Morasha School’s artist-in-residence program was created to expose our students to professional Jewish artists and their mediums and to expand our visual representations of our school’s guiding Jewish values. Working with Hebrew Union College and the Jewish Day School for the 21st Century project (JDS21), we selected ten values that we integrate into every aspect of our school. Our values include kehillah, chinukh, tikkun olam, menschlichkeit, Eretz Yisrael, klal Yisrael, tefillah, emunah, kavod, and halakhot u-minhagim.
Our collaboration with San Diego artist Viviana Lombrozo culminated our JDS21 experience. Every student, parent, faculty member, administrator, and lay leader of Morasha contributed to the creation of ten murals, each representing one of our guiding Jewish values. We studied Jewish texts and then utilized drawing, expository writing, poetry, micrography, tear midrash (in which children tear shapes out of colored paper and glue them onto white paper to create a picture), iconography, photography, and personal reflection. Ms. Lombrozo then gathered all of our work and let it inspire her to create the murals. All ten murals hang in our sanctuary where they are not only inspiring to look at, but also serve as educational tools for our students to continue to study our values.
The artist-in-residence program grew to become a special part of our sixth grade program. As the graduating class, their art becomes a gift and a legacy for the school. Two years in a row, we worked with world-renowned Jewish photographers, Zion Ozeri and Bill Aron. Our students had the unique opportunity to view Mr. Ozeri’s and Mr. Aron’s photographs, to learn about the Jewish communities depicted and the values demonstrated in their beautiful pictures. They also learned about the art of photography. With instant cameras in hand, the sixth graders set out to photograph their own pictures of the values living in their own community. Our professional photographers worked with them and helped them select their best pictures. The students then explained in writing and with Jewish texts the sentiments and values of their photographs. Our Jewish Values photography exhibit is now a permanent fixture at Morasha School.
Viviana Lombrozo joined us again to work with our next sixth grade class. This creative project involved story writing and illustration. Each student selected a value that they wished to explore and they wrote their own children’s story that teaches a lesson about that value. Viviana helped the children visualize their story through art and taught them how to publish their work. We created our own books, sewn by hand, and illustrated in color.
Most recently, we “visualized” the value of tikkun olam through the art of song. Renowned Jewish musician and songwriter Dan Nichols spent time with the class of 2007. We studied texts of Heschel, Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, and Lurianic Kabbalah to explore our personal relationship to the world and how we can repair it through our good deeds. After much discussion, Dan collaborated with the students and they put their thoughts to music and created a song called “Shomrei Ha’adamah” (Guardians of the Earth). The class performed their song at their graduation ceremony and we continue to teach the song to our younger students.
Not only do our artists-in-residence bring their unique talents and insights to share with our students, they also greatly appreciate our efforts to use artistic mediums to express our Jewish values. Each artist connects with Judaism in a unique way and shares his or her personal journey with our students. In the short time they spend with our students, they bond with them and create relationships that enhance our students’ experience. Our professional artists encourage the children to be expressive and deliberate in their process. When the graduates present their final projects as a graduation gift to the school, they do so with pride knowing that they are giving a gift that is an expression of themselves and what they learned at Morasha.
Eve Fein, the head of school at Morasha, is responsible for bringing the artist-in-residence program and the artists to our students. Her unique vision to represent our values through art led her to make connections with Jewish artists interested in working with children. Eve explains that she has several criteria for choosing artists for our school: they all value collaboration, are committed to Judaism and knowledgeable, and they are creative with texts and ritual. We have been fortunate that most artists are willing to donate their time to work with our students and they understand the important impact of the project on our school as a whole. The program has been so successful that it is now a line item in our annual budget to cover material costs and some of the artists’ costs as necessary.
As the Judaic studies director, I am responsible to work hand in hand with our artists and coordinate their efforts with our students. Each artist has his or her own style. I let them guide me, and I act as facilitator when they are working with the students. I often help with the text study and communicate regularly with the artists regarding scheduling time with the children, pieces of the project that are done before and in between the artists’ visits, and culminating events. I am so impressed with the artists’ willingness to work with young people, to help them produce their best work, and their desire to get to know each child. It has been a joy for me to get to know these talented professionals. I always learn as much as the children!
This year our artist is Jewish environmentalist Gabe Goldman. He is working with our class of 2008 to create a garden. This unique work of living art will be the class’s legacy and one that we will all be able to contribute to as we guard and tend it in the coming years.
We are very proud of our program. The end result is not only wonderful art produced by our students, but a lasting legacy of the importance of our Jewish values as well as wonderful relationships with our very talented and generous professional artists. ♦
Robin Hoffman is the Judaic Studies Director at the Morasha Jewish Day School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. She can be reached at rhoffman@morasha.org.
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