Thursday, February 7, 2013

Please Do Touch, and Face # 6


A few weeks ago we went to see a theater group from Israel called Nalaga'at Theater.  The name means "Please Do Touch." All of the actors in the company are deaf and blind.  Many of them can't talk because they were deaf from birth, and communicate through interpreters.  The play we saw, Not By Bread Alone, took place during the time it took the cast to make and bake bread.  While the dough was rising, and the bread was baking in ovens on the stage, the cast talked about their hopes, dreams and memories.  At the end of the performance, they invited the audience to come up on stage and shake the actors' hands, and share in the bread.  Without coming onstage and touching them, the performers would not even know we were there!

Here is a brief video, which will give you just a little glimpse of this amazing group of actors:


Not By Bread Alone is about how critical it is to connect to others, even when the normal avenues of communication aren't available.  One of the actors, who was born blind and became deaf at 11, remembered being in his bedroom as a teenager, alone with his thoughts, feeling isolated from the world.  He was used to being in silence and darkness “but this time I was feeling them more than I could bear.  I started wandering around the room. Suddenly I felt the touch of a hand. When someone touches my hand, I can feel that my loneliness starts to disappear.”  Two of his friends had come to take him outside for a walk.  And this small act of connection brought him profound happiness.

This art journal page is inspired by this beautiful performance.  The quote is by Goethe:
To know someone here and there who thinks and feels with us, and though distant, is close to us in spirit,  this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.


I decided to experiment with a monochome portrait, inspired by this post by Ronda Palazzari.  The paper was a blue gelli plate print on paper from an old encyclopedia, that already had the words "here and there" on it.  The blue seemed the perfect color to express the isolation we often feel when we are disconnected from others, and the snowflakes those little touches of connection that make all the difference.  I forgot to take pictures at the start, but here it is before I added the snowflakes and text.  

I often think about the community we visit in Guatemala -- how people seem so much happier than they do here, even though they have so little.  I think this is, in part, because the communities are tightly knit and everyone is so connected. People live with their extended families.  Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and siblings all live right next to each other.  The men work alongside each other, and the women wash their clothes and get their water from the well together.   As the western world has gotten more and more advanced, we have pulled farther and farther apart from each other, both geographically and emotionally, leading to a sometimes depressing sense of isolation.

Who haven't you connected with in a while?  Reach out today.  It makes such a difference.




Thank you for visiting! I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.

34 comments:

  1. I love your words and this post. I have long believed the stuff of our lives has no meaning, it is the connections, in person, we make and cherish. I certainly cherish you friend and this face is somehow so reflective of how the loneliness of no connection surrounds you(the blue) and how the shimmering snowflakes are like brilliant friends who walk through this life with you. xox

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  2. Jessica, this is so moving...brought me to tears. Your tribute is beautiful and touches to the core. Thank you for sharing your experience!

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  3. Today's post has profoundly touched my being, Jessica. First, I find your art to be absolutely amazing for it is filled with soul, if not yours, then that of the images you create. Next, your words about Guatemala, a people much like those of the Dominican Republic where my brother lives. I, too, have often thought how much happier, content and satisfied the Dominicans are on a daily basis, though they have little compared to those of us in more affluent countries. Then, there was that emotion video that tugged at my heart. The actors there to remind us of what we do have, not what they don't have. But, they tell us, too, they are just like us with dreams, desires and drive. Today, I had planned to call my 95yo stepmother to say "happy birthday." Now, I will call her to reach out and touch her and tell her "I love you." Thank you...Kay

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  4. very beautiful! thank you for sharing this performance piece - what is more warm and caring than sharing stories and a fresh loaf of bread with others? really liking your mixed media piece for it's color & composition.~Stephie

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  5. I email with distant cousins in Cuba and sometimes they do seem happier than us here. I am very thankful for the freedoms I have in the US but over there? They all still live in my grandfather's house, they go to the beach after dinner, there are open air movies and in the afternoons, everyone in their small town meet in the plaza. Whereas here? I have no idea who my neighbors are, there is no beach and no meeting of townsfolk in the plaza to relax.

    This page is quite provoking, I love it! Thanks for sharing.

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  6. So powerful. As I sit here working on my computer, seeing with my eyes, and hearing, it makes me appreciate what I have in life. You are so right about the western world being pulled apart. What other countries make their kids go off and be independent and leave the family. Strange when you think of it. Faces are gorgeous.

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  7. Haunting. Love the eyes and skin tones. Will keep these thoughts close.

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  8. Oh Jessica - your post gives me chills. Your page is beautiful and so moving, and the video - wow. I loved every moment of it. Thank you for sharing with us today!

