A workshop about workshops (papercutting meets Inception)

[PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY ON THE DREAM LAB BLOG]

I had a fascinating experience the other night. I was teaching a workshop in papercutting — but I do that a lot. What made this a different experience was that I was in a class of graduate school students in an education program, and I wasn't really teaching them papercutting; I was actually teaching them about teaching papercutting.

Each of the fellows in the AJU Dream Lab program that I'm a part of this year is doing a similar thing – doing what we do in the classroom but for this graduate school class instead, as part of our efforts to figure out how we can incorporate the arts into traditional Jewish education, to reinvigorate and revitalize it.

The class was led by Dr. Rachel Lerner, Graduate Center for Jewish Education at AJU. The first half of the night was taught by Rabbi Adam Greenwald, who shared with us some fascinating ideas about Passover (and teaching Passover). My workshop went as most of them do – I introduced the subject, the tools, and did a bit on knife safety… and then we got into cutting. Everyone worked on a papercut related to Passover, which they designed themselves. What made it so different for me was that every time I had a moment where I was internally thinking about my process, I was allowed and, in fact, encouraged to speak aloud about the process and generate a discussion. Very meta!

The work that all of the students created was wonderful, and I'm always impressed at how people who have never held a knife before can nonetheless create such beauty with such relevance to our tradition. But on top of that, I was really able to think about how I present and teach, and how I can tell if/what my students are hearing and understanding what I'm saying. The feedback I got from this class enabled me to fine-tune my approach, and think more deeply about my intentions and ways to measure my results.

I think I naturally have a bit of self-doubt when I'm leading a workshop – I don't believe that it affects the process, and students seem to really enjoy it and get a great deal out of it, but nonetheless I do – in my head – sometimes find myself asking myself questions about my approach and efficacy. This was an opportunity to voice those questions out loud, and to improve my technique through interaction with this class and their suggestions and feedback.

In the end, it proved really useful to me – because I think one of the hardest parts of being in a classroom setting in leading a workshop is not always getting feedback on the process from the students. Sometimes they're too young, or they just lack the background to provide feedback on what they've experienced. In this case, the participants were perfectly suited to deliver feedback and suggestions for improvement, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have been in the classroom with them.

Join me this Sunday in Santa Monica for the 2016 "Betzalel Fest"

Join me in Santa Monica (California) this Sunday afternoon, February 28 from 1-4 pm, for Kehillat Ma'arav's "Betzalel Fest" – featuring activities for all ages, including Jewish art displays, musical performances, candle making, kosher wine tasting, creating silk challah covers, challah baking, crafts for kids, and a sign up for future classes. I'll be sharing some recent work and demonstrating papercutting LIVE IN PERSON, with plenty of Band-Aids on hand (just in case).

"Tree of Life" at Children's Hospital Los Angeles

I am so excited to finally be sharing this with you – my new "Tree of Life," commissioned by Children's Hospital Los Angeles for their new chapel! It's 24" x 36" and it's chock-full – the most super heroes I've even put into one papercut.

I had the chance to see it in its new home for the first time today as the space was officially opened, and it looks fantastic. The whole space does – it's officially named the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation Interfaith Center, 2,400 square feet of "non-denominational indoor and outdoor space will serve as a place of emotional and spiritual respite for CHLA patients." (You can read more about it here.)

It is such an honor to have been asked to create a new papercut for this wonderful space – to be a part of CHLA's goals of "compassionate patient care, leading-edge education of the caregivers of tomorrow and innovative research efforts that impact children at our hospital and around the world." I hope that my "Tree of Life" inspires all who see it – patients, families, and the CHLA professionals – to be strong and to have hope.

"What do you see?" Kid Flash, Squirrel Girl, Green Lantern, Power Pack...

As regular readers of this blog probably know, we Jews call the Torah (known to others as the Bible or the Old Testament) the "tree of Life," and we say that all those who support it are happy. This tree represents our traditions of knowledge and learning, of hope and healing, of happiness and life.

