I was meant to visit the exhibition "The Spark" by Work Off Art at the beginning of March, but of course it was closed due to the war with Iran. I finally got there in mid-April, and I'm so glad I did. The exhibition was curated by Ya'ara Sachs, who was also behind the groundbreaking Pop-Up Museum TLV, among other projects. As explained in one of the wall texts, the exhibition's title, "The Spark", refers to that very moment when the spark is lit - the force that drives artists and individuals to keep creating, dreaming, and illuminating their surroundings, even in times of personal and collective crisis. It was Sachs's final exhibition in Israel before opening her first international show abroad.
The exhibition is being held in the former Tara factory in Tel Aviv's central business district, once home to one of Israel's best-known dairy companies. Over time, as the dairy industry moved out of central Tel Aviv to other locations, the original factory land became highly valuable for redevelopment.
Before the site is redeveloped into large-scale residential and office towers, dozens of artists have transformed 43 rooms and office spaces into a multi-room immersive art experience. Each room reflects an artist's personal "spark". The result is a rich, colourful journey through video art, installations, sculpture and sound.
Rooms were filled with animals, knives floating in space, and areas packed with hands and furry creatures. There were giant flowers made from pipe cleaners, a music machine powered by a compressor and a party blower, a childhood room seen from a unique angle, a giant aquarium, and a large, ominous block suspended in the air. A personal favourite was Shelly Picha's room, above, where she transformed words, names, and prayers into a calligraphic space of memory and healing.
Rotem Michaeli's "Planted Here" was a soft, colourful space built from pipe cleaners. Tall flowers swayed in a gentle breeze, their constant movement highlighting the fragility of life and reality - in Israel, always, and especially today. The room offered a quiet hope that even what seems fragile and delicate is capable of blooming. It was created in memory of the artist's sister.
This room made my friend and me stop for a moment. At first glance, it seemed to tell a story of pain, of hostages, and of war. But the shadow on the wall revealed a shift - when struggle turns into hope, and hope becomes reality. We left feeling a little more hopeful.
Caroline Attoun's work reflected on how reading sparks her imagination. When she feels uninspired, she turns to books, where even a small detail - a minor character or a single sentence - can suddenly ignite new ideas. For her, reading opens up space for imagination, allowing a whole world to form beyond the written words. The work captured that moment of "falling into" a book, when text and imagination meet and creativity begins.
Studio Plan B (Maya and Max Gat-Mor) created an installation composed of sharp metal knives, suspended in a precise and harmonious structure. "Hanging by a Thread" was created after 7th October and it explored the fragile line between constant danger and moments of calm and beauty.
Sapir Ashkenazi’s room reflected on her teenage years, when she often felt caught between loneliness and connection, and between uncertainty and belonging. To calm herself, she would go to the University Railway Station and watch Tel Aviv's city skyline, mesmerised by the glowing buildings and the sense of something larger than herself.
Kobi Osher's "Through the Fracture" used concrete as a central material. A massive, cracked block appeared to float in space. From within the cracks burst light and richness - symbols of creation, life, and small moments of hope. The piece was clearly a metaphor for the weight and pressure we create in our own minds, which in truth carry no real mass.
Another favourite of mine, perhaps because they used paper, were Natalia Volkov's figures of animals native to Israel. They were built from photographs of everyday moments and familiar Israeli landscapes that inspire her. These ordinary moments of architecture and daily life were transformed into living forms, reflecting both the fragility and resilience of Israel's landscapes and the rhythm of life within them.
A number of artworks were displayed in the factory's courtyard. Anna Kogan created an anamorphic sculpture from everyday objects, which from a single viewpoint revealed a portrait of Elon Musk. The sculpture evoked his childhood room in South Africa, where he found refuge in science fiction books, comics, computer games, and encyclopaedias. From those worlds of imagination, a spark emerged - one that turned the boy into a man who dreamed of leading humanity to other planets. As we moved around the piece, the image constantly shifted, showing how perspective changes everything: what seemed ordinary or broken revealed something entirely new. It was a powerful play on perspective, imagination, and inspiration.
Finally, Elad Elyakim's piece "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life" used an eight-metre-high lift shaft in the old Tara factory. The large-scale work featured white Hebrew typography on a black background, with letters intersecting and intertwining to fill the entire surface. It continued Elyakim's practice of giving discarded spaces and objects new life through painted words and letters.
"The Spark" is a moving and thought-provoking exhibition that I really enjoyed. The works show how inspiration can come even in a difficult and complex reality, and I connected with many of the pieces, which were both interesting and thought-provoking. It seems that sometimes, all it takes to keep going is one small spark.
Keshet turned 16 at the end of June. Her mum told me that she loves going to the beach to watch the sunset. She sent me a few photos of Keshet and hoped that I could use a combination of them to create a special birthday card for her.
Now, Keshet and I go way back - despite the fact that she's only 16! As her mum put it, "She's an original Lisa card baby!" When Keshet was born, a customer asked me to create a picture for her nursery. It showed baby Keshet together with her parents and siblings. Since then, the family has grown, with more children joining the family! When Keshet turned 8 in 2018, I made her a birthday card filled with rainbows, doughnuts and other sweet treats. (The Hebrew name Keshet means "rainbow" in English.) That same year, she came to do a workshop with me, and we spent two and a half happy hours drawing, cutting and sticking together. When she turned 9, her mum told me she "cheered with joy" when she saw the birthday card featuring her new sewing machine and the slime she loved making. For her 10th birthday, she was all smiles, giving a big thumbs up, and by the time she turned 11, she was dreaming of owning an iPhone! In fact, back in 2019, I ended up making cards for the whole family!
Now Keshet is all grown up and, sadly, she preferred that I didn't share the wonderful photo and video clips her mum sent me of the moment she realised that, once again, she'd received one of my cards. They made me smile though, and I was delighted to see that, at 16, she was still just as thrilled to receive one!
Just a few weeks after
Polly celebrated her 60th birthday, her husband reached the milestone of 70. She wanted to give him
one of my cards too, one that brought together all the things he loves. The themes she requested were yoga, baseball (especially
the Mets), and piles
of books. The books had to reflect his wonderfully varied interests: genocide,
the Hebrew Bible (Tanach), and sports statistics. Quite the eclectic reading list!
Polly sent me some photos of her husband Marc to use as reference. I asked
whether I should show him wearing the hat that appeared in every photo, to
which she replied, "Yes!" Apparently, he bought it in Australia and wears
it all the time.
My card shows Marc wearing his favourite Australian bush hat and sitting
cross-legged in the Lotus Pose (Padmasana), the most famous yoga
position. It is a traditional meditation posture where each foot is
placed on the opposite thigh, with the soles facing upwards. One hand is
shown in the chin mudra yogic hand gesture, which is believed to
instil wisdom, improve concentration, calm the nervous system, and lift
dull energy. The gesture is formed by touching the tip of the thumb to
the tip of the index finger to create a circle, while keeping the
remaining three fingers extended. In Marc's other hand, he is
holding a pile of books titled with the subjects requested by his wife.
I added the Mets logo to the card, along with a big orange number 70 to
mark his milestone birthday. Polly told me that Marc loved his
card. "Thank you Lisa for yet another amazing card!" she wrote.
I am a graphic designer by profession who has gone 'back to basics' and I love anything handmade. I enjoy working with paper and other materials, and am always excited to try new projects.
