Ner Tamid PendantDecember 2011 Alabaster, sterling silver After I finished making the ner tamid for Congregation Etz Hayim in Arlington VA, I had several large chunks of alabaster left over from the process of sculpting the flame. I also had leftover silver that I'd cut off the square sheets that I used to make the top and bottom domes of the base. Because of the significance and import of the work of art they'd come from, I didn't feel like I could simply recycle or

I raised the ring on a miniature doming stake to reduce the ring's size and create its gentle synclastic shape

inverting the character is known as 福倒 (fúdào) which literally means "upside-down prosperity

the congregation had been making practical changes to go green

They wanted to maintain the original skull theme in addition to adding a Hebrew message less common than "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine

They are the passage of time and they are renewal

The split feet of the coin evoke the shape of wings

" Her name in Hebrew

we decided to incorporate water imagery into the design to represent his family

but for this pendant the single-thumbed design allowed for the placement of the phrase in the fingers

and then the outer surface would be cast around it

אלד (Elad) is one of the 72 Names of God derived from Exodus 14:19-21

The text and symbol are represented itaglio (indented letters)