New papercut: "Higher and Higher"

As I teased in an earlier post, I've been working on a new papercut inspired by the seventh chapter of Bereshit... here's a photo of it on my table (click it to see it larger).


Tentatively titled "Higher and Higher" -- named for one of the snippets of text in the background -- this papercut shows Noah's ark being raised by the uprushing "fountains of the deep" described in the Torah, while flooding rains fall from the sky.

The background is made up of a selection of grayscale and limited-palette comics, pages from a 1946 book of biblical commentary titled Pathways Through the Bible (which I rescued from the genizah box at our synagogue), and a photograph from an old National Geographic magazine.

Here are some close-up shots.

Completed commission: "Greenberg"

This morning I finished my latest commission -- it all came together in exactly the right way, and I'm very pleased with the result. Handed it over to the gentleman who commissioned it, and now I'm free to share it here.
Nicknamed “Hammerin’ Hank” or “The Hebrew Hammer,” Hank Greenberg played primarily for the Detroit Tigers as a first baseman, and was one of the premier power hitters of his generation. My "Greenberg" is modeled on his 1934 Goudey baseball card (see below).


More than a great baseball player, he was also a great man. One of the few ballplayers to give a warm welcome to the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson, the majors’ first black player in many years, Greenberg is known for a story involving a collision at first base with Robinson. After colliding with him, Greenberg whispered a few words into Robinson’s ear, which Robinson later characterized as “words of encouragement.” Greenberg had advised him that the best way to combat the slurs from the opposing players was to beat them on the field. Robinson later said: “Class tells. It sticks out all over Mr. Greenberg.”

Greenberg was acting in accordance with the words of our tradition: to pursue justice and promote freedom, for we were slaves in the land of Egypt. We read these words every year in the Passover haggadah, which is why the papercut is backed with elements from two traditional haggadot: the 1949 Shulsinger Brothers’ Haggadah of Passover and the 1958 H. Levitt Publishing’s Haggadah for the American Family.

Greenberg’s jersey is composed of key selections from the seder, while his face and hands are made up of scenes showing Jewish life in Egyptian slavery. The Jewish people are made of our stories — we are our history — and so too is Hank Greenberg in this papercut.

UPDATE

I'm making prints of this papercut available for sale, with the kind permission of the gentleman who commissioned the original. The prints are 16x20 giclee prints on archival watercolor stock -- and they are spectacular. Please email me if you're interested in acquiring one.

Teaser: detail from current commission

Let it never be said that I don't provide special little surprises for regular readers of the blog -- here's a detail from the papercut commission on my cutting table right now. I'll be doing a full reveal in a few days when it's complete... in the meantime, anyone have any guesses?

Rainbow Over Ararat

I just completed this Noah's Ark papercut titled "Rainbow Over Ararat" as a donation for the Temple Ahavat Shalom ECEC (Early Childhood Education Center) Brunch & Boutique this Sunday, April 10. They're having an auction to raise money for the school, and this papercut is one of the available items.

The ark has landed on Mount Ararat and, as the flood waters recede, a rainbow appears in the sky -- signifying God's promise to never flood the earth again. (No comment here on the potential effects of global warming.)

As with all of my current work, the piece is backed by cut-up comics. In this case, comics from all over the spectrum, with lots of characters and artist styles throughout.

Very colorful, very bright and cheerful... if you're interested in acquiring the papercut (not a print -- the original cut), click here.

Leo the Lion

Here's a lion from a naming certificate I made for friend who just had her first child. The style is a bit of a swipe from the great late illustrator Jim Flora. Overly cute, perhaps? Not for a baby's room!

New papercut on the table: Revisiting the Flood

Two details from the papercut currently on the table in my studio -- trying some new things with text in the background, and I'm very pleased with how it's coming along.

