Features
Laurie Wohl “Unweaves” the World
Art and Scroll Studio featured guest on Wednesday January 18, 2023 – via Zoom
By SHELLEY WERNER Laurie Wohl does the opposite of what you would expect from a fiber artist. Using spiritual narratives found in various text sources, she alludes to the oldest traditions of narrative textiles, but in a completely contemporary fashion. Her “Unweavings” are a modern take on storytelling in textile form with the addition of calligraphy, beading and figurative symbols.
The earliest evidence of weaving, closely related to basketry, dates from Neolithic cultures of about 5000 BCE. The people of the Navajo Nation have used weaving to preserve the stories passed down through generations and their rich way of life. The art form dates back to ancient times in many regions around the world. Laurie pays homage to these rich traditions using form, color, texture and calligraphy. She interprets each piece by integrating materials with fibre, text, and pattern. She boldly “unweaves” the fabric to reveal beginnings of new artwork.
Her journey from experience to artistic expression began in Africa during her time as an artist-in-residence at Fordsburg Artists’ Studios, in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1997. There she experienced the revelation that art is broader than the edges of the canvas. The free style approach to both media and social expression inspired her to appreciate the latitude to be found when undertaking an unconventional approach to message and materials. Carefully disassembling the canvas and rebuilding it in a new design became a method to convey in an unconventional way, commentary about society, culture, and hope.
Upon return she was the curator, “Art from Soweto,” ARC Gallery, and Catholic Theological Union, Chicago.What followed was a series of lectures on “Art and Resistance,” delivered in many inter-faith institutions, including the Chicago Cultural Center, Catholic Theological Union, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Second Presbyterian Church, Chicago.
Her work continues to respond to the unrest in our world through artistic expression, using music, poetry and dance as inspiration and colour, texture and form as language.
Presenting stunning visual statements that are arresting and intriguing, Laurie’s work draws you in to discover what is hidden within each piece. One might think of an ordinary wall hanging from a home décor store, but Laurie’s work delivers so much more. The text challenges one to contemplate the inspiration of the spiritual connection, and the play of colour and texture extends the meaning within a collage of materials. The overall effect is greater than the sum of its parts.
Laurie states, “The words within each piece and the unwoven form that suggests these words serve as visual interpretations of various Biblical and poetic texts. Calligraphy for these texts may be in English, Hebrew, Arabic and Greek. The Unwoven spaces form symbolic shapes – wings, ladders prayer shawls, veils, trees, falling waters, and the sacred architecture of windows, domes and gates. The narrative is enhanced by my own distinctive iconography, indicating guardians, messengers, journeying and praying figures, processional figures and more. The calligraphy and my own iconography – raised from the surface of the textile – serve as both conveyors of meaning and part of the abstract patterning of each piece.”
The textile used is a heavy cotton canvas. She first releases either the warp or weft threads to create the desired shape. Various textures may be collaged onto the surface, such as fibrous papers, sand and pumice. The images and calligraphy are applied with modeling paste. Then she applies acrylic paints to the surface, and a final thin layer of gold wash. In the last part of the process, beads – prayers and marking points – are affixed with acrylic gel.
Wohl’s new body of work, “The Shabbat Project,” is traveling through 2023 to venues in California, New York City, and Vancouver.
“Birds of Longing: Exile and Memory” interweaves Christian, Jewish, and Muslim poetry and spiritual texts from the medieval period of the Convivencia in Spain with texts of contemporary Middle Eastern poets, particularly Palestinian, Syrian and Israeli, in the context of the Unweavings fiber art pieces. The project consists of 18 pieces, completed between 2011-2015.
Like so many profound works of art, once made aware of the intrinsic artistic intent, one cannot “unsee it.” Music and dance play a profound role as both the inspiration for the work, as well as accompanying the installations.
“By unweaving the fabric, I make manifest what is hidden within the material – liberating the threads to create shape, then “reweaving” through color, texture, and text. The narrative emerges from the juxtaposition of images within the surface, from the texts I choose, and from the combination of color, texture and pattern which convey a sense of time and place. And the pieces become carriers of my individual and our collective memories through the spiritual narratives they transmit.”
If the purpose of art is to communicate meaning, to offer the artist’s perspective to the viewer, then Laurie’s work is a dynamic concerto that is powerful and moving. By taking her cue from the fabric that she unweaves, she conveys her spiritual journey through text, visual rhythm and tactile elements. The effect leaves the viewer engaged in contemplation of beauty and complexity; a reflection of our own unique paths.
Laurie Wohl will be the featured guest on January 18, 2023, 7:00 pm MST on Art and Scroll Studio: A zoom series that celebrates the makers and creators of Judaic art.
To see a short preview, click or copy and paste this link into your browser: https://bit.ly/LaurieWohlPreview
To register for the virtual and free program please copy and paste this link int your browser: https://bit.ly/LaurieWohlTickets.
