This seder plate is in progress for an exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum 2012.

The theme circulates about a minor Jewish holiday Tu Bishvat.

Exhibition title is:Trees
for Life: A New Vision for Art, Ecology, and Community.
The Dorothy Saxe Invitational
February 16,2012 – June 3,2012

This is a seder plate (in progress) for the Jewish Holiday Tu Bishvat.

(If you never heard of the holiday Tu Bishvat, it is a minor holiday, sometimes called the birthday of trees.)

Strips of metallic gold tin cans layered over the outside.

Every strip is a different pattern and color. Some are plain, some are decorated.

Looking down into the center the Jewish star is very evident....in the negative space, but in fact it doesn't exist.

The Jewish star is as much an illusion as reality. I love how the sloping sides reflect the star motif, and echo the form.

This is supposed to be an under layer below the branches. A huge amount of work for a subtle background.

I worry at this point whether the outside is going to be too beautiful.

More pointed strips wait on my bench to be added. It takes about one hour per piece.

There are still pieces of scotch tape holding this together if you look really close.

The next phase is adding the tree branches. The tree branch with leaves will represent a different fruit and symbol.
Assiyah = eat the inside only. For my seder plate it will have a branch of pomegranates and leaves.

Yetzirah is eat outside only. In this case it will be olives
where the pit on the inside is not eaten.

Beriyah (eating the whole fruit) In this case it is a branch with a few fig leaves and fruit.

Photos taken on Sunday, October 16th by Aryn Shelander.

You can see the seder plate in progress step by step from the past two months of work on my Flickr album. http://www.flickr.com/photos/harriete-estel-berman/sets/72157627467970893/with/6242274843/