With the arrival of the Stigliano tribe in Szczebrzeszyn, an informal gathering of after-dinner “Sketching with Friends” began. We took turns modelling for each other. Here you can see some of the resulting attempts to capture the likenesses on paper.
-Matt Jeffs
The final workshop has begun! It is taking place in the city of Wrocław in western Poland. The group is happy to be back here, having painted in Wrocław for three weeks last summer. The White Stork Synagogue is a beautiful place to work, and a perfect setting for the documentary film of the Gwozdziec reconstruction project, produced by Trillium Studios, which is currently being shot (thanks to many wonderful Kickstarter donors)!
The Synagogue was built originally in 1829, designed by the well-known Prussian architect Karl Ferdinand Langhans. It is three stories high with two interior balconies, previously used as the women’s galleries, overlooking the main prayer hall. The White Stork Synagogue, named for an inn that previously existed at the site, was not completely destroyed by the Nazis during the war. Although the interior was ruined during Kristallnacht, the building structure survived, and was used by the Jewish population for a time after the war. After many Jewish people were forced to leave Wrocław by the communist anti-Semitic campaign in 1968, the building continued to fall into disrepair. Finally, in 1996, the Synagogue was returned to the Wrocław Jewish population. At this point, renovations began which were later finished under the support and direction of the Bente Kahan Foundation. It is currently an active synagogue, concert venue and cultural center.
Aside from final details on panels that were painted in previous workshops, two main features of the ceiling remain to be completed in this workshop. Two more coves, just like the ones we developed and painted in Sejny, will be finished here. The lantern, which makes up the very top of the ceiling structure will also be painted. The lantern presents a unique challenge as it will remain assembled while it is painted.
Group photo in Szczebrzeszyn with the south dome and two triangles.
We are very sad to say goodbye to the group 4 participants, lead by Chuck and Stephanie Stigliano. We had a great time working with these guys in Szczebrzeszyn! They left this morning for Krakow, where they will spend a few days before flying home. The painting leaders are putting finishing touches on the south dome panels before moving to Wroclaw for the final workshop!!
Last Thursday, our entire group (35 people!) loaded into a bus and headed to the opening of the Gwozdziec Reconstruction exhibition in the Warsaw Royal Castle. Dome and Zodiac panels that were completed last summer, along with a model of the synagogue, were on display in the Castle’s Kubciki Arcades, where they will be until July 31st. They look beautiful and it was wonderful to be there as they were presented to the public for the first time. Many people attended the opening, among them the director of the Royal Castle, the director of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, ambassadors to Poland from the United States, Israel and Canada, and the Oscar winning Polish film director Andrzej Wajda. A very special guest was Maria Piechotka, who, along with her husband Kazimierz, wrote Heaven’s Gate: Wooden Synagogues in the Territory of the Former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. We refer to Maria and Kazimierz Piachotka as the mother and father of this project; the research presented in their writings is a compilation of the information about Wooden Synagogues that was gathered before the second World War by the Warsaw Technological Institute. Together, they are largely responsible for the survival of knowledge regarding this specific architectural tradition. It was an honor to present Maria with a panel, painted by Emily White, of a lion from the lower east wall.
My name hangs
like a pendant
in the necklace of generations.
Link after link of h & n
Helena is Hannah is Hebrew for Grace
threaded through slavic cities
washed anew in the mikvah
to shine, a red squall between
my mother’s legs.
A name is heavy to carry
down the wide
hopeful avenue of tomorrow
and light, after so many repetitions
so many prayers.
It dodges
the fluid borders
of seven countries,
collects the patina
of a Polish song,
“The Lovely Helena”
is whistled
on the corner,
hands in pockets.
In dangerous times
it is a hiding
place of a name.
Burn a hole in the map of Warsaw
look through the ash circle
you cannot see
the flamed soul
of Hannah
my grandmother,
wearing her
grandmother’s name
singing my name to me.
Everyday I cast
off her hungry voice
answer to my
name, bear
my light
ablaze in the eye.
My name is heave to carry,
and light,
after so many repetitions
so many prayers.
