Chanukah 2011

 Chanukiahs 2011
Wedding gift to me (Kotel menorah), and menorah 
found on Georgia antiques road trip, same year, 1974.
© Joy Krauthammer

Aviva & Brett and Joy
Chanukah 2011
© Brandon S.

Northridge Chabad Chanukah 
Zelzah @ Chatsworth

 © Joy Krauthammer

Snowy Chanukah MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH

MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH
Snowy Chanukah 
Pluralistic Princess is in the Field
Art card by Joy Krauthammer ©

CERT

My CERT Certificate of Completion
Community Emergency Response Team

It is a vision of joy that I feel, proud that today I have completed the 7 week course (17.5 hours) in Community Emergency Response Team training and received the CERT Certificate of Completion from The City of Los Angeles.

I feel more responsible toward community in a very practical crucial manner, in case of emergency preparedness, which includes natural disasters, accidents and terrorism.

Watching the weekly videos of destruction, and people maimed or dead from catastrophies, etc. was not easy. (I don't watch TV because of the violence.) Saving the worst for last, today's show was on Weapons of Mass Destruction, HAZMAT (Hazardous Material) Teams, chemical terrorism, and decontamination. I've learned to put out small fires, do light search and rescue, in multi-casualty incidents, do Triage--evaluate and label who is dead or alive, try to keep people alive in disaster medical operations, and splint body limbs, until professional 'responders' may be available. I learned team organization and disaster psychology. (As a former medical social worker, I never learned any of this.) As a former victim of the '94 Northridge Earthquake, I recognize how important this training is.)

I learned that in these major disasters that are happening all over the country, world, and local area, streets will not be accessible to trained personnel. Numbers of those in need will be too great to handle for city police, fire and and medical. Citizens must be well-trained for a work force. It is very sobering to know that I have graduated as a simple civilian volunteer and may have to lead a team of others in caring for the wounded, and saving lives. Graduation gift from GHNNC was a backpack filled with CERT helmet, vest and other necessary supplies. I've been buying and adding supplies.

My teacher, Firefighter Kevin Mason, was fantastic and the funniest person I've ever heard (which made learning tough stuff a lot easier). He called his humor, "gallows humor." Thank you, Kevin and GH Neighborhood Council, Public Safety coordinator Bill Hopkins.  cert@ghnnc.org  Thirty-five CERT volunteers graduated.

Please call your local council people to encourage them to offer CERT and join the team.

Additional sessions are offered.

Contact CERT:  www.CERT-LA.COM    LAFDCERT@LACITY.ORG

- Joy Krauthammer

PS
On a lighter note, while waiting for the photo that was taken on graduation day, here is me:

(  :)

sideways
in my new
green firelady CERT helmet-hard hat

(doesn't come in purple)

smiling --before I have seen blood and gore, broken bones, accident, disaster, emergency, catastrophe and chemical warfare and fire and terrorism... (May it never happen!!)

(Do I sound like Arlo Guthrie's 27 minute song, Alice's Restaurant?  "You can get everything you want, at ___")

Official CERT graduation portrait

Joy Krauthammer and firefighter Kevin Mason

© Edward Headington

CPR

CERT event story:

http://joys-joyousjoy.blogspot.com/2012/06/birthday-joy.html

Still Training

From FACEBOOK 6.27.2015 :

CERT Refresher

Joy in Green Vest, Helmut, googles, mask and with gloves and Gatorade.

End of a long hard, smoky CERT day. 

6.27.2015

LAFD VALLEY CERT REFRESHER: Incident Command System Fire Suppression Medical Operations (triage, Treatment, Transport) Search and Rescue

Since LAFD VALLEY CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) RETRAINING day, I have greater appreciation for our Fire Fighters. OY, how do they do it? Exhausting, and Search & Rescue was scary going into a smoky building (with helmet, mask, goggles and gloves) where I could NOT see the ‘victims'. Even the flashlight wasn’t strong enough to immediately see the victims 'dead or alive'. Fire extinguisher for Fire Suppression was heavy but finally I did a good job putting out fires. Hope YOU all know HOW to use those red house extinguishers.