This large and bountiful tree is filled with many different fruits, and features shapes of leaves from trees found throughout Los Angeles: oak, birch, madrone, and willow. Other references to Los Angeles abound.

It is filled with cut-up comics featuring super heroes — individuals who have devoted themselves to helping those who need it — as well as doctors and nurses tending to the sick. (Look for Doctor Strange, Doctor Fate, the Night Nurse, and many others.) Since it's for a Jewish prayer space, it's filled with Jewish heroes (like Kitty Pryde, Batwoman, and Ragman). The fruits are filled with younger super heroes, still learning to be their best selves. (Look for the young hero teams Power Pack, Teen Titans, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and more.) You'll find Bruce Wayne visiting a sick friend in the hospital, Beast Boy getting a checkup, Wiz Kid in his wheelchair working with the Young Avengers... and so much more.

"Tree of Life" is filled with doctors, nurses, and young heroes who strive to be strong and persevere!

It is my hope that all those who look at the tree will find within it their favorite super hero, and see themselves reflected in it as well.


This "Tree of Life" is also a tree of healing. As it happens, the shortest prayer in the Torah is one of healing — five words, eleven letters — when Moses calls upon God in Numbers/Bamidbar 12:13 to heal his sister, Miriam, with the words, “El Na R’fa Na La” – “God, Please, Heal Her Now.” This prayer is found in the trunk, along with words from the “Mi Shebeirach” healing prayer and multiple references to the Etz Chaim (the Tree of Life).

The trunk includes an LA skyline, texts on the "tree of life," and Moses' plaintive prayer to God for healing.

 So – how many super heroes? You wanna know? Here's the list (those with asterisks are young heroes, found in the fruits of the tree):

Aquaman (Arthur Curry)
Arsenic (Gertrude Yorkes)*
Atom (Ray Palmer)
Batgirl (Barbara Gordon)
Batman (Bruce Wayne)
Batwoman (Katherine Kane)
Beast Boy (Garfield Logan)*
Black Canary (Dinah Lance)
Braniac 2
Captain America (Steve Rogers)
Cyborg (Vic Stone)
Cyclops (Scott Summers)
Daredevil (Matt Murdock)
Dazzler (Alison Blaire)
Dr. Fate
Dr. Lamour*
Dr. Mid-Nite
Dr. Strange (Stephen Strange)
Energizer (Katie Power)*
Franklin Richards*
Gamora
Green Arrow (Oliver Queen)
Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
Green Lantern (John Stewart)
Hawkeye (Clint Barton)
Hawkman
The Hulk (Bruce Banner)
The Human Torch (Johnny Storm)
Iceman (Bobby Drake)
The Invisible Woman (Sue Storm)
Iron Man (Tony Stark)
Jubilee*
Kid Flash (Wally West)
Lightning Lass*
Lucy in the Sky (Karolina Dean)*
Magik (Illyana Rasputin)
Marvel Girl/Phoenix (Jean Grey)
Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers)
Nightcrawler
Night Nurse
Power PackRagman (Rory Regan)
Robin (Dick Grayson)*
Robin (Stephanie Brown)*
Rocket Raccoon
Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde)*
She-Hulk (Jen Walters)
Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Squirrel Girl (Doreen Green)*
Starfire*
Sunspot (Roberto da Costa)*
Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)
Superman (Clark Kent)
The Thing (Ben Grimm)
Thor
Valeria Richards
Vickie Grant*
Vision
Wiz Kid (Taki Matsuya)
Wolverine
Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark)*
Wonder Girl (Donna Troy)
Wonder Woman (Diana Prince)
Zero-G (Alex Power)*
The Eleventh Doctor

And you know I always make a list of the comics I use in my pieces – this is a LONG list:

