and Erasing – Artistic Boundaries

If you live in the mountains like I do, you don’t see a straight road like this very often.  If you see one, you know the very ground under it has been sculpted by human hands, like this massive embankment of the Ashokan Reservoir, which was filled beginning 100 years ago, in 1912.  It took two years to fill the reservoir.  My friend Ellen Miret, an accomplished artist who works in glass, took this photo one year ago while we were walking there.

As a painter and illustrator, the road I walk is very different from that of an artist like Ellen.  My work is relatively small, and is often published in books or online.  Ellen creates huge architectural installations in glass, often for churches and synagogues.  But we are both artists trying to reach a goal:  enough success that our artwork can be profitable enough to at least partially support our families, and its own creation.

In an effort to make our art accessible to collectors and clients, we often have to draw lines that define how we work.  Yet by its very nature, artistic expression defies boundaries, and it evolves.  I veer back and forth between fine and commercial art all the time, drawing upon many of the same drafting skills and sense of design for both endeavors.  Can artists simply erase the lines that separate different categories of visual art?  That is a question that many an artist ponders, and probably no two would give the same answer.

Sketching out a complex cityscape on canvas after completing a color study on paper.

These photos show two of my recent paintings in progress.  One is a cityscape in modern Jerusalem, painted in acrylics on canvas.  The other is an illustration of the hold of a slave ship en route from West Africa to  South Carolina four hundred years ago.  In the former case, I worked up sketches on site, followed by a painted color study on paper, before beginning the final canvas.  For the latter, I worked from a collage of photographs copied from library books and online sources.  The process is much the same in both cases – rough sketches followed by tighter drawings which are then transferred to the final painting surface.  Yet there is a difference.  Illustrations are dictated by an assignment; freedom of expression exists only within a fixed structure.  Fine art can be inspired by anything, and comes from the heart, bowing only to the rules that determine its own visual cohesion.  Illustration demands accuracy and thoroughness, while fine art is subjective, and allows for experimentation.  Too much experimentation, however, can be the straightest road to failure.

Bezalel Street in modern Jerusalem. For me the unstoppable growth of the hollyhocks, thriving in an urban environment to the point of towering above the walls that surround them, represents the creative determination of the Jewish people through centuries of adversity. To paint such unruly forms against the subtle hues of Jerusalem stone was a challenge worthy of several sketches and studies.                                                                                                                                                           © Durga Yael Bernhard – do not reproduce

If you haven’t visited the recently-updated gallery section of my website, I invite you to do so.  There you will find both fine art and illustration happily coexisting.  I like to blur the line between them, bringing structure into fine art and trial & error into commercial art as much as possible.  Sometimes this slows down my work as an illustrator, but I think it also brings fresh ideas to a process that can become too formulaic.  A little tangent can be worth the extra time.   As an editor I worked with years ago once put it, “sometimes the shortest path between two points is not a straight line.”

“I can’t even draw a straight line“, people who think they can’t draw often say.

Neither can I – without a ruler.

After being approved by the publisher, this sketch has been transferred to 140-lb watercolor paper for final painting.

Light colors are applied first – in this case, heavy chains that bind the slaves to their cruel quarters. The publisher liked the dramatic close-up view. For me, the diagonal angle of the image and the unusual perspective of the figures’ heads was challenging, but worth the extra effort.

The final illo.   Note the publisher requested that the chains be changed from bronze to iron. Such changes are common, as the images themselves provoke questions of historical detail that must be researched.

My life as an illustrator: a display table of my books at a recent book fair in a local school.

Is this the same artist? My section of a group exhibit last week in Kingston, NY, showing landscapes, still lifes, and other fine art paintings.

Happy Autumn to all!

D Yael

 

Posted in Durga Writes About Art | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Illustrating A Book About Books

Posted on August 9, 2012 by durga

All illustrations © Durga Yael Bernhard. Please do not reproduce!

About a year ago, I accepted a commission to illustrate a book about books.  Make Way for Reading: Great Books for Kindergarten Through Grade 8 (Michaelmas Press, 2012), compiled and edited by Karen Latimer and Pamela J. Fenner, began as two mothers’ search for quality books for their own children, and grew into a compilation of the best children’s literature according to the Waldorf educational model of child development. From picture books to young adult novels; from dragon tales to historic biographies, the collections of titles offered in each category serve every phase a child passes through.

