When I wore a tallit (prayer shawl) for the first time it felt uncomfortable, like I was wearing my father’s overcoat. A little too big, too masculine and not mine. If I wanted to wear a tallit it should be made for me. But what would my tallit look like? What symbols would it use and what story would it tell?

Using history as a guide, I have created tallitot that are inspired by the four cornered robes worn by priests in biblical times and designed using vintage apron patterns from the 20th century.

My series of spiritual mivehot (ritual baths) also use history as a guide. Constructed from fabric to create a new water ritual, they are used when getting to an actual mikveh is not possible or desired. The artwork creates a personal, sacred space out of fabric to mark life-changing events by acknowledging that moment in time when you are alone with God. Prayers are recited that ask, plead and thank God for the strength and understanding to emerge from the water renewed.

It is in the frame of mind that I continue to create work, be it a spiritual mikveh, a tallit, a community wimple (binder) or something new. My interests lie in the combination of history and  tradition with modern ideas about Judaism. Not only do I look to traditional Jewish rituals and texts to inform my work but am also equally inspired by traditional women’s hand work and crafts. There is a deep connection between how I work with fabric, the methods I use to sew, quilt, embroider and dye and what my mother, grandmothers and great-grandmothers did. My work is a means of connecting my story as a woman with my story as a Jew.

 

RACHEL KANTER, 2020