(Forty years ago, called 911, and with adrenaline running, I used heavy huge hose equipment to put out a couch fire in an ap’t below mine.)

During Incident Command System actions, it was challenging in Medical Operations with Triage. Glad I didn’t have to treat people. As scribe, just kept track of 'non-critical' injuries in my division. The Medical Transport helicopter blew up a lot of dusty dirt in our LA drought and went right through my face gear into eyes. Now OK. I need to get better at all of this Disaster business with Fire Department.

In a large-scale disaster, government resources may be overwhelmed and unable to immediately assist citizens in their community. Emergency response personnel may be delayed for hours, even days. Preparing the community is vital in preparedness and resiliency.

Friends, I invite you to train and join volunteer CERT. Surely assists in preparing us in personal and civic duty for responsibility in disaster. I’ve had training but don’t know of any other neighbors who have. As lead person in my Neighborhood Watch, I send out invites… Sure would like a local partner.

For further information, you may contact the CERT Unit at (213) 893-9840.

http://www.cert-la.com

(Official green is clothing code, NO purple.)

June 27, 2015

ORIGINAL POST: http://visions-of-joy.blogspot.com/2011/11/cert.html

==

Community Emergency Response Team with LA Fire Department. Yup, that's me the volunteer in the green vest and helmet. When I wear the thick mask and it is difficult to breathe, to survive I visualize I am snorkeling. Heavy are gloves, helmet, goggles, flashlight and backpack... Missing the heavy steel-toed boots.
Lorraine was my buddy, and I was in team with Battalion coordinator Linda, and Amy. 

Several years ago my very dear older friend Lilian,z"l, (since about 1960 until she died last year) who was active until 90 years in civic duties, told me how important/necessary it was to be involved in "civic" duties. I listened. I do this service in her memory. Always also communicating with Councilman's office. NOT easy being a 'voice of consciousness' in political world. Yup, making a difference in my secular community. Deal with safety, drug cars on my street (and police), paved streets, neighbor brawls, dead trees, etc. etc. Never thought I'd have a pal in the police, surely not after the 60's. That's all a lot easier than this disaster CERT stuff.

I like drumming and photography and studying Torah much better!!! :)

Yup, making a difference in my secular community. Deal with safety, drug cars on my street (and police), paved streets, neighbor brawls, dead trees, etc. etc. Never thought I'd have a pal in the police, surely not after the 60's. That's all a lot easier than this disaster CERT stuff.

I proof, edit the police mail Tips before forwarding looking good to dozens on my Neighborhood Watch list. I like drumming and photography and studying Torah much better!!! :)

In addition, a specific reason I chose to be a CERT volunteer, is because I was in real great shock (PTSD) following the '94 LOCAL disaster and I needed to be better able to deal with a future one. So I've grabbed my fear and face it with hopefully being better able to help others.

Took this CPR class for CERT. 
The dozens of times my husband, z"l, taught this course to medical personnel, I never showed up, and then threw out his CPR books. I actually first first took this training around 1975, about 4 decades ago.)

LAFD VALLEY CERT REFRESHER: Incident Command System Fire Suppression Medical Operations (Triage, Treatment, Transport) Search and Rescue

Photo Gallery

Taking shots only after long hard day of work is done.

Medical Transport Helicopter takes off. 

© Joy Krauthammer 

Medical Transport Helicopter takes off. 

© Joy Krauthammer 

Medical Stretchers

© Joy Krauthammer 

Wounds for Triage

© Joy Krauthammer 

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PORTAL 11.11.11.

MEDICINE WHEEL MANDALA

by Ron Wescott

11.11.11 SUM rehearsal at Onion

photos © Joy Krauthammer

Happy day of Oneness  11.11.11 lingers in my soul.

OPENING THE 11/11/11 PORTAL

- Joy Krauthammer

I feel truly blessed to give service as sound healer. In awareness with kavanah / spiritual intention, just aside the very inside center of the entire ‘Onion’’s chapel room-sized mandala, prepared for 11-11-11, I sat with my heart chakra crystal singing bowl. Hundreds of people in an interfaith service meditated, walking through the crystal mandalas-- a labyrinth. Sometimes I stood, playing for individuals that I knew would love and appreciate the intimate healing sounds of the singing bowl.

