Art is in the air
Lea is living her dream of a life surrounded by art. If you get off the highway to Haifa and make your way to the foothills of Mount Carmel, you’ll discover her home in the artists’ colony of Ein Hod. Here, amid the olives groves, the views of the Mediterranean Sea and the quiet, creativity blooms.
Ein Hod was established in the 1950s by a leading Dadaist artist, Marcel Janco. Today, it has 150 families involved in every artistic medium imaginable. Lea makes wearable art. Her neighbors are painters and poets, actors and photographers.
Lea knew early what she wanted to do and where she wanted to live. She grew up amongst the artists of Tzfat and was drawn “to their ability to make something beautiful from their own hands. I come from a long line of graphic artists and printers. Creativity and imagination was always encouraged. And, when I was a child, my parents would often take me to Ein Hod. I knew it was the place for me.”
Art and inspiration are everywhere in Ein Hod. There are so many different artistic styles and techniques being developed in the village that Leah is “constantly learning and studying.” Her husband Dan is a sculptor and painter. “Our house resembles a workshop” says Lea. “My designs are in one corner. Dan’s paintings are in the other. We often work together. We talk about art all the time.”
No matter what Lea is making, be it earrings, a scarf or a tallit, the process always starts the same. “It begins with thinking about shapes, about what is beautiful. And then I sketch. Maybe it’s my background in printing but I always start on paper. My home is full of sketches which, over time, I turn into something three dimensional.”
Lea also guides visitors to Ein Hod. “It’s great to introduce people to the galleries and studios. They get to meet the artists and to make their own art. A visitor told me I was living her dream of working and living in art.” It’s a dream that in Ein Hod is also a reality.
