Handmade Eretz Yisrael Paper

Eretz Yisrael Paper

A unique origami project made with Ornas' line of desert papers

Eretz Yisrael paper (also loosely referred to as Desert paper) is literally  made from the soil of the land of Israel. The paper is made from local grown Israel cotton, and its shades of colors are from earth pigments obtained from finely ground soil, which are taken from various quarries throughout the Land of Israel, from the brown mountain ridges of Eilat, an ancient quarry in Mitzpe Ramon Park, the Mamshit Valley, the Arava prairie, the Judean desert, the coastal plain and the Golan Heights.

The raw cotton is transformed, under the faithful hands of the paper artist Orna Hazor, into fine thin paper, with a wild and unique appearance, and when you touch the surface with your finger you can feel the grains of the sand.

Each page is folded according to a conceptual pattern suitable for the spirit of the place. Thus, for example, the paper folds show the fall of the ridge where the ancient settlement Mamshit is located along the Syrian-African fault. 

In addition, the position of the two folding lines passes through the latitude of the land, in relation to the map of Israel, thus hinting at the origin of the paper's color.

Along the two rows there are seven repetitions of the origami building block. The choice of the the number seven, along with the fact that there are seven shades in the entire series, connects the work to the importance of the number seven in Judaism, thus bringing with it the holiness that exists in the Land of Israel.

 

EILAT MOUNTAINS & MITZPE RAMON QUARRY

 

ARAVA & MAMSHIT

 

JUDEAN DESERT & COASTAL PLAIN

 RAMAT HAGOLAN

 

Photos by Ilan Garibi

 

Back to blog