Connecting With You

Women's Torah Project Bay Area Tour

Aimee Golant Blog — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:04:35 GMT

Here's the schedule of events. Hope you can join us!

"Garden of Memories" Memorial (Yartzeit) Candle Holder with "Forever in our Hearts" Matchbox Sleeve

Aimee Golant Blog — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:44:24 GMT

Some of you know, my beloved grandma Mary Kleinhandler passed away on April 16, 2011. She and my grandfather, Arthur Kleinhandler were a source of great strength and inspiration. As you can imagine, her passing marked the end of an era for our family. In dealing with the loss and grief I found comfort in involving myself in the creation of this "Garden of Memory" Memorial Candle holder and "Forever in our Hearts" matchbox sleeve.

Every aspect of the designing, cutting, soldering and this was part of my own process in realizing their passing. It has a garden growing of Hebrew letter Shin flowers. They loved to garden. My husband David and I do too. Shin stands for G-d's protection. It is dedicated to the memory of this beloved couple.

It took about 1 1/2 hours to cut each individual flower and it's surroundings. Over the course of cutting this piece I broke more than 5 dozen tiny saw blades.*

*(Metal-Geeks only: It was cut out of 14 gauge copper, using a 3/0 laser blades from Rio.)

After the sheet was cut, sculpted with tiny jeweler's files (F. Dick are my favorite ! ), I added texture to the leaves, stems and surrounding areas (using steel wires, decorative stamping tools and ball peen hammers). I also designed the matchbox.

Here's what it looked like after I cut out the "happy couple."

We all go through loss of loved ones. It is a sweet Jewish tradition (which is also Universal) to light a candle that burns for 24 hours at the anniversary of that person's death. I want to share this meaningful tradition so that others including my own friends and family can honor the memory of loved ones in a beautiful, supportive way.

Here's the finished copper master - original:

"Garden of Memories" Memorial (Yartzeit) candle holder with "Forever in our Hearts" matchbox sleeve, by Aimee Golant.

A Mezuzah for the White House?

Aimee Golant Blog — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:05:34 GMT

To my knowledge, there has never been a mezuzah affixed to any doorpost of the White House. Mixing "church and state" is not something I usually advocate, but we do celebrate Christmas, Easter and Hanukkah at the White House. We always say God Bless America. Since the mezuzah is meant as blessing on the home and a reminder to uphold the teaching, I thought it would be wonderful if one was there. Plus, teaching a wider audience (in addition to the Jewish Community) about the mezuzah is a dream of mine, so I am hoping a mezuzah on the White House would be a catalyst for me to do that.

I am a supporter of President and Mrs. Obama. I support their political views. I sincerely hope that the Republicans in congress put aside their hopes of defeating the President and help pass the new American Jobs Act for the greater good of our nation's people.

The Obamas's story is particularly inspiring to me because they embody the America I believe in. As a granddaughter of Holocaust Survivors, I believe that what makes America great is our ability to work together, over come hardship, and pool our intellectual resources from diverse backgrounds.

So proud that the American people voted them into office, and so happy to be alive at a time when they are our "first family" I knew I wanted to give them a gift of one of my mezuzot, and I hoped that they just might be the right administration to affix it to the White House.

So, last summer I sent President and Mrs. Obama a Paper Clip "Hope" Mezuzah along with a copy of the documentary Paper Clips. I chose that one because I felt the story behind the piece encompasses the love of diversity that America represents. I also sent them the background story of when my mother-in-law and I visited the Whitwell Middle School Holocaust Memorial, where I spoke at the dedication of their new school to over 1200 guests, and taught the 7th and 8th graders about the mezuzah, while affixing it to their new Holocaust Library.

I received a thank you note from them, but I guess they didn't want to affix it to one of the interior doors of the White House. Darn!

So, if you don't succeed, try, try again! Watching the Republicans in congress deliberately try to hurt this administration has been heart wrenching. Out of support and love, I have sent them another one-- A Door to the Soul Mezuzah-- inspired by the Hawaiian Islands and originally commissioned by a client rich not only in income but also in tzedakah (giving - for justice.)

So what do you think? A Mezuzah on the White House-- a good idea? Most interestingly, let's see what they say....

Back to Poland

Aimee Golant Blog — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:45:53 GMT

I've been wanting to share this story for eleven years. With life's hectic schedule I put it off again and again, but now with the help of my summer intern Malkie Scarf, we finally found the time to write it all down.

It was the year 2000. I was 26 years old, already a Judaica metal artist inspired by maternal grandparents who were survivors of the Holocaust. I was invited to go to Poland. My trip to Poland was a domino-effect initiated by my cousin Tamara Mielnik. A gifted modern dancer and Yiddish singer with a school in Jerusalem, she was asked to go on the March of the Living and perform in Yiddush at various points for the Israeli students. She was also to walk in silence and remembrance from Aushwitz to Birkenau—about 3 miles. Adverse to the idea of going through this powerful but emotionally terrifying journey alone, she asked my mother to join her in the experience. My mother, also wary of doing the intense trip, invited me to come as well.

After a few day of sightseeing in Warsaw, it was time to travel to Krakow and then the dreaded concentration camps. On the long bus ride to Auschwitz, just awaiting the March, I could feel stress in every cell of my body culminating. My mom had a migraine and stayed back at the hotel to rest. (She joined us later at the camp. It was an emotional reunion in such a terrible place.)

Anyway, as Tamara and I along with around 7,000 international students made the journey to the camp, I was shivering cold, even though it was warm outside. To walk silently the paths where many had stepped to their demise, to look at the death factories and structures in Auschwitz where our ancestors and my family members had barely avoided this horrific end, was excruciatingly difficult. [Below is the view of Birkinau as we walked in from a distance.]

Inside the decaying camp barracks, there were exhibits showing huge piles of belongings from the inmates, including shoes, prosthetics, eye glasses, luggage and more. To the dismay of the Israeli group, none of the exhibits had any descriptions in Hebrew -the central language of the Jewish people. They were written in Polish, English and German. Also disturbing was that the grounds included a bookstore which had the feel of a gift shop. We felt that was inappropriate in the setting of unimaginable suffering that this facility represents.

[The official documents registering Tamara's mother in Auschwitz]

As part of our journey into our roots in Poland, and despite our emotional exhaustion from the March of the Living, Tamara and my mother and I decided to set out to the town where my grandparents lived before the Holocaust. Though they had previously urged us not to even visit, my grandparents had drawn out a map of Chmielnick, their hometown nearby the central Polish city of Kielce. While we were there, we were able to view the official papers that documented their residency in the town. Looking at these printed relics of time, it hit me: this is the place and this is my grandparents' (and my) history.

