Tamar Hammer's Blog

My Art For The Jewish High Holidays

2011-08-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

I have unique items for the Jewish high holidays in the Judaica section at my Etsy shop !Please come visit me there. L'SHANA TOVA!

Family sign - special order

2011-07-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Mishpachat Mcnucovitz - Family sign (special order) for more of my signs click here

New Hand Painted Cat Cards

2011-06-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

Acrylic paints and color pencils on thick on high quality tree friendly bamboo paper.See more pictures at my Etsy store.

New Hand Painted Pomegranate cards

2011-04-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

Acrylic paints and color pencils on thick recycled fiber paperSee more pictures at my Etsy store.

My Art For Passover

2011-02-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

Magnets:and Cards:See them all here

My Art For Valentine’s Day

2011-01-26T19:25:00.000-08:00

1. Love Magnets (set of 6)2. Kids Valentines Day Cards - Printable, Digital file (Cats) 3. Daisy Love - one of a kind hand-painted Daisy magnets4. Original Comics Heart Magnets - SO and WHAT (Set of 2)1. Be My Valentine - Mosaic and Flowers Card 2. Love in the Vineyard - Set of 5 Magnets3. Love Boats - Fun Card for Valentine's Day4. Original Comics Heart Magnets NOT

New Hearts and Flowers for Valentine's Day

2011-01-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hand Painted Wooden Heart Magnets for Valentine's DaySee more heart sets (birds, cats and dogs...) Here

Hand Painted Flower Cards

2010-12-10T08:01:00.000-08:00

I just love painting these flower cards. I paint them with acrylic paints and color pencils on high quality recycled fiber paper.Flowers and a CatFlowers in Unique VaseTwo Red RosesFlowers in a Brown VaseBeside flower cards (with or without a cat) I also like to paint dog cards like these and happy to do it for special orders:More of my hand painted cards are here

My Art For Hanukkah

2010-11-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

One month to Hanukkah!Latkes smell is about to fill the air ...I have some unique greeting cards (with my own Latkes recipe on the back), marble glass magnets, brooch and art for Hanukkah in my Etsy shop!Please come visit me there.1. Peace Dove of the Golden Mountains (Detail) 2. Hanukkah Tree (Painting) 3. Hanukkah Menorah Card (My

You really push it, David!

2010-10-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

"That's how it starts out, unnoticed, only around the edges. Freezing nights stain it with orange, which sometimes turns into red later. Right now, it's happening now. They've got the wind direction ( and dropping of temperatures at night is already 'old news') but, as a fresh rumor, they pass on the code from one to another. Later they will take a deep breath and start with that. Of course

My Art For The Jewish High Holidays

2010-09-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

I have some unique items for the Jewish high holidays in my Etsy shop!Please come visit me there. L'SHANA TOVA!

Moving

2010-07-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

We are moving out.If you watch it from the side you can learn a lot about us.All the hidden places are exposed."Bring more cardboard boxes,and don't forget the Rosemary pot."

Fish Time

2010-06-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

As soon as I realized that we would need to move out of our apartment in a few weeks (after living here for 6 years), I found myself very oriented to the fish image. It might be the obvious trick of trying to adopt close to your heart the "flowing with the stream" cliche, to make it smooth and easy as posibble or the desperate need of a real good fish meal which is well connected in my mind to

Old Jewish Symbols, Mountains and Valleys

2010-06-07T00:02:00.000-07:00

When I was a child I had this vision of myself painting colorful plates for tourists in an isolated village on top of high mountains in some very exotic location. Well it didn't happen, I was born in a valley (The Jezreel Valley, Israel) and currently I live in a valley too (Willamette valley, OR) which I definitely can't describe as "exotic" in any way.Still the act of hand painting

The Mice Issue

2010-05-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

A fish, a cat, a mouse. I draw these three canvases recently, as a homage to Perry's three favorite animals. Cats and fish are kind of obvious ones, but I want to focus for a moment on the mouse. Oh yes...The mouse issue that has been bothering me for a while.Cat, Mouse and Fish (Acrylic on Canvas) Think about that - how is it that mice became so popular in kid movies and books while in real

