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Tree Bark Jewish Art

The best time to take bark from downed trees is in the springtime. While it is nearly impossible to remove large pieces of bark from trees that come down or are cut down in the fall, this task becomes extremely easy in the spring. You will be searching for smooth bark such as that found on birch, elm, fir and cherry trees. It does not matter if you know how to identify these trees. Just look for any downed trees with smooth bark and see if you can strip it off with a knife. Do not string bark off of live trees because this will cause them to die.

To make this project, remove a piece of bark and trim the edges. The bark can be any size, from a few inches square to a foot-long rectangle. The size of your bark picture will be determined by what you are able to find. Use a hole puncher or awl to poke holes around the border of the bark. Use paint, charcoal, magic markers, ink or even chalk to draw a picture on the bark.

If you are using a dark colored bark, use light colors to make your picture. If you are using white birch, you can use any colors.

Some of the pictures you might consider making are: a large, colorful Magen David; a rising sun to symbolize the east (mizrach); a picture of the Garden of Eden or the Tree of Life; Noah's Ark; et. When your picture is complete, you can spray with a commercial product to protect the picture from moisture or fading.

Now, take long piece of yarn and string it through the holes you punched so that it makes a colorful frame and tie off at the end. If you want, you can attach your picture with string or yarn to a frame made of twigs or to a commercial picture frame so that your picture hangs in the center of it.

Source: Jewish Nature Center