Once we arrived in Chmielnik we walked around, slightly lost and not knowing what to expect. Again, feeling an intense rush of emotions we wandered around town. Before the Holocaust, the town used to hold over ten-thousand Jews, and now few Jewish people were scattered about Poland, most of them now in Krakow. From the depictions on the map my grandparents drew for us, we were able to locate where the town center was, as well as the old shul from my grandparents' time that, weathered from disarray and desertion, still stood. This synagogue had been constructed in the 1600's at the same time the main shul in Krakow was built. However, it was locked, so we could only peer through the open window spaces and look at the shul from outside. We sobbed.

[My mom, my cousin Tamara and I outside the old shul]

I had been told numerous, beautiful and tragic stories of Chmielnik and of my family members that survived the Holocaust. When my great-grandmother was a prisoner in Auschwitz, she hid when the rest of the inmates were gathered for during a death-march. She probably wouldn't have survived the unforgivable cold and fatigue of the march.

After three days, she arose from hiding and trekked on foot back to her hometown. After my grandfather was liberated from Buchenwald at the end of the war, he too walked back to Chmielnick. Imagine walking on the street, a familiar road that used to be paved with familiar stone, that the Nazis had now replaced with the tombstones of deceased Jews.

As your feet gently tap on stony deaths, the same desolation that surrounded you for six years, you see your mother for the first time in years. This is what happened to my grandfather and his mother, both of whom had had no certainty of the other's survival for the last two years of the Holocaust. Every time my grandfather told me this story he would tear up. As you can imagine, they couldn't bear to stay in their town still imprinted with hatred, they had to move on. Besides some Polish people had bought the house from them beforehand, so it was time to go.

With a mix of apprehension and curiosity, my mother and Tamara and I found this house. We knocked and an older woman opened the door. From her age we knew she was part of the wartime generation. As we began to realize she spoke no English, we were at a loss on how to communicate who we were, but soon after she had motioned for us to wait while she called to the house. Her nephew Adam came out. He had gone on exchange to Canada, so he spoke English! He acted as translator between us and his aunt. Finally, we could communicate our story and the significance of this place.

[Gathering in front of the old Klienhandler house]

To our surprise, they welcomed us into the house for tea and cookies. Additionally, they showed us around to see all the parts of the house, including the back where the candle making machine shop had been. The passion for metal smithing runs in my blood, for my family in Chmielnik were renowned as crafts-people. I was thrilled to spend some time in the space that had been their shop.

Plus, the family across the street had found and saved a pair of mis-matched candleholders buried in the front of their house. We were shocked that they saved them-- it seemed for us. After the trip, Tamara contributed them to Yad Vashem, the prominent Holocaust museum in Israel.

[The saved candle holders]

After talking over tea and cookies, we were all grateful and amazed at the connections we made with these people and this place. Adam and his uncle were especially kind. They wanted us to be able to visit the inside of the shul, knowing it would have incredible meaning for us.

Adam's uncle, in addition to being a painter and artist, was the head of the beautification committee of Chmielnik. He was planning to build a memorial wall out of the Jewish tombstones that the Nazis had used to pave the roads. He also had keys to the shul and connections with city hall. We were thrilled to learn the following morning that he set up a date for us to meet the mayor of the town and discuss opening up the synagogue for us to see. Tamara had previously contacted a professor at a university in Kielce, an individual who had studied pre-wartime Chmielnick in tremendous depth, and she had joined this spontaneous meeting with the mayor to help with interpreting.

With great respect for us, the Uncle and mayor let us into the shul. They waited outside as we entered.

[Inside the shul. You can still see the Lions of Judah painted up by the round window and Hebrew writing towards the bottom.]

Approaching the shul, we could still see the bullet holes on the outside of the building marking the Nazis' presence. During World War II, Chmielnick, like countless other small Jewish shtetls (small towns), was turned into a ghetto by the Nazi powers. Before the ghetto started liquidating its inhabitants, primarily sending Jews to their deaths in Treblinka, all the prominent Jewish members of the town were put in a wooden shul that was burned down with them in it. Needless to say, it was disturbing being in this dusty and eery place that had at one time housed such wonderful, joyous and spiritual events, that is now in ruins.

Adam's uncle explained to us that during communist rule, the shul was used as a storage facility, and since then had been abandoned. Though derelict and dirty, we could still see the marble floor under all the dust, and some of the Jewish imagery was still evident on the walls. He told us that there had been talk of renovating the shul and making it into an art center/memorial. I'm not sure if that has happened, but we'll try contacting them, and see what happens.....

After witnessing the darkness and desolation of the synagogue, we went with the Kielce professor and her daughter to find our family name in the city's ledger books. Even though we felt the pain of the past still resonating inside us, we felt the comfort and care of the community willing to listen and help us out. As we got into the taxi cab to go back to the hotel, the song "Human Touch" by Bruce Springsteen was playing on the radio. My mom and I teared up.

[My mom, the professor's daughter, my cousin Tamara, the professor, and me.]

In the last days of the trip, we ventured to Lodz, the city where my grandma grew up. Even though there was so much compassion coming our way from the people we met in Poland. In Lodz and in Krakow there were dozens, if not more, examples of anti-semitic graffiti like the one photographed below.

While the charming characteristics of the townspeople -such as the bell-boy of the hotel we stayed at expressing the nonsensical "hey-shoop!" indication of moving an object that my grandfather used to say- made us feel at home, others in Poland meanwhile drew Jewish stars hanging on nooses or tagged hateful messages for the public to see.

All in all though, our trip was incredible. We were thrilled beyond words to have been honored by the Chmielnik towns people. The trip boosted my sense of the possibility of peace and healing. From there, I would of course continue to develop my art and spiritual sense in unity.

Join Aimee Golant for a Class on Small Business Planning for Art Jewelers

Aimee Golant Blog — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:43:32 GMT

Small B u s i n e s s P l a n n i n g
f o r A r t J e w e l r y M a k e r s
Sunday, August 7, 2011 10am - 6pm
LOCATION: Aimee’s home/studio in San Francisco
6 students maximum $195

Converse with metal artist Aimee Golant as she shares what she has learned over the last 13 years on how to be in the art jewelry business you love and stay in it. Bring a laptop with excel (if you have one), a pad of paper and a pen, samples of any marketing collateral you have, 3-6 samples of your work to show to the group for an afternoon critique and your lunch. Be prepared to talk about any inspiration you have. Topics covered will include, a pricing formula, costing, one method of tracking inventory, banking, prepping for wholesale and retail shows, closing the sale, customer relations, contracts and forms, design focus and branding, selling online and more. Brief individual assistance and group questions will be encouraged.