Sunny Side Chicken With Oranges

2010-05-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

- "What's for dinner"? she asked, sitting inside the sink waiting for fresh water to come out of the tap. My bilingual cat, who understands both Hebrew and English, likes to be petted and to talk with you when you are sad.- "That's a good reminder, Kitty... now what could we make for dinner?.....Why don't we make a Sunny Side Chicken, everybody loves it!". - "Sunny side chicken? I thought you

Off The Waffle

2010-04-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Moshe wanted us to celebrate his 39th birthday in this new place called "Off the Waffle". Great! Who can say "no" to a waffle? Such a treat and you always can top it with pile of fresh fruit and even feel that it is healthy for you. As we entered the place we realized immediately that this place is a huge hit. It was so crowded and lively - and people looked so happy and relaxed. Every corner

Pirate-Ship Art

2010-04-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

Perry has always been a very focused kid, knowing exactly what he wants to the smallest detail. His ability to focus became very clear when he pronounced his first word at age of two: "Auto" (meaning an "automobile" both in Hebrew and in English). This short word described well his interest for the next 3-4 years. Cars, cars and more cars!The Cars period (Tempera paints on paper) 4 YOSince

Osomoso - Chicken and Rice Recipe (Uncle Shabtai)

2010-03-31T17:59:00.000-07:00

My Osomoso dish includes chicken and rice, is simple to make but yet has unique flavors and appearance. It was first created in our kitchen (located in the US north west) out of the longing and appreciation to the Middle Eastern cuisine. After having it for the first time, it filled me with strong family memories, sad and funny ones, so I gave it the name "Osomoso", after my uncle Shabtai (false

Freedom State of Mind (Passover Special)

2010-03-22T10:36:00.001-07:00

A week before passover, (crazy late by Israeli standards), I searched the store for extra accessories for the Seder.Eugene is not a big city, so it is hard to find here special items for Passover, but I did find some Haggada at Barnes and Nobles. A "30 minute Seder" Haggadah! That sounds fantastic! everybody will like it! A bit of reading (fast forward style) and a lot of food.Unfortunately,

My Magnets For Passover

2010-03-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

See them here

Owls, Cats and Dinner (a Dialog)

2010-03-12T20:56:00.000-08:00

Wise Owl Welcome Sign - "I'm thinking about having a couple more owls, James, the walls of the bathroom are so empty and depressing, don't you agree?".- "Why owls, what is so special about them?" he asked her, for the you-can't-count-what time. - "It's a bird that knows how to listen sees the real you", she explained with the same old words for the

Ommmmmm Pasta Recipe

2010-03-07T11:30:00.000-08:00

I admire Indian food, but Eugene doesn't have a great Indian restaurant.So I got tired trying to get an Indian comfort in these okay restaurants, and dealt with it in my own kitchen!That's how and also why, I created this Indian style pasta recipe.I named it "Om Pasta" since when you eat it you come to perfect harmony with yourself - just like the Om singing (Ommmmmmm) in Yoga. Makes you feel so

Purim, Passover and Palm Tree Identity Complex

2010-02-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

Purim is tomorrow!One of my main fun memories from Purim - was when I was about 10 YO. I masqueraded to Miss Piggy from the moppet show - it felt very blond and international, I sweat under the plastic mask of miss piggy but enjoyed the celebrity status, every moment of that day.These days I prefer eating the Hamantashen and skipping all the noisy costume thing...Hamantashen, the cookies of

Twin Florence

2010-02-22T10:36:00.000-08:00

I've never understood the idea of twin towns and sister cities, beside the fact that it is probably a smooth way for some workers of the city council to get free trips abroad, to the beloved "twin".I also find it hard to realize why so many places in the US are named after famous cities, towns or counties in other places in the world. How difficult is it to come up with a new name - not enough

