![\"photo](\"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/apr-23-visual-arts.23.ChaiQuilt_2.jpg\")
<\/a>The show takes place in conjunction with the JCC\u2019s Festival of Israeli Culture and, therefore, shares the festival\u2019s theme, which is celebrating life \u2013 chai<\/em>, in Hebrew.<\/p>\n \u201cWe asked everyone to create their own celebration of life and spring,\u201d explained Forstenzer. \u201cNo matter how hard the pandemic hit us all, there is still life worth celebrating.\u201d<\/p>\n When the squares came back from the artists, Forstenzer created a quilt of them on one long wall of the gallery, a continuous artistic surface reflecting community members\u2019 united vision of life. \u201cThe squares touch sides,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if we can\u2019t meet because of the pandemic, we\u2019re still in this together. Our art brings us together.\u201d<\/p>\n The show\u2019s unique blend of professional and amateur artists means there are several profound differences from previous Zack shows. One of those differences is that there are no name cards. If a participant signed their square, everyone can see their name; if not, the square\u2019s creator is anonymous.<\/p>\n Another difference is that the show started a week later than planned.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of the participants are families with children,\u201d said Forstenzer. \u201cThey kept calling me and asking for more time. Even now, when the show is open, the squares are still trickling in. There are already over 70 on the wall. I had three new ones today, waiting on my desk, and more are coming, I\u2019m sure. I\u2019m going to add them on to the end of the quilt as they come.\u201d<\/p>\n The show, or rather the quilt, grows daily; resembling a living organism. And, it also changes. As I was speaking to Forstenzer, one of the participants, Jessica Gutteridge, artistic director of the Rothstein Theatre, came into the gallery. She wanted to rotate her square, which was already on the gallery wall. \u201cIt would look better the other way,\u201d she offered, and Forstenzer agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cI was excited to have an opportunity to participate in this community art project,\u201d Gutteridge said. \u201cAlthough my professional artistic practice is in the theatre, I have been involved as a hobbyist and student in visual arts and crafts, particularly needlework, for most of my life. During the early part of the pandemic, Hope and I created a virtual drop-in community art program called the Creative Kibbitz. It was based on a project I had started \u2013 to invite people to my home to socialize and make creative work. This show was a nice way to extend that work, and a theme based on celebrating life and renewal seemed very appropriate and inspiring in this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Gutteridge has never participated in a Zack show before, her pink square with its jolly cherry blossoms looks like it belongs on the gallery\u2019s wall. \u201cCherry blossom time is one of my favourite moments of the year,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is so ethereally beautiful for the short time it lasts. To me, it captures the rebirth of spring perfectly and the stirring of new life. I decided to make a spray of cherry blossoms using two of my favourite media, yarn and rhinestones, in an effort to make something that captures the shimmer and sparkle of spring.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to needlework, the quilt pieces have been made using an astounding variety of media. Photo collages and paintings. Feathers and beads and felt flowers. Dried leaves and confetti paper ribbons. Letters and abstract glitter splashes. Buttons and lace.<\/p>\n The creator of one square, which has dancers in lacy costumes, is Beryl Israel, a retired teacher. \u201cI am a member of the fantastic JCC Circle of Friends program,\u201d she said in an email interview. \u201cUp to the start of COVID, I taught tap dancing at one of the local community centres.\u201d Her love of dancing poured into her contribution to this show.<\/p>\n \u201cMy motivation for this work was to concentrate on the happiness and positivity around us in a gentle, hopeful way, with the inspiration from the dancing figures of Matisse,\u201d she explained. \u201cI wanted to record some of my old dress fabrics, laces from my mother, favourite photos, handmade paper, flowers, etc., plus the use of acrylic paints and stitching, which resulted in my composition.\u201d<\/p>\n The imagination all the artists infused into their squares seems to know no bounds, as if they wanted to say, the ways in which we each see life is different, but, together, we can create a life as diverse and colourful as the Chai Quilt on the wall of the Zack Gallery.<\/p>\n The quilt is on exhibit until May 14.<\/p>\n<\/a>