Kabbalah Bach joined me. I had only asked for a moment of time to play, to ring in the 11.11.11 portal of peace, preceding the beautiful OHM chant following candles lighting, with Spiritual Unity Movement’s (SUM)*  meditation. I had requested to play only one circle of sound. One circle of sound with my wand caressing the crystal would have sufficed. Patrick Harbula, SUM’s president, asked Ron Wescottt, ** the creator of the Medicine Wheel Mandala, and he thought that in addition to “accompanying the Ohm”, we could play during the entire few hours-long mandala meditation. 

I felt our sound spa were rain drops rising up, coming together in a pond. A sound blesSing pond.*** Sometimes I think we are a ladder to heaven when we have our bowls at different heights. Mine may be in my hand, raised, as Kabbalah’s heavier bowl sits with her. We combine heavens and earth. Kabbalah and I play with each other’s sounds, and around each other, and through each other, listening to the drops of sound as they circle, vibrate, reverberate, ring and sing, bathing all in a sound spa, as our magic wands stroke the vessels, and return again and again, and tingle, cascade and echo. Some sounds transform into crystals, and play with each other. The Onion’s wooden dome, circulated the sounds. Our intention is to be subtle as we support the meditation, and focus is strengthened.

I feel less than whole if Kabbalah is not playing for a round in our symphony. Kabbalah off to join the walkers in the crystal Medicine Wheel Mandala labyrinth for her personal meditation, and I missed her.

During the entire time we played, finest violinist Dov was playing his music as the invited guest musician for 11-11-11. Until that moment, I had not seen Dov in a couple of decades. It was another dimension to weave in and around with Dov’s ethereal original new age music which he composed for this ceremonial ritual. His playing is divine. When I walked the mandalas, I was embraced and uplifted by Dov’s music.

At the same time, Ron Wescott was offering the sensitive and thoughtful spiritual guided meditation walks for all the groups of 12, as they entered and walked through the 12 wheels of the Mandala. Ron called it a “birthing experience”. It was powerful to stand and receive his visualizaiton guidance to open personal, universal, and planetary portals.

I wish I had had my own camera while in the center of the mandala to share with you. The sight I saw was glorious. People's fingers linked in mudra positions. Arms linked via fingers joining, forming bodily V shapes all around the room, around and within the mandalas; from the floor vision, and looking out at the concentric rows and rows of supportive souls surrounding us. It appeared as a universe all joined together in Oneness. What I saw, reflected the awesome, magnificent designs in the mandalas. At rehearsal, the dozen of us had envisioned one row of supportive rows, and the next night with so many guests at the ceremony, there were a few enlarged rows encircling behind the mandala walkers.

Entering the Portal of 11.11.11 was mamash / truly an awesome gathering.

I am grateful that Patrick has the vision to bring the stars and full moon together with ONES for this spiritual gathering. Thank you, Ron, Patrick, Dov and SUM team, for the gift; for their preparation set-up, and delivering additional meditations surrounding the Walk.

I loved serving The Holy One in joy, and being supportive to the others in meditation.

I also loved being in the circle walking the mandalas, receiving the over flowing love sent out to all, by Ron, and receiving Dov's divine gentle music. I am still smiling.


Kabbalah and I play Tibetan and crystal singing bowls together wonderfully well  (we feel the love spirit between us), thus I was excited to invite her into the transformed Onion setting, which for years, we know.  I first played drums at a Shabbat service at the Onion in 1996. Last week, at Remo, we were a symphony for Women’s Drum Day, as we have been for a couple decades at occasional spiritual and ARTS gatherings. I am grateful for those shared moments with this wise woman.

* SUM Mission Statement: To celebrate the spiritual unity of all life and raise the consciousness of light and love through community meditation and education and to inspire and empower those who attend the World Healing Meditation Ceremonies and all of humanity with the life transforming experience of Healing, Oneness, and Unity.  