The List

2010-02-14T14:35:00.000-08:00

Don't worry: we didn't use the Valentine day's greeting cards I had designed for Perry to bring to his classmates - it was too convenient to be true.Perry came back from school with a coloring sheet for Valentine's day (fish made of hearts) - and insisted that we'd make new Valentine's cards for his peers.That was the easy part:The new card - based on coloring sheet for Valentine's dayThe more

Cave Me a Flower

2010-02-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

Flowers. What can be more obvious then painting flowers? I honestly can't say, but I never painted it until recently, when winter became grayer, and our apartment got this familiar wintry cave atmosphere (and smell...). It works great as a reason to buy them once a week. I admit - I am addicted to this image of flowers being in my house. And like any addiction you have to feed it with a good

Sign Language

2010-02-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

After creating quite a few hand painted signs I feel I'm about to earn my third language - the wooden sign language. Drawing signs is a special fun. The fact that the door sign contains both a visual image and a verbal theme feels like a new form of communication.Rhythm and Blues Home Sign I love it when people ask for special phrase

Love and War Objects

2010-01-25T18:10:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is getting closer. For some reason it reminds me that a couple of years ago Moshe took a class at the university that dealt with Judaism, among other things. The professor (who was not an Hebrew speaker) was excited to tell the students that in Hebrew the word for "Love" and for "War" are the same one, as an example of how engagement and struggle are important in the Jewish

My Art For Valentine’s Day

2010-01-25T11:25:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Dalloway and The "Right Order" of The Seven Species

2010-01-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

At last I've made it and added a print to my "Seven Species collection". It took me a long time to arrange them in the "right" layout, and once I did it felt right to add the Biblical verse that "invented" the seven species.I might be inspired by Moshe. After teaching (while studying for a PhD in comparative literature) for 5 years now, all kinds of subjects in the realm of literature and writing

My Art For Tu Bishevat

2010-01-13T22:06:00.000-08:00

1. The Seven Species - Set of 8 Magnets 2. The Seven Species - Print3. Peace Dove - Hand Painted Card 4. Pomegranate and Hamsa hands - Hand Painted Card1. Hamsa Hand - Hand Painted Card2. Holiday Pomegranate - Original Painting On Wood3. Happy Holidays (Chag Sameach) Greeting Cards4. Hamsa MagnetsHappy New Year To The Trees!

Local Treasure

2010-01-03T14:39:00.000-08:00

Our first time at the hazelnut lover's haven was about a year ago when we came back from the ocean and saw this promising sign on the side of road:Even though we were exhausted, we took a left turn, What other choice we had?On Hwy 99 West , in the Willamette Vally, between Eugene to Corvallis, Oregon, we found a treasure: "Hazelnut Hill".Yesterday we drove there again to load ourselves with the

Moss Mood - A Wintry Experience

2009-12-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

Few days ago, just before Christmas brought with it the freezing temperatures that forced water drops into ridiculous positions, hanging from the naked bushes facing downwards, we went hiking with our neighbors at the Fall Creek trail.The moss was in its best. Deep fresh greens hug nature with all kind of creative shapes. Long tails dangling from the branches, soft carpets watching the water

Love Paper and Love Earth Simultaneously

2009-12-21T10:53:00.000-08:00

When I saw these recycled cardstock papers, in different pale neutral colors, cards and envelopes packs , at the local craft stores, I couldn't hold it and grabbed a few packs.The paper is so pretty and sensual it invites you to make art.The paper was the trigger for starting a hand painted cards series, and I must admit: I think that nothing can make me feel purer (almost a saint) than do

Sweet Life and the Obama Cookie

2009-12-16T09:51:00.000-08:00

I found the Obama cookies in the stylish and tasty cafe (pâtisserie) "Sweet Life" - one of the gastronomic pillars of Eugene (OR). We visit "Sweet Life" about once a month - it's a must to make your life sweeter from time to time because otherwise and after all, life is pretty salty.Yesterday, when we visited the place I noticed the Obama cookie ( in two versions!). I know Americans can be