In the book’s introduction, the editors explain their objective: “Just as we choose food to serve children’s nutrition, so what they take into themselves with hungry eyes should be food for the inner soul.”  These are books that impart “effective nourishment” to growing minds – when, and only when, the child is ready. Children are never rushed.  The highest standards of art and literature are applied to selecting books to accompany each phase of development from kindergarten to eighth grade. “Books can have a powerful effect on the changing consciousness of a child, and serve as instruments of initiating him or her into successive stages of life”, reads the book’s foreword by Eugene Schwartz.

Meeting at a restaurant in northeastern Massachusetts, Pam Fenner and I discussed the book’s goals, audience and possible artwork.  It wasn’t long before a cover concept took shape.  Thinking back to the 1941 children’s book classic of similar title, I decided to create a different group of ducklings of varying ages and interests, marching across a bridge of books . . . books as stepping stones in literacy.  Leading the way with her proud waddle is the mother duck who represents the parent and teacher in all of us, nurturing children’s natural love of reading and books.


The interior illustrations relate to a child’s typical interests or a subject in the curriculum. The first chapter, “Picture Books”, shows an illustration of a very small duckling with its mother, looking at a book together. “Grades One to Three” shows a young duckling curiously peering at a page fluttering with tulips and butterflies. “Grades Four and Five” shows a duckling perched atop a book standing up vertically with classical Greek architecture on the cover. “Grades Six to Eight” has a duckling gazing at the pages of a book with a castle on its cover.

The remaining chapters seem to encompass all age categories. One chapter is devoted entirely to biographies, and shows a book with an explorer’s ship on the cover. “Mythology, Legends and Folklore” is the next chapter; here a duckling stands on a book open to a spread that is swimming with fish and a mermaid.  The chapter called “Celebrations, Games, Music, Crafts and Other Activities” (wow!) shows a duckling standing in front of a book open to the image of a violin.  Finally, a duckling standing on an iPad is for the “Appendix” — that section with information especially for adults. We talked about such reading devices, their popularity, and that we really don’t know the long-term impact they may have on a child’s imagination and reading experiences. They cannot replace books. Reading a hand-held book—with or without an adult—is certainly a different experience.

Flipping through the chapters in Make Way for Reading, I can’t help noticing how much the suggested age categories of children overlap. It is as if a child is allowed to pass from one category to the next by dwelling in both, for a time. The editors write: “When is the age of picture books over?  Never, really.”   I couldn’t agree more. While picture books are only part of a child’s literary diet, kids continue to benefit and learn from picture books well after they are able to read chapter books. Fenner and Latimer continue, “Our aim is to offer children’s books that can inspire faith in the future, reveal the human spirit, widen the sense of self, nurture values, illumine history and natural science – and lead to a lifelong love of reading.”

I can’t think of a better aim that than that, when it comes to books for children. I am most honored to have my own picture book AROUND THE WORLD IN ONE SHABBAT (Jewish Lights Publishing, winner of the 2012 Sydney Taylor Honor Award) recommended in Make Way For Reading.  Beyond Waldorf, this book is a valuable resource for parents and teachers of all kinds – home schoolers, public schoolers, private schoolers – anyone who wishes to nourish their children’s literacy.  A great source of ideas for back-to-school projects!

Happy reading to all!

Durga

Posted in Durga Writes About Art | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Travel by Pencil

Posted on June 29, 2012 by durga

 

Summer Drawings from Israel and Cape Ann

Qumram, Israel – where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found


A year ago today, I arrived in Israel.  The visual impressions I gathered on that trip in the pages of my sketchbook are priceless to me now, bringing back the places I visited in and around Jerusalem, the Judean Desert, and the Galilee.  Later in the summer I visited Cape Ann, Massachusetts, where I was taken as a child long ago.  It was a great summer!  Here is a sampling of drawings I did during those travels.

Drawing is the wellspring of creation for many visual artists.  Keep the sketches flowing, and your artwork will grow like a willow beside a stream.  Even painters who are dedicated “colorists” often begin their work with drawing.  Why?  Because the core concept of an image takes the form of shape, while color can be applied later.  Variations of tone give expression to both color and shape.

