Nan Smith is Residency Artist at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Israel

I went to Israel and lived in Jerusalem in November-December 2017. What a wonderful experience to work at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design for 5 weeks as a resident artist. The Ceramics and Glass Program has a great facility and very talented students. My studio was at the top of Mt. Scopus and my view overlooked the city. I could see the deesrt and water in the far distance on a clear day. I worked everyday from Sunday through Thursday to create a body of work for exhibition. On Tuesday evenings I taught a figure sculpture project to a very talented group of students and graduates of the school. At the end of the residency my work was shown and I presented a talk about my ideas and techniques. On the weekends I was hosted by Israeli artists and traveled to Tel Aviv, Acco, Zfat, Mivaserret, and Givat Haviva. I presented a two day workshop on rubber molds for ceramics at the Givat Haviva Art Center. It was exciting to tour the Negev desert and to photograph at the Ramon Crater; photos I used (along with my sculpture) for my show at Bezalel. Thanks to all of the special students who were so talented and who hosted me. Thanks to Eran Erhlich, Jacaranda Kori, Shirly, and Omri for all the planning and help during the residency. Thanks to my artist friends for making this a well rounded experience in Israel - Dori, Etty, Avner, Michal and Uri, Martha, Ester, Yael, and Hilda.