OUTLINE:  

This program serves as an introduction to The Jewish Studio Project for Moishe House residents and community builders. Through this program community members will become acquainted with the Jewish Studio Project and their process for Torah inspired art making. This program is an entry point to Torah learning and creativity. This overview offers multiple ways to use the Jewish Studio Process with different texts and artistic mediums to fit any community!

Note: Don’t forget to apply for the Jewish Culture and Holiday grant and the Jewish Learning grant to help cover source sheet printing and art supply costs. Additionally, if you want you may use this grant funding to purchase Rabbi Adina Allen’s book, The Place of All Possibility, on the founding of the Jewish Studio Project, provided that you use at least one of the text studies or passages from her book for the program. Be in touch with your Jewish Life Specialist if you think you’ll need additional funds for this program beyond those two grants.

MATERIALS:  

• Jewish Studio’s Projects Approach to Text Study (for program prep)
• Printed copies of The Jewish Studio Process
• A Jewish Studio Project text source sheet of your choosing
• Creative materials of your choosing (ex. pen and paper, markers, paint, collage, clay, etc…)
• A speaker and device for streaming music
• Optional:
  • Rabbi Adina Allen’s book, The Place of All Possibility, on the founding of the Jewish Studio Project (see Note above).

PROGRAM OUTLINE: (~90 min)

• Welcome and Framing (15 minutes)
• Torah Learning (30 minutes)
• Creative Time (45 minutes)

Program Preparation:

• In advance of this program read through Jewish Studio’s Projects Approach to Text Study and become familiar with the steps of the Jewish Studio Process.
• Select a Jewish Studio Project text source sheet (or find/make your own. Feel free to contact your JLS for support). Ideally pick a sheet that also has study/discussion questions in addition to text.
• Decide which artistic modality or modalities (aka what kind of art/creative practice) you’re going to use. o Ex. Pen and paper, markers, paint, collage, clay, dance, etc…

Welcome and Framing (15 minutes)

• Introduce the Jewish Studio Project (JSP) and the Jewish Studio Process.
• SAY: The Jewish Studio Project cultivates creativity as a Jewish practice for spiritual connection and social transformation. Today we will use the Jewish Studio Process from the Jewish Studio Project as an entry point to Jewish text study and creative practice. The Jewish Studio Process is a unique methodology that combines practices from the field of art therapy along with ancient Jewish wisdom. We will begin by learning some texts and then we will use those texts to inspire/guide our creative practice.

Torah Learning (30 minutes)

• Learn though the Jewish Studio Project text source sheet that you’ve chosen.
  • You may choose to learn the source sheet as a full group or split up into learning pairs of two also known as chevruta. Alternatively, you could split the group into two smaller groups and divide up the sources on the page. Then come back together to have each group share what they learned/discussed.
• NOTE: Print out and pass around this printout of the instructions for The Jewish Studio Process for the group to follow as they learn together.

Creative Time (45 minutes)

• Following the text study section (also known as the INQUIRY section) put on a playlist from the Jewish Studio Project’s Spotify and invite people to follow Step 2 (INTENTION) and Step 3 (CREATIVE EXPLORATION) of the Jewish Studio Process.
• Close out with Step 4 (REFLECTION)
• Offer people the opportunity to share out a line or two from their reflection or anything else that may have come up during the process that they would like to share with the group.