"A People"
I painted this in the early years of a spiritual quest, inspired by two weeks of eye-opening experiences on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona “The Rez.”
A People - Oil on Canvas (7 ft. X 2.5 ft.)
Evenings, I slept on the couch in the outer room of Ernie’s 2-room trailer. Days, I toured The Rez, made art and visited Ernie’s fellow clans-people on the First Mesa. We had many intimate conversations in the presence of an incredibly beautiful landscape and our austere surroundings.
My new Hopi friends shared many of their stories sprinkled with Hopi wisdom from thousands of years of their People’s heritage. I shared what I knew of my stories, Jewish rituals and beliefs - identifying as a secular Jew and being only peripherally aware of my inheritance.
Reflecting on my Hopi experience, I had a flash of realization enabling me to connect the dots between my secular Jew outsides and my undeniable Jew insides. Like the Hopis, I was also part of a People (not merely a religion) going back thousands of years. This was revelatory.