Aimee Golant is a sixth generation metalsmith originally from Los Angeles, California. She exhibits and sells her unique metal art internationally. The National Museum of American Jewish History awarded Aimee the competitive commission to create the mezuzah for the front door of the museum, her Life Source Menorah was considered for the White House Hanukkah Party in 2010, the Jewish Museum of New York's acquisition of her evocative Judaica for its permanent collection, her Barbed Wire Mezuzah traveling into space on the Columbia Space Shuttle and on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, a NICHE Award for her Bars and Windows Menorah, the Golden Hammer Award for her outstanding community service through the San Francisco Bay Area Metal Arts Guild. She has created the crown for the Women's Torah Project, one of the first documented Torahs scribed by women. The crown has been on display at The Jewish Museum on Melbourne, Australia.

She has created mezuzot and jewelry benefiting American Jewish World Service, Whitwell Middle School in Whitwell Tennessee, Sharsharet, Jewish Family and Children's Services, and Hadassah. Aimee had shown her art and done jewelry making demonstrations at The Legion of Honor, one of San Francisco's premier museums. She founded the Metal Art program at the San Francisco Waldorf High School where she teaches classical metalsmithing, and has taught Jewish studies in the Humanities department. She teaches the craft at The Crucible in Oakland CA, and at Scintillant Studio San Francisco. Aimee lives in San Francisco with her husband and son.

To enroll: Fill out the workshop registration form and mail check made out to Scintillant Studio c/o Aimee Golant 945 Taraval Street, #164, San Francisco, CA 94116 Please include your name, phone number and email with your check.

Questions about enrollment? Please contact Aimee Golant at info@aimeegolant.com

Women's Torah Project Crowns in Metalsmith Magazine

Aimee Golant Blog — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 05:11:18 GMT

The Curator of Contemporary Judaica at the Jewish Museum of New York, Daniel Belasco, recently wrote an article for Metalsmith Magazine vol 31/no 3, titled: "Post-Ethnic Judaica Today." He included the crowns I created for the Women's Torah Project. Here's what he wrote:

"The Women’s Torah Project in Seattle, the first Torah entirely written and adorned by women, first read publicly in 2010, is among the most ambitious recent American synagogue commissions. California-based metalsmith Aimee Golant contributed rimonim, or finials, for the pair of wood staves. Golant, who has created mezuzahs for two Space Shuttle missions, and for the new National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, turned an object typically associated with fruit (rimonim means pomegranate in Hebrew) or royalty (a crown is another common type) into two-dimensional decorative flourishes. She likens the pair to open doors, and they are reminiscent of the baroque ornament flanking the facades of Jesuit churches in Rome. The use of copper, an unusual choice for contemporary Judaica, lends the pieces a warm humility."

To read the entire article visit: Post Ethnic: Judaica Today

Here are the crowns:

Mezuzahs...I love them!

Aimee Golant Blog — Tue, 24 May 2011 18:25:37 GMT

Here are some new mezuzah ideas that have been percolating for a while....

In Loving Memory of Mary Kleinhandler

Aimee Golant Blog — Tue, 10 May 2011 17:45:00 GMT

As many of you know my grandmother, Mary Kleinhandler was a source of great love and inspiration for me. She passed away on April 16th at 10:02 pm. I am posting her eulogies in the order they were read at her funeral, for those of you who are interested in learning a bit more about this extraordinary woman.

Mom: Eulogy.              Mary Kleinhandler

December 22, 1920 – April 16, 2011

From Daughter Henriette Kleinhandler

   This is a very sad time of loss for all of us. My mother, Mary, was vibrant, brilliant, highly educated, generous, and loving. Mary was a free spirit. Her sense of humor and sparkle lit the light of life in us all. She suffered through the ordeals of the Holocaust, cancer, open heart surgery, diabetes, and the death of our father, Arthur. But she had tenacity and strength and gave us hope to overcome the hardships in life. As she would say, “Make yourself strong. This too shall pass.” She also cherished the joys of living. My mom loved us all, me, Susie and Mitch, Cherie and Ron, Aimee and David, and especially her great grand children Rose, Ava, and Kaleb. Her family, our cousin Barbara, and friends always held a special place in her heart.

   I would just like to share some memories of my mother that will stay with me forever. These are the images of love.

   I remember when we were small children my mother would hold our hands and together Susie and I would go with her into the garden. She delighted in teaching us the names of all the beautiful flowers and pick cherries from the tree. We would intensely study the strawberry patch and her vegetable garden. One of the things that kept her alive during the suffering of the Holocaust was the image of an idyllic garden, just like the one in Chmielnik at her grandmother’s house, she and fulfilled that dream. Her garden symbolized survival, renewal, and life.

   I remember the wonderful stories she would tell us of her summers in the mountains picking mushrooms or going to Chmielnik. She loved her grandparents and played with   her first cousins Zlatcha, Barbara, and her brother, Karol.

   I remember sitting at the kitchen table with our mom, Susie, and our grandma Ruth and laughing at the jokes and one liners till tears rolled down our checks. I remember her repartee with Alfred Rozenek and who could be the funniest.

   I remember how beautifully she sang. My parents would sing songs in harmony-- Yiddish, English and Polish.   She would also sing in German and Russian for she spoke six languages. Sometimes my grandma would play the mandolin or violin and they would sing together. Those were wonderful times.

   I remember how she read all the classics and existential philosophy. She would recite entire passages of poetry in Latin and Goethe’s Faust in German. She loved to read and always had a book next to her.   In fact, she was so impressed and excited by some novels, that she would tell me the whole story before I read the book. She was very proud of her Classical Education and that she had successfully graduated 14th grade, the equivalent of Jr. College.

        I remember how she loved to dress up and go out. She was very beautiful with turquoise blue eyes and champagne silvery hair. As a child I remember her delicate complexion contrasting with her striking long black hair that she would twist into a French knot.

   She loved our dad Arthur and they were inseparable They were married for 63 years and when he passed in 2006 she always missed him terribly and would look at his picture every night before she went to bed, till the last week of her life. Every weekend my parents would go on long bike rides from Santa Monica to the Marina or walk in Santa Monica with their close friends Cesia and Isaac Ulman, Lola and Adam Crispo, Alfred and Lola Rozenek, and Rena and David Goldstein. They had deep discussions and much laughter. Then they would enjoy a wonderful brunch. My mother loved these outings. She also loved the many adventures traveling throughout the world. At the end of her life she also loved her caregivers Raquel, Tina, Alene. And we all tried to give her a good quality of life which she always enjoyed.

   Finally, I will always remember that my mom called me every single morning and she would sing me a song like “If I were a rich man”, wish me a gutten Shabbish, and tell me that everything is under control—until it wasn’t. She would always say “What are our plans for today? I’ll go wherever you go and then we’ll have lunch.” And then she would say, “I love you forever.”

