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September 22, 2000/22 Elul 5760, Vol. 52, No.55
Artist's 'Aish' ignites directory
LEISAH NAMM
Staff Writer
"Aish," the colorful creation on the cover of the Community Directory 2001, is the work of artist Léa Gracer of Sedona.
The Hebrew letters "Aish" (fire), alef and shin, are concealed in the piece, as well as images of "fire," created out of red ribbons, metallic foil, and weavings of straw.
"For me there's a feeling in the piece of spirit; there's a lot of movement," she says.
Gracer started the piece on a loom to warp the threads that hold the piece together. To add dimension, she stuffed pieces of fabric and sewed the ends together.
She then added fabric strips, hand-dyed yarn, paint, metallic foil, straw, glass drops and ribbons to invoke a feeling "of spirit, movement, transformation (and) pure energy."
Before starting a new piece of artwork, Gracer often draws inspiration from a biblical passage.
For "Aish," she reflected on a passage about God leading the Hebrews out of Egypt: "The Lord went before them in a pillar of cloud by day, to guide them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, that they might travel day and night." (Exodus 14:21)
For several years, Gracer incorporated colors, textures and symbols, such as a child's name, into pieces commissioned by interior designers and other clients.
However, she says her new method now gives her "the opportunity to express some of my inner life." Before making a piece, she chooses a holy word or an idea from the Bible that she wants to explore.
"As I'm making the piece, I'll talk to people about it or I'll be meditating on it," she says. "This has been really exciting for me for my pieces to generate meaning. Which for a long time, they didn't. They had meaning in just the experience of them, but (not) a specific message."
Gracer, 42, begin weaving when she was 8. After receiving a bachelor's degree in biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz, she turned back to her first love, art, and she studied at Pacific Basin School of Textile Design in Berkeley, Calif.
After her father's death, Gracer moved to Phoenix in 1984 to help with her parents' business, Estelle, a manufacturer of women's handwoven of multicolored yarns and ribbons clothing. It was at this time she developed the type of artwork that was eventually used for "Aish."
"I began to integrate these different materials on a loom, and I've always thought to have as many different textures and mediums as possible in one weaving," she says. "I always like contrast, like soft against hard, and I've always liked surprises."
Her mom, Estelle Gracer, lives in the Valley and belongs to Temple Beth Israel.
Léa Gracer lives in Sedona with her husband, physician Lester Adler, and works in her home studio.
Her work will be featured Oct. 14-15 at the Sedona Arts Festival.
"Aish" is on display at the Sylvia Plotkin Judaica Museum at Temple Beth Israel, 10460 N. 56th St., Scottsdale.
It sells for $500.
Another piece is at Mikvah Chaya Mushka, 2110 E. Lincoln Drive, Phoenix.
For information about Gracer's work, call 520-282-1215.
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