"Nisan Tree" -- Just in Time for Spring

This is my newest papercut, "Nisan Tree." It's almost spring -- and almost the Jewish month of Nisan -- and the papercut is inspired by some lines from the Talmud:

Rabbi Judah said, When a man goes out to the country in the month of Nisan [that is, in springtime] and see trees bring forth blossoms, he is to say, "Blessed be God, whose world lacks nothing, having created in it comely creatures and beautiful trees, so that human beings may enjoy them."

The tree is backed with cut-up comics to bring in the vibrant colors and textures of spring -- with characters including Green Lantern and She-Hulk, and artists including Alex Ross and Joe Kubert.

PRINTS AVAILABLE IN SUPPORT OF TWO GOOD CAUSES

If you want to get your hands on a print of this new papercut, there's only two ways to do so, because I'm only making two prints right now (though I may make more in the future):

1. At the silent auction benefiting Jewish World Watch on Sunday, April 10, at Warner Center Park in Woodland Hills. I'm going to be in the "2011 Walk to End Genocide" as part of the Temple Ahavat Shalom team, raising money to fight genocide around the world. Details here.

2. At the Temple Ahavat Shalom Annual Gala silent auction on Saturday, June 4, at TAS. Details forthcoming on the TAS website -- and I'll post a reminder here in advance of the event.

Click the image to see it larger, or check out this earlier blog post to see what it looked like when it was still just a sketch.

How a pencil sketch becomes a papercut

On the left, a little sketch from my sketchbook (after days and pages of drawing); on the right, the final cut. As you can see, often my sketches are just rough ideas toward the final form of a papercut. Then again, sometimes they're full-size, and very detailed.

From the cutting table: leaves

Just a little something I cut the other day... some leaves. I'm working on a new tree right now, but this isn't going to be it.

"Reuben" papercut

This is my latest completed papercut, titled "Reuben"; it's the first in a planned series of 12 cuts based on the Twelve Tribes (the papercut is 24" in height; click the image above to see it larger).

Reuben was the oldest son of the patriarch Jacob and matriarch Leah. I've represented the tribe with a mandrake root, based on the words of Bereshit (Genesis) 30:14: "Once, at the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben came upon some mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah." Mandrakes are a symbol of fertility and their roots often resemble human figures or body parts; Leah had been having difficulty conceiving again, and it is taught that Reuben was trying to help his mother.

The Tribe of Reuben is often represented with the figure of a man, and I've built this mandrake root out of comic book representations of flesh and skin -- hoping to convey the gnarled twistedness of the root and the pliant softness of flesh. Much of the flesh textures come from the Marvel comics character The Sub-Mariner, as an allusion to the words of Bereshit 49:4, in which Jacob calls his son "unstable as water." I won't get into the racy story that figures in the Jacob/Reuben conflict (it's a bit too juicy for this blog), but there's a lot of ambivalence over Reuben's character, and I wanted to express some of that attraction/repulsion with the layers and segments that make up the root.

The blue background the surrounds the root comes from a Batman illustration by Alex Ross -- Batman has his own mother issues, usually represented by a string of pearls at the time of her murder; I liked the conflation of Batman's desire to seek justice for his mother after her death, and Reuben's attempt to find justice for his mother while she still lived.

First peek: "Reuben" papercut detail

Just a teaser, really -- but I keep getting requests to see what I'm working on. So here's a small detail close-up of the "Reuben" papercut I'm working on now. It will be the first of a series on The Twelve Tribes.

"Paper Midrash" at Temple Ahavat Shalom: Photos From Class

I had a great time studying midrash and cutting paper in these two sessions at Temple Ahavat Shalom; my thanks and praise go out to our participants, who created some very nice work in the few hours we had together. Here are a few photos from today's session.

D.I.Y. Paper Midrash at Temple Ahavat Shalom

No fees, no reservations -- just show up!

Sketchbook leaves

Happy Tu B'shevat! This is from my sketchbook; I'm currently at work on the first design in a series based on the Twelve Tribes.

