Do you like to get creative? Whether that’s making cartoons, furniture, pottery, prints, fabrics, or clothes? Then we have the group for you!
‘The Crafty Corner’ is a space where you get to explore, experiment, and express your creative side. In every workshop we explore a story from the museum’s collection about a trade or craft and create an artistic response to its themes, craft process or medium.
Join us in January for a hands-on ceramics workshop led by artist Irina Razumovskaya. In this session we’ll be exploring the tradition of Sephardic wedding rings, known for their intricate house designs symbolising home and belonging in Jewish culture.
Image: Jewish ceremonial wedding ring from the Colmar Treasure, c. 1300, before 1348, gold and enamel, made in Italy (?), 3.5 x 2.3 cm (Musée de Cluny); right: Jewish wedding ring, first half 14th century, gold, Germany, 4.8 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm (Thüringisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie, Weimar). Source: https://smarthistory.org/jewish-ceremonial-art/
Using coloured marbled clay and molds, we will create small jewellery pieces and tableware that reflect themes of joy, resilience, and celebration of life despite hardships. Together, we’ll reflect on the significance of home in Jewish history, touching on themes of immigration, identity, and belonging.
This group is open to anyone over the age of 18, and to all identities, backgrounds, and cultures. Don’t worry if this is your first-time making crafts, we welcome beginners and seasoned pros – and believe in the power of supporting one another in getting creative!
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Irina Razumovskaya is an internationally acclaimed London-based artist and sculptor whose practice is grounded in ceramics. Irina’s sculptures and paintings combine abstract and architectural forms with innovative ceramic surface effects, balancing thought and process. Regular themes running through her work include issues of identity, belonging and the sense of home, civilisation and decay. She has recently completed a residency working with the Holocaust Centre North where she has been exploring their archive.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The workshop is 1 hour and 30 minutes long and there will be refreshments provided.
All materials are included as part of the workshop but do feel free to bring any creations you are working on to share with the group! We’d love to see!
If you have any additional needs, please contact Elly elly@manchesterjewishmuseum.com so we can best support.
ACCESS
Our new building includes step free access to the entrance via a ramp, a lift to the first floor, level access throughout the ground floor and accessible gender neutral toilets. Click HERE for more access information. If you have any additional needs please email elly@manchesterjewishmuseum.com in advance so we can best support.
GETTING HERE
We are just a 15 minute walk from Victoria Station and Manchester’s Green Quarter. Both the 41 and 135 buses stop on Cheetham Hill Road within 100m from the museum’s entrance at the Elizabeth Street and Derby Street stops. Click HERE for more information on getting here.