We are SAVING OUR PLANET FROM THE INSIDE!*** Bracha, a blessing; Braycha, a pond (Hebrew)

** Ronald Wescott is an energy worker and and multi-dimensional teacher. His practice of Ancient Galactic Wisdom, Mayan, Lemurian, Atlantian, American, Tibetan and Hindu rites are far-reaching. Ron created "the original" Medicine Wheel Mandala in 1993 after ten years of research in geometric studies. This divine instrument was brought forth from creation to assist in the evolution of this planet Earth, and to benefit the variety of life forms including the Divine Light Being (the Hu-MAN).

*** Bracha, a blessing; Braycha, a pond (Hebrew)

Joy Krauthammer and Kabbalah Bach, 

Crystal singing bowls playing sisters

prepare for the people to enter the Mandala.

11-11-11 Spiritual Unity Movement

Crystal Medicine Wheel Mandala

© Patrick Harbula, SUM

Rob Wescott with copper grid from beneath his Medicine Wheel Mandala 11.11.11

interlocking finger mudras

photos and collage © Joy Krauthammer

Joy loving the small crystal mandalas in the Medicine Wheel Mandala.
© Yda Ziment

~ ~ ~

ONENESS 11.11.11.

ONENESS 11.11.11.

photos and collage by Joy Krauthammer ©

.

The LAST MINUTE of 11.11.11 ! 11:59 PM!

My LAST PHOTO of 11-11-11
You are saved from more of my Don't Postpone Joy bear.

photo by Joy Krauthammer ©
.

11-1-11 11:11 am, 11:01 pm

WOW
Binary dates and times, photographed by me, Joy Krauthammer  ©

11-11-11 -  November, 11 2011

Celebration of Oneness and Love

Around the world, people are celebrating Oneness through music, chant, dance, meditation, prayer, drums, ritual, and ceremony. With our hearts and spiritual energy, let’s celebrate being alive, Oneness, and ask for healing for our universe. - Joy

“The auspicious date of 11:11:11 has long been predicted as a gateway to a new consciousness - a point in time when human beings are offered the opportunity to cross the threshold into a higher dimension of frequency and light. As the cogwheels of the universal time lock click into place, a doorway will open that holds the potential for humanity to birth the enlightened consciousness of oneness and love. The master number 11 relates to the birthing and anchoring of the new - it signals mastery of the physical realms as we get ready to step forward into the higher dimensions of frequency and light that are opening for us now.” 

Renata and Steven, Rainbow Medicine Circle

I stayed up until midnight last night to get the first shots at the 11-1-11 Midnight AM, and then this morning in the 11-1-11  11 AM,  and tonight in the 11-1-11   11 PM!
It was a challenge lining up all the possibilities in order to photograph them to their best advantage!
Both on computer and on cell phone!
And I even got them all edited, enhanced and posted on 11-1-11 @ 11 something PM!

These are just the preparatory shots, practice for the big ONE!  11-11-11!

Why is it impossible to find a digital Calendar on the web?
Can my cell go from analogue to digital?
Please help me find web calendars that read 11-11-11.
Is there a TV station that posts the date and time?

Yes, I also did this on 7-7-7 at 7 AM when I was in New Mexico giving a workshop on Holy # 7's.
I think I did it in 10-10-10 and 1-1-11.
I love gematria so I'm not surprised that these dates interest me.
I even love it at times when I look at the clock and it says: 11:11 am or pm.
I do this with the thermostat also. oy vey. I'll find that photo.

Do you recognize the pink BEAR in the cell phone?
It is the pink bear used as my Blogger ID photo!
Given to me as a gift to make me feel better, when I was caregiver.

Thanks, Faye, for loaning me your camera!
and showing me Apple's System Preferences!
I called Apple to ask for a 11-1-11 calendar, and they didn't even know they had ONE!!!

JOY

love this ONE on the right.

11-1-11 @ 11:11 am

11 hours and 11 minutes into the day

...and on the left

11-1-11 @ 1 minute am into the day

This image actually displays the 11/1/11 at 11 pm and 11 and 1 minute

This image shows 11 hours pm, 11 minutes, and 11 seconds on 11-1-11

/\ Above and Below \/

11-1-11 @ 11 minutes into the am

Screen shot gadgets

11.11.11 first 38 seconds!

This image shows 11 hours, 10 minutes on 11-1-11

I DID IT!

and with my sister's camera.

