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| Events & Announcements | Women's Torah Project | Publications & Presentations | Mezuzah in Space | |
Ascendance 2004From: Metalsmith Magazine Summer 2005 (p. 57)Metalsmith Aimee Golant found a client whose "asethetic matches hers perfectly." Golant, who specializes in Judaica, was commissioned to make several mezuzahs for the client's San Francisco home. A mezuzah (Hebrew for "door post") is a hand-lettered parchment scroll rolled and enclosed in a protective case, then affixed to interior and exterior doorways in Jewish homes. The scroll's text, taken from Deuteronomy, is the commandment to write G-d's words upon the door posts of houses, a reminder of divine presence. Golant's unconventional mezuzahs expose the scroll rather than encasing it, her way of sharing the "beautiful and universal" meaning of the text itself. When the client converted his home's third floor into an open master bedroom suite with striking city views, he asked Golant to create a special mezuzah for an arched doorway at the foot of the staircase leading to the new suite. He envisioned a mezuzah that would reflect the staircases curved wrought iron railing, as well as the spirit of ascendance-from sheltering doorway to open space above, from public entrance to private sanctuary. Golant designed a curvilinear copper and 22K gold frame that draws the eye upward to a focal brown diamond. She chose these materials for their "warmth, beauty, and light," fashioning the sacred object to reflect a life whose richness is valued in human interaction, not by conventionally "precious" possessions. The design that Golant conceived in 10 minutes took 56 hours in the studio to fabricate. She cut thin sheets of annealed 20 gauge copper with a hand saw and foot sheer, then used a Bonny Doon hydraulic press with a custom-cut Plexiglas die form to make a concave groove where the scroll would rest. She cut strips of copper and formed them by hand to make the frame and soldiered it from the back. Hammering achieved a sculptured finish. A flat sheet of copper on the back allows the mezuzah to be affixed to the doorway with high-powered magnets. The client can remove the mezuzah for use as a devotional object during meditation or take it with him when he travels. On its completion in March 2004, the client, his fiancee, and Golant hung the mezuzah in the arched doorway together, saying a prayer for the occasion.
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 Ascendance 2004 Copper, 22K gold, brown diamonds 8" x 3 1/2" x 7/8" |
© 2006 Aimee Golant - 945 Taraval Street #164, San Francisco CA 94116 - (415) 682-7128 - info@aimeegolant.com |