49 Photos
“And Then There Was Light.” This window is based on a photograph taken by Joan Maisel. Glass artist Romany Kramoris followed the contours of the valleys and mountains captured in the image. The foreground of the mountains represents Earth and mankind’s terrain while the background of glowing bright light represents the distant eternal, man’s desire for his soul to rest in eternal light, the love of G-d. This window was donated by Howard Maisel in memory of his beloved wife Joan. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
"David's Harp." Music represents the most abstract, emotional and spiritual of the arts. It is said that through music the soul of man can approach a rapport with G-d. The cobalt blue here represents the breath of G-d and immortality. The waters below symbolize life. The fish represents the Israelites in search of the Messiah. The crescent moon represents the Jewish calendar and its cycle of holidays. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
Temple windows being removed during a renovation. MICHAEL HELLER
Stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel depicting the Shofar. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
"Remember the Holocaust," a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
"Flowers of the Holy Land," a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
"The Lion of Judah," a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
"The Eternal Flame," a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
"The Menorah of Peace," a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
"And Then There Was Light," a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
Stained glass windows at Temple Adas Israel during the renovation of the building. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
"David's Harp," a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
Stained glass windows at Temple Adas Israel during the renovation of the building. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
Stained glass windows at Temple Adas Israel during the renovation of the building. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
A detail of a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
A detail of a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
A detail of a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
A detail of a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
A detail of a stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
"The Ten Commandments," a stained glass window installation at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
A stained glass window at Temple Adas Israel. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
Stained glass windows at Temple Adas Israel during the renovation of the building. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
Stained glass windows at Temple Adas Israel were temporarily removed for the renovation of the building. RIVALYN ZWEIG PHOTOGRAPHY
Romany Kramoris at work on a new stained glass window design for Temple Adas Israel. REGINA JACINA
Romany Kramoris at work on a new stained glass window design for Temple Adas Israel. REGINA JACINA
Romany Kramoris at work on a new stained glass window design for Temple Adas Israel. REGINA JACINA
Romany Kramoris at work on a new stained glass window design for Temple Adas Israel. REGINA JACINA
Romany Kramoris at work on a new stained glass window design for Temple Adas Israel. ANNETTE HINKLE
Romany Kramoris at work on a new stained glass window design for Temple Adas Israel. ANNETTE HINKLE
Romany Kramoris at work on a new stained glass window design for Temple Adas Israel. ANNETTE HINKLE
Romany Kramoris at work on a new stained glass window design for Temple Adas Israel. ANNETTE HINKLE
Romany Kramoris at work on a new stained glass window design for Temple Adas Israel. ANNETTE HINKLE
Romany Kramoris at work on a new stained glass window design for Temple Adas Israel. ANNETTE HINKLE
Romany Kramoris at work on a new stained glass window design for Temple Adas Israel. ANNETTE HINKLE
"Pomegranate." This window commemorates the restoration and flourishing of Jewish life after the Holocaust. The pomegranate tree dates back to time immemorial and produces one of the favorite fruits of the Holy Land. The Israelites of antiquity enjoyed the tangy fruit. King Solomon developed his own orchard of pomegranate (Song of Solomon 4:13). The pomegranate symbolizes fertility with its many seeds promising rebirth and rejuvenation. Donated by Janette and Paul Lewis in 1986. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
"Remember the Holocaust." This window depicts the tragedy and losses of the Holocaust by means of an evocative green/gray smoked glass dominating the scene, recalling the smoke and fumes of the masses of bodies burned in the ovens. The river of red is the bloodshed, while the vertical strokes along the entire edge represent the vast extent of miles across the European continent where the Jews were hunted. Overlying the scene is a distorted Mogen David, created with barbs to represent the disrupted lives of the Jewish community and the barbed wire of the camps that imprisoned them. Above all hover the rings of the universe, the stars of the heavens, on a field of cobalt blue of immortality and peace. Donated by Janette and Paul Lewis in 1985 in memory of family members killed in the Holocaust. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
"Shofar." The shofar announces Rosh Hashanah and the High Holy Days and, in this window, is afloat in the space of the universe, calling the covenant to the spiritual life of the cosmos and infinity. Behind the wood tracery of the Star of David is found the limitless, endless and timeless universe. Donated by Gertrude Katz in honor of her husband Donald Katz, in 1990. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
