Life lessons

Chanukah or Hannukah? A few facts about the Holiday of Lights...Chanukah or Hannukah? There's only one way to spell Hanukkah. Unfortunately, it's in Hebrew. When translated to English, the word becomes trickier to express. There's actually no way to spell the guttural "hecht" sound used in the traditional Hebrew pronunciation; Ch and H are the closest we can get. And then there's the issue with the double k's, seemingly added to give the final syllable a little more oomph. The phrase can be spelled Hanukkah, Chanukah, Chanukkah or Hanukah. Menorah or Hanukkiah? Lighting a special, nine-branched candelabrum is the main...

The calendar turns, the season changes and the Jewish New Year begins.  And although the trees have barely started turning color, the nights are getting cooler.   It is the perfect time to take a look inwards.  One thing that I have learned is that if you want something to change you actually have to make changes.  It sounds so simple in theory and yet is so much more difficult to put into action.   For me one example is changes that I wanted to make in my business. There were some pieces that I did not enjoy making.  So when an...

Sara Beames: Reflections on Rituals, Doodahs and Sparkling Inner Lights When did you first know you were an artist?It was always there. When I was 11 I started taking pottery classes at a local studio. In college, I was an Art History major, mainly because it required an abundance of different studio classes. Then I discovered glass at San Francisco State University – both architectural stained glass and blown. That was it, I was hooked. Favorite medium(s) you use to make art?Initially, I worked in stained glass and thought I would focus on architectural glass, but then I started fusing glass....

What comes to mind when you think of the color blue? Is it the sky and the sea? Lapis Lazuli in ancient Egyptian art, delft pottery from Holland, Chinese porcelain, Picasso's blue period, the windows of Chartre Cathedral? In music it is both happy - "Blue skies, nothing but blue skies...", or sad - "I've got a feeling called the blues since my baby said goodbye". It has so many meanings - open spaces, freedom, intuition and imagination, and its more spiritual meanings - loyalty, wisdom, confidence, stability, faith and heaven. And then there is the signifcance beyond meanings that...