Glass Painting Pesach Plates

This is an individual activity appropriate for grade school children and older.

Every participant completes this activity with their own unique Passover plate.

During the holiday of Passover, the Bible prohibits the eating of chametz, “leavened bread” (Exodus 12: 15-20). Many people who follow this law keep kosher for Passover and do not eat on their regular dishes or cook in the same pots and pans that are used with unleavened products: bread, pasta, corn, etc that are used throughout the year. Some families decide to use paper plates and others have a separate set of dishes.

“Next Year in Jerusalem!” is usually printed at the end of the Haggadah and recited as the last song of the Seder. This reminds Jewish people all over the world that Jerusalem is the heart of Zion and is the eternal capital of the Jewish people.

In the spirit of commitment to the perpetuation of our Judaic heritage, we invite you to hand paint your own glass plates during Passover. Your plates can be any size, shape or color.

IDEAS

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When thinking of images to paint onto your glass plate , think of the Passover story as written in the Haggadah. Some Haggadot have pictures throughout to help us visualize the story in artistic form. You can also search on the internet “Passover images” and see what other professional artists have created. Here is an image of a Pesach plate that a 3rd grade artist at Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Potomac, MD created. She has light blue wavy water on either side of the plate symbolizing the splitting of the Sea. The brown section in the middle, symbolizes the sand at the bottom of the sea that the Jewish people crossed to their freedom. The artist then included a giant sunshine glowing over the city of Jerusalem.

SUPPLIES

• Glass plates/bowls of any shape or size
• Glass paint or oil based permanent “paint pens”
• Paper towels
• White paper for sketching designs, pencils and erasers

STEPS TO CREATE YOUR PESACH PLATES

1. Cover your workspace. Paint pens stain and dry quickly!
2. Draw a sketch that tells some chapters in the Passover Story. You can select any images you want to paint on your plate.
3. Either color in your sketch with colored pencil or crayons or make notes of what colors you would like to use; and “map out” your color plan.
4. Turn your plate upside down!
   
   We will be painting the underside of your glass plate so the image will show through the front and will be “food safe” to eat on.
5. Paint the underside of the plate slowly and systematically.
   
   ***REMINDER THAT YOU CAN NOT LAYER glass paint. The first color to go down, is the first color you will see through the plate. So if you want black windows in your buildings, draw the windows then the color of your buildings that bump right up to the windows. Follow your sample sketch design and work slowly.
   
   If you accidentally put paint somewhere and you want to remove it, try alcohol or nail polish remover.
6. Let paint dry completely before touching.
7. When finished, you will be able to eat and drink on your plate because all of the glass paint/paint pens are on the underside of your glass plate.
8. Read directions on paint bottles/pens to make sure it is dishwasher safe. Otherwise, hand wash the items.
9. Email photos of your Pesach Plate creations to Stefie@israelforever.org if you wish to be included in our virtual art exhibit.