"The Eternal Flame." A free Biblical interpretation, the intense red glasses in bold and dynamic lines represent the passions burning eternally in people's hearts for G-d and the Jewish faith. It is also meant to depict creative power and the love of life. Donated by Arthur and Louise Spitz in 1979. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
"The Exodus." At the top, green valleys and mountains of The Holy Land sit above the vortex that cut to the sea, opening a passage way for the 12 Tribes to pass through to the other side, The Holy Land. The turbulent waters reflect the power of G-d. The 23 Tribes are represented below in different circles of color starting their journey to The Holy Land. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
"The Great Shin and the Bee." The Great Shin is the first letter of G-d’s name, never to be spoken, but the name is often indicated by this first letter. Rings of faith reverberate from G-d to Man. The bright gold background represents the glory of G-d and idealism. The bee represents G-d’s Promised Land of milk and honey. Below is the water of life and the motif of the Israelites (fish) seeking the Messiah. Donated by Ruth Rossuck in memory of her husband Alvin Rossuck, in 1981. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
"The Lion of Judah." The lion is the emblem of the Tribe of Judah and by extension, of the Jewish people. It represents both the majesty and strength of the Jews in their role as the Chosen people. The Tablets of the Commandments given to Moses are placed at the center, with the Ark of the Covenant. The gold crown above the commandments symbolizes G-d as Lord over Man and Earth. Moses’ baby basket in the bulrushes is both a reminder of childhood innocence and the destiny that is to be fulfilled. Donated by Florence Kulick and family in memory of her husband and their father Bernard Kulick in 1985. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
"The Menorah and Dove of Peace." This window represents the High Holy Days and the constancy of Jewish life on earth and the goal of peace. Both symbols are enveloped in the rings of the universe surrounded by cobalt blue — this color being symbolic of the soul in its eternal quest for unity with G-d and His cosmic laws. Donated by Arthur and Louise Spitz in 1979. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
"The Tree of Life." A symbol of cleansing, new life, and birth. The Tree of Life is laden with symbolism. Pomegranate with all its seeds, symbols of rebirth and rejuvenation. The fig leaves and figs represent Israel and its people. Abundance, food and health, iy can also represent modesty and shame in that Adam and Eve covered themselves with fig leaves. The almond tree is a symbol of watchfulness and promise due to its early flowering. Olives symbolize continuity of the biblical promised land and modern Israel. The thistle at the base represents life’s difficulties and is replaced by myrtle, as G-d turns arid habitat to one with so much water that the myrtle will thrive and naturally replace the thistle. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
Romany Kramoris with Mike Stafford and Kevin Plasencia, glass artists and fabricators from Durhan Studios, Inc. in West Hempstead. DANA SHAW
Romany Kramoris stands in the newly expanded space at Temple Adas Israel. DANA SHAW
Romany Kramoris stands in the newly expanded space at Temple Adas Israel. DANA SHAW
Romany Kramoris with one of the window she designed for Temple Adas Israel. DANA SHAW
Romany Kramoris with one of the window she designed for Temple Adas Israel. DANA SHAW
"Flowers of the Holy Land." This window features grape vine (Vitis vinifera), Lilium (chalcedonicum), Anemone (Anemone coronaria), Saffron crocus (Sternbergia or crocus sativus) and water lily (Nymphaea caerulea) and was donated in 1997 by Jay and Gail Furman in honor of the marriage of Jesse and Ariele Furman. COURTESY TEMPLE ADAS ISRAEL
As a young glass artist in the 1970s, if you had told Romany Kramoris that she would one day become the premier creator of stained glass windows for a Jewish temple, she probably would not have believed you. After all, as one of five kids who grew up in a strictly Roman Catholic household in Milwaukee, Judaism wasn’t exactly in her wheelhouse.
So when Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor, the oldest synagogue on Long Island, approached her about creating a window design for its building, she was understandably apprehensive.
“I was very nervous,” Kramoris confessed in a recent interview at her Sag Harbor studio. “This was in ’76, I thought, ‘I’m not Jewish. I went to Catholic kindergarten and grade school and a Catholic all-girls high school.’”
But Kramoris forged ahead and made a design encompassing the 10 commandments. In the more than 40 years that followed, so have more commissions. Today, the Sag Harbor temple is known for its incredibly colorful windows — more than a dozen in all — which Kramoris has designed for the space.
And there will soon be more on the way.
This spring, with Temple Adas Israel nearing the end of a $7.3 million expansion and renovation project — the largest in its nearly 125-year history — led by the Water Mill firm Chaleff & Rogers Architects, there will soon be room for new stained glass windows. Kramoris has been busy working up possible designs for new portions of the building.
Kramoris was at the temple recently to meet up with Mike Stafford and Kevin Plasencia, glass artists and fabricators from Durhan Studios Inc. in West Hempstead. Their mission is to transform Kramoris’s designs into reality and also ensure that the heavy glass and leaded windows will be supported in their frames.
It’s a big job, and back when Kramoris created that first window for Temple Adas Israel, it was this same studio that she turned to for advice.
“In 1976, I had been studying with Durhan Studio near Gramercy Park, they’re a studio that did enormous restorations, renovations and special commissions,” Kramoris explained. “I called and said, ‘I have an invitation to do a commission at a Jewish temple and I want to be sure I’m doing it correctly.’ The director said, ‘Come down and show me the project,’ so I did.”