Happy Tu B'shevat from Nice Jewish Artist

Homage to Chagall's "The Violinist"

I created this as a submission for a music-related competition -- designing little artworks to represent various categories in an online music archive. This is my homage to Marc Chagall's "The Violinist" (see below), for a category of music called "American Klezmer."

Torah restoration "before and after" photos

My synagogue, Temple Ahavat Shalom, is currently restoring a 350 year-old Torah (details here); I couldn't resist sharing a couple of "before and after" photos showing the great work our sofer is doing. (Click the images below to see them larger.) The best part? Everyone at the synagogue gets a chance to write a letter in the Torah!

Hanukkah Double-Down

Just enjoyed my first (and probably last) Hanukkah Double-Down.

Recipe: laterally slice a jelly doughnut in half, insert one oversized latke, and enjoy -- it's like all of Hanukkah in one neat little package!

"Koufax" prints now available

I have a limited edition of 18 signed and numbered "Koufax" prints available -- archival giclee prints on Swiss archival watercolor stock. Print size is 20x16, including a 2" margin. If you're interested, let me know (before they're all gone) and we can talk price and shipping (as needed).

Koufax

I've completed the "Koufax" papercut commission and delivered it this morning -- I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I'm SO happy with it that I'm producing a limited edition of signed, numbered prints -- just email me with your contact information if you're interested in purchasing one. Click the pic above to see a larger image.

The piece is a single sheet papercut, backed with archival elements to represent the life and career of Sandy Koufax. It features clips from “The All-Star Story of the Dodgers,” a 1979 comic book published by Stadium Comics, as well as other baseball memorabilia.

The papercut is a triptych of shofarot, a symbol of Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. Koufax famously sat out game one of the 1965 World Series because it coincided with Yom Kippur. Why three? The number three reappears contantly with the blowing of the shofar; the Torah commands us three times to blow the shofar, and we are commanded to listen to it three times. There are, as well, three different shofar blasts: tekiyah, shevarim, and teruah; the different sounds of these blasts are reflected in the different patterns of each of the shofarot in the papercut.

The shofar on the right is composed of baseball bats, the natural browns reflecting the coloration of the shofar. At left is the “Dodger Blue” shofar; Koufax played his entire 12-year baseball career for the Dodgers, first in Brooklyn and then in Los Angeles. This shofar reflects that history with pieces of his uniform, stats about his career and records broken, a cheering crowd, and other elements. The shofar in the center includes images of Koufax on the mound, doing what he did so well: Koufax was the first major leaguer to pitch four no-hitters, he was named the National League’s MVP in 1963, and he was the first three-time Cy Young Award winner in baseball history. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, the youngest former player to receive that honor, and in May of 2010 he was included in a group of prominent Jewish Americans at the first White House reception in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month.

Hag Hanukkah Sameach from Nice Jewish Artist

Here's wishing you all a Happy Hanukkah! This is a shot of a Hanukkah papercut from a few years back -- taken in my house, in the frame, so forgive the shoddy repro quality (I think you can see my hands holding the camera in the reflection!). The Hebrew reads, "Nes Gadol Haya Sham" (a great miracle happened there).

"Koufax" papercut is nearly done -- enjoy this teaser!

Here's a real sweet detail shot of the "Koufax" papercut I've been working on; I'm really excited about finishing it up (soon!).

The original will be available for purchase, but also -- for the first time ever -- I'll be making available a limited edition of signed and numbered archival giclee prints. Details coming soon.

New papercut in development... Enjoy these teaser shots!

Here are a few early shots from while I was on cutting out the structures:

And here's a shot of it as I start to add in the backing. If you look closely, you'll find a hint about the final piece.

Completed commission: Aniversary Tree

This is the completed "anniversary tree" commission I just completed and delivered.

Created in celebration of a 25th wedding anniversary, the husband commissioned the work as a surprise gift for his wife. The trunk of the tree starts out as two colors, which mingle and intertwine as the tree grows, become inseparable where the leaves start to branch out. Within the leaves are the Hebrew names of the couple's three sons.

