YaelsBlog

Lets start writing

yaelzm — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 15:29:55 +0000

Hi all, Have not been here in a while. Social media is playing a part in most of what used to be written in a blog, at list this one. I decided to use this blog for what it was originally meant to be, for writing, mostly fiction. I will do my best, see how my writing goes, to upload my artwork and write something about it. It can be description of a figure, a short story about her/him, or anything that comes to mind. The idea is to practice my writing, because I love writing, and it suppose to take more of a central place in my creative process. The following is what I wrote about my painting “The Storyteller.” (Collage and acrylic on a 36″/91.5 cm x 48″/ canvas,) I can write probably endless stories, by just looking at one painting. So, the story you will see here has nothing to do with the title of the painting. I write originally in Hebrew and then translate to English, not to loose the richness of my writing abilities for a language that I love and appreciate, but am not fluent in. This specific story is influenced by a book my mother Michal Zahavy wrote and published recently about her parents journey from Europe to Israel, and about their lives in the harsh land of Israel around world war two. The title of the book is “Alone on The Hill,” לבד על הגבעה. I am dedicating this one to her, and her magical abilities to write. Love you mom.

זה הכל במבט, הצמא, הכמה, הגאה. בשפתיים הפשוקות שעוזרות לעיניים לחפש. משהו בה שיקף מציאות שונה, של מתיישבים ראשונים, בארץ אוכלת יושביה, ארץ שבחומה לא מתפשרת, ארץ שהחלב והדבש בה טבע מחיר לא פעם.

היא לא הראשונה שמגיעה לבדה. את המשפחה השאירה אי שם בניכר, עקשנים כשיהיו, סרבנים לאמת הצורבת המרה, של רדיפות ואיומי מוות. אבל היא שראתה במו עינייה שהמין האנושי מסוגל לו, היא עדיין זוכרת את הזכוכיות המפוזרות, הזעקות שוברות הלב, ורעש הכדור האחד שחדר בשר, חדר לב, שיתק עיניים שכבר לא יספרו, לא יחוו. שיתק עולם. לא אחד נפגע, הדם ניגר וחדר כל סמטה, כל אבן, השחיר את המרצפות וחדר עמוק עמוק להכרת הלב

ימיה הראשונים היו זרים, מנוכרים, נעליים אירופאיות מדדות על אדמה חרוכה. כל שהתאמצה, לא עלה בידייה להשיל את מעיל הארופאיות הכבדה, הפרוותית, המפנקת. זו שהייתה רגילה לה מאז שנולדה.

בעינייה ראתה את הוריה, ישובים תחת הנברשת שאביה כל כך אהב. בתור ילדה זכרה איך הסתכלה על הקריסטאלים בפליאה, מחפשת לגעת בנוצץ, בעיקר כשהשמש יצרה אין סוף קשתות. הספה הפרחונית תחת הציור הגדול עם מסגרת הזהב, השטיח והכלב האהוב עם הכתם הלבן על המצח. את כולם השאירה איי שם, ועכשיו עובר בה הצורך לעוד חיבוק מאבא, שכבר כנראה לא תראה עוד. היא יודעת, היא לא טיפשה, בגלל זה היא כאן.

רגשות האשם מחלחלים, אולי אם הייתי יותר עיקשת הם היו במקום בטוח עכשיו, אבל לעתיד יש תוכנית משלו.

The story was told through her eyes; the longing for home, the thirst for connection, the wounded pride. She found herself in an unkind land of heat and humidity. The land of milk and honey, that was idealized in so many stories back home, was harsh, and demanded a cruel price for survival. Her warm feelings for that small country that was being built, where losing there grip in her reality. She felt lost here. She was not the first one to step through the gates of loneliness all by herself.

She left her whole family behind, in a far away land, stubborn as they were, insubordinate to the burning-bitter truth of persecution and death. She saw the human races’ capacity for cruelty and betrayal of life. She remembered the broken glass, the broken hearted screams, the sound of one bullet that penetrated flesh, invaded a heart, paralyzed eyes that will never tell their story again. It wasn’t just one heart that stopped beating that night. Blood invaded every alley, every stone, blackened the gray tiles and penetrated deeply into the conciseness of every beating heart.

