‘ Let us celebrate the breath
of all living things
and praise all essences.’

(Marcia Falk, The Book of Blessings, Harper Collins, San Francisco 1996) Inscription on gumnut spice container

I was born in Australia, a country unique in it’s vast open spaces and intense sunlight. I grew up with the smells and sounds that form part of my identity and mingle with my European past to influence my artistic eye. The gumnut and its cycle of life were the inspiration for the Havdalah set. The design of candleholder is based on a side section of the gumnut after it has flowered. This gumnut is a storehouse of seeds (life) ready to regenerate the earth, the candle as a source of light celebrating the start of the new working week. The colours relate to the blossoms and leaves, the spices aromatic native plants. In the traditional blessing,

G-d is praised not just for creating the aromatic spices but for creating (many) kinds (or varieties) of fragrant spices. If fragrances are taken metaphorically to mean identities, this blessing might be said to celebrate the diversity of individual identities within creation.

Havdalah Set: Kiddush cup, spice container, candleholder
Materials: lead crystal, silver
Size: 10 x 9-x 23 cm
Made: 1998