I am reposting this from last year, as truly now is a great time to start thinking about a counting the Omer Art Journal! Namely set yourself up ahead of time, so that once Passover is over, you can dive in, make up for the first week (I don't create art during the Passover holiday) and have a really meaningful counting the Omer period. I still have a few spreads to complete from the journal here, but really thinking about doing something small and manageable this year, like index card sized! Stay tuned for that, I do want to make the journal and prepare it, that is if I can find the time! And here is what I wrote last year:
Last year, during the week of Passover,when we do not do art, I had the idea of making an art journal for counting the omer. Once Passover ended I quickly prepared pages, 49 plus, one for each day of the Omer, and then began making art on each of the pages. This turned out to be too large a project for that time period, so this year I'm going to finish that journal, and hopefully start another, as I just can't resist! There is just something about counting the Omer with daily creating that is so perfect! So do give the idea of marrying an art practice with spirituality for this special time period leading up to Shavuos!
There are so many ways to make your own journal, though you could also opt to buy a sketchbook and commit to an entry for each of the remaining 41/42 days once Passover has ended. Simply splashing some color on watercolor paper sheets and making those into a journal is simple and wonderful, and you could make them tiny or large enough for collage or sketching. While adding a sticker to a piece of wall art to count the days is wonderful, and great for children, I think that those of use who love art should make an effort to harness the energy of this period to bring more art into the world, even if it is just for you!
So friends, lets do this! And for day to day updates of what I'll be up to, next week and until Shavuot, please follow me on instagram!
Here is the spread in my counting the Omer art journal that represents Day 4 and Day 5, and it is only missing a few words and numbers. Last year I was quite surprised to have created something that looked like this, right now after another year of art under my belt I'm less impressed with myself, but I do remember that feeling of WOW. Especially because this interior that happened without a plan is apparently the inside of the house on the previous page, Day 3!
So you see, magical things can happen when we create and count the Omer together, lets do it!