Stephen Ratner
Collection · Jerusalem
Israel · Two pieces

Jerusalem.

Two pieces from Jerusalem - one made by a local Israeli woman at a pottery fair, one from a street fair on my birthright trip.

Jerusalem piece 1, gouache illustration
01

Field notes

Birthright. They get you right off the plane and start touring - Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa in the north.

Gouache icon of a tour bus
Stop 01 · Off the plane

On the bus I had one of the most exhausting nights of my life - I fell asleep as quick as I ever have.

Gouache icon of the Jerusalem skyline
Stop 02 · Jerusalem

Yad Vashem looked out on the city and the Western Wall. Just a truly beautiful city.

Gouache icon of a shawarma wrap on a plate
Stop 03 · The food

Unbelievable shawarma, unbelievable pita.

Gouache icon of a ceramics stall at a street fair
Stop 04 · The street fair

I bought these ceramics at a street fair - the sphere from a local Israeli woman who made it with her hands - and brought some home for my family, who don't really use them but finally put them out.

Made really good friends and then never spoke to them again, but when you go on a trip like that, it's life changing really. It's a memory from a long time ago.

02

The pieces

01

Carved sphere

Hand-sculpted ceramic sphere with carved organic grooves, matte gray-beige.
Jerusalem piece 1, gouache illustration
02

Blue-interior cup

Handcrafted ceramic cup with a glossy blue interior and textured white exterior.
Jerusalem piece 2, gouache illustration