There are a few comic pieces thrown in (that's what I do, after all) but this is mostly backed with colored art papers.

Commission in progress: Anniversary gift

This is a detail from a commission I'm working on right now. It's a surprise anniversary gift from husband to wife, and (at his request) an arboreal piece, with the Hebrew names of their three children worked into the greenery.

"Tower of Babel" papercut incorporates comic speech bubbles

I never posted a photo of the completed "Tower of Babel" papercut that was in my recent show at Brave new World Comics -- and so with this post I remedy that situation.

It's composed in a shape reminiscent of a ziggurat, with a winding outer path that ascends to the top of the tower. The background is made of assorted cut-up speech bubbles from various comics, all chosen to reflect the theme of confusion, disorder, and emergent chaos that comes with the destruction of the tower.

Bereshit/Genesis 11:1-9

And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, "Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, "Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, with its top in heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

And God came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. And God said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do. Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."

So God scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and they left off to build the city. Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because God did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did God scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

The first ever (?) steampunk papercut: "Brave New World"

I'm happy to share a photo of my latest papercut with you, made as a gift for Portlyn and Atom!, the fine folks who helped bring you my latest show at Brave New World Comics. It's about them, so there are no doubt a few references that may go over one's head, but I believe the piece is nonetheless aesthetically pleasing. It includes bits and pieces of:

X-Men 179
OMAC
Ultimate Secret 3
Ultimate Extinction 3
White Tiger (trade book)
Superman 330 (1978)
Hulk 280 (1983)
Marvel Team-up 40 and 46 (1976)
ROM 27 (1982)
Fantastic Four 233 (1981) and 282 (1985)
Avengers 229 (1983)

"You did WHAT ... ?!?" featured on Proxart Blog

There's a good feature on my work and the show at Brave New World Comics on the Proxart blog today -- enjoy!

Free Sukkot "How To" Poster from Nice Jewish Artist

I made this poster a few years back as a fun instructional guide on "how to hold and wave the four species" -- feel free to download, print, distribute, and share (as long as you credit it to NiceJewishArtist.com). Just click on the little image on the right for a full-size, high-res JPEG sized 11x17 inches. Happy Sukkot!

Happy Sukkot from Nice Jewish Artist

Happy Sukkot! We B2s are busy getting our sukkah into shape, looking forward to a week of harvest fun; how about you?

The two shows are going well. We've already sold most of the work at Brave New World Comics, gotten a lot of great traffic at the Finegood Galley, and have gotten some good press. I thank you all for your support and interest. If you've been hoping to have a chance to own one of my comic book / papercutting mash-ups, this is your chance -- come on down to either one of the shows and check out what everyone's talking about!

Check out the show catalog from Brave New World Comics

Want to see what you're missing? Click here to view a PDF catalog of the works currently being shown in "You did WHAT to my comics?!?!" at Brave New World Comics.

See what's on exhibit at The Finegood Gallery

Right now I'm showing four pieces in a group show at The Finegood Gallery of the West Valley Jewish Community Center (West Hills, California) -- click the image above to see a larger version (but go see the show, open through October 17, to see them as they were intended to be enjoyed):

The Finegood Gallery
WVJCC
22622 Vanowen Street
West Hills, California
818 464 3218

"MOSES SMASH!" at GeekWeek.com

The fine folks at GeekWeek.com have a brief review of the opening we held at Brave New World Comics this weekend -- please check it out. Excerpt:

"...taking the Hebrew from Darth Vader's chest plate, mixing in a little Darkseid, and cutting up some Final Crisis might be a bit of a stretch, or it might be awesome."

"You did WHAT to my comics?" -- Thanks for a great opening night!

The show opened tonight at Brave New World Comics and it was a big success. I'll post details and pix soon, as well as a catalog of works, but for now know this: a lot of great people came, including family and friends, and a lot of art was discussed and sold. Thanks to everyone who came out and made it so great!

