The story behind Drawn Away
In a recent news item, an IDF soldier fighting in Gaza said that a strong homefront means a strong front. In fact, if there is one thing that these dark times have illuminated, it is the strength in the homefront; the strength of our people. Numerous civil initiatives, from the smallest to the largest in scale, are operating with one clear goal: help wherever possible, and do good.
When I talk to friends who are fighting for us, they say in a pretty unequivocal manner that the unity of our people is crucial for their morality in the front, and that that togetherness sensation consolidates the understanding that everyone is doing their best to contribute their part.
The Drawn Away pop-up initiative joins all other national efforts, praying for everyone's safe and sound return home.
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The shock intensity following the October 7 atrocities made me withdraw to creation - something I hadn't done for years, given this whole life race we're constantly in. I've already forgotten how pleasant and liberating art may be, as a helpful resource aiding me through hard times. It really does allow the expression of what words fail to explain.
I shared some of the creations on my social media profiles, realizing that they evoked quite a bit of identification. Some wrote to me that they wanted them on a shirt, and others even tattooed SheIsrael.
When I understood that my work offered validation and relief to others, giving words to feelings they struggled to express, I decided to turn it into items that would bear witness to the emerging chapter in our people's history. Doing so by allowing support for the victims of the massacre seemed naturally proper.
The name Drawn Away felt like a good fit. Beyond the drawing itself, this initiative essentially emerged from getting drawn away; from devoting myself to the creation that the "there-are-no-words-left" led to.
The print shop that has joined the cause is Kibbutz Zikim's Tarzan Print House, which, following the October 7 attack, prints amazingly high-quality shirts in its new temporary location at the Jerusalem Yaarim Hotel. Printing the shirts will help Tarzan recover, and other profits will be donated to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
May we all know better days,
Avia.