If anyone had told me 30 years ago that I would one day specialize in Judaic art, I’d have said no way — and yet, here I am. It excites me to be able to perfectly blend my background in illustration and love of fine art with a personal meaning.
Conceptual in nature, my work centers on unique symbolism aimed at enhancing a particular story, whether I am applying my skills in papercutting or painting. It is through my use of color, paper choice, and varied details to emphasize main concepts, while keeping the more subtle aspects of the narratives in the background, that I am able to fashion a cohesive, compelling work of art. I challenge myself technically with design and medium to shape the concepts.
One of the most enjoyable parts of my artistic practice is meeting people and listening to the stories of their lives, or learning from them about a text that needs to be interpreted artistically. It is after that first encounter that I choose what technical skill, colors, and textures to employ.
To date, my preferred media have been gouache on paper, papercutting, or a combination of the two. With gouache, I like to layer the color in order to form one image to the next, keeping the look clean, clear intentional and sophisticated. My vivid layering of the gouache conveys a feeling of watercolor. The liveliness and richness of gouache tones also benefits the theatrical quality of my art.
When creating a papercut, I challenge myself to see how delicately I can incise the design while still maintaining a continuous work of art. It is similar to the gouache in that I am able to layer and emphasize different elements of importance very subtly. Through this technique, and by incorporating iconographic symbolism conveyed in a technically sophisticated manner, I bring a modern approach to this traditional art form.