Mom, I love YOU forever. Your image is in my soul and you will always be alive in my heart. Henriette

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I Love You Forever
From Mitch Golant

Context is everything: For the last decade Mary would greet me with the following: “Oh…Mitchie…Mitchie…I love you forever. You are my son—Not my son-in-law. I love you forever.” It was delivered in the declarative—with absolute certainty. I was 19 years old when I met Susie. We married when I was 22. What I am sharing comes from the perspective of a child growing up in two worlds. The world of my childhood and the world of the Shoah. After all these years, I struggled with this recurring question: Does the Holocaust Trump All?
Let’s take even an example from Monty Python, “No one expects the Spanish Inquisition.” …Unless you are a Holocaust Survivor…where your worst fears were realized. Trump.
However, as I have come to understand now, Mary’s life as embodied in the simple but profound sentiment: “I love you forever!”actually trumps all. This occurs in four ways—through: (1) Moral integrity (2) Humor (3) Spirituality, and (4) Love

Moral Integrity
Mary never wanted a housekeeper. Even as she began to slow down, she reluctantly accepted help but only for ½ day a week. On Wednesdays when Lorena would come, Mary would still do the laundry: She said, “Why should I have her clean my dirty clothes and sheets?” At Noon Mary would cook lunch for them both. We just didn’t get it until in a flash I understood--she was a house slave for the SS at the Villa Versailles (chronicled in her memoir)—cleaning their clothes, laundry and shining their boots. Mary could not tolerate or fathom the idea that anyone was below her and she felt a moral imperative to hold to the idea that we were all creatures that share this earth and that no one is better or should serve another. It was out of this deep sense of moral and ethical integrity that lunch was served and housework was shared. Trump.
Humor:
            In the summer of 1974, Mary, Arthur and I would ride our 3-speed bikes along the Venice/Santa Monica beach bike bath. On this Sunday, Mary and I were riding alone along the bike path and we had it in our mind with mischievous eye to ride past the Venice nude beach. As Mary tells the story, “Mitch was riding behind me and then he was looking at the naked women and he rode right off the bike path and falling into the sand.” In truth. I was riding on the bike path and Mary stopped her bike pointing to what I learned later was what she described as a “naked white male albino guerilla” and wanted to show me. To avoid colliding with her I dumped my bike into the sand. When she explained, I said, “That’s why you stopped?” I said, “I’m more interested in naked women than naked albino guerilla men.” She says, “I’m going to tell Susie!” I say, “I’m going to tell Arthur.” We both burst out laughing. Trump

Spirituality
Of course, there is an important distinction between spirituality and the religiosity. Mary had a porous relationship between the here and the hereafter. She felt a deep connection to all life through dreams, waking dreams, and premonitions that sustained her through adversity. There are so many examples—Sue has already shared one. The one example that stays with me was when she had bypass surgery and it didn’t go well.   She needed blood and Sue rushed to donate. When she made it through the crisis we explained that she nearly died. She said, I already knew that. We asked: “How did you know.” She said, “Well, I was in a dream and I saw my parents and my brother and I started running towards them because I was so happy to see them. My mother turned to me and said, “Stop! Go back. It’s not your time yet.” They all turned their backs on me. So I turned around and then I woke up here. “ She tells that story with certainty and faith that this experience is a link between us and those who come before us and as a legacy for us to cherish. Trump

Love
As you know Mary died the evening after Shabbat Hagadol. The Shabbat that precedes Passover. Mary loved Passover. It was her holiday. Each Passover she would tell the same story and it would start with, “We were slaves in Egypt and now we are free. I was once a slave and now I am free. I didn’t know whether I could have children. And I had children. She would point to Henrie and Susie. Then my children had children—Cherie and Aimee. And now my grandchildren have children—Rosie, Ava and Kaleb (who is named after my brother Karol) and then she would cry. I am grateful for my life and that I live in this country free. I love you forever!
Taken together—moral integrity with a light touch through humor impassioned by a vibrant spiritual life stitched together with love trumps all. As Alfred Rozenek aliva shalom said nearly 5 years ago to your beloved Avrum, I say to you today….Shalom My Friend. I will love you forever! Amen

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From Cherie Golant, Granddaughter

She’s the reason I’m here. Her survival ensured my existence.

I grew up knowing that my being in her life was one of her paramount joys. She adored me, and I felt the same. Even in the end, when dementia kept her mind moving in tight circles, she never held back expressions of love. I remember growing up, her stopping everything to pour love on one or another of us. Her love and gratitude to reach this day, this moment, to have us in her life was declared regularly. To feel her love wash over me, I would also know that by giving love, by showing love, and sharing love, she was experiencing great joy.

In recovery from breast cancer surgery in 1972, my grandma felt sure she was dying. She had a dream of a small hand pulling her away from death. She always told me this, that it was me who brought her back to life. She had me to look forward to, and my sister to come the next year, and nearly 40 more years of love and moments of joy. Our bat mitzvahs, graduations, weddings, and the birth of her great grand children. The holding of babies gave her a unique pleasure, a glow. It used to be that we worked hard to avoid causing her any pain, but eventually, bringing her pleasure became its own reward.

When I saw her this week before she died, I told her again and again how much I loved her. How her brother, mother and grandparents were waiting for her, along with my grandpa. And that when she saw them, she should tell them how much we loved her.

She is the reason I’m here. Her survival ensured my existence. Learning to live without her starts today.

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From Aimee Golant, Granddaughter

There is no explaining how my grandparents have affected my life. I will try today, but really there is nothing I can say that will capture my feelings for them. I say grandparents and not grandmother, because for me no matter how different they were from one another, it is hard to separate them.

I talk about my grandparents every day in my work. Their life has given mine meaning, direction, and purpose. At the Passover seder each year, my grandma would declare that we were once slaves and now we are free! This was our holiday. It was real. She would say that she survived for the family and that every day she lived was a victory over Nazi brutality.

Their survival of spirit, their inner strength, and perseverance inspired me to create Judaica-- Jewish Ritual Objects. It is in their honor that I create Judaica-- using my grandfather’s tools. Not Judaica of reverence to G-d, but Judaica of survival, of preserving tradition, of sharing our universal teachings with Jews and non-Jews and thereby fighting anti-semitism.

My grandmother had wisdom. When she spoke, I listened. Anytime I have been faced with a life challenge, when I feel defeated or unsure, I remember the words my grandma told me.   She would look at me with those piercing blue eyes and say: “BE STRONG,” and “if you don’t know what to do, DO NOTHING. The answers will come.” I can’t tell you how many times I would think about my life situation, and compare, just for a second what she endured in her life and figure, if she could survive that-- I can do this. I swear, she has at times given me super powers.

