A Yad is not a Yard in Boston

With Rosh Hashanah approaching at the end of the month, and the expansion of our art glass Judaica line, I thought it would be appropriate at this time to explain some of the most interesting works of art depicting the pieces used in the rituals of the Jewish religion. One such item is the yad. Most yads found in homes and synagogues are made of metal. But leave it to an inspired artist, particularly a glass artist, and you will discover what we here at Crescent Moon have; simply the most beautiful works of art by a few Jewish artists. Wikipedia is my resource of choice to look up definitions or to sort out information. The wiki below provides the best explanation for a yad.

A yad (Hebrew: יד‎), literally, "hand," is a Jewish ritual pointer, used to point to the text during the Torah reading from the parchment Torah scrolls. It is intended to prevent anyone from touching the parchment, which is considered sacred; additionally, the fragile parchment can be damaged by the oils of the skin. While not required when chanting from the Torah, it is used frequently. A yad can be made of any number of materials, though silveris most common. The yad is often shaped like a long rod, with a small hand and an index finger pointing from it.

Now that you know what a real yad is…you’ll never confuse it with a yard pronounced by a Bostonian! The picture above is a cobalt yad flame-worked by Andrew Pollack, a Crescent Moon artist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Crescent Moon has four other Judaica artists with Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Hanukah art glass items. More on the artists and art as we go along.

How in the world did we get here?

I need to start by saying "it was a 5 year plan that became a 2 year plan that became a 9 month plan within a 1 hour car ride back from the Atlantic City boat show in 2004. Everyone should have a plan B when you work in the corporate world for 25 plus years. Ours turned out to be moving aboard a 42ft. trawler. Downsizing again from our townhome on the bay in central NJ and leaving jobs. Well, it didn't take us long to realize we didn't want to live onboard in the winter in NJ, soooo we were very lucky to have my sister and brother-in-law living in Wilmington NC to be our support system there. We cruised south on the ICW in November 2006 and spent the winter in Southport NC, fell in love with the area, found out Crescent Moon was for sale, and made an agreement with the owners to buy it in January 2007. Whew, that was a major Plan B for two jerseyites used to secure 8-5 careers in business and 50 something to boot! We wouldn't reverse our decision for anything! We cruised on our roomy Jefferson sundeck back and forth, met wonderful cruising friends and continue to live aboard in Wilmington; now at Wilmington Marine Center on the Cape Fear River. So we are living and supporting Plan B as retail owners of the best little art glass shop on the east coast and loving it. And...we've got Plan C in our dreams, and who knows maybe Plan D that we will look forward to.

Pictures: Above our home. To the left is just one of the sunsets we enjoyed

The "jellies" don't sting here

Artist Rick Satava and his truly realistic Jellyfish in glass have been a part of Crescent Moon for many years. Each year they attract our visitors and customers over and over. We hear it several times a week from people that they bring in friends to see his work. A shelf of "jellies" is pictured to the right. Do many assume it is a real jellyfish? Oh yes, and that is the testament to the talent of Satava. Even his magnificent Nautilus and Petroglyph vases, on display now, appear to have been painted with an artist's brush. We like to say..."Rick paints with glass without a brush"!

Jellyfish have been found on earth for over 650 million years - before sharks and even dinosaurs. They have no head, heart, brain, bones, cartilage or real eyes. Yet they're among the major predators in the ocean. Their tentacles carry stinging cells that are among the most complicated found anywhere in the animal kingdom. Did you know Jellies are 95% water and humans are 75% water?

Rick says that the complexities and contradictions along with the translucent beauty and grace are the characteristics that intrigued him and seduced him into spending five years developing the colors and hot glass process necessary to capture "jellyfish" in glass.

These sculptures are built from the inside out - starting at the core and adding one tentacle at a time and finally the clear dome is added and the "jelly" is born. Everything seen in a jelly is a different color of glass. The way it is layered gives it a translucent appearance. Developing the chemistry, yep chemistry even in glass work, was the most challenging aspect for Rick to bring the ethereal, ghost-like quality into his glass sculpture. His exclusive formulas blending various metal oxides such as silver, cobalt, selenium, cadmium, and others into molten glass work in tandem with his vast experience in hot glass, to bring to life these amazing works of art.

Come visit and experience the art of Satava...maybe one will captivate you!

It's a new day...

This blog thing is all new to me and I must admit a little intimidating since I don't consider myself a journalistic type. Writing copy for ads and such is another thing. But today's marketing says you should have a blog, build your followers and keep them interested. So here I go, diving in head and feet first with my first blog post at 11:18pm while watching the Eagles play the Cowboys and oh, what a game. I'm an Eagles fan big time, and I'm sure some cheering will enter into my future blogs as the football season progresses. Oh, and I love the football season.

But art glass, yes art glass, is our theme here. At our gallery we display close to 65 artists who work in glass. Blown glass, fused glass, stained glass, flame-worked glass all categorized as functional, collectible, decorative, wearable or for outdoor. I'll attempt in this blog to inform the reader about art glass, and it's allure. And throw in some interesting stories about us.