NOVEMBER 11 • 2021 | 45

taught art to middle- and high-
school kids and adults. She held
workshops for teachers on cre-
ativity in the classroom, stress-
ing the importance of kavanah,
Hebrew for “intention.
”
“That’s always been very
important to me, the idea of
teaching with intention, and
understanding why we are doing
what we are doing with these
children,
” she says.
Naturally, Besl is also drawn
to objects, often lost and forgot-
ten or cast-aside objects that she
finds beauty in. And she stores
these found objects, sometimes
for years, until their time comes
to be resuscitated, transformed
by Besl into works of art so that
others will see their beauty, too.
She began embellishing vin-
tage teapots with found charms,
costume jewelry and more to
create Specialteas By Betsy (she
loves that they represent a com-
bination of home, family, com-
fort and art).
She creates tiny sculptur-
al mushrooms, replete with
miniature creatures, insects or
other details (“I’m just a sucker
for cuteness,
” Besl says. “I love
anthropomorphic animals,
fruits, vegetables, cute little faces
and expressions. They are so
happy and joyful.
”) She launched
Mi She-Bei-Rocks, found stones
she handpaints and embellishes
with Jewish symbolism in honor
of the Mi Shebeirach, a Hebrew
blessing often recited for people
who are ill.

Most recently, she found a
new use for her collections of
thousands of trinkets — chanu-
kiyot. Kitschy little figurines, salt
and pepper shakers, miniature
porcelain doll shoes, watches —
in Besl’s hands, all is fairgame.
They are whimsical and ador-
able, but this project has extra
meaning for Besl.
Four years ago, Besl was
diagnosed with myasthenia
gravis and associated thoracic
cancer, putting an end to her
18-year career at Temple Israel.
“My whole world was the kids
and the families and teaching,”
Besl says. “I missed being in a
Jewish environment, interact-
ing creatively with children. I
wanted to find a way to stay
in touch with some aspect of
Judaism and the playfulness
of being with children. And
I wanted to make something
that wasn’t only pretty, but
useful.
“Most Jewish holidays have
a serious undertone, which
is important. But I wanted to
bring out the joyfulness, too,”
she says. “With the chanukiyot,
I found a way to stay in touch
with some aspect of carrying
on Judaism. A mom bought a
tea set chanukiah for her one-
year-old’s first Chanukah, and
another bought the “Time”
chanukiah for her son at col-
lege. People have bought them
for their teenage children, who
I taught at temple when they
were age 3.

“I felt a loss when I couldn’t
meet the new incoming fam-
ilies at the temple and in our
community. Even though I
don’t meet the families in per-
son [for health precautions],
I’ve gotten to connect with
new families.”
Besl has a favorite quote
from Mr. Rogers, which she
says helped her find her direc-
tion: “
All I know to do is to
light the candle that has been

given to me.”
“
All I’ve ever known is to cre-
ate things with an almost child-
like vision,
” Besl says. “I thought,
‘You don’t paint landscapes and
portraits. All you can do is con-
tinue doing what you’ve been
given and shine brightly.’ Perfect
for Chanukah.”

Contact Betsy Besl by email at betsy.

teapot@gmail.com, by phone at (248)

330-8016 or on Facebook.

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