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Page B14 M cjnews.com › November 1, 2012
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The Canadian Jewish news
Artist marks his work with pomegranate motif
Sybil Kaplan
Special to The CJN
Go into any gift shop in Jerusalem
and the pomegranate design is
there on hamsas, jewelry boxes,
salt and pepper shakers, matchbox covers,
keychains, evening bags, wall hangings,
varied embroidered items, and
myriad religious items. They are the distinguishable
mark of an Israeli artist.
In the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem,
in an alley off Yad Harutzim 6, at the
end, and up some stairs through a blue
painted door is the showroom, storage
area, workroom and office of Yair Emanuel.
The rather shy, ordinary Israeli man
in his 40s is wearing slacks and a longsleeve
collarless shirt. Despite his subdued
appearance, his work has made
him rather popular.
“I don’t want to think who is buying
and where are my things,” he said. “If I
think about it, I will feel too proud of myself.”
And so one gets an immediate impression
of a very talented, humble man.
He describes his style as “a combination
of all the new, mostly Judaica which
is old, but I make it new and happy, not
heavy, like silver. It doesn’t look serious,”
he says.
He does the graphics by hand on paper,
and then he scans them onto the
computer where he does the measurements.
After that, he makes the actual
item.
“First we paint the wood with white
for background, then I draw an outline
on the white, then I paint inside the lines.
Finally, we put on varnish,” he said.
Emanuel’s signature pomegranate motif on a dish
The embroidery is one of three types.
“One is hand embroidery on painted
cloth. Another is computer embroidery.
The third is applique where we cut out
the shape then embroider the patches.”
One of the ways someone could recognize
an Emanuel work is through the
pomegranates.
“It’s a very nice fruit, we bless it on
Rosh Hashanah, and it has a very interesting
shape, like a crown on top. I also
like the color.”
In addition to the wood and embroidered
items, Emanuel has begun a new
style with coloured metal in wine cups,
trivets and hand-washing cups in deep
shades of burgundy, silver, gold, wine
and deep blue. He describes is as sandcast
aluminum.
Emanuel was born into an Orthodox
family 48 years ago in the religious communal
settlement Kibbutz Sha’alavim, 24
kilometres from Jerusalem.
“I had a connection to Judaica from
my family,” he says.
He studied art at the Bezalel Academy
of Arts and Design when it was located
behind the central bus station in
Jerusalem. He later taught art in Mitzpe
Ramon, a town 160 kilometres south of
Jerusalem. Then he started to create art
to sell. In 1990, he made silk paintings by
hand.
“Then I started with other fabrics and
embroidery. I like to make new things.”
In 2004, he saw that the southern
neighborhood of Talpiot was “empty and
cheap,” so he opened his factory and
showroom there. He sells his items from
his showroom for 25 per cent less than in
town. He ships orders as well, and payment
depends on the number of works
purchased.
He has a wife and two children, aged 17
and 19. The 17-year-old son is following
in his father’s artistic footsteps through
studying art in a special high school.
In the future, Emanuel sees himself
continuing as he is. “Every week I make
two to four new designs. I like what I am
doing and I like to make new things.”
A visit to his show room is a delightful
experience and one always finds warm,
welcoming, helpful staff and items beautifully
displayed.
Yair Emanuel creates his own wall hangings.
[Barry A. Kaplan photos]