~

Looks like I was preparing for 11-11-11

back on 1-1-11

SURPRISE

Here's my 111*F purple truck thermostat on September 11, 2011

photos by Joy  ©

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WOMEN's DRUM DAY

WOMEN's DRUM DAY

Women's Drum Day presenters

L>R

Stacie Yeldell, Chris Gasci, Rowan Storm, Kabbalah Bach, Joy Krauthammer 

& Marguerite Kusahara

Sound Spa: Joy blows shofar; Kabbalah plays conch--for Opening & Closing Ceremony

Photo by Maria Kosteas, digitally edited by Joy Krauthammer

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JOY's FANTASY ROOM & SUKKAH

JOY's FANTASY ROOM & SUKKAH

photos and collage © Joy Krauthammer 

"There's no place like home."

Welcome to my 

ROOM and SUKKAH
Garden of Gila

- Joy Krauthammer

10-26-2011

I know that artists don’t necessarily explain their work, but I need to do this for me, because this six-week graphic process was new for me, and I need to figure out what my subconscious was up to in this montage.

Enjoy Photoshop creation as is, or you might enjoy creation with explanation.

The "Room and Sukkah", inside and outside, is about knowing who I am; my authentic self and truth, and my soul being Joy. Room is a place/makom where in my medium, I meet myself in my universe; real or imagined. What is reality?

I began by creating an empty space (a gift) and decided how to fill my space. The blank page was raw, like unmolded clay or a blank piece of writing paper. Photography is my passion, a Zen practice. Spiritual books and Torah on my shelves, percussion I play, and objects d’art I’ve created in clay, and my garden are also the “garments (and colors)-- the outer expression of my soul”, but “not the essence of my soul”, as my beloved Reb Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen, zt’l, would say.

Soul is seen looking into the Sukkah, as we look into (not outside) our inner selves. The Sephirah of Chesed / loving-kindness is expressed between friends on a journey of life along the Etz Chaim / The Tree of Life; fragile and vulnerable as a Sukkah.

The yellow centered mum's floral floor path serves as the "Yellow Brick Road" with Dorothy the drummer, in (ruby) red magical shoes, as she leads us all up the 'path' to the temporary open hut, the sukkah-- along the yellow (brick) flowered road to discover our own "heart, brains and courage", which, mamash / truly, we already have. (Sometimes we need reminders.)

As metaphors, Wizard of Oz's Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion are ushpizin / guests, looking in through the window, and ready to 'occupy' the sukkah. * (As in "Occupy LA" or Wall Street-- what is ‘real’?  (Who would you invite as guest? How would you treat your guests?) 
When you feel you "want a brain", a "heart" or "courage", enter your own sukkah-- your inner space of faith and power, and speak to the Compassionate One.

"There's no place like Home." - Dorothy

The Wizard of Oz's 'hot air balloon' is seen through the window's foreign landscape (a separate Photoshop invention.)

Web ‘Images’ in the concocted scenes include separate elements I isolated, cleaned ("layer masked") and combined: African land, individual lions, giraffes, hot air balloon; and partial garden path, path walkers, cartoon characters; French doors, sukkah, frames and window treatments. These images add to the "Room and Sukkah" elements created from my personal photographs. Tree of Life painting I transformed into the (vector) bench. The bench, table and legs are created from lines of wood. I'm sitting on bench with frame drum from my Moroccan trip. When almost finished filling my Room, I realized that I, too, could be visibly present and inserted a photo of myself.

Photoshop altered graphics and photos encompass my New Year's card of international peaceful people on the path, the Tree of Life, the framed ART on the left wall, and the Photoshop window African landscape on right wall, and then the whole integrated collage, Room and Sukkah.

Room and Sukkah was a giant challenge to create. Contains six weeks worth of creations and meditative patience to be the best that it could be.

(Thanks to graphics teacher, Gustavo, for the guidance.)

If you really want to know what the meaningful, joyous spiritual scene (where art and life merge) means to me as 'Gates and Keys of Joy', read on:

VESSEL

The lavender flowers left wall is a garden shot I took at LA’s Getty Museum.

The Italian marble ceiling is a few inches of wall at the Getty Museum.
(As a child, I loved visiting east coast caverns filled with stalactites and stalagmites.