-Helena Lipstadt
October 5th 2010
The Necklace refers to the Jewish tradition of naming a child in honor of a deceased relative.
Helena Lipstadt is the author of two poetry chapbooks “Leave Me Signs” and “If My Heart Were a Desert.” She is named after both of her grandmothers, Hannah and Adel.
Currently, she is joining our group for the painting workshop in Szczebrzeszyn. A few days ago, she shared this poem with us during our morning gathering.
The method of mixing paint for the Gwozdziec Synagogue ceiling is as traditional as the synagogue itself. Since there were no tubes of paint, all the paint was made by hand. As many students flow in and out of different workshops we are all taught the traditional methods. Learning the process is interesting, fun and very rewarding at the end. After completing the process of mixing the pigments and mixing paint, everyone has a new found appreciation for the value of the paint and the entire project.
Pigments
The process of mixing paint from start to finish is very precise in all the measurements and techniques. For any color that needs to be made there is a recipe that has been determined through studies over the last 10 years the project has been running. The process begins with measuring out how much of each pigment is required for the color. Measuring is a very careful task because the pigment must be as even and level as possible to ensure consistent colors are being made. Once all the pigments are measured out, the blending process begins with using a palette knife to mix together the dry pigments. After the colors are blended, water is added and the pigments get ground down with a muller on glass. Grinding is a crucial part of creating paint. It ensures that all the particles are broken down and blended together. The ideal consistency to have when mixing the pigments is tooth-paste like. The grinding process is usually gone through twice before the pigment is completed and then added to dish that holds that color.
Paint ground with a muller
Smoothing out the consistency of the paint
To create the paint, the pigment must be added to the rabbit skin glue, the traditional glue that was originally used which allowed the paint to stick to the boards. The rabbit skin glue is made from pellets that soak in water over night and then are heated to a warm bath temperature. Each color has a different ratio of pigment to glue that has been determined through the hard work of Rick, Laura and the painting leaders. By following the ratio and thoroughly mixing the glue and pigment you are ready to paint!
-Post by Emma Hauer, a student at Massachusetts College of Art.
The fourth workshop of the 2012 Gwozdziec Synagogue ceiling painting project is underway in a section of Poland known as the Lublin Uplands. This region of South Eastern Poland is characterized by gently rolling farmlands interspersed by large tracts of woodlands. The survival of much of the remaining natural beauty of this area can trace its roots back to 1589 when the founder of Zamosc, Jan Zamoyski created an enclosed game reserve where the indigenous species enjoyed life relatively free of human intervention. The area remained a reserve for over 350 years. In 1974 a National Park was created that presently covers over 32 square miles including many towns and villages.
The backbone of this area consists of limestone deposits divided by valleys filled with post glacial sands, it lies along the borders of the continental divisions defined by the sediments of the older Eastern European platform meeting the younger Western Europe formations. Still geologically active, it is rising by nearly 2mm per year.
The limestone perhaps plays an important part in the unique ecological diversity of the Roztocze Park. Over 750 species of vascular plants make up the vegetation covering the hills and valleys. Dominant plants include fir, spruce, pine, beech, oak and linden. Some of the largest Fir trees in Poland are to be found here as well as over 400 “nature monument” trees. The lessor flora are represented by hundreds of species of wild flowers, mosses and grasses filling a wide variety of biological niches. The animal kingdom is no less represented. Polish ponies have been reinstated in the park, grey wolves, red fox, Eurasian badger, wild boar and two species of deer abound, beaver have been reintroduced and there are around 190 species of birds.
Farmland in the Roztocze national park
Our own experiences in the park were highlighted by walks along meandering streams, a visit to a small skansen (open air ethnographic museum) and a very relaxing kayak trip down a small river running through lush meadows, interrupted only by a stop at a small riverside café offering piwo (cold Polish beer) and kielbasa. A back road led us past a wonderful yard spilling over with folk art sculptures of deer, storks and Jesus figures. The ensuing conversation with no common language made for a very entertaining afternoon hosted by an entire family of multiple generations.
Carving above a door in the Skansen
Traditional thatched roof wooden house from East Central Poland
Folk art critter
Handshouse olympic kayaking team
-Post by Jim Kricker