These words of wisdom remind me of a story she once told, shortly after my grandfather passed away in 2006. She pulled out a silver 1943 Liberty Half Dollar Coin. After the war, within a week of arriving in New York, my grandfather right away found work at a gas station. He thought he had been hired as a mechanic to work on the cars, turns out he was pumping gas. The first week on the job, a man gave him that coin as a tip. It was a huge dollar amount at that time-- enough for a week’s groceries. My grandpa brought the coin home to my grandma. They sat in amazement, in silence, in tears. Quite incredibly, they never spent the money-- she had saved it to this day. She told us that she wanted to be buried with the coin. The thought of it, made us all groan. But then I thought, who am I to question what she wants? So, I took the coin and fashioned a silver and gold locket for it, which I gave to her about a year ago. I would love to show you all the coin and box, but today, as per her wish, I put the coin in it’s silver box with her in the casket. It was a testament to their temperance, strength and gratitude.

Finally, she has passed on an appreciation for the simple things in life-- the smell of home cooking (love thick in the air) the sheer miracle of being together with family, gratitude for living in America-- a free and diverse country, a love of nature, a responsibility to take care of my body.   The best I can do is pass on their values and their Legacy of love and gratitude to my family-- my husband David and Son Kaleb. I will never stop grieving them, I will love them forever.

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Mary Kleinhandler

From Susan Golant, Daughter

After one of her closest friends died, my mother pulled me aside in the chapel right after the service and whispered, “When I die, don’t you dare talk about what a good cook I was.” So I promised that I wouldn’t mention her stuffed cabbage and honey cakes and cookies and kreplach. I would not bring up her blueberry turnovers or her mushroom barley soups or her Friday night latkes sprinkled with poppy seeds—perfectly crispy on the outside and creamy within.

A puzzling request to some, maybe, but I understood it full well. Yes, she was a wonderful homemaker, but she was so much more than that. A free spirit, a towering intellect, a jokester and prankster. A woman who suffered incalculable pain and loss but also found ways to enjoy the life that she was given, even in the smallest ways. She took such pleasure in her garden, her books, her grandchildren. White sheets flapping in the summer breeze, smelling sweetly of sunshine were a numinous delight, to be gathered in the arms and inhaled with great rapture. The ability to pour a capful of bleach into the toilet bowl and swish it around, to mop the floor and wash the windows--these were sources of deep joy and gratitude, a reason to sing out gaily. Scenes I had observed when I was a child.

She carried the burdens of her life with dignity and honesty, speaking out when she felt the need. In the late 1950s, the City of New York was planning to build the Clearview Expressway right though our neighborhood. Our home in Bayside along with all the others in the path of the new road was slated to be torn down. She attended a hearing at City Hall and stood up to speak to Mayor Robert Wagner, her long black hair done up in a French Twist, her aquamarine blue eyes flashing. The Long Island Star Journal showed her photo and quoted her as saying, “We were dispossessed once in our lives. The Nazis took everything from us—our homes, our families, our lives. Please don’t do this to us again.”

We lost, of course. As they say, you can’t fight City Hall—especially in NY. But still, she was strong in ways that I could not even imagine and vulnerable and hurt in ways that could never be healed.
An utterly unique and complex individual who always marched to her own drummer, she never went along with the crowd, just to get along. She wasn’t cowed by conventionality the way my father was—and they fought about it. It was very important to him what people would think. She really didn’t care. She loved bright splashy colors and big floral prints—he was into brown and tan and navy polka dots—and they fought about that too. But it didn’t mean very much. They were devoted to each other in ways we could never fathom—he having saved her life and she having saved his during the war. Each one a hero to the other until the end.

There were times when she seemed luminescent. Glowing with love, with a hunger for life, for experience. She was behind all the trips my parents took. Each year when they flew either to Israel or Argentina to visit my father’s siblings she would say, “Let’s stop in London for a week.” Or Spain, or Greece, or France. Or Uruguay or Venezuela. They started traveling in earnest after my father retired--to China and Thailand and Japan; to Russia and Scandinavia; to Italy and Romania numerous times for mineral baths. She sampled barbecued lizard on a stick and mysterious fruits in Asia, and octopus and “every part of the bull” in Argentina proudly telling us about her adventures. And each time they brought back a bounty of gifts for the family—a way that they could share their travels with us—embroidered tablecloths, crystal vases, silk kimonos, jewelry--treasures from their generous souls.

She studied Renoir and Picasso and Leger on her own. She read Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer (I found it under her side of the bed wrapped in brown paper) and John Updike and Saul Bellow and Philip Roth—that mixed in with Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. My mother often spoke of her education, her difficulties in math, her love of poetry and philosophy. In Poland she had read Shakespeare and Dickens, Zola and Proust in translation. Her favorite poets were the Polish Romantic, Mickiewicz, whom she referred to and recited frequently and Goethe, whom she had memorized in German. In fact, she had studied German for twelve years, Latin for eight, and Hebrew for four. Many were the times she recited Latin poetry to me, translating as she went along.
Manya Scheiber was born late in December of 1920, and by her accounts was a mischievous, willful, and curious child. She teased her younger brother mercilessly and once threw a fork at her uncle's forehead when he threatened her. A self-avowed tomboy, we have many pictures of her climbing trees. She continued that athleticism into late adulthood. I think my parents stopped going to the gym when she was in her 80s and my father decided he didn’t want to drive anymore.

She was also quite beautiful. She had inherited her father's porcelain skin and linear nose. Her jet-black hair was straight, and shiny, and cut short like a "Chinaman's," as she used to say. (By the war's end, at the age of twenty-five, it had turned mostly white.)

Her most striking features, however, were those brown-flecked aquamarine eyes, which at times appear almost hypnotic. The right eye was larger than the left. It looked out on the world, while the other narrowed and seems always to survey the inner landscape of her soul. Her eyes were expressive and clear, affording anyone who had the inclination, an opportunity to catch a glimpse of that inner terrain too and the trembling pain that it held.
Although she always downplayed it, my mother believed that she had psychic abilities. I remember once she sat straight up in bed at 2 AM and said with great foreboding and certitude, "Somebody has died." She was right. At that moment, my father's mother, Chaya, had passed away while visiting her daughter in Buenos Aires.
I learned to trust my mother's "feelings," as she called her premonitions and moments of intuition, but I also came to believe that at times she could see right through me. We were bound up, one with the other so tightly that sometimes it was difficult for me to know where I ended and she began. And, in truth, it was difficult for her too.
There is so much to say and yet I feel I can’t capture it all. Ninety years is a long time to live and my mother’s life was so eventful—filled with great tragedy and triumph. She wrote a 225 page memoir with me that delineates her wartime experiences so it’s impossible for me to distill it down to a brief timeline of events or an enumeration of the camps she had survived during those terrible times. I am happy to email it to everyone here if you want to know the details. Just ask. A few words, though about the war. My mother spoke of it constantly. She was not one of those survivors who kept that part of her life hidden. I believe it was because she had no shame about the experience. As she always said, “We didn’t step on anyone.” Indeed, she bravely saved the lives of two strangers, putting herself at risk. She scorned those who were selfish and championed their own survival over others. She had no tolerance for hypocrites. And she never stopped grieving for her younger brother who died within days of the War’s end. Yet despite all that had happened to her, hers was a loving and generous heart.
In the last two years, as vascular dementia overtook her wonderful mind and all of the filters began to disappear, she would declare, “I am a genius.” Probably she was, though the traumas she had endured most likely thwarted her ability to use her intellect on a greater stage. And then she would say, “Not a moment of my life is lost. I remember everything.” I guess the best that I could hope for is that not a moment of my life with her would be lost to me. Still I know that she is in me, a part of me, and will always be. She is in my children. The love and affection I see them give to their babies—passed from her through me to them. The gardening, the hiking in the forest, the carefree days at the beach, the books, the kindness and generosity, the big heart, the sensitivity, they all came from her.