Shelley Werner is a designer and the moderator of Art and Scroll Studio. She is the curator and host of the Art and Scroll Studio YouTube channel (YouTube.com/@artandscrollstudio)
Features
New Opportunities for XRP in the Trump Era: How XRP Holders Can Earn $7,899 Daily in Passive Income Through FTMINING Cloud Mining in 2026
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From holding assets to participating in cloud mining
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Conclusion
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app: https://ftmining.com
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Features
Musings from Dizengoff Street – by Bruce Brown
(August 8, 2026)
Outside Basimta Café in Central Jerusalem. Love the red shirt against a tiny sea of black. Not sure I am shrugging because of the ultra-orthodox uproar over a Jerusalem café operating on Shabbat or the lack of an ultra-orthodox uproar over a Jerusalem café operating on Shabbat. For the last six weeks Israeli headlines shouted about the cafe chaos. With the ultra-religious blocking entrances and storming the café. While shouting ‘Shabbos! Shabbos!’ Upsetting the secular amongst us just wanting to enjoy our Saturday iced matchas. So the wife and I thought we would check it out. And. Yes. Buy something to support the business. Uproar. Not. Blocked entrances. Not. Storming the café. Not. Albeit there were police barriers separating the devout protesters from the coffee drinkers. The protesters being just a few dozen black clad, pious Jews. Mostly teenagers. And yes. Shouting ‘Shabbos! Shabbos!’ Certainly underwhelming in its reported mayhem. Reminds me of the famous saying misattributed to Mark Twain – “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you do, you’re misinformed.” But I did enjoy my iced matcha.
(August 6, 2026)
Here we go again. Another round of forever negotiations. As someone who negotiates for a living. The way things are going in the straits. If I had to recommend a book on the subject to a new hire. Between The Art of the Deal, A Presidential Edition by Donald J. Trump or The Real Art of the Deal by the Mullahs of Iran with a special forward by the IRGC. Well. I would choose the latter.
(August 3)
Bravo Yoav Segalovitz, Liberal Yesh Atid MK and Monsour Abbas, United Arab Ra’am MK and party head. For breaking a glass ceiling where a Jewish lawmaker joins an Arab political party. No less a political earthquake in my little shtetl. Which can significantly impact coalition block arithmetic and posturing and strategy in the upcoming elections. Now Ra’am can be considered a legitimate ‘Zionist’ partner when forming coalition blocks and potentially pushing the ‘center left/right’ party over the 60 seat majority threshold. In our crazy parliamentary democracy defined by a multi-party (about fourteen!!), proportional representation system. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Israel’s proportional representation model of governance is the best parliamentary democracy system except for all other forms of working democracies. Stay tuned for more amateurish political musings as we move towards Israel’s 26th national election – five of them held since 2019.
(August 1)
Although both sides say they are open to diplomacy. Neither really trusts the other. And American military action, or its threat, continues. I read headlines in the middle of the night -it’s a nervous habit lately– that the Dynamic Duo of Trump and Netanyahu may again strike in unison. Possibly this weekend. Yikes! Prompting me, at 2:30 AM, to dash around the house stocking my safe room. Bottled water. Canned food. Medicines. Documents. The beat goes on….
If it’s crazy here. It’s insane in Italy. With a recent online ‘Jew Hunt’ in the Milan area. Before being removed, the digital forms urged reportings of Israelis and Italian Jews staying in local hotels. The infamous Global Sumud Movement -yes, the one coordinating ‘peace and humanitarian’ flotillas to Gaza- was somehow connected. Although they deny involvement?! This deranged decree was looking to identify Zionist tourism and Zionist neo-colonization in Italy. I’ll stick with stocking the saferoom.
Then there’s New York Mayor Mamdani, a Global Sumud Movement supporter, threatening to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu if he comes to New York. But since discovered he has no legal right for such a grandstanding, antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-Western, anti-democratic antic. Maybe Mandami should be arrested! Or at least impeached. For being a grandstanding, antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-Western, anti-democratic mayor.
Here’s a post Bruce sent us Friday, July 31:
WARTIME MUSINGS
Should credible threats against FLOTUS and ‘FSOTUS’ (first son..) not be justification to attack first.
As for yesterday’s summit. Netanyahu really can’t win. Explainer. If Trump now attacks without victory its ’cause of Netanyahu. If Trump now attacks with victory its ’cause of Trump. And, in Israel, if Trump doesn’t attack -victory or not- Netanyahu failed in his eighth meeting with Trump. And if Trump does attack -victory or not- half the country will vilify Bibi anyway. Missing a permutation?
Ya. I know. Kinda’ need a definition of victory for that musing to work.
And here in my little shtetle. We go to sleep unsure if there will be a code red in the middle of the night. And if not. We wake up thinking it will be tonight. How do you define stress?
Seemed like an appropriate way to end this musing.
Bruce Brown is a former Winnipegger who made aliyah to Israel over 35 years ago. Bruce first began writing for us – in his own inimitable style, in 2012, during what was known as “Operation Pillar of Defense.” His occasional musings on aspects of life in Israel that were far from what you’d typically read in other reports from Israel were hugely popular – both in the print Jewish Post & News and on this website.
We’re now glad to report that Bruce is back writing for us – this time on a regular basis. We will post Bruce’s reports as they arrive – with the date of each post at the beginning of that post.
Here’s some information about Bruce – and awards he’s received for his writing:
Bruce Brown. Canadian born. Now living in Israel (for a long time). Bruce works in Israel’s hi-tech sector by day and, in spurts, is a somewhat inspired writer by night. He received the American Jewish Press Association’s award for writing excellence in 2019 and 2025. And wrote the 1998 satire, “An Israeli is….” Bruce’s musings are political, social, economic and personal. With lots of biting, contrarian, sardonic and irreverent insight.
Features
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