The ancient cemetery in Tzfat (Safed), northern Israel

View from Yad Vashem, Jerusalem – Two weeks later, these hills were badly burned by a fire which required much of the area to be evacuated.

I carry a sketchbook with me almost everywhere I go.  Waiting in an airport or a restaurant, visiting with friends, and driving (when I’m a passenger!) are all times when I can take out my sketchbook.  Whether it’s a study for an idea in my head or a way of remembering the scene in front of me, it’s always helpful to look back on these drawings later.  Some are incorporated into future paintings.  Some stand on their own as complete compositions.

In the world of illustration, there are two kinds of artists:  those who use outlines and those who do not.  For me it has never been clear which camp I occupy, though I have leaned heavily away from using outlines for years.  In my drawings, I use them partially, blending some outlines into fields of graduated tone, while allowing others to stand out as lines.

Hollyhocks on Bezalel Street, Jerusalem

The creative process thrives on trial and error, and there’s no limit to what you can explore with a pencil.   Whether you are a fine artist or a commercial artist, drawing by hand will improve your work and generate ideas.  For me drawing is therapeutic.   It both anchors an idea on paper, and frees it to change.  There is no such thing as a final drawing.  You can always do another one, and your images can continue to evolve.  And evolve they will, the more you draw.

I treasure the drawings I bring home from my travels.  At home, I might use colored paper or ink, but while traveling, I simply use pencil, or even a plain pen.  If I can’t bring my sketchbook, I’ll just carry a few blank sheets of folded paper.  I can always transfer a loose drawing to my sketchbook later.

Each drawing carries special memories.  The drawing you see at left is a study for a large painting I’m about to begin.  Hours after I did the drawing, this alleyway on Bezalel Street became the site of an outdoor artisan’s market.  Around the corner is the famous Bezalel School of Art.   I walked back through the neighborhood later in the day, and in the very same spot where I had done my drawing, purchased a beautiful watch on a chain as a gift for my daughter.   I’ll never forget that alley!

Two Olive Trees, Valley of the Cross, Jerusalem

So pack a pencil and paper the next time you travel, along with a kneaded eraser, a sharpener, and a ziplock bag to catch pencil shavings.  You’ll be glad you did.  In a world of high-tech drawing software, these simple tools may still be an artist’s best traveling companions.

Scroll down to see more drawings . . .

"Kaf" (palm of the hand) vessel design from northern Syria, 900-600 BCE – Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem

Intersecting shapes: a doodle on the long flight from Tel Aviv

Rocks and surf, Rockport, MA

Still Life with Binoculars, The Captain's House, Rockport, MA

Stratford Island, Rockport, MA

Seaside plant, Rockport, MA

Rocks & sea, Rockport, MA

Lighthouses, Rockport, MA

Yemen Moshe, a neighborhood of stone walkways, arches, and stairs outside the old city of Jerusalem

Backgammon players on Shabbat, Independence Park, Jerusalem

Study of olive foliage

Study of olive tree, Jerusalem

Sacher Park, Jerusalem

House and bomb shelter, Kaditah, northern Israel

A porch at Kibbutz Gezer

Stone cairn, Dead Sea beach

Happy Summer to all!

Old Garden Beach, Rockport, MA

Ein Kerem, a picturesque neighborhood on the outskirts of Jerusalem

Posted in Durga Writes About Art | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We’re All the Same . . . In All Different Ways

Posted on June 12, 2012 by durga

 

The Rosendale School 3rd Grade Residency

Last month I had the great privilege of teaching a six-week residency in Kyra Sahasrabudhe’s third grade class at Rosendale Elementary School.  Using my book WHILE YOU ARE SLEEPING: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Time Around the World as a model, we created a class mural titled “We’re All the Same . . . In All Different Ways”.  The children researched and illustrated “windows” into other cultures and time zones which we mounted as flaps on a large cut-out mural of a world map.  When you lift the flap, you get a peek into someone else’s life!

We began by looking at the globe.  While we are sleeping in New York at 4am, what time is it in Brazil?  Ethiopia?  Australia?  What might children be doing in those places?  Students were paired into teams and chose an activity for their assigned culture.  In Brazil at 5am, children could be feeding chickens.  In Israel at 11am, families could be shopping in an outdoor market.  In China at 5pm, someone could be cooking dinner.  Students eagerly began researching their subjects.  They made lists of what images they would need for visual reference.  What does a chicken coop look like in Brazil?  What does a street look like in Germany?  What fruits and vegetables are sold in Israel?  We hunted for pictures online, in magazines, and in library books.  I also supplied several photo collages that I created for my own research – including some used for WHILE YOU ARE SLEEPING.  Many kids said this “image-hunting” was their favorite part of the project.