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  9. another great painting..I liked watching the video too

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  10. I love all three of your recent faces - I think this one is my favorite. I love the text and the blues.
    Rinda

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  11. What an amazing post, that must have been incredible to see. People never cease to amaze me. And what fab art too. Happy PPF to you.

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  12. Love this adorable art work and the story, thanks for sharing.
    Wish you a nice weekend,
    hugs Anja

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  13. Beautiful page, the blues are a wonderful color palette for this piece. HPPF!

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  14. a truly moving video and post. I love your monochromatic portrait along with such a meaningful quote. Thank you for sharing.

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  15. Inspiring post, and quote. Fabulous work as well. Thank you for sharing.Happy PPF!

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  16. this post really moved me. i got chills reading it and i got choked watching the video. i can't begin to imagine being both deaf and blind-how it must feel to be locked into a dark silent world. this theatre group is such a wonderful idea both for the actors taking part and for the audience to experience even slightly what their lives are like. inspiring.
    i agree with you on how this modern fast paced western world of ours has us spending more time with gadgets in hand than interracting with actual humans in the same room (she says with gadget in hand!)
    your beautiful portrait and wonderful quote are perfect for this post. thank you for sharing.

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  17. Beautiful work as always Jessica and thank you for sharing your wonderful experiences. Happy PPF, Annette x

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  18. Beautiful post. So much inspiration. I think your monochromatic portrait is stunning - as are your words.

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  19. Great, moving post and a wonderful piece! Love the details and the look of her eyes! <3

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  20. Oh what a beautiful post and moving art to accompany it... indeed we do not live by bread alone... thanks for sharing.

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  21. Lovely post and beautiful face - very appropriate for a snowy snowy day here when we tend to stay at home, hunker down and be very isolated.

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  22. Wonderful post and artwork! Nalaga'at looks very fascinating, great experience! Valerie-Jael

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  23. Ah Jessica, you have a wonderful way with all forms of communication. Thank you for your art & for sharing your experiences and what they mean to you. You're one special lady in this community and you & your ideas touch me in many ways.

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  24. I learn so much when I read you blog! I had no idea about a theater group this inspiring! You are are so right about connection- it is critical. All that you captured in your blue portrait is amazing!

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  25. Oh Jessica, thank you for this post, this peek into the play...it warmed my heart. I've been reading a lot this past year about blindness and deafness. My newest grand child Allie Bel was born with a hearing defect. She is deaf. Luckily for her a Cocular Implant was put in when she turned twelve months and it worked! You should see the Utube of her hearing for the very first time. Everyone cried for joy. but without it and her other hearing aid she is deaf still. she is bright and happy and well adjusted. She'll have an amazing life I have no doubt. Her parents will make sure of it.

    I love the texture in your art work, as a blind person could enjoy feeling it. I enjoy seeing it. And reading your words. So much we take forgranted!

    Yes, I am noticing as I draw more and more people on cell phones and ipads and computers, even when they are with others, they are NOT connecting. Not face to face. I am thinking of it being the topic of my next book.

    I reach out my hand to you ... this connection is so special to me. Even through the computer ... I have to admit it has widened my world. But I definitely see and hear the need for more personal touch!

    Thank YOU!


    Are you fluent in Evrit?

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  26. PS I neglected to mention that I wear two hearing aids, as I have nerve damage and age causing me to become more and more hard of hearing.
    I forgot! LOL

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  27. Beautiful art and moving words.

    Sometimes it seems we have so much but at the same time so little.

    Karen x

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  28. Wonderful post and wonderful work Jessica! Makes you think ....

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  29. This is a powerful and moving post!! I loved the video it is profoundly a lesson we can all learn. I do agree that a healthy family connection is the true foundation to happiness! I can attest to this as a women who lives with my adult children having an amazing communal living situation full of love, caring, equality, respect and creativity. I have never been happier. There was a time when having everything did not equal the happiness I have now. Having an unconditional abundant true love connection with spiritual people surpasses anything material!! I am blessed!!!

    Your girl is beautiful too...I love the meaning behind the color and snowflakes...gorgeous!!
    Thank you for this post....

    Hugs Giggles

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  30. a beautiful page, and a tender face...blue seems to convey thoughtfulness...lovely!

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  31. Thank you for sharing that lovely touching video. Our senses are a gift from God - we should not take them for granted. It also reminded me how important touch is - even when we can see. I love your lady - she is full of deep thoughts.

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  32. I LOVE the monochromatic tones in her face. So moving!

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