That project, representing Moses receiving the 10 commandments, dominates the Division Street side of the building and comprises two large, side-by-side windows with five panels each flanked by tall, thin windows on either side.
“Five and five panels equals 10, so I thought after doing some research, I could do the first Hebrew letter of each of the 10 commandments resting on the earth, with lead lines kind of like a Menorah, registering through each of the two rows,” she added. “That was my first commission. It was simple and not a lot of colors, but brilliant colors. There’s also gold dust in the glass.”
With new windows, Kramoris is now working on new designs. One of her latest compositions features musical notes drifting across a night sky with the rising moon, to symbolize the Jewish calendar, and the Earth below. Another design is a nod to the 12 tribes of Israel.
“I’m still working on it in my head,” she said. “I’ll do a watercolor sketch and the board will look at it and review it, and make suggestions or eliminations.”
Though the composition and colors of the windows throughout the Temple vary, they all reflect not only Biblical themes from the Old Testament, but also imagery which Kramoris finds personally meaningful. Though she was raised Catholic, Kramoris notes that she has long had a familiarity with Judaism.
“My parents, especially my father, were very cosmopolitan and liberal,” said Kramoris. “My parents had Jewish friends. Our family immigrated from Slovakia, and eastern Europe is very Jewish. In college, one of my best friends was Jewish and we had a lot of things in common — the foods, our backgrounds and ways of living. We also grew up with the Old Testament, so I had familiarity with the stories.”
In researching imagery to incorporate into her window designs, Kramoris frequently turned to the Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary on 110th street in New York City. There, she scoured art books in search of appropriate symbols and elements to include in her creations.
“Florence Kulick donated a window in memory of her husband, Bernie. She said he was a strong man, and she wanted something in the window that would represent his personality,” said Kramoris. “So I did the ‘Lion of Judah.’”
Other animals that have found their way into the stained glass panels over the years include doves, bees and fish.
“Jesus was represented by a fish,” said Kramoris. “One thing I learned, however, was that before Jesus, fish represented the Israelites in search of the messiah, so I could put fish in the windows.”
When asked if there is any personal symbolism in the designs, she said, “I don’t think they are secretive or collusive, but they are meaningful to me and I always make sure they reference Jewish stories, literature, Biblical themes or Israel.
“They’re playful, but my windows are not meant to have this seriousness of figures in black paint with robes,” she added. “They’re very naïve. I didn’t want them to reflect the heavy narratives of Christian churches.”
Which means that Kramoris’s windows are lighter and more modern than the windows she grew up with in Milwaukee. Her work is bright, cheerful and indicative of what was going on in the world of art glass in the mid-1970s.
“When I started working with glass, there was the studio glass movement, both in glass blowing and in stained glass,” she said. “Artists were getting away from painting on the glass, and instead were using color and the lead line to tell the story. That was a new approach.”
Kramoris came to New York as a dancer and earned her master’s degree from New York University in dance and movement therapy. But she envied her friends who were creating art. After expressing an interest in glass, a friend encouraged Kramoris to take a class to see how she liked it.
“I took a course at the 92nd Street Y and the teacher was a fine art student from Germany,” she said. “In Germany, after the war, a lot of conventional stained glass windows were blasted out from the bombing, so they had these beautiful churches with no windows and they hired these new artists to create new ones and they used lead lines and color to tell the story.
“I wanted to work with my hands and have something to show,” she added. “Eventually, I took some architectural design courses and learned how to install windows. I wanted to do architectural things, so I had to learn how to install in a building.”
The type of glass used in Kramoris’s windows is not only colorful, it is also textural, adding another element to her designs.
“Glass is a liquid, same thing as pudding, the hotter you heat it, the more air bubbles you get,” she explained. “Now those bubbles are desirable and add interest. It’s an incidental, not a defect.”
To get the variations she likes in her pieces, Kramoris always uses European glass. She can also customize colors and to source it, she relies on importers in New Jersey or Brooklyn.
Sourcing glass is important. Back in 1976, after creating the first window for the temple, Kramoris thought ahead and stocked up on rare glass to ensure she had what was needed in order to create cohesive compositions throughout the building. There are now over 10,000 pieces of hand-blown, hand-cut European antique sheet glass represented in the temple windows.
Though she’s an admitted fan of cobalt blue, these days, Kramoris is particularly taken with a white glass from France.
“It’s the most exquisite white in the world,” she said. “A thin layer of opalescent white on clear glass, a flashed glass with a veil of the most pale blue tint that appears white, depending on the sunlight and shadows.
“It’ll change. It has a life,” she smiled. “I think it’s my favorite glass in the world to work with.”
Sounds like someone has found her calling.
Annette Hinkle on Apr 20, 2023