During a Bar Mitzvah we literally pass the Torah from one generation to the next. L’dor va dor—from generation to generation. In our family, we pass her love.

Hadassah's Chai Society Pin Pendants

Aimee Golant Blog — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 04:32:00 GMT

I have had the great honor of creating a custom Chai for Hadassah for their "Chai Society." These pieces were originally commissioned by the Upper Midwest Region of Hadassah. Now the Diablo Valley Chapter will aslo adopt these as an option for their Chai Society. If you are a member of Hadassah and you would like for your chapter to carry the Chais, please let your chapter know and keep me posted.

In the meantime, here's a little more information about the organization and the Chai Society program. If you join the "Chai Society" it means that you have pledged an annual donation to the organization. I am a life member of Hadassah. I believe in their Hospital in Israel that serves people of all faiths. This is the largest Jewish Women's Organization in the world. What greater honor? Are you a member?

Now, a little about the jewelry. A picture says a 1000 words, so here are some images:

Here's the process I used to create the master.....

Here are some of the pieces finished in pewter: (I offer the pieces cast in pewter, bronze, silver or gold.)

If you would like to create custom jewelry or Judaica for your non-profit, please contact me at 415-682-7128 or email me at info@aimeegolant.com

Life Source Menorah Considered for the White House

Aimee Golant Blog — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 04:01:00 GMT

The National Museum of American Jewish History was asked to choose a historical menorah from it's permanent collection to be considered for the White House Hanukkah party, which took place on December 2, 2010.

The curatorial staff liked my limited edition Life Source Menorah in silver and my story so much that they decided to submit the piece to the White House despite the fact that it is a contemporary menorah. I was so honored and excited at the thought of my menorah being used in this way. Plus, I voted for President Obama and even sent him and Mrs. Obama one of my Paper Clip "Hope" Mezuzahs along with a copy of the Paper Clip documentary, as a gift last summer.

I waited to hear back for weeks. To be honest, I had an inner calm about it and had a positive, optimistic and hopeful feeling. But, when no word came, I began to loose hope that it would be chosen. Indeed, I found that at the White House Hanukkah Party the menorah used was one that was pulled out of the mud in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Louisiana.

I can definitely understand their choice. I do feel disappointed though, and I wanted to share with you a little more about my menorah and the statement we wrote to accompany it. Here's an image of the piece and the statement we submitted. I'd be curious for your feedback.

Life Source Menorah
Aimee Golant

        We live in a historical time of dissension and strife and all share a great need to come together with hope. The Life Source Menorah represents a vision for peace. Its organic form--reminiscent of both flames and flowers--embodies the message that we are born of one Source—the energy or inner light that exists within all of us regardless of religion or beliefs. A breakthrough piece for American contemporary Judaica artist Aimee Golant, this work reflects her heritage as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. It carries the message of renewed hope—leaving behind what’s complicated while moving toward what’s simple yet so very important—love, the soul, the oneness of all humanity. The fact that this menorah exists at all is a testament to the perseverance of Aimee’s grandparents who, after six years of torment under the Nazis, were liberated by the United States Army under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. They came to this country on the very first boat of refugees in 1946 to build new lives for themselves and create a loving family—forever grateful for the opportunities and blessings their adopted homeland afforded them. Aimee arrived at the pure representation of the Life Source Menorah after years of learning about the Holocaust and questioning her beliefs. It is her response to war and suffering in the world.

        As a sixth generation metal artist, Aimee Golant creates Judaica to preserve, illuminate, and share the universal teachings within Judaism. Born in Los Angeles, California, she began a career as an independent metal artist creating Judaica and jewelry upon her graduation from San Francisco State University. She exhibits and sells her unique metal art internationally. Aimee has won many honors. The Jewish Museum of New York acquired of one of her evocative mezuzahs for its permanent collection. Her Barbed Wire Mezuzah traveled into space on the Columbia Space Shuttle and the Space Shuttle Atlantis. She has received the NICHE Award for her Bars and Windows Menorah and the Golden Hammer Award for her outstanding community service through the San Francisco Bay Area Metal Arts Guild. She created the crown for the Women's Torah Project, one of the first documented Torahs scribed by a community of women from around the world. The crown has been on display at The Jewish Museum in Melbourne, Australia. Her work was recently featured in the art book, 500 Judaica: Innovative Contemporary Ritual Art.

        In taking to heart the Jewish teaching of tzedakah or giving to charity, Aimee has created mezuzot and jewelry benefiting the Darfur and Women’s Empowerment programs through the American Jewish World Service; the Holocaust and Diversity programs at Whitwell Middle School in Whitwell, Tennessee; the Jewish Women’s Breast Cancer organization Sharsharet; and a special edition tzedakah box gift for outgoing board members of Jewish Family and Children's Services in San Francisco. She created a Chai pin pendant that has helped raise funds for the Upper Mid-West Region of Hadassah.

       Aimee had shown her art and demonstrated jewelry making at The Legion of Honor, one of San Francisco's premier museums. She lectures widely on her work and teaches metal art. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and young son.

Women's Torah Project Siyyum Experience

Aimee Golant Blog — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 05:27:00 GMT

From October 14 - 16th 2010, the Women's Torah Project was completed. Over the weekend, many of the scribes, artists and community leaders gathered to write the final letters, sew the panels together, and read from the Torah for the first time. As the artist who created the crown for this historic Torah I felt honored to have been a part of getting the word out about the project for years, and for embellishing it. The weekend was filled with happy moments, a sense of accomplishment, relief even, and a renewed sense of inspiration insued. As the weekend drew to a close, I felt as though we had been through something important together and that we had bonded like a family. I treasured every moment of the Siyyum and would like to share a few choice photos and memories with you.

The first day, my son Kaleb and I helped sew together a panel with soferet Rachel Reinhardt from Sao Paulo Brazil.

Here's the letter I helped write-- the final shin, in the Torah in the word Yisroel (Israel.)

I created this pomegranate aliyah place holder in red bronze for the siyyum.

Here's the momentus moment when the project leader Wendy Graff sews the final panel together.

Here the women are attaching the Torah scrolls to the handles.

