Halftone Mezuzah

RELICS: MEZUZAH
Watercolor woodblock print
13 x 13 inch image (33 x 33 cm) on  17 x 19 inch (43 x 48 cm) Shioji washi
edition: 8
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This print, the second in a series of halftone woodcuts called Relics, is a mezuzah from the Jewish religion. A mezuzah is a piece of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah and placed inside a decorative case which is then mounted on a door frame. Often observant Jews will touch the mezuzah when they pass it as a remembrance of God.

Although no one in my household is Jewish, we have a mezuzah made by a local jeweler named Emily Rosenfeld on our door. We've put a Sanskrit verse inside, and I usually touch it as I leave the house as a way of reminding myself to bring my feeling of 'home' with me as I enter the world.