Minyan

A work of art in fused glass, developed and designed by Aaron Shoon, and made possible through a grant from the late Linda Cohen (z"l).

Image

The ten panels of fused glass, developed and designed by Aaron Shoon, represent ten talitot worn at a minyan, the traditional number of people required by Jewish law to conduct a prayer service.

From the artist

Minyan is an attempt to respond to the sense of open space and the active relationship to sunlight that help give the sanctuary its spiritual quality. The cast glass makes use of the depth of the space and the sun’s shifting light, while the shifts from opaque to transparent within the panels act as a metaphor for the movement between the physical and spiritual, the material and immaterial. Aaron remembered playing with his father’s talit as a child in the sanctuary, and that memory affected the design.

Origins

The project was made possible through a grant from the late Linda Cohen (z"l), a longtime Olam Tikvah member who succumbed to illness in 2005. Linda had a special connection to our congregation and especially to the sanctuary. She wanted to give back to the Olam Tikvah community, a place where she found peace, spiritual fulfillment, and a sense of belonging. Early in 2004, Linda contacted the Fine Arts Committee to plan a donation that would enhance the beauty and spirituality of our sanctuary. At that time, the walls on either side of the Aron Kodesh (ark) were lined with plastic plants. Linda liked the idea of replacing the plastic with a work of art. The committee interviewed several artists, and the concept that stood out among all the others was designed by Aaron Shoon, MFA.

Dedication

Congregation Olam Tikvah formally dedicated Minyan during Shabbat services on Saturday, September 30, 2006. It took over two years for the work to evolve from concept to installation. The congregation was pleased that Linda Cohen’s son, Ari, her sister Rona Weiner and many of her friends could attend the dedication.

Creation

Minyan was produced through the ancient process of glass fusing, in which a kiln is used to heat and then join together pieces of glass. When heat is applied, the glass eventually becomes fluid and flows together. Two or more pieces of glass of different colors can be fused together, and when cooled properly, become one solid, flowing piece, as in the case in each Minyan panel. The heating phase takes place around 1200° to 1700° Fahrenheit and lasts from five to eight hours. The cooling process, called annealing, requires from eight hours to several days, depending on the thickness of the piece.

Producing each panel required at least three firings. While fused glass techniques are generally used to create glass art and jewelry, the annealing process, which tempers the glass and strengthens it, allows the creation of larger pieces, such as those used in Minyan—which by any measure of fused glass, is a large and complex endeavor. The design was executed by multiple craftsmen—Sincera Glass of New Bedford, Massachusetts, Bob Adams Woodworking of Alexandria, Virginia, and Ramsey Metals of Charlottesville, Virginia.

Each glass panel weighs over 50 pounds and was packed in a specially designed wood crate for shipping to Olam Tikvah. Many volunteers came at different times over several days to help hold the panels while they were being installed.

The Artist