Do I live partially underground, although my window view is to wild life?)

(See PS BLUE ceiling version #2 and anecdote below, with ceiling of Blue Ripples. I made those ripples and photograhed them when I moved my body in pool of friend and life-guard, 89 years young Edith.)

The amethyst right wall is a bit of gorgeous huge purple amethyst geode I shot at Washington DC's Natural History Museum.

The pink mums floor is a curbside street garden that I photographed. 

My loving sister Faye waited for me after I made a U turn for pink photo, and was with me for all the shots when I knew I would use them as textures in my upcoming explorations. College friend from sixties, Suzanne, was also at Getty with us celebrating Faye's birthday.

JOYOUS CONTENTS

The blue ripple partial view table top was shot at my life guard, Edith's, swimming pool. (I swam in the unheated pool until last wee moment-- the middle of October!)

The matzeivah / gravestone is husband Marcel's, z"l, and I placed it on top of the table and the water because it was the correct ‘Illustrator vector’ table shape! Marcel also loved water sports and here I surround him in water. The blue water on earth reflects the blue light of Heaven.

That UCLA medical visor on the matzeivah, is from the 1988 brain surgery when I stood vigil for three months for the first of all his two dozen cancer surgeries.
After Marcel died from 18 years of cancer, and after deeply mourning, I was able to return to my soul, active in my arts world. 
"There is no place like home" and home is where the soul resides, one filled with joy, which I reclaimed. "Fantasy Room" represents my joy.  (I'm grateful I could create this art collage.)

The double Torah bookshelves (with Reb Shlomo's, z"l, photo I shot), are from one of my bookcases. I encased filled shelves in a wall case.

Today is 16 Cheshvan 5772, the 17th secular yahrzeit of Reb Shlomo Carlebach.

The little blue velvet Torah on shelf, daughter Aviva and I made, in her A.J. Heschel Day School kindergarten class.

The red pomegranates in New Year's card (painting on left wall) and on sukkah ceiling as skhach/greens decoration, I photographed in my spiritual friend Gilla's garden.

The vessels of sounds, Sounds of Joy, are some of the percussion instruments I play; some purchased around the world or had created for me. You see my three favorite Remo timbrels-- frame drums that I perform on all the time; and solo African djembe that I play for two decades, and some of my other drums.

(Paulo Mattioli, obm, my wonderful drum teacher, made that beautiful “cadillac” djembe for me. He died this week, Oct. 22, 2011.)

The Tibetan singing bowls I brought home from Tibet, and I play them and the Woman gong in sound spa healing journey meditations that I offer.

(I love my WOMAN gong. It used to only say "WUHAN" until I painted it. This Sunday I play gong at Women’s Drum Day.)
All these instruments (garments of my soul) pave the way from my soul, along the path of my joy.

The pottery from my ceramics era few decades ago (those that survived the Northridge E Quake) sit in front of my fireplace and coffee table and here, under the table.

Photo of me with large hand-made timbrel I brought home from Morocco, is shot by Sarah Barash at the Lev Eisha women’s pre-Pesach Seder.

Who/what did I neglect to mention? Why?  (Gee, should I have implanted also in the room, an Apple computer with Adobe's CS5 program?)

WINDOW TO THE WORLD

AFRICAN landscape is composed of individual animals I either photographed—i.e. garden lizard, or were images I found, 'layer-masked' cleaned and placed separately. I added the happy hot air balloon ride for Oz Wizard.  
Do we need to soar above for a better view of self and beyond, or only go ‘inside’?  

(I rode a fun balloon in Sedona with Marcel, z'l, and could happily see my soaring reflection on distant mountains.)
Africa is my view, my vision, and has a relationship to my music. (See my djembe.) I always thought that some of my prior lives had been in Africa. (My kids just returned from their volunteer work in Uganda.)

I added red curtains because I thought that was a good color idea for the window.
Curtains at a window seem to be realistic for the outdoors' world.

GREETING WALL ART

The framed PATH collage on left wall: the double rainbow in yellow sky, I shot in my garden, in pure joy on the New Year 5772.

I created pomegranate trees on both sides of the 'path' which I had cloned in Photoshop.

