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…
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…
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…
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…
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 Kadima’s 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…
Judaism can be a mindset, a way of life that stems from the very human desire for spirituality. My cousin understood this as we spoke about Jewish values and my work during one of our hikes. I’m always searching for more ways to share the gifts that Judaism has to offer, its values and traditions, to anyone of any religious…
What makes a gift meaningful? Is a hand-crafted present that you make yourself more personal than something produced on a wide-scale? Does the utility of the object make a difference? Yes, and yes! Okay, I’ve got a pretty obvious bias being a craftsperson, but I adamantly believe that objects transcend their mere materiality and become personally meaningful when you understand…
To me, the care and intention behind the creation of an object is what constitutes it’s sacred quality. The personalized articulation of patterns and textures from hand-made pieces make them that much more tangible and impacting as gifts created out of a very human love and compassion. These sentiments are what brought Ashley Teague, a previous student of mine from…
Rosh Hashanah, the new year on the Jewish calendar, encourages and celebrates the ability to dream and envision what you want your future to look like. What kind of person were you this past year? Have your actions reflected your beliefs? How do you seek to relate to the world? During this time of the year, we reflect on both…
“Crafting and artistry makes the world go round,” expresses Aimee Golant, a San Francisco Jewish artist who, in her work, seeks to highlight the common “oneness” in humanity. This will be her second year in the Women’s Building annual Celebration of Craftswomen: an event that, through the community of craftspeople, helps transform the lives of women. In browsing the…
Game Changer: Aimee Bets on New Spin For The Dreidel: Chanukah – the Jewish festival of lights – is fast-approaching, and San Francisco’s metal artist Aimee Golant innovates on the customs in order to make the holiday more spiritually engaging for all. A common tradition on Chanukah is to spin the dreidel, the Jewish variation on a top, as…
March 21st, 22nd and 23rd, Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz CA will host Aimee Golant for a weekend of art, spiritual living, and encouragement toward one’s personal and professional pursuits. Golant, an award-winning metal-craftswoman of the San Francisco Bay Area, has the grit and passion of a successful self-starter in the art industry. On Friday night, March 21st, she will…