Artist Statement

         I fell into the world of Judaic Art by chance. I had been painting traditional oil and watercolor portraits, but I wanted to focus on my subjects’ spiritual side, rather than their physical appearance. I began to paint pictures that I called “Life Cycle Portraits.” My first paintings incorporated images and symbols important to my subjects and were reminiscent of American folk art quilts. A client who had seen these works asked me to do a painting for her daughter’s Bat Mitzvah.  We decided the painting should meld elements from both the girl’s personal life and her Torah portion, which fortuitously was the Creation  Beresheet.

            That painting led me to consider connecting my art with Judaism and particularly how Torah stories and rituals tapped into an artistic ideal that has always intrigued me. These universal themes touch chords within us, although we may not fully understand why. Archetypes often refer to themes in nature and life cycle events that helped earlier civilizations make sense of their world.  They include birth, coming of age, marriage and others that relate to that particular culture, as well as natural phenomena like the sun, moon, stars and the seasons.  I was familiar with this imagery in Western art, but I had not previously thought about applying these archetypal forms to Judaic Art.

            I began exploring ancient and contemporary works of Judaic work. Visually, the ancient ketubah are intricate and rich with symbolism. They are often embellished with wonderful decorative designs, and even the tiny details are full of meaning. The swirls that define the border are often based on the patterns that were representative of the friezes or tapestries of that artist’s particular geographic region. The explicit Jewish imagery is integrated into and not separate from those decorative elements and regional influences. Anchored by ancient Jewish symbols, there is a kind of experimentation and merging of the local culture with the age-old imagery found in Judaic art from all over the world.

              Regarding my process, I have a particular interest in color theory, exploring how colors harmonize with one another. In each of my paintings, I use a different palette with the goal of achieving a specific mood.  I have found gouache to be a perfect medium because the paint is rich and enables me to achieve various textures and brilliant color. I add layers of color and design by using stencils, sponging and masking areas to create a rich, visually vibrating surface texture in my work.

            Currently, I am learning the art of papercutting which is a traditional Jewish Art form.  Papercutting originated in China, but later became very popular in Eastern Europe. Judaic papercuts were often made for special events such as weddings or holidays and were also used as ritual objects known as Mizrach. 

        Each new artwork that I create teaches me about my heritage and the importance of communicating the rituals that are central to our lives.  My commissioned work involves a collaborative process between the client and myself, in which I ask them to contemplate which objects, symbols, or interests of personal importance they want to incorporate into the theme of the artwork. As I interview my clients, they often recollect stories from their past, and memories that may have been buried for years. Ideally as part of this process, my clients think about the deeper meaning of their lives and relationships.  I have the privilege of helping to translate these thoughts and ideas into visual images.  Although I use many ancient symbols in my paintings, I also bring new images and symbols that reflect our time and place.   Being part of this wonderful Judaic Arts continuum has helped me to establish my place and time as an artist. I continue to create paintings for a wide range of life-cycle events.