VIDEO: Visualizing Shabbat / From There to Here

Two presentations, curated and moderated by Yona Verwer for the Jewish Art Salon:

1) Visualizing Shabbat, by Fiber Artists Ruth Simon McRae and Laurie Wohl. Ruth Simon McRae will show her Tifferet series of handmade tallit, discussing the inspiration/meaning and textile processes employed in each. Laurie Wohl’s current work – The Shabbat Project – celebrates the prayers and music of the Kabbalat Shabbat service. Her Unweavings interpret and embed the ancient prayers, psalms and piyyutim that have particular resonance for Wohl, through the music that carries them.

2) From There to Here – My Journey as an Artist, by Ellen Holtzblatt “I label myself as an artist because this is what I do, but my work is informed by who I am and what I experience. This presentation will be a brief and concise journey through my evolving imagery and media, concentrating on expressions of being a woman and a Jew.” – Ellen Holtzblatt.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Ellen Holtzblatt creates paintings and drawings to explore connections between the physical and the spiritual—the memories of the body that reside in the soul. Holtzblatt, a Chicago-based artist, exhibits nationally and internationally, including the Jerusalem Biennale, Museum of Biblical Art in New York, and Inselgalerie in Berlin. Holtzblatt earned degrees in visual art and art therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Ruth Simon McRae is a Jewish visual artist living in Taylorsville, Georgia. She works in a range of disciplines – painting, printmaking, mixed media and ceramics as well as textiles.

NYC-based fiber artist Laurie Wohl is internationally known for her unique Unweavings, liturgical projects and interfaith message. Her works are held in the collections of the Museum of Art and Design, American Bible Society, Constitutional Court of South Africa, Catholic Theological Union, among other public and private collections, and have been on loan to U.S. Embassies in Beirut, Vienna, Tunis, Cape Town and Pretoria.

This session was recorded June 7, 2020 at the Jewish Art Salon.

Co-sponsored by Jada art and Art Kibbutz.

Video edited by Cheselyn Amato.