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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