Partying like it's 1976

When I asked my daughter Maya what she wanted for her 8th birthday party she had lots of crazy, insane, over the top ridiculous very well-thought out ideas, but the one she held dearest of all was this, that there should be a disco ball.

Could've been worse, she could have asked for John Travolta...

Happy to oblige, my little disco dancing star.

And in case you haven't heard yet, holiday shopping just got a whole lot more interesting - and easier too! I've joined Society6, an online photography and art superstore where you can order framed prints, gallery wraps and even fabulous laptop skins and iPhone covers straight to your door. I love how they offer so many ways to share my work - in fact, I'm so in lust with those iPhone covers that it's making me with I had an iPhone to put one on! I'd love for you to come by and take a look for yourselves, and who knows, you might just find the perfect gift for that impossible to shop for someone...

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Sunday Snippets with a side of Chihuly

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Just because I get twitchy if I go too long without posting a photo...

Closeup of one of the Chihuly ikebanas on permanent display at the Litvak Gallery in Tel Aviv.

• Just in case they couldn't here me scream all the way in Outer Mongolia - I passed! I passed!
• It's NOT snowing here, and I'm barefoot and wearing a tank top. Sorry East Coasters.
• Seriously easy and seriously impressive appetizer, a real crowd-pleaser (made even better with my own homemade fig-balsamic jam). The downside - no leftovers ;).
• I have had a headache which veers between incapacitating migraine and just painful and annoying more days than not in past week. It is getting REALLY old. (Yes, I'm taking all the appropriate medications, they're not helping. I'm thinking it's the winning combination of stress and the changing seasons.)
• The 45 minutes I did on the elliptical machine made me really hungry. I should probably go eat something sensible before it gets worse and I go binge on crap.
• Anyone out there interested in sociology? This is a long but fascinating article on regional cultural divisions in the US.
• And this is pretty much the coolest landscaping project I've ever seen.

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So what's on your snippet list this week?

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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How do you spell relief?

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I don't know about you, but I spell it IBCLC - International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant - which is what I finally became today after many years of clinical hours, lots of lactation education hours, months of intense studying, an all-day international board exam, 3.5 months (!) of waiting for results, and a nightmare of a bureaucratic screwup which nearly resulted in hundreds of applicants' results (mine included) being delayed for weeks longer than everyone else's, but eventually it was all handled and mid-afternoon Israel time the results were posted. 

And I passed and gained the right to put those hard-earned (oh so hard-earned) initials after my name.
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Robin Epstein, IBCLC (and of course fine art photographer, but that's a different hat, so to speak)

It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

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A matter of perspective

Star of David, a breathtaking piece by Czech glass artist Vaclav Cigler currently on display at the Litvak Gallery in Tel Aviv, is remarkable in the way it draws the viewer in. The tiniest change in the viewer's position, in this case just an inch shift, and their (my) experience of the piece changes entirely.

 

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what people aren't saying this week, and Wordful Wednesday, where most of the people will be talking about Halloween, but not me since Halloween isn't celebrated here in Israel, so you'll have to make do with artsy-fartsy stuff instead ;).

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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Chihuly redux

Anyone who's been coming around here for a while knows that I just can't get enough of Dale Chihuly's magnificent work, so what a treat to find that a number of his pieces were still on permanent display at Tel Aviv's Litvak Gallery even after the close of last winter's spectacular solo show.

Here's one of my favorites - a black and yellow basket with just enough of a red (ok, orangey-red, but definitely still in the red family) tinge around the top to sneak it in for this week's Ruby Tuesday ;).

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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Sunday Snippets

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• Fall is a great time to go to the beach in Israel - it's still hot, but not beastly so, and the water is still warm.
  
• Speedos should be banned. Seriously men, I do NOT want that level of information. What you have to offer isn't that attractive. Look around, see how most of the men on the beach are wearing perfectly reasonable shorts-style bathing suits? Learn from them. Emulate them. Step away from the speedos. They are NEVER a good look.
  
• Serve your children and their friends leftover pizza for dinner with decorate your own cupcakes for dessert (both leftover from a recent birthday party) and your house will officially be known as the cool house.
  
• The downside of this is that they will then want to return. Frequently. Where they will be in for a rude awakening when they find healthy food and *gasp* vegetables on their plates. Bwahahaha...
  
• My kids are turning into voracious readers. Readers! Hurray! In Hebrew, but still. Readers!
  
• Two week vacations just a month after the start of the school year are a Very Bad Idea. I'm talking to YOU Ministry of Education. Bad idea. Very very bad. Do NOT like.
  
• After said two week vacation (did I mention it was TWO WHOLE WEEKS LONG?!?) reentry that first morning will be unpleasant, to put it mildly.
  
• However, once you finally do get everyone out the door the house will actually be blissfully quiet again, allowing you to busy yourself with horrible work chores, laundry, dishes and grocery shopping. Careful, or you might wish that everyone was still on vacation...
  
• But, you'll get to drink a second cup of coffee while it's still hot. Speaking of which...

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So what are you all up to this fine fall day?

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Dusk at the Fair

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Taken just a few hours ago, when at long last it was finally (finally! the months go by oh so very slowly when you're waiting to turn eight) time to take Maya's long awaited and greatly anticipated birthday trip to Superland.

Click here to purchase this photo on etsy.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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1,941 Days

It's finally over. Welcome home Gilad, welcome home.

The Dark Gate - closeup

Closeup of my very favorite piece in the exhibition - Bohumil Elias' Dark Gate. 
Viewed in its entirety this piece literally took my breath away.
 
More red images can be found at Work of the Poet.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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Messenger

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Closeup of a section of Stepan Pala's Messenger, on display at Tel Aviv's Litvak Gallery.

And on the subject of messengers, let me add my fervent wishes to those spreading throughout the country right now that the messengers are correct, that Gilad will soon be back home in the loving arms of his family. It's been far, far too long already.

Through the Rainbow at the Litvak Gallery

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What do you see through the rainbow? Tall ships? A cityscape? Africa? Something else entirely?

This image is actually the rainbow-colored reflection on the wall of a glass sculpture entitled Memorial Meeting by the groundbreaking Czech glass artist Vladimir Kopecky and is part of Freedom to Create: Beyond the Glass Curtain, an incredible exhibition featuring the work of 15 of the Czech Republic's best-known glass artists on display right now at Tel Aviv's Litvak Gallery. I was lucky enough to be able to spend the morning wandering the exhibit, camera in hand. This reflection is just a teaser - over the coming days I'll be featuring images from this stunning exhibition so be sure to check back often.

Visit Ruby Tuesday for more reds (and yellows and greens and blues and all the hues of the rainbow) from around the world.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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Slowly But Only Forward in Tel Aviv

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This slogan painted on a utility box in Tel Aviv seemed appropriate to share as we move from the introspection of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, towards the future and promise of the new year. Will this be a year of progress and potential, as individuals and as a nation, or will it be a year of pain and backsliding? 

The decision is in our hands.

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Simplicity

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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Fire

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Can you find the reds dancing among the yellow flames?

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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