The Rimonim (Torah Crowns) placed on the Torah for the very first time!

Custom Mezuzah for The National Museum of American Jewish History

Aimee Golant Blog — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 06:29:00 GMT

Here is the custom mezuzah I created for the front door of the new building for the National Museum of American Jewish History at Independence Mall in Philadelphia, PA. What an honor! I used the architecture of the building and their logo for my inspiration. The piece is made of etched fine and sterling silver, copper and terra cotta from the new building. It is approximately 9" long. If you have any questions about the piece, call me at 415-682-7128, or email me at info@aimeegolant.com .

For those of you who are interested in the process I used to make the piece, here are some images:

Fine silver sheet with etching photocopied on paper.

Silver cut down with the etching pattern ready to be transferred.

Transferring the etching design onto the silver.

After several hours in Nitric Acid, the etching is complete.

Plexi die and die formed fine silver.

Cutting the logo shin out of copper for the front of the mezuzah.

After cutting the shin.

Pierced window behind shin, building fine silver frame.

Silver soldering the bezels for the terra cotta.

Peace in Israel

Aimee Golant Blog — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 06:01:00 GMT

    After an incredible weekend sewing the panels together for the first ever sefer Torah scribed by a community of Women from around the world, called the Women's Torah Project, I had a realization about peace in Israel. I will preface this, by saying that I am probably not the first person to think of this. I wanted to share it with you because to me, it is such a wonderful dream-- and I know that saying or writing it down, might help it come true some day.

    This weekend we read from the Women's Torah. It was the passage about Sarai (later Sarah) and Hagar. Abram (later Abraham) was married to Sarai, and she could not conceive a child. So Sarai told her husband to sleep with Hagar, their handmaiden, so that they could have a child. Abram did this, but when Hagar conceived, Sarai got jealous and angry and basically banished the pregnant Hagar and later her son Ishmael.

   In my opinion, this was a terrible thing to do to Hagar. It made me wonder if there are other times that the Jews were mean to the Arabs or Palestinians in the Bible and vice versa, times when the Arabic people were mean to the Jews. I think we should go through the Bible, find those stories and officially apologize to one another. It is time to re-evaluate how we treated each other back then, apologize to one another and set the record straight, so that maybe one day we can move forward.

       Then my hope would be that we would add each other to our prayers. As Jews, when we pray, we often mention Abraham, Isaac Sara and Rachel. I think we should also add Hagar and Ishmael. I think the Arabic people should add the names of the Hebrews to their prayers. I believe that if we pray for one another to be together, we will be! I know what you are thinking-- fat chance! But hey, this is my dream and I am a "serial optimist." And so, there is even more to this....

     If you thought my last ideas were "out there", try this one-- The big stretch-- the ultimate fantasy-- forgiveness and oneness. Will this ever be possible? Just as a fantasy, here's an idea.... If somehow the world could come together and make Jerusalem an "Independent State," maybe we could have peace. It would be a spiritual center like none before-- kind of like a United Nations state-- only spiritual.

    There would be one central temple built there for all the known religions of the world (not just Jews, Christians and Muslims.) There would be sections of the temple for each of the individual religions to have their own private sacred space, along with one large central sanctuary for everyone to gather. There would be concessions made for each religion in that space-- such as a Nir Tamid (eternal light), and floor mats for praying, etc.... And, on Christmas, for example, the central sanctuary would be reserved for Christian believers, whereas on Yom Kippur, it would be reserved for the Jews. But there would also be times when we could all gather to pray together.

   I would also like to see libraries with a wealth of books, artifacts and information on each known religion from around the world. As well as an outdoor praying space among the trees. All food there would be organically grown nearby. Only vegetarian, vegan food would be allowed there. There would be plenty of skylights. The building would be "green" and technologically up to date.

So what do you all think? If we will it, it is no dream.

Peace on Earth,
Aimee

Women of the Wall

Aimee Golant Blog — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 07:02:00 GMT

Did you know that it is illegal for women to hold the Torah at the Wailing Wall? Join us in sending pictures of women holding the Torah to send a message to Israeli religious and political leaders, that we stand for religious freedom! For more information, visit the official Women of the Wall Website at: http://womenofthewall.org.il/

Sara Yakira Heckelman organized a photo shoot. Here's my image for the Women of the Wall website.... Thank you Sara!!!

Artist Reception at Green Zebra This Week

Aimee Golant Blog — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 04:47:00 GMT

Sept 24, 4-7pm join us for our Artist Reception Happy Hour at Green Zebra, celebrating our recycled jewelry art show, “From Geekery to Regality: Beauty in Reuse”. My Metal Arts Critique Collective (M.A.C.) has been showing a selection of our recycled jewelry work in the window of Green Zebra for their Eco Fashion Month. Open your minds to the creative possibilities in circuit boards and recycled & familiar plastics.

Meet the artists, have a bite and drink, and peruse the selection of smaller, ready-to-wear jewelry for sale (bling yourself out for your dinner date!). Party ends at 7 (gates close then), so come early!

See more from M.A.C. on the web: http://critiquecollective.rewarestyle.com/

From Geekery to Regality: Beauty in Reuse
Recycled jewelry by the Metal Arts Critique Collective
Sept 1-30 with Artist Reception Friday, Sept 24, 4-7pm

Green Zebra in the Crocker Galleria
50 Post Street @ Montgomery, SF

L'Shana Tova! Happy New Year & Honey Cake!

Aimee Golant Blog — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:17:00 GMT

This recipe survived the Holocaust in my grandmother's head! It is traditional and delicious!

Preheat oven to 350F degrees

Ingredients:

3 cu flour
2 spoonfuls baking powder
1tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 orange grated (yes, the whole thing-- more or less, no seeds!)
1 cu sugar
1 cu honey
4 eggs
1/2 cu orange juice (or water)
1 1/4 cu veg. oil
2 tsp cocoa or coffee (I used a little of both!)

You may also add: raisins, dates, 2 cups of shredded carrots, anything!

Slowly add dry mixture to wet. Blend well.

I use a heart shaped bundt pan - greased, but if you are using a circular pan, cut a doughnut shape out of wax paper to completely line the bottom.

Bake 55 minutes. Cool completely, and release from pan. Enjoy!

Hot and fresh from the oven!

Interveiw with Aimee Golant for Jewish Woman Magazine

Aimee Golant Blog — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:48:00 GMT

Jennie Rivlin Roberts of ModernTribe.com recently interviewed me for Jewish Woman Magazine. Here's the article:

Aimee Golant: Judaica Metalsmith

Aimee Golant is a sixth generation metalsmith working out of San Francisco, California. She has won many honors including the Jewish Museum of New York's acquisition of one of her evocative mezuzahs for its permanent collection and her Barbed Wire Mezuzah traveling into space on the Space Shuttle’s Columbia and Atlantis. Aimee has created Judaica to benefit Darfur, Sharsheret, the Paper Clips Project, and more. She teaches at several educational institutions in San Francisco, where she lives with her husband and son.

