The Best of 2020 - Part II

1. POP-UP Museum TLV 2  2. Gazelle Valley 3. Beit She'an National Park 4. The Argaman Iris Reserve 5. Celebrating My 50th Birthday in the Middle of a Pandemic 6. Nahal Arugot 7. Latrun Fortress 8. The Masrek Nature Reserve  9. The Scroll of Fire and Anne Frank Memorials 10. Shvil HaErez (The Cedar Trail)

Happy New Year! I am going to start the year with my second review of 2020, my top 10 favourite places that I visited last year.

When I started writing this blog back in 2008 I initially kept it as a blog purely about my papercut art. However, I soon found out that people were interested in reading a little more about me and my life here in Israel. I started to write blog posts about my Jewish faith and many of the holidays we celebrate and about some of the beautiful places I have been fortunate to visit in Israel.

This month I will be marking 26 years living here. Over the years I have enjoyed exploring my little country, from north to south, indoors and out. Of course 2020 was like no other year. We have been in lockdown three times and were barely able to leave the house. Foreign travel was impossible, though back in February I was fortunate to spend a lovely couple of weeks with my dad in the UK, before all the coronavirus troubles really began.

Having said all that, Mister Handmade in Israel and I have made the most of it and have really got to know the area around us. From the summer onward, we hiked almost weekly, rarely driving more than 40 minutes from the city where we live. We have discovered some beautiful areas and some amazing history. I was once hesitant to hike without a guide but now we regularly pull on our walking boots and set off on a new route. I'm not saying we never get lost - of course we do - but that has been part of the fun and there have been no major disasters!

The Ancient Synagogue of Beit Alpha

Rosh HaAyin Forest

The Beit Itab Ruins

As you can see from my Top 10, the year started off with just one "indoor" visit, to the amazing "Pop-Up Museum TLV" graffiti event in Tel Aviv. Also in January, we spent a lovely day in Beit She'an with friends visiting from Cyprus. After that, everything has been about just the two of us exploring the hills and forests around us. I celebrated my 50th birthday in a national park just outside Jerusalem and in June we travelled further afield to the Dead Sea area, to spend Mister Handmade in Israel's birthday hiking at Nahal Arugot. I have blogged about many of these amazing places and more. Please click on the names above and enjoy exploring Israel with me!

The Mazor Mausoleum and Kula Forest

Ein Kobi and the Seadim Ruins

* This post has been shared on Nature Notes, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Tuesday's Treasures, Pictorial Tuesday, Our World Tuesday and My Corner of the World.

Fox Art

Orders have been a little bit slower than usual whilst we have been on lockdown so I have used my spare time to create something for my own enjoyment. When I visited the wonderful Pop-Up Museum TLV 2 in Tel Aviv back in January I spotted a fox on the wall of the apartment building that was set for destruction. I realised there and then that it would make a great papercut and, with time on my hands, decided to make my own version of it. My fox would certainly outlast the doomed graffiti!

Inspired by the graffiti I saw, I created this fox papercut. It was drawn and cut by hand and placed on a patterned background. I subsequently scanned my original artwork and have made it into a high quality giclée print which is now available in my Etsy shop.
My print would be a great addition to your office or lounge, your child's bedroom or simply as a gift. It is printed on 145 g/m2 high gloss inkjet paper. The colours, textures and detail are identical to the original artwork. Various sizes are available. Please stop by my shop and take a peek.

* This post has been shared on Inspire Me Monday, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Inspire Me Monday, Make It Pretty Monday, Tuesdays with a Twist and Inspire Me Tuesday.

POP-UP Museum TLV 2

The graffiti event "Pop-Up Museum TLV" is due to take place three times a year, each time in a different building in the city of Tel Aviv. Each of the three buildings chosen will be upgraded in accordance with the TAMA 38* plan (TAMA is an abbreviation in Hebrew which means "National Outline Plan 38") but beforehand they will host an exhibition that promotes young artists in various fields of art. One such event, which I first noticed on Facebook, took place in January. People seemed very excited by it and were writing rave reviews. Though they said that the queues to get in were long, I knew that I had to go and see what all the fuss was about!

More than 90 talented artists had come together come together to transform the walls of an apartment building set to be gutted in central Tel Aviv. The theme of the event was "What if this is just a dream?". Graffiti artists, painters, illustrators and graphic designers were asked to offer their interpretation of the question. The empty walls, ceilings and floors of the apartment building enabled them to go beyond the boundaries of standard art exhibitions and provided them with a unique platform to express themselves. 

The artists covered every inch of the four floors and 12 apartments in the building on Clay Street with works depicting dreams, love, social media and life in Tel Aviv. Each artist was able to put his or her own interpretation on the walls, in the corridors, and in every open space, in keeping with the guidelines that the walls themselves must not be left white. In contrast to museums and galleries, where works are displayed against the background of white walls, with Pop-Up Museum TLV 2, the entire building was to be turned into a parallel world.

In recent years we've witnessed the art establishment's warming to - even adoption - of street art. What was once deemed underground and plain illegal, done in the dark of night on sketchy streets, unvalued, covered over and erased, has increasingly been absorbed into the cultural and artistic mainstream as municipal bodies and museums around the world gradually understood the power of street art. The about-turn in attitude includes an acknowledgement that it attracts tourists, provides employment for tour guides and artists, and it breathes life into the often staid art world.

Pop-Up Museum TLV 2 introduced the art of the street and the art of underground art into the space of a home, allowing the artists to break the rules and paint on the walls of the house!

For six days, the building became a stage for colourful, experiential artworks. Among the artists participating were Tal Heuberger, EreZoo and Sasha Streetart. After a week the building was gutted and with it, all the works that covered the walls of the apartments. A demolition party with a DJ for the building was planned for the final evening of the event.

According to Ya'ara Sachs, Pop-Up Museum TLV's curator, artists take over hangars and warehouses with their works all over the world, and afterwards the buildings are destroyed. That thought led to the cooperation between Pop-Up Museum TLV and Anshei Ha'Ir, "City People", a real estate development company that is active in the urban renewal field in Israel's central region and particularly within Tel Aviv. Together they decided to promote young artists and leading artists who lack exposure, artists who generally don't have a foothold in museums and galleries, some of whom are working illegally and underground. With Pop-Up Museum TLV they were given legitimacy and an invitation to be creative.

The public came out in hordes to see the event and it took me some time to gain entry to the building. However, once inside, I was so excited by what I saw. Different styles, different types of art and so much to see in every room, wall, and almost every floor and ceiling. I am already looking forward to the next POP-UP Museum TLV building! The only shame was that the event was not on for a longer period, but demolition was imminent...

* TAMA 38 is a unique Israeli construction program created to strengthen and upgrade older apartment buildings. It serves to protect them from earthquakes and to increase urban housing units in high demand areas. Developers get to add new floors on the top of existing apartment buildings in exchange for improvements.

** This post has been shared on My Corner of the World, Communal Global, Little Things Thursday, All Seasons, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Sharon's Souvenirs, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday's Treasures, Pictorial Tuesday and Travel Tuesday.