"Tower of Babel" papercut incorporates cut-up comic book speech bubbles

Sneak peek at a detail shot of my "Tower of Babel" Paper Midrash papercut, which will likely be on the walls at my show at Brave New World Comics, starting this Saturday night. Hand-selected for this piece, the speech bubbles are from a range of comics, including Thor.

“You did WHAT to my comics?!?”
Fine Art Mash-up ∙ New Work by Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik

Opening Reception at Brave New World Comics
on Saturday, September 11, from 7 to 10 pm

Show open from September 11 through October 9

The Raven: In-progress sketch

Working on a raven papercut, based on the Noah story in Bereshit: "And he sent forth a Raven, and it went forth and to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth." The rabbis have a lot of fun with what "to and fro" could really be about -- is it about the raven arguing back and forth with Noah? Is it related to the idea that the raven found a fresh corpse to alight upon and never returned to the ark, hence requiring Noah to release another bird -- the dove? The raven is a tricky bird...

The look of the raven is being driven by Native American representations of the trickster-god Raven, and I'm still working on the background textures. I assure you, loyal fans, it will involve comic books in some way. And if I finish it in time, you can see the final at my upcoming show at Brave New World Comics.

More details on the show are available here.

"You did WHAT to my comics?" -- Details on Show at Brave New World

“You did WHAT to my comics?”
Fine Art Mash-up ∙ New Work by Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik

Opening Reception at Brave New World Comics
on Saturday, September 11, from 7 to 10 pm

Show Open from September 11 through October 9

Brave New World Comics
22722 Lyons Avenue
Newhall, CA 91321
661-259-4745

Brynjegard-Bialik Papercuts in Two Upcoming SoCal Shows

I've got a one-man show at Brave New World Comics in Santa Clarita opening on Saturday, September 11 (through October 9). I've also got four pieces in the fall show at the Finegood Gallery at the West Valley Jewish Community Center; that show opens on September 2, with an artists' reception on Sunday, September 12. Click the card image above to enlarge it for full details.

The image is a detail from "Fountains of the Deep." In Bereshit/Genesis 7:11 we read that "In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the deep came bursting through, and the windows of heaven were opened."

Priestly Blessing illustration

This is one in a series of illustrations I'm doing for a High Holiday prayerbook for my wife, the rabbi. I'm posting this one because she's already nixed it -- so no "spoiler alert" needed.

Two Upcoming Shows in Southern California

SAVE THE DATE! I've got a one-man show at Brave New World Comics in Santa Clarita opening on Saturday, September 11 (through October 9). I've also got four pieces in the fall show at the Finegood Gallery at the West Valley Jewish Community Center; that show opens on September 2, with an artists' reception on Sunday, September 12. Invitations will be going out soon. If you don't think you're on my distribution list, please drop me an email or add a comment and ask to be added. Otherwise, stay tuned to this blog for details.

Beware the trickery of "Trickster Coyote"

I've completed my "Trickster Coyote" papercut today! Based on the traditional Native American representation of Trickster Coyote, the piece uses cut-up Loki comics as background texture, bringing together an ancient trickster with a comic book counterpart. The Loki pieces are from Thor comics throughout the 20th century, including some Jack Kirby and John Buscema. There are also some Native American colors and textures (courtesy of Alpha Flight and The Ringo Kid), and a few other surprises here and there.

This piece, and many others, will be on display in my upcoming one-man show at Brave New World Comics (the opening reception is Saturday, September 11).

Trickster Coyote papercut begins to take shape

I'm working on a papercut for my upcoming show at Brave New World Comics (opening reception is Saturday, September 11), and I thought I'd share a couple of detail photos as it's coming together. The image on the left is just the cut; on the right you can see the background getting filled in -- I'm using Loki as a primary background element, but there may be some other characters you recognize once it's done...