Q: You’ve been making Judaica since the beginning of your career as a metalsmith. Why did you choose to use your metal-smithing skills to make Jewish ritual items?

In early 1993, I was a sophomore at San Francisco State University in my second semester of Metal Art and Jewelry. The professor, Dawn Nakanishi, gave an assignment to use the hydraulic press. I designed three lockets: one with a peace-sign surrounded by petals, the next with a heart, and the third with a Jewish star encircled by barbed wire. I showed my designs to my professor who became both puzzled and concerned.

"I want you to express yourself without using a cliché.” Just like that, my professor rejected my project, encouraging me to dig deeper.

My grandfather is a Holocaust survivor and, along with most every male relative on that side of the family, was a machinist and tool and die maker. They owned a factory in Poland before the war, where they made the machines that made candles. I learned about my grandparents experience in the Holocaust while he taught me to work with metal.

Also at this time, I was taking a class called Holocaust and Genocide where I learned about the Holocaust. I went straight from that class to my metals class several times a week.

With the Holocaust, my grandfather’s legacy as a machinist, and desire to express peace and love without forgetting the bitterness of the Holocaust, the idea of making mezuzot materialized. I created my first die to make three different mezuzot. They had images of flames, jail bars, decay, and pointed barbed wire. I had many intense moments of tears and revelation.

Q. Do you find that non-Jews appreciate your work and “get” what you are doing?

When I finished the first set of mezuzot, I presented them to my class, telling them I loved using the metal in such a meaningful and permanent way; and by making mezuzot, I was preserving a tradition. "But," I asked, "how could there be a G-d when something like the Holocaust happens?" I burst into tears. I knew, in that moment, that this was my first true expression of art. Making Judaica gave me a sense that I could preserve tradition that might have been lost, had Hitler been successful in his endeavors. Nothing before had given me such intense meaning in my life.

Now, my favorite question when I go to art shows is “what is a mezuzah?” because it gives me the opportunity to share meaningful Jewish teachings with the world. The mezuzah has a universal message, and when I sell a mezuzah to a non-Jew, I feel I have just brought peace on Earth! To give of ourselves, as Jews, is one thing we don’t do enough; the outside world doesn’t know who we are. Those words in that mezuzah, Jesus taught that. You don’t have to convert to have a mezuzah.

Q: Where do you look for inspiration for new work?

I usually don't look for inspiration: I’m struck by it. Sometimes, looking at antique Judaica makes me think of my own. Sometimes, when designing mezuzot, architecture is important. Many times, one piece leads to another: I will make one, then all these possibilities open up in my head as to how I can make related pieces. So far, I am full of ideas. Getting the time and means to make the pieces is more of a challenge. I may have some designs sitting in my sketchbook for years. But usually, if a new piece is drawn out and it feels right, and I have the time, (now that I am a mom, this is even more challenging) I will start on it right away.

Q: I love that you work mostly NOT in sterling silver which is expensive and tarnishes. How did you choose to work with metal alternatives to silver for your Judaica?

First of all, I love the warm look of copper. I made the crown for the Woman's Torah Project Torah out of copper to convey warmth instead wealth, which I feel is conveyed by silver. I also adore physically working with copper, along with bits of gold and silver, as it helps contrast, both visually and economically, with the more expensive metals.

Q. What’s next for you?

I’m working on more wearable pieces, more Jewelry, maybe a series of Stars of David.

You can see the full line of Aimee Golant’s work on her website: www.aimeegolant.com

--

Silver Coin Locket for my grandmother's 1943 Liberty $.50 piece

Aimee Golant Blog — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:56:00 GMT

My Grandmother once showed me a coin that she has been saving since 1945. It has a great story that I would like to share with you. After my grandparents survived the Holocaust they were one of the first to come by boat to New York. They were here, staying with my grandmother's uncle for about a week when my grandfather got his first job. He was hired at a gas station, he thought to be a mechanic. Turns out he was pumping gas. He did not last long at the job, since he was a skilled precision tool and die maker and quickly found other work. But on his first week on the job pumping gas-- someone gave him a tip of this 1943 $0.50 piece.

When he brought it home to my grandmother the two of them sat in amazement. It was a huge tip for then-- enough for a week's groceries a tank of gas, etc..... Sometimes life is made up of these magical moments. After surviving 6 years of concentration camps, I think this tip meant a little something extra to them. Perhaps it was a confirmation of freedom, perhaps it was a good omen for the many happy years they would have together raising a family in the US.

Who knows? But my grandma saved the coin all this time, and shared the great story with us. When she told it, she said that she wanted to be buried with the coin. Although we all were sad when she said this I decided to make her a locket so if she wanted to, she could wear the coin.

Aimee Golant's Original Handmade Heart Jewelry-- perfect for Valentine's Day!

Aimee Golant Blog — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:27:00 GMT

Hi everybody,

Here's a selection of my original heart shaped jewelry handmade for Valentine's Day or anytime. We love custom orders and welcome your ideas. Happy browsing! If you have questions, don't hesitate to email me at info@aimeegolant.com. For more information about my work visit my website at www.aimeegolant.com.

My Best,

Aimee

Silver, Copper and 22K gold spiral heart ring. Custom made. Click here to shop and find out more information.

Silver Copper and 22K gold spiral heart earrings. Click here to shop and find out more information.

Silver, steel and gold plated wire earrings. Click here to shop and find out more information.

Spiral Heart Belt Buckle in Pewter. Click here to shop and get more information.

Copper and silver heart ring. email Aimee for more information: info@aimeegolant.com

Silver and pewter Heart Shin Charm necklace with amethyst and pearl. Click here to shop and get more information.

Pewter and silver heart shin earrings. Click here to shop and learn more information.

Silver and pewter Heart Shin Charm necklace with rose quartz and pearl. This one benefits Sharsheret a breast cancer organization. Click here to shop and get more information.

Pewter and stainless Heart Shin Pin Pendant for Sharsheret, A breast cancer organization. Click here to shop and learn more.

Silver and 18K heart Spiral cuff links. Click here to shop and find out more information.

Silver and 18K tie tack. email Aimee for more information: info@aimeegolant.com

Custom copper and silver heart shaped box. email Aimee for more information: info@aimeegolant.com

Aimee Golant @ the "Cartier in America" exhibit!

Aimee Golant Blog — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:31:00 GMT

Please join me on January 24th from 12-3:30 at the "Cartier in America" Exhibit at the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA. I will be doing live hands on jewelry making demonstrations-- specifically stone setting. Here are some pieces that I will be working on. Hope to see you there!

Here are some images from the event:

I was setting stones in the hinged bracelet....