The Dreidel Dance - a Hanukkah Promo

2009-12-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Perry got a parcel for Hanukkah from his grandma in Israel.The main attraction was a super duper dreidel. It is simply amazing how they improve the tricks these dreidels can perform while they spin. If you consider the fact that it was produced in China it is even more amazing: What a vast knowledge they must have there in China about other far away cultures, their Holidays their children games

Holidays and Other Traditional Patterns

2009-11-24T18:04:00.000-08:00

Eugene's cold November inspired me to create a new visual interpretation of my beloved fruit - the pomegranate. As Hanukkah is getting closer I also painted another wintry interpretation - The Hanukkah tree. A combination of the tree of life and the Hanukkah menorah - I think we, Jews, deserve a wintry tree too... We Jews, deserve a wintry tree tooHanukkah TreeAcrylic on woodRegardless of any

Visual Pleasure

2009-11-16T08:17:00.000-08:00

It might sound a bit crazy, not to say decadent but -I'm ready to pay Kitty our cat good money for sleeping in her bed.When I first brought this bed home from the store (because I couldn't help myself from buying it) I didn't believe any cats really slept in these beds - it seemed too perfect and cats never "behave perfectly". That's why I like them so much.I told myself if she wouldn't sleep in

My Art For Hanukkah

2009-11-09T08:02:00.000-08:00

One month to Hanukkah!Latkes smell is about to fill the air ...I have some unique greeting cards (with my own Latkes recipe on the back), marble glass magnets, Brooch and art for Hanukkah in my Etsy shop!Please come visit me there.1. Peace Dove of the Golden Mountains (Detail) 2. Hanukkah Tree (Painting) 3. Hanukkah Menorah Card (My

Cutting Board Comfort

2009-11-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

Winter has been here for a few days now (and it already seems like from ever...)The outside is gray, wet and cold. It feels to me much too soon for the sun to disappear, andforce my impressive basil to commit suicide, as it did, r.i.p.All these sad facts filled me with the urge to create something that will bring back the sensations and the worm taste combination of tomato, basil, and sun - at

My Cards, His Cards

2009-10-23T00:08:00.000-07:00

Perry and I did it again.Actually we are still doing it: adjusting to the outside culture.He is 6 YO so it is a normal thing, I guess, and I always needed to adjust my inner unclear culture to the outside one, at least that is what I feel (Please don't tell anyone...)Being clearer - this week we are publishing some brand new printed greeting card to the world:Perry built some abstract sites with

Cards and a Movie for the Orange Season

2009-10-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

This is the second part of my orange season installment.Perry had already been in a pumpkin patch on Friday. He brought home a cute little pumpkin and had me carve a happy face out of it. "She is a ghost but not a scary one - a happy ghost" he explained. Pumpkins craft is not part of my legacy - No orange pumpkins in Israel and no Halloween (I know for some people it is hard to believe) but we

A few pictures from Eugene's Saturday Market

2009-10-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

Before the faithful colorful Saturday market of Eugene (Oregon) is metamorphosing to its indoor holiday version and changes it's name to "The Holidays market", I went to take some pictures.The Saturday Market represents the unique qualities of the town: very crafty and local, so environment friendly, organic and kind of stuck in time - the 60th are still here, Hippies - old and young (?!) are

Saturday, September 26

2009-09-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

Saturday, September 26 2009Eugene, Oregon

Cardboard Feeling and The Bald Jewish Guy

2009-09-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

We have been living in the university family housing for five years now - and there are times when it hits me: we are living on the 3 rd floor of a cardboard box!the cardboard feelings got real lately, and it's not a spiritual one.The younger generation did a clear job to prove it:Kitty (3 YO), our cat exposed this fact in a very simple way, she put all her low energy in to this black fancy

My Mom's Holiday Table

2009-09-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

My mom just sent me a few pictures of the table she set for Rosh Hashanah. She does such a great job with designing the holidays table that I feel she deserves some publication out of the family...The tableMy father (top left) in his typical position before the holidaymeal starts - lying on his couch - watching TV...My brother - in his typical position before the holiday meal begins - speaking