Her first days in a new land were foreign, unfamiliar. High-heels stumble on dry unpaved land. As much as she tried, she could not manage to take off Europe’s coat; the heavy, soft, and comfortable. How she ached for her parents. The flowery sofa under the big painting with the golden frame. The chandelier, she loved so as a child; the sparkle, the sound, the rainbows. Her memories kept her sane. She wished she could sit by the fireplace with her dog, feeling his white fur on her face, gentle and big, enjoying together the warmth of the heavy carpet.

She left them all behind, and now she wished she could be embraced by her father, whom she will probably never see again. She knew that her choice to live was the reason she was here. Her guilt was sinking in. If she was more stubborn, they would be in a safer place now. But the future has it’s own plans.

WRITING ON THE WALL” AT WOMEN PAINTERS OF WASHINGTON GALLERY

yaelzm — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 22:38:24 +0000

How Much Love Is In A Drop Of Paint, Artwork by the artist Yael Zahavy-Mittelman

New Women Painters of Washington artshow

“WRITING ON THE WALL” AT WOMEN PAINTERS OF WASHINGTON GALLERY

Please join me to the Opening Reception:Thursday April 6th, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm

Show will be in the gallery: Tue, Apr 4, 2017- Fri, Jun 30, 2017

Women Painters of Washington Gallery
701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 310
Seattle 98104

Hope to see you there,
Yael Zahavy-Mittelman

YaelsArt.com

My Solo Artshow in Edmonds, WA

yaelzm — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 19:16:54 +0000

The EAFF gallery at the Frances Anderson Center.

18 Artworks on display. A celebration of stories in colors. The show is up and running. Darlene McLellan did an amazing curating job, and the show is beautiful. I am going to be there, for artist meet and greet Thursday November 17th 5:00pm-7:00pm; December 1st 5:00pm-7:00pm; December 7th 12:00pm-3:00pm, and December 13, 5:00pm-7:00pm. Please join me to talk about art. Feel free to call me if you cannot make these dates and want to meet me on a different date. (206) 601-2314.
Hope to see you all there,
Yael

A Solo Artshow of My Work in Edmonds, WA

yaelzm — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 21:25:07 +0000

I want to invite you to a solo artshow of my artwork
at The EAFF Gallery.
November 2nd to December 14th 2016.
Mon – Fri: 9am-9pm & Sat: 10am-3pm closed Sundays

The Frances Anderson Center
700 Main Street, Edmonds, WA
To see more of my artwork please visit www.YaelsArt.com
Enjoy art,
Yael Zahavy-Mittelman

yaelzm — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 20:24:35 +0000

Women Artists Coast to Coast: West
Collaboration between the Women Painters of Washington and the National Association of Women Artists
October 13, 2016 – January 11, 2017
Pictures from show opening
Location: Washington Convention Center (705 Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101)

Women Painters of Washington at The Convention Center Seattle

yaelzm — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 17:59:52 +0000

The spinning of time, Yael Zahavy-Mittelman

Women Painters of Washington and
The National Association of Women artists present:

Women Artists Coast to Coast: West

October 13, 2016 – January 11, 2017
Washington State Convention Center, Seattle WA
705 Pike St. Seattle, WA 98101
Opening Reception 5:00-8:00 pm October 13th
(Cash bar available, light snacks provided)

Visual Impressions at Ryan James gallery in Kirkland

yaelzm — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 19:44:21 +0000

My art is going to be part of a show at Ryan James gallery in Kirkland. Please join me to Opening Reception
April 14th 5-10p
The show Visual Impressions will be up April 7-30th
Love,
Yael

An article about me and my art by AARON KUNKLER, Bothell Reporter

yaelzm — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 19:05:00 +0000

Abstract artist creates conversations in Bothell

Yael Zahavy-Mittelman is an abstract artist based in Bothell.

