{"id":6447,"date":"2021-06-06T06:44:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-06T03:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.shira-aharony.co.il\/%d7%94%d7%a6%d7%91%d7%a2%d7%99%d7%9d-%d7%a9%d7%9c-%d7%94%d7%99%d7%9c%d7%94\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T07:23:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T04:23:29","slug":"the-colors-of-hila","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shira-aharony.com\/en\/the-colors-of-hila\/","title":{"rendered":"The Colors of Hila: When Material Meets Muse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let me begin with a slightly odd confession:<\/p>\n\n

When someone teaches me something new or introduces me to something I wasn\u2019t familiar with\u2014I immediately name it after them. \nFor example, I don\u2019t have Alcea setosa growing in my garden, I have \u201cEinat flowers\u201d\u2014Einaties\u2014because Einat sent me the bulbs by mail during the second lockdown and patiently, devotedly taught me how to grow them successfully. They now reach almost three meters tall and have been blooming continuously for quite a while. \n<\/p>\n\n

Same goes for other plants: the \u201cDaniella\u201d plant with the round leaves, which I first met through a sweet drawing Einat sent me at the end of a long day. I don\u2019t even know its real name and I have no intention of finding out\u2014it already has a name: Daniella.<\/p>\n\n

There\u2019s the \u201cRonit flower\u201d we received from my beloved neighbor when we moved houses (I say \u201cneighbor\u201d and not \u201cformer neighbor\u201d because she still lives in my heart), and there\u2019s \u201cGrandma Ruti the succulent,\u201d which started from a tiny leaf with a baby root given to me by my dear grandmother, whom I\u2019ve already written about at length.<\/p>\n\n

With plants, this naming habit is especially fun\u2014watering \u201cDaniella\u201d or marveling at how tall one of the Einaties grew overnight adds a whole new dimension to gardening.<\/p>\n\n

This applies to other things, too: clothes bought on a fun day with a friend carry her name, gifts carry the name of the person who gave them, and so on.<\/p>\n\n

When it comes to art supplies or techniques, I stick to the original names\u2014but I still associate them with the person who introduced me to them. For example, semi-transparent, lightly textured parchment paper will forever be \u201cAlejandra\u2019s papers\u201d (and when I think of her, they\u2019re always tinted fuchsia).<\/p>\n\n

A few years ago, I started following Hila Spitzer, a young and talented artist, on social media. Through her, I was introduced to the wonders of professional gouache paints. Not the giant tubs we all know from kindergarten or youth groups\u2014but high-quality, richly pigmented water-based paints that come in metallic tubes, similar to oil paints.<\/p>\n\n

A quick online search taught me that gouache comes from the French word gouache, which itself originates from the Italian guazzo, meaning \u201cwater-based paint.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Beyond the amazement I felt at having lived over thirty years without discovering these amazing paints, I felt this deep joy (yes, I know that sounds a bit grandmotherly\u2014but never mind) watching the perfect fit between an artist and a medium. That\u2019s why, for me, gouache will always be \u201cHila\u2019s paints.\u201d They are her. If Hila were a material, she would be gouache\u2014without a doubt.<\/p>\n\n

I say this not only because of the magic she creates with them, but also because since then we\u2019ve become friends, collaborated several times, and still consult each other regularly on work matters. Every time we talk, it feels warm, sincere, and light\u2014very \u201cgouache-like.\u201d \nNow I\u2019ll write a bit about gouache\u2014and know that everything I write about it is also, in a way, about her. This comes from a place of genuine appreciation\u2014no hidden agenda, I swear.<\/p>\n\n

Back in high school, I thought that until I\u2019d overcome the common fear of oil paints, I\u2019d have to settle for acrylics. I never really liked them, to be honest. They always felt too plastic and dried too fast. But I never formally studied painting, so I didn\u2019t know there were other options. Watercolors didn\u2019t speak to me either. So I stuck with the acrylics\u2014familiar and easy enough to control.<\/p>\n\n

Later on, I moved into working with different materials and gradually abandoned my canvases and acrylics.<\/p>\n\n

And then Hila came along.<\/p>\n\n

Every once in a while, I make a point to learn something new in the world of art\u2014a new material or technique I\u2019m less familiar with (or completely new to). At the time, Hila herself was rediscovering gouache. She was sharing lots of artwork and process videos online, and I was deeply intrigued. So I jumped at the first opportunity and headed to a workshop she was teaching in South Tel Aviv (she teaches all over, by the way). \nFour hours of pure joy\u2014thanks to the medium and thanks to Hila herself, whose approach as a teacher really speaks to me. She\u2019s direct, accessible, grounded. She emphasizes the value of creative process not just for the final product (or even despite it), but as a way to cultivate attentiveness to self, well-being, courage, and playfulness\u2014waking up soft, sleepy corners of the self that don\u2019t get enough attention in everyday life. In my opinion, her philosophy fits beautifully\u2014and naturally\u2014with the essence of art in therapy.<\/p>\n\n

Here\u2019s the piece I painted in that workshop. Not perfect, but it reminds me of a good day:<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

A few days later, I bought myself a set of gouache paints\u2014just the basic colors\u2014and started to play. What can I say? Pure joy. \nThese paints are flexible, incredibly versatile. They can behave like transparent watercolors or have the dense, textured feel of oil paints. Even when they dry out on the palette, you can reawaken them with a few drops of water\u2014they come back to life immediately.<\/p>\n\n

They work beautifully on all kinds of surfaces\u2014from delicate papers to wood, and even walls. You can use a tiny brush or a big one. For me, they\u2019re perfect: ideal for both major projects and casual sketchbook experiments.<\/p>\n\n

When I introduce them to my adolescent clients\u2014many of whom are still searching for a medium that really clicks for them\u2014I see the spark in their eyes. The wonder. The relief that there\u2019s a material that\u2019s versatile, user-friendly, and not \u201cfor little kids.\u201d Gouache, as they knew it, is suddenly new again. \nThat moment of connection is so rewarding. It means I\u2019ve helped them find the right tool for their creative impulse\u2014both in therapy and at home. And I get to learn from them what else gouache can become. Every time that perfect match happens between teen and gouache (and it happens a lot!), I feel like I\u2019ve cracked some part of the timeline\u2014as if I\u2019ve met my teenage self and handed her something that fits her perfectly in that moment. \nSometimes I\u2019ll send Hila a quick message: \u201cAnother successful match today,\u201d and she knows exactly what I mean. It\u2019s so heartening to have a connection like that\u2014between people and between materials\u2014in all its forms.<\/p>\n\n

I hope there are more happy surprises like this waiting just around the corner.<\/p>\n\n

https:\/\/www.hillaspitzer.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n