The Orange Season

2009-09-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

I love orange, since ever.From an early age and a long time before the time I got to know the American culture with all it's holidays industry of colors (read my previous post about The Political Correctness of colors) including The orange one (i.e. Fall - Thanksgiving - Halloween).Using the orange color in my art always gave me feel relieved and peaceful. Warm, energetic and full with passion,

Shalom First Grade

2009-09-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

Perry started first grade today.Yesterday - the promo - ice cream socialMoshe volunteered to serve ice creamToday - Perry ready for first gradewalking to the carSince my elementary-middle and high schools are not written in my memories as fun chapters or productive places, my feeling toward this event are somewhat mixed.In short, I would describe my long 12 years from first grade to the end of

My Art For The Jewish High Holidays

2009-09-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

Two more weeks to Rosh Hashanah!I have some unique items for the Jewish high holidays in my Etsy shop!Please come visit me there.Original Judaic Greeting Cards, Magnets and ArtL'SHANA TOVA!

Old Fashioned, in a Good Way

2009-08-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

I wrote earlier that I am, in some senses, a cave person. I didn't imagine that a wonderful, "cave style fun" is waiting for me every Friday just around the corner at Saginaw Vineyards.Luckily we have our friends, Lowell and Andrew, who had invited us to join them on one of these evenings.This small unpretentious winery is one of many wineries of the Willamette valley. Unlike some other, larger

Pictures from Seattle

2009-08-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Going with a kid to visit a large city is always an adventure.How long will he let you stay in the few places where both grown-ups and kids have fun?We weren't naive when we went up north to Seattle, and I think it worked for us pretty well. Maybe because the city is simply beautiful and lively, so even when you fall into a "parent trap" you can still enjoy the "in betweens"* , the outside

Jewish State Of Mind

2009-08-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm in a Jewish state of mind. This passing week, I released three new Jewish items to my store!Sentimental Billy Joel with a Klezmer band as background music and a huge sweet Challah in my kitchen.That took a lot of work and Judaism out of me. Jeff, my printer, handed me two new boxes (I love these boxes and the smell of the new paper) with my new " Chag Sameach" ("Happy Holidays" in Hebrew)

I'm In Love Again

2009-08-11T16:45:00.000-07:00

In many ways I feel like a cave woman compared to people my age. I have no microwave in my kitchen and no GPS in the car, I hardly use the cell phone (only two or three emergency calls per week) I do not communicate with my friends and family through SMS and the mini notebook I received as a gift I sent back to the store.Still from time to time it hits me too - I fall in love with a piece of

Classic Jewish Symbols and Gold

2009-08-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Related or not - coming back from Israel gave me the needed push to finish my own version of the famous "lady of peace" character, AKA "the peace dove".Half done, she had waited quietly on our entertainment center(!) for months, looking at me, hoping for a better future. I tried to solve her issues when I wrote my previous post about The Peace Dove Syndrome, but it took more than that. Long

Guilt Feelings and The Foggy Ocean

2009-07-27T22:04:00.000-07:00

I'm not a cool mom, and we are not cool parents.There are cool parents but they are definitely not us.I found out, and it wasn't very hard, that if you don't ski in the winter or do camping on the summer you are for sure not a cool person, at least not here, in the American North West. So we don't do both, can you imagine that?OK - I really don't mind - I'm not a teenager (thanks god!) that cares

I Have a Tree (Who Counts?)

2009-07-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

The ruins of Tel Megiddo are 5000 years old!we visited them when we have been in Israel.It has been ruined and rebuilt so many times in history (between twenty and thirty cites have been built here, one on top of the ruins of the other) that it had become a "mountain" of ruins from different times ("tel" in Hebrew). A place of strategic importance (don't ask me why) it has been the location of

Cutting Board Inspiration

2009-07-13T09:14:00.000-07:00