“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

But if I am only for myself, what am I?

And if not now, when?”

This famous quote by the great sage Hillel was a commission from some dear friends.  The design is based on the architecture and emblems from coins of Hillel’s time.  It is all quilling.

A friend of mine liked my “Baruch Haba” (welcome) piece, but wanted a gift for a newlywed Japanese couple, so she brought me the Japanese calligraphy that is the equivalent.  The design is based on some Japanese paper I had, and the flags above evoke the banners I saw over vendors stalls in Japan.  The cranes are lucky, and the chrysanthemum is a familiar Japanese motif.  The archway is actually made from Japanese grass cloth, as is the mat under the pot.

Ecclesiastes (Kohelet)

I  created this for a patron who wanted something Jewish that would also reflect the natural world.  It illustrates the verse “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven”.  The center shows the sun and stars, and around them the phases of the moon.  The outer circle shows the four seasons, with appropriate flora and fauna.  I had just moved to Minnesota at this time, so I included a Canadian “honker”.  Everything is made of quilling paper, with some 23k gold edge gilding.  The background is sponged gouache on matboard.  This image was later chosen by the UJA for their 1995 greeting card.

Lavish Radish

I decorated this business card in 1985, for a friend who created centerpieces out of beautifully carved and artfully arranged vegetables.  It was my first commission.  I had to go to the supermarket and look carefully at all the vegetables and their leaves. 8 x 10. private collection