— Image Credit: Aaron Kunkler/Bothell Reporter

by AARON KUNKLER, Bothell Reporter Reporter
Feb 3, 2016 at 8:47AM

For those unaccustomed to abstract art, Yael Zahavy-Mittelman has an exercise she uses to initiate them. The Bothell-based artist instructs newcomers to close their eyes and imagine a black or white canvas, and then place colored lines on it. Add some shapes, and finally patches of colors, rearrange them again and again, and you have the basis for a world that the artist works in.

“What I’m doing as an abstract artist, I’m really dealing with lines, shapes, patches of color,” she said, standing in her basement, walls lines with dozens of works of art leaning against mattresses. “Abstract is a new world, it’s the only way an artist can really express what’s inside them,” she said.

Her paintings range in size from small, 12-by-12 inch works to massive canvases covered in vibrant colors, wandering white lines, obscured human figures and loaded with stories.

Largely, Zahavy-Mittelman said her works flow naturally, often times themes and ideas appear in them, but she hopes her paintings are an opening line rather than the final word.

“I would like people to have a conversation about art,” she said. “It’s an invitation for a conversation.”

Her work has been featured from New York to Israel, and regionally from the Seattle Convention Center to art galleries in Bellevue and Monroe and beyond.

Since she was a girl, Zahavy-Mittelman has been surrounded by art, as her mother is an artist too. She said she started drawing with chalk before moving on to paint.

“Art was all around me because the walls were covered in my mother’s art,” she said. Zahavy-Mittelman received a masters in art therapy from George Washington University, and has worked at area hospitals before retiring for health reasons.

Now, she has made art, and raising her three children a full-time career, with her husband Sharon Mittelman.

“I don’t stop working,” she said. “Either doing the art, or doing the shows.”

From her art studio on the second floor of their home, she also gives lessons.

With her art’s focus on interpretation and conversation, she hopes to not only guide children artistically, but to expose them to a complicated world she says cannot be boiled down to strict lines of “black” and “white.”

“If I could, in their young minds, (get them) to consider the idea that there is way beyond what they’re taught,” she said.

As for her own work, Zahavy-Mittelman’s older pieces are generally color-based, with the aforementioned lines, shapes and colors taking the lead and generally, as she describes it, painting themselves.

“Any element in the painting would look completely different if you eliminate any part of it,” she said.

Over the years, she has used various techniques ranging from paint throwing, to including old jewelry sent by her family in Israel in her works.

Currently, she’s using canvas with rectangular insets, collage, jewelry and ink drawing to create intricate pieces, with many smaller “stories” contributing to the overall piece.

“It has to have a bit of everything, because that’s what makes a good story,” she said.

Zahavy-Mittelman said she hopes her art creates a space for people to think about the world.

“It’s something to inspire your day, to think about it differently,” she said. “It’s not an image that somebody puts a spoon to your mouth, you have to think about it.”

Her art can be viewed at yaelsart.com, or by personal viewings at her home. All her pieces are also for sale, she said.

As for creating art, Zahavy-Mittelman said anyone can do it.

“You don’t need to be an artist to do art,” she said. “It’s always your own version.”

Yael’s art can be seen at the Northwest Collage Society 2016 Open Winter Shop at the Washington State Convention Center until March 26, the Saaski Gallery in Monroe from Feb. 4 through 8 and the EarthenWorks gallery in Laconner.

AARON KUNKLER, Bothell Reporter Reporter
akunkler@bothell-reporter.com or 425-318-7651

to see link http://www.bothell-reporter.com/news/367524491.html

Northwest Collage Society at the Convention Center

yaelzm — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 18:43:27 +0000

Please join me to a wonderful collage show at the

Washington State Convention Center - Seattle, WA

Opening Reception & Awards: Thursday, Feb. 11 – 7pm

Show dates: January 16 – March 26, 2016

Parklane Gallery Winter Show of Small Works December 2015

yaelzm — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 18:15:42 +0000

Art Show opening was wonderful. Thanks for all that came and enjoined the artwork.