May our mitzvot be as numerous as the 613 seeds in a pomegranate.

In the framed Path collage on left wall, is my spiritual friend, Rinala, sitting on ground with her shofar for the High Holidays. I have created for her, a basket of red ripe pomegranates.

The Chareidi Chassid at the other far end of the ‘trail’, leads us to Torah. 
The Chareidi Chassid could be my rebbe, Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen, zt'l.

Truth of the Chassid and Rinala, the shofar sitter, represents the real life topical tension between the Orthodox man and (at times, Orthodox woman) the Renewal Jewish woman (representing me) with ritual object. (Rina is one of my Hebrew names.) I have them at either end of the same trail, a path towards Torah. Feminism and Orthodoxy don't blend well, yet both are filled with mitzvot, as many as a pomegranate. 

Can we all sit together in shalom, in the Sukkah? And in the Room? 
Do our religious styles have to separate us?

The simple Chinese water boy is hydrating the international ‘path walkers’. 

'Water is Torah', and nourishing me. 
My singing bowls I bought in Tibet, China.

I have a message, a greeting for you: Shana Tova.

More of greeting (not visible) had wished us Shalom, world peace, and “May Peace Prevail.”
(They are important to me because I met the original importer of The Peace Poles.)

FRENCH DOORS

I add open French doors to invite and lead us into the sukkah.
(I wanted the technological artistic challenge of adding another 'room' to the Room.)

A small amethyst mezuzah with a Hebrew letter "Shin" is on the open French door lintel.

Guess how I made the mezuzah!  OK, hint: Mezuzah is out of amethyst wall.

SUKKAH

* What do the Wizard of Oz friends teach us?  So much...
Do we need to travel outside to Oz, to clearly see truth and self?

I framed the OZ ushpizin looking into the Sukkah/their soul, and through the window that I created for them/us. 

(Miriyahm HaNeviah, timbrel player, is always invited to my sukkah.)
In the past, I invited Miriyahm as guest into the sukkah of an Orthodox rabbi, and he never again invited me for Sukkot.

To be one of the ushpizin, I invite my beloved Jerusalem chareidi Reb Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen, zt'l. He transitioned, 27 Elul 5771. His shloshim is this week as we end Sukkot.

Marcel, Aviva and I used to build a sukkah each year and dwell within it. I invite Marcel’s neshamah to visit with us. 

I always invite Marcel to be where he had not been, where he would not go, now that the 'veils' and boundaries are no longer present for him.

The sukkah is set for a traditional holiday kiddush.  

I add more pomegranates to the roof as skhach decoration. 

Are we more vulnerable to truth (without our possessions) in the fragile Sukkah?

The biggest tech challenge of this Joyous ROOM and SUKKAH, was getting the whole project into spatially correct “one point” perspective-- fantasy and all. 
Process: I used Adobe Illustrator to set up my empty room line “vectors”... oy, and then transferred the barren room to Photoshop.

Thank you for visiting my Room.

If you have any thoughts, do please share them.

I love hearing from you.

BlesSings to you for a sweet new year, Shana Tova, filled with health and joy, and all you desire-- just like the Tin Man, Lion and Scarecrow. Remember to look within, and talk to the Compassionate One, and stay true to your soul.

Love, 
JOY

click on art to enlarge.

PS

Blue Version #2

Oops, my 'life guard' Edith thought that the Room's ceiling would be better off, not as Getty Italian marble in Version #1, but as the swimming pool water ripples that are created when I swim in her pool, so... take a look at version #2, and you decide, and let me know. 

Edith loved the ripply wet look of the Summer 2010 Chinese Olympic swimming pool ceiling, and I agree. Did I succeed with my ceiling? I kept my camera dry!  
Marcel's matzeivah reflects the swimming pool blues.

JOY's Fantasy Pool ROOM & SUKKAH

photos and collage © Joy Krauthammer 

"There's no place like home."

~ ~ ~

PS
That's me with my giant Moroccan timbrel sitting on the Tree of Life painting.

Here's a tiny peek into my beginning process: my very first Illustrator vector drawing:
I had to learn to transform my Illustrator A-1 image into a PDF and then jpg.

Enjoy
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