To the Skies

Eden's 24th birthday was coming up and her mum asked me to make a card for her. She is a flight attendant for El Al, Israel's national airline, so mum asked me to show her daughter wearing their navy blue uniform. She told me that Eden regularly flies to New York and that it is her favourite place for a layover.

I decided to show Eden wearing the uniform she wears during flights. She prefers trousers with a white short-sleeved shirt and waistcoat. Mum made sure I knew about the gold tag she wears on her waistcoat and the scarf that all the female attendants wear. In addition, she always wears her hair in a plait with hair bands going down it, a style that keeps her hair away from her face.

There are blues skies and white clouds behind Eden. I added a number 24 to mark her age, along with a small photo of Times Square and the famous I ❤ NY logo. The logo was designed by graphic designer Milton Glaser in 1976 in the back of a taxi and has been used since 1977 to promote tourism in the state of New York.
A small plane is decorated in El Al's livery, which features a blue stripe with a thick silver border on the bottom that sweeps across the side of the aircraft near the wing, and a turquoise tailfin with the flag of Israel at the top.

El Al was founded in November 1948 as Israel's national airline and operated its first scheduled flight on 31st July 1949 from Tel Aviv, Israel to Rome and Paris. The airline began flying to many European destinations the same year, with services to the United States and South Africa starting in 1951. It is the only commercial airline to equip its planes with missile defence systems to protect its planes against surface-to-air missiles, and is considered one of the world's most secure airlines.

The name "El Al" comes from the Tanach, or Hebrew Bible, and means "to the above" or more poetically "to the skies". The phrase comes from the Book of Hosea. In the seventh verse of Chapter 11 of the book it says: "And my people are in suspense about returning to me; and though they call them to the above [el-al], none at all will lift himself up."
Eden messaged me to say that she loved the card.

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun. and Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday).