Take Ramah Home: Bogrim’s Hanukiyot

Our Bogrim campers have spent the last two days working hard on their take home project – a hanukiya for Chanukah.

The project was led by Cecillia Kremer, a skilled, full-time mosaic artist who originally trained as an epidemiologist but eventually found her true calling in the world of ecologically-friendly art.

The campers began the project by designing mosaic patterns for both sides of the hanukiya, and gluing their choice of tiles, beads and colored glass onto the MDF base.

Grouting the mosaic was the next stage. This involved mixing together the grouting powder and water until it resembled the consistency of peanut butter. Then it was time to cover the entire mosaic in what looked like, for those choosing black for their grouting, a mud pie.

Several of the campers looked slightly concerned at the prospect of covering their beautiful designs like this but Cecillia was on hand to explain what to do next.

After a thorough cleaning, campers glued the base onto the hanukiya, painted and varnished it and glued on the candle-holders.

The multi-stage project took patience and several hours of dedicated concentration. But it was well worth the effort.

Each hanukiya is a work of art in its own right and something that the campers will treasure for years to come.

Take a look at just two of the stunning end results.