2015 Kesam Katz

Kesam Katz

Eilat, Israel

magikaat@yahoo.com

Facebook: evekesam salkindkatz

I live beside the Red Sea. All through the day and the evening it changes color, thus I included many different blues.

We are known world wide for our coral reef, so I included a bit of that too.

2014 Kesam Katz

Kesam Katz

Eilat, Israel

Facebook: Evekesam Salkindkatz

magikaat@yahoo.com

This piece is entitled "SNOW AND ICE: MOTHER NATURE'S WINTER LACE'.

It is knit and crocheted from various white yarns which are composed of many different textures and fibers, with white pearls sewn onto the neckline. I currently live in the Israeli desert and so have to go to Europe or the U.S.    on a holiday to play in the snow. I grew up on the East coast of the U.S. and have many childhood memories of sledding down hills and ice skating and it was these memories which inspired this piece.

2013 Kesam Katz

Kesam Katz

Eilat, Israel

magikaat@yahoo.com

FACEBOOK:Evekesam Salkindkatz

RED SEA SUNSET

My apartment in Eilat, Israel overlooks the Red Sea--one of the wondrous spots on dear planet earth.

2012 Kesam Katz

Kesam Katz

Eilat,Israel

magikaat@yahoo.com

http://community.webshots.com/user/eve12121

The falling leaves drift by my window

The falling leaves of red and gold

But I miss you most of all, my darling

When autumn leaves start to fall

(lyrics from the song "Autumn Leaves")

The song Autumn Leaves was written in French in 1945 where it was named Dead Leaves. In the United States the name was changed to Autumn Leaves and made popular in the 1950's by Nat King Cole. Autumn has always been my favorite time of year-I love the crispness in the morning air and the beautiful leaves as far as the eye can see. I remember walking to school on sidewalks made golden by the fallen gold leaves and red maple trees looking as if they were on fire. Today I live in a climate where the leaves on the tree just turn brown and then fall off the tree. But in my mind's eye I still stand outside my house in the mountains of Virginia and Maryland and behold the grandeur of the autumn leaves.

2011 Kesam Katz

Kesam Katz

Eilat, Israel

Israeli/American fiber artist 

magikaat@yahoo.com

http://community.webshots.com/user/eve12121

YELLOW BRICK ROAD

The Wizard of Oz was the first movie I remember seeing. I was about 3 years old and had to sit on my mother's hatbox handbag in order to see the screen. As I watched the movie I went through every emotion possible, from joy, to sorrow, to fear, to anger, often putting my hands over my eyes when the flying monkeys or the witch got too close to Dorothy and her friends.

I have now been on the yellow brick road for over sixty five years and have managed, thus far, to outwit the witch and her flying monkeys with help along the way from friends who often resemble the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Man We have learned that life is not fair, and even when life is great there are times when we are afraid and lonely. Hand in hand, we walk toward the Emerald City, trying to remember that the journey is more important than the destination.

2010 Kesam Katz

Kesam Katz

Eilat, Israel

http://community. webshots. com/user/ eve12121

MY INNER TREE OF LIFE

is a wall hanging that I crocheted using many different fibers,natural as well as man made.

The tree of life is a symbol often seen in Jewish art. It is most often portrayed as a menorah --a seven limbed candelabra that can be found not only in synagogues but also in churches. I call this my inner tree of life because it shows my life from the inside out. At the very core of each frond is a dance of colors which symbolizes my rich creative life and is the core of who I am. Outside the whirling dervish of color and stitches comes a fence of dark blue--the dark side of my life--always there--perhaps the price paid for such a wonderful inner core (?). Beyond the darkness that is always there, waiting to be passed through, comes the gold filaments of hope, joy, wisdom, positive energy of the God within--who sustains my life as well as guides it. Then outside that comes a dark green with flashes of brillient color. The dark green of the forest, filled with growth, both old and new. It has patches of darkness as well as flashes of brightness, of joy, of creativity. This outer layer is the nourishing and nurturing of new life that comes with each new day.

Like many artists my life is filled with magical highs as well as desperate lows. Both are blessings in their own way--giving me energy and creativity to solve and make it through the lacy, spider web of darkness that has given me an empathy and sympathy for all living creatures--each of whom are busy living the best life they can manage at any given moment. Creative thought has often allowed me to walk a step or two in the shoes of others, appreciating the different perspectives found living side by side here in my world of the Middle East. A land which echoes my inner life of joy, creative energy, as well as the darkness of religion gone amuck--but filled with the light of our Creator who brings forth each day to be lived, juggling the light and darkness of life.

My studio is in Eilat, Israel--the southernmost tip of Israel with the Arava desert as its back door and the Red Sea as it front door. I live at 2020 Sheshet Hayamim, Apt. 4 with a standard poodle and five cats.

                                                                            

2009 Kesam Katz

Kesam Katz

Eilat, Israel

http://community. webshots. com/user/ eve12121

The crocheted wall hanging is made of numerous different fibers. Entitled where the Sky Meets the Sand: the Four Seasons of a Desert Sky is 32 X 40 inches in size. The desert sky in Eilat is full of brillant blues during most of the year. Even at night the sky is a deep touquoise and navy blue.During the winter months we do have some gray cloudy skies. Due to the lack of air polution we do not have any brillant sunsets as are found in the California desert. However, when we do have clouds we manage to have some very pink and red sunsets and sunrises as the light is reflected off of the clouds. It is very windy here which I suggest by the use of whirlies. The outer edge is first various shades of brown to suggest the sand--the very outer edge is 3 diminsional with shades of brown,gray and white to suggest the low mountains which surround Eilat.

Liz's Spring Garden is approximately (odd shape) 15 inches X 18 inches and is crocheted entirely from # 8 pearl cotton. Every spring my friend Liz brings in a professional gardener to replant her garden which is beautifully filled with different shades of green and many other colors.

My ode to summer is this full length,mid-calf coat

which I crocheted using many different fibers. Here in Eilat the summer sun is extremely bright--as a consequence colors are brighter and shade is deeper in color. At times the shade almost looks black in contrast to the brightness of the sun. I am calling this coat Sun and Shade.

My ode to fall is a wall hanging/shawl which I call The Grape Harvest. It is crocheted from several different fibers and measures 54 inches by 34 inches. My entire life I have lived where fall signified the harvesting of the grapes. Yes, even here in the Eilat desert we have grape arbors. Grapes for wine have been grown in Israeli deserts for over 3000 years.

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2008 Kesam Katz

Kesam Katz

Eilat, Israel

http://community.webshots.com/user/eve12121

"What drives my world is color and texture--both fill me with joy and fuel my active imagination. I cannot imagine a world without color or texture. Typical of my needle work you can see both in my use of various fibers, from tightly spun sock yarn, to gold metallic yarn and fuzzy mohair. I am also one of those magpie people whose eyes catch every fleck of glitter on the sidewalk and always stop to examine the shiny object, often putting in my pocket. When I walk my dog I am always filling my pockets with odd bits and bobs of stones, plastic pieces, glass bits and metal bits. Odd shapes interest me and I love to include them in my art work. I am also fascinated by buttons and so included a couple of antique ones in my scrumble. I love the old, worn out bits of the past, just holding them you can feel their history. If those buttons could talk, what a story I am sure they could tell. For me life is one continuing story, with many chapters--in the same way when I scrumble I make fabric--not individual pieces, but a entire piece of cloth that is worked from many different directions with various textures and color."

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