By Michelle Hose
SAN DIEGO — What are the colors of Israel? Someone who has never visited the land of Israel might say the blue and white of the Israeli flag. Any Israeli knows the colors of Israel are infinite. There are the blues, greens and sea foam of the Mediterranean Sea, or the deep greens and reds of the bursting pomegranate trees. Then in spring there are the purples of the Irises and the variations of yellows of the Marigolds. These are just some of the colors of Israel.
My mother-in-law, Dmumit Hose, is an Israeli jewelry artist whose designs are inspired by the colors of Israel. The Israeli wildflower that Dmumit was named after has deep red petals and contrasting black stamens reflecting the beauty of the country and the artist.
Dmumit’s parents were Zionists who migrated from Russia and helped to establish Kibbutz Shefayim in Palestine where she was born and raised. Dmumit began performing at the age of three, singing and dancing for all the kibbutz functions. During her army service she joined a performing group that entertained the troops. In her twenties, she joined the Jerusalem University Students Troupe and traveled through Europe as its singer. She attended the Kibbutzim Seminary where she became a kindergarten and music teacher.
She visited the US for the first time in 1975 where she met her husband Eddy. They married and had twin daughters. Dmumit also became step mother to Eddy’s other four children. She learned English and adjusted to the new family and American life.
Dmumit’s music teaching career blossomed in San Diego, where she taught generations of preschool children dance, music and Jewish culture. In her music classes a rainbow of streamers and scarves helped the children express the color and mood of the music. She has always used color to express herself, whether in the clothes she wears, the art or colorful glass collection in her home, or in her laughter and personality.
Dmumit and her husband live in Israel three months of the year. She discovered some of the bead shops in Tel Aviv and started making jewelry as a hobby. In 2014 she retired after 52 years of teaching and expanded her hobby and began selling her jewelry. Dmumit creates unique and one of a kind pieces and has an extensive variety of designs, using semi-precious stones, and incorporates symbols of Israel like hamsahs, pomegranates and other unique pieces she finds.
Her green turquoise and coral designs have inspiration from the colors of kibbutz orange orchards. The view from her Netanya apartment of the sun glistening on the ocean is reflected in her design with fluorite and gold. You can see more of her designs at her Jewelry by Dmumit Etsy shop, and she will be exhibiting her pieces at the Artisan Fair at Temple Emanu-El on Nov. 1, 2015.
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Hose is a freelance writer based in San Diego County.