Judaic Artisans Today
by Kathryn Morton

Hard Cover, 200 pages
Art, Craft
ISBN - 1-886388-21-0

November 2014. The official retail price for this book is $49.95. For this holiday season, we are offering it for $24.95. Contact us if you would like to order multiple copies and we'll see what we can do for you.

Each artist has color photographs showing samples of their work. The text contains biographic information and the artists' thoughts about their work.

From the book jacket:

Judaic Artisans Today: Contemporary Judaica in the United States and Those Who Created It is an inspirational book for those who love beauty, for artists, for readers, and for collectors, too.

For lovers of beauty: Just glance through the full-color photographs and you'll see the work of America's most skilled artisans working with such materials as silk, silver, ebony, beads, bronze, clay, glass, fabric, paper, and walrus teeth. The array is dazzling, the workmanship exquisite.

For artists: Artisans interested in starting to create Judaica, or to extend the range of ritual works theya lready make, will find quantities of useful information in the book's pages, in the indexed glossary, and in the annotated bibliography. The author, a professional Jewish educator, tells the how, what, and why of Jewish ceremony and the objects employed. She also tells what must be included in the esign for the work to be kosher. Her suggestions are aimed to inspire creativity and facilitate success.

For readers: The 72 chapters profiling the artists present sensitive insights into the creative mind. Here, too, is a cross section of the American story; secularists finding spiritual meaning when they take on a commission to do a religious work; a scientist, an architect and a lawyer all changing careers in mid-life to work with their hands; grandmothers employing high-tech tools; young people learning the most ancient skills. Some native born, some newcomers, they now live in all parts of the United States, from New England to Hawaii, and each one has a fascinating story. Kathryn Morton's historical introduction, furthermore, gives an insightful analysis of the events and personalities that led to today's unprecedented growth of Judaic activity.

For collectors: Pictured here are scores of different kinds of exquisitely crafted ritual objects, not only familiar objects as menorahs, prayer shawls, and seder plates, but exotic items as a mechanical tzedakah box, an omer counter with mystical inscriptions, a blessing bowl, commemorative montages, and works in scrimshaw. An appendix tells how to contact the artists.

Click on the pages to the left for high-quality PDF files of these pages.

Contents

A Note in the Doorway Front endpapers
Writing Hebrew with English Letters vi
Acknowledgements vii
An Introduction to Contemporary American Judaica viii

Gallery of Artists

Ceramics
Katya Apekina 2
Susan Felix 4
Susan Garson and Tom Pakele 7
Emmett Leader 9
Robert Lipnick 11
Sara Mann 14
Marsha McCarthy 17
Lia Lynn Rosen 19
Arnold Schwarzbart 22

Metals and Mixed Media
Abrasha 26
Maureen and Michael Banner 29
Bernard Bernstein 31
Richard Bitterman 34
Cynthia Eid 36
Fred Fenster 38
John Fix 40
Kathlean Levine Gahagan 42
Linda Gissen 44
Judith E. Goldstein 46
Kathy Hart 48
Dalya Luttwak 50
Kurt Matzdorf 52
Rabbi Daniel Mezei 54
Alix Mikesell 56
Robyn Nichols 58
Harold Rabinowitz 60
Chava Wolpert Richard 62
S. Arthur and Wendy Silver 65
Eva Strauss-Rosen 67
Munya Avigail Upin 69
Shirley Shapiro Zwang 71

Glass and Enamel
Marilyn Druin 74
Kerry Feldman 76
Michael Gore 78
Robert Levin 80
Ellen Mandelbaum 82
Elizabeth Mears 84
David Nulman 87
Michelle and David Plachte-Zuieback 90
Steve and Valerie Resnick 93
Marian Slepian 95
Shari Wyne and Avinoam Zohar 97

Paper
Andi Arnovitz 100
Joyce Aysta 102
Rose Ann Chasman 104
Judith Citron 106
Jay S. Greenspan 108
Judith Hankin 110
Naomi Hordes 112
Naomi Geller Lipsky 114
Mary Etta Moore 117
Tsirl Waletsky 119

Wood
Harvey Buchalter 124
Ed Cohen 126
Lorelei and Alex Gruss 128
Hershel Mutka Weiss 131

Fiber
Deborah Anderson 134
D. J. Berger 136
Rachel Brumer 138
Renate Chernoff 140
Laurie dill-Kocher 142
Lydie Egosi 145
Ruth Gaynes 147
Ina Golub 149
Laurie Gross 152
Jodi Kanter 155
Nancy Katz 157
Gerhardt Knodel 159
Sharona Ozery 161
Joan Koslan Schwartz 163
Elsa Wachs 165

Scrimshaw
Marvin M. Cohen 168

Seeing Meaning: A Glossary with Index 171
Directory of Artists 189
Suggested Further Readings 195
A Fragrant Farewell 199