Tutnauer seder plate shown at local gallery

Seder Plate by Iris Ezra Tutnauer is on display at the Joanne Rapp Gallery/The Hand and the Spirit in Scottsdale. Photo by Baruch Rimon

The centerpiece of the exhibit is her original, layered Seder Plate, made of silver-plated copper, with inset, hand-blown pyrex-glass saucers for placing the six traditional Passover ceremonial foods.

"For this Seder plate, I chose to use the motif that is most associated with Pesach - matzah. ... The plate is made of matzah-like layers, forming a base for the glass plates," Iris Ezra Tutnauer said. "I tried to convey the atmosphere of simplicity, which typifies the Children of Israel's hasty flight from Egyptian slavery. The layers of the Seder Plate represent the generations of the Jewish people."

The exhibit also includes two mezuzot and a work made-up of metal eggs by Tutnauer.

Iris Ezra Tutnauer lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Roney, and son, Ido. Roney Tutnauer moved to Jerusalem at the age of 12 with his parents - Rabbi Tutnauer and his wife, Margie.

Margie Tutnauer came to Scottsdale for the opening of the exhibit on Dec. 5.

"It was very nice. It was well-attended. A lot of our old friends came," Margie Tutnauer said from Los Angeles, where she was visiting last week and where her daughter-in-law also has some art work on exhibit.

Also at the Joanne Rapp Gallery through Dec. 31 is "Hat Toss: A Celebration of Hats," which is an exhibit of hats created by eight artists.

Exhibits scheduled to be at the gallery Jan. 1-31 include:

• The Rhode Island School of Design/Louis Mueller Curates: Metals Alumni in the north gallery. Mueller and his protégés are known for their use of the geometric form and their experimentation with unusual metal techniques.

• Jackets and Vests, Jan. 1-31, in the south gallery.

• Eileen Troxel's Handmade Handbags, which are crocheted.

• Basketry III, which features "art baskets" made from a wide variety of substances by several different artists.