Foods of Israel – a photo collage used for my book AROUND THE WORLD IN ONE SHABBAT (Jewish Lights Publishing)

With photos laid out on their desks, the children began drawing rough sketches.  Each team drew one image of “sleeping at 4am”, and one daytime activity in their assigned culture.  I let them in on my secret tool as an illustrator:  tracing paper.  Tracing paper is an illustrator’s best friend.  Its transparency allows for easy overlapping and moving of images.

Tracing paper makes trial and error easy.

 

Want two people in a drawing to trade places?  Just cut between them and change them around.  Want them to face the other way?  Flip them over!  Tracing paper also allows for easy erasing and lots of trial and error.  Drawing a bicycle might take some practice, but with tracing paper you get as many chances as you need.  Children were encouraged to use plenty of tracing paper to practice drawing architecture, trees, and clothing that were not familiar to them.  These are the visual elements that give a place its special look.

Some children asked if it was okay to trace things directly from a photograph.  I said that if the object was the right size, yes, because we are practicing and learning when we are sketching.  Surprisingly, some kids discovered they did not like tracing from photos.  The images in the photos were hard to “read” when they were changed into pencil lines.

Following the design of WHILE YOU ARE SLEEPING, we composed our illustrations into circles.  We cut and moved pieces of tracing paper until everything fit nicely, then traced the new arrangement to make a clean sketch.  We used the classroom windows as a lightbox, and discovered that with each tracing, it got easier to draw something difficult – but sometimes tiring on young arms to draw on a vertical surface.

Next we convened as a group and took turns playing editor.  Each sketch was discussed and revisions were suggested.  A rough sketch is like a map of what an illustration will look like.  It only needs to show size, shape, and placement of the main elements in the picture.  This was a good time to decide how large or small, near or far objects should be so that they are visually “readable”.  We talked about communicating with pictures, and the golden rule of illustration:  Never confuse the viewer.  What do we want our viewer to see about this unique place on earth?  What have we learned about this place that we’d like to share?

Students act as a "group editor" to critique each student's rough sketch.

Revising our sketches was the next step, and then transferring them to white paper.   As always, we could have used much more time to color, but the students worked so energetically, they got the job done.  This is when a class is most quiet in my residencies.  The research is done, and the children can relax their thinking brains.  Coloring is the most physical part of the process, and the kids are active and engaged.  It was a warm spring day; the windows were open, the lights were switched off, and the sound of birds outside could be heard now and then along with the scribbling of busy pencils.

Cooking in China

We talked about how to blend different skin colors out of the colored pencils we had on hand – some children later said this was the hardest part – and how to vary pressure with colored pencils to get different effects.  Then we all got together as editors again to see what we did.  Great and diligent coloring jobs!  I was impressed.

And we all noticed how children in other cultures are the same as us in many ways . . . and how they are different.

Research collage for illustration of German streets

 

 

 

 

Now came the best part:  assembling our mural.  A patchwork of construction paper was taped together and cut into continents, then glued on our oval globe of solid blue.  Headlines and labels were added and flaps moved here and there.  Dots and pointers were placed linking our round window flaps with locations on the map.  Finally, clocks were placed under each flap, showing the time in that place.

Then we stepped back.  Our mural was done!

 

Eating in Morocco

Special thanks to Dutchess County Arts Council for making this residency possible; and to the assistants and aids, librarians and staff who were part of it.  Most of all, to Ms. Sahasrabudhe and her wonderful class, thank you!  I hope you enjoyed the project as much as I did.  You should be proud of your work.  I will miss seeing you on Wednesday mornings.

Happy Summer and keep drawing!

Durga

WHILE YOU ARE SLEEPING was selected by the Children's Book Council as a 2012 Notable Book in the Field of Social Studies; and by the International Reading Association as a 2012 Notable Book for A Global Society.

 

 

 

AROUND THE WORLD IN ONE SHABBAT won the 2012 Sydney Taylor Honor Award

Posted in school visits | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment