Finger-woven sashes and straps from Peru. Although they resemble card-weaving, the sellers said that it’s finger-weaving. It’s also not dense enough to be card-weaving. I suspect the technique is similar to the French-Canadian ceinture fléchée but the Peruvian technique is called “rep braiding.” The weft is diagonal, so it’s not loom-woven.
Embroidered pillows from Hungary:
We always try to go to the concert. The admission fee for Khutsot haYotser is a bit steep if you’re just going to look at the craft booths, but for a regular concert it’s a bargain. Here’s Shalom Hanoch (most of the performers tend to be on the “mature” side).
Matti Caspi, who was performing with Riki Gal. (We really wanted to hear Ehud Banai a couple days later but my husband got sick.)
Whew–finally posted all my Khutsot haYotzer photos! Sorry about the delay.
These exquisitely turned boxes, cups, and dreidels were made by Eli Abuhatzira (below). A friend of mine took a wood-turning course with Eli. She said that she was making a nice but rather dull bowl on the lathe. Eli added a groove and enlarged a space a tiny bit and it turned the bowl into something extraordinary. I was hoping to come back to get better photos of him at work. The space was very crowded and I took these photos over people’s shoulders, under a very yellow light (probably halogen), so the colour had to be adjusted quite a lot.
It wasn’t easy getting a good focus on hands behind a dirty plexiglass screen but this shot worked.
Instrument-maker Shlomo Moyal gave an excellent lecture on how a violin is made, including the different kinds of wood that go into making a single instrument.
Hungarian furniture painter painting a chest.
I couldn’t get a good shot of his hands because he was sitting next to the wall of the kiosk.
“Tav” means a compartment or cubicle. The Tav Café is literally a cube surrounded on all sides by stages, with a band in one corner, on the second level. I had a seat at the edge, in a corner, so that’s why the angle is the same for all photos and the video. If I’d gotten up to move around someone else would have snagged my seat.
The aerial acrobat in the photo above was less than ten feet above me. I’ve photographed aerial acts before but this is the first time I’ve had to use the wide end of my telephoto! Trying to shoot someone moving very fast in the dark is always a challenge. I have to crank up the ISO and resign myself to the fact that the photo isn’t going to be tack sharp, although this shot didn’t turn out too badly. Her face is reasonably sharp, even if the angle is a little unflattering (nostrils are rarely a girl’s best feature). Her right leg is sharp, with only a little motion blur in the left leg and the rope. This was cropped so that she would stand out better against the black sky and because I shot with a very wide angle while she was moving around, so that I would have a chance of getting her framed without cutting off a foot.
The performances are a mixture of dance, acting, acrobatics, outlandish costumes. Since this is the second year that I’ve watched the performance I’ve been able to identify some of the regulars. You really need to watch the video to get a sense of the performance, though. One tip: seats are limited and the “real” performance starts after dark (8:10 this year), so grab a seat early. If you’re with kids they might get a bit restless waiting for half an hour. You can sit on the outside for free but the table seats are for people ordering food and drinks.
This talented woman sings, acts, and plays the guitar.
I’m wondering whether this glass ball juggler was the same guy I photographed at Balabasta last year, with a shorter haircut. Here’s a better shot of his face. Or maybe balancing glass balls on the back of one’s hands is a trend. In the video a musician with a bowed instrument is accompanying him. I think I’ve identified the instrument. It appears to be a Swedish nyckelharpa. (Here’s a link to a video of a solo nyckelharpa played by a master. One of the reasons I like blogging is because it gives me an excuse to look up info on new instruments, objects, artwork, etc.)
Tower of nested plastic water bottles balanced on the chin.
It’s that time of year again! Debbie and I went to Hutzot haYotzer last night. Although we went early, it was quite crowded. My main interest is the International Pavilion.
A Slovakian bobbin lacemaker was working on a 5-pair design on a cylindrical pillow:
A Croatian lacemaker stopped to show me her sol needlelace. She used homemade square, circular, and heart-shaped forms cut from heavy plastic.
Cameroon:
Indian Ikat weaver wrapping warp threads.
Traditional Ikat begins with wrapping the warp threads tightly with string.
The threads are dipped in dyes (it’s a form of tie-dye, actually), unwrapped, and left to dry. Then they’re woven into cloth. That’s how the unusual patterns are formed, although nowadays most Ikat is printed.
Four embroiderers were working on shirts in the Romanian booth.
Guatemalan textiles are so colourful! They’re commercially woven but very reasonably priced.
Peruvian tapestry weaving, but the old floor loom in front is just a display piece.
Molas, handmade but strictly tourist-trade quality. I didn’t spot anything unusual there.
Extremely cheap Andean knitting. Not sure how one makes a profit on a 35 NIS alpaca hat…
This Bolivian piper is a regular at the festival.
The El Salvador booth had a few elaborate arpilleros for sale.
This year there were a couple gallery spaces, one for sculpture and another for painting. The sculpture section turned into an extension of the food court because seating space is scarce.
At this point we moved to the Israeli pavilion.
It was great seeing Nuni again. She was my basket-weaving teacher. She makes gorgeous baskets and dyes the reeds herself.
Papafork makes wonderful whimsical sculptures out of recycled computer and kitchen junk!
Chess set made of dreidels (spinning tops), by the Dreidel House.
Last night we went to Hutzot haYotzer. I haven’t been for a couple years, so I was glad to have an opportunity to go this year. The festival runs from Aug. 2 to 14, 2010, 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. (midnight, after Shabbat), in Sultan’s Pool, near the Old City of Jerusalem. This year there are over 150 exhibitors. I thought the entrance fee (55 NIS, about $12) was quite fair because it is a lot more than a craft fair. There are live performances (I counted four musical venues), a big concert each evening, street theater, a food court, and demonstrations of spinning and glass blowing.
I always go to the international paviliions first. This year the offerings were somewhat more commercial than the last time I was there. Two years ago I found a wonderful Panamian mola that had been cut out of a blouse and made into a bag (blogged here). This year I bought a couple baskets (from South African and Bolivia), a small bag (Guatamala), and a painted turtle box (Indonesia). Or is it a box turtle? 🙂
List of exhibitors in the international pavilion.
Beaded figure of a woman from Cameroon
Hungarian lacemaker making a narrow bobbin lace edging. The examples I saw were very similar to Russian bobbin lace, with its trails and plaits.
Chinese artist
Sbun-Nga – Dancers from Thailand
The Thai dance troupe, Sbun-Nga,performed on the small stage in the international pavilion. There were several dance sets, which began with what I presume were somewhat traditional dances. The costumes were lovely. The commentary, over a loudspeaker at the beginning of each set, was in English. If I recall correctly, the woman in the gold cape represents some kind of exotic bird.
The set in the next photo was modeled on a cooking show. A bare-chested chef wielded a gourd, surrounded by a bevy of writhing maidens with mortars and pestles.
This set was very funny. How can I describe it. A girl and a carrot. Wait a minute — they’re all holding carrots. According to the commentary, carrots are a sign of hospitality among hard-working Thai farmers (the guys in black). That certainly clears things up!
I also found some YouTube videos of their performance in Melbourne this year. They did the Beethoven-with-castanets dance last night. I’m sorry I couldn’t find a video of the carrot dance!
Mosh Ben Ari
The main performer was Mosh Ben Ari, an Israeli singer and composer who sings a mixture of rock, soul, and reggae. (Here’s the official Mosh ben Ari site). We really enjoyed it. My son stayed until the end. We left after about 45 minutes because it was getting late.
My son is somewhere among the masses of arm-waving teenagers in front of the stage (below).
We were sitting near the top of the stands.
I have a few more photos in my Flickr set. The festival was crowded but not unbearable. The food court has improved a lot. Now it’s a lot easier to find reasonably priced kosher food. People who have mobility problems may have difficulty going down some of the rock-cut steps but quite a few ramps have been provided.