Adventure Comics #507 (Jan 2010)
Adventure Comics Presents Dial H for Hero
#481 (May 1981)
All Star Western #3 (Jan 2012)
Aquaman #35 (Dec 2014)
Avengers #7 (Jan 2011)
Batgirl Special #1 (1988)
Batman #500 (Oct 1993)
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
#4 (Feb 1990)
Batwoman #3 (Jan 2012)
Claws #3 (Dec 2006)
Convergence: Green Lantern Corps #2 (Jul 2015)
Daredevil #29 (Sep 2013), #294 (Jul 1991)
Doctor Fate #31 (Aug 1991)
Doctor Strange #65 (Jun 1984)
Doctor Who FCBD (2015)
Green Lantern #41 (Aug 2015), #108 (Sep 1978)
Green Lantern: Mosaic #1 (Jun 1992)
Green Lantern: New Guardians #35 (Dec 2014)
Elektra #1 (Jun 2014)
Excalibur #1 (Oct 1988)
Fantastic Four #156 (Mar 1974)
FF #23 (Dec 2012)
Incredible Hulk #28 (Jul 2001)
Infinity Inc. #3 (Jan 2008)
Justice #1 (Oct 2005), #12 (Aug 2007)
Justice League of America #75 (Nov 1969)
Legion ’91 #34 (Dec 1991)
Legion of Super-Heroes #16 (Mar 2013)
Magik #1 (Dec 1983), #4 (Mar 1984)
The New Mutants #87 (Mar 1990)
The New Teen Titans #1 (Aug 1984)
Night Nurse #1 (Jul 2015)
Power Pack #1 (Aug 1984), #12 (Jul 1985),
#21 (Apr 1986), #19 (Feb 1986),
#25 (Aug 1986)
Ragman #1 (Aug 1993)
Runaways #16 (Jul 2006), #19 (Oct 2006),
#7 (Oct 2005)
S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 (May 2015)
Showcase ’93 #7 (Jul 1993)
Siege: Loki #1 (Jun 2010)
Starman #23 (Jun 1990)
Superboy #18 (May 2013), #8 (Aug 2011), Annual #1 (Mar 2013), #5 (May 2011)
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #27 (Apr 2007)
Superman: Peace on Earth (Jan 1999)
Swamp Thing #22 (Feb 2006)
Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #3 (Jul 1981)
Tales of the Teen Titans #57 (Sep 1985)
Tales of the Thing #1 (May 2005)
Teen Titans #4 (Dec 2003), #23.2 (Nov 2013), #13 (Sep 2004)
The Thing #2 (Feb 2006)
Thor #616 (Dec 2010), #621 (May 2011),
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #7 (Sep 2015)
Wonder Girl #1 (Nov 2007)
X-Men: First Class #4 (Feb 2007)
X-Static #21 (Jun 2004)
X-Terminators #3 (Dec 1988)

No "broad" puns here, surprisingly.

Had a great visit at the new Broad Museum in Los Angeles, and enjoyed the stunning collection of contemporary (and other twentieth century) work. It's an incredible space – traditional white box in many ways, but with addition of swoopy organic forms on the first floor and the ever-present veil visible through the windows and roof of the third floor galleries. Really great space.

Some of my reflections are in the captions below.

Selfie in front of "the veil." (That's what they call the outer shell.)

So apparently John Baldessari uses "Trixie" for some of his work. Hunh.

I've retitled this Jean-Michel Basquiat painting, "I will finish what you started."

Glenn Ligon was represented with a series of "runaway slave" posters that describe the artist.

Me, in Yayoi Kusama's "Infinity Mirrored Room." Transcendant experience.

Detail from Jasper Johns' "Flag." Up close you can really see the collage work.

Another detail from Jasper Johns' "Flag." Hard to capture it with an iPhone.

Detail from Jasper Johns' "White Flag." Wait for it...

Jasper Johns' "White Flag." Have you guessed yet that I'm a Johns fan?

Kara Walker is doing some incredible cutout work. This is a look through a vitrine toward her mural, "African't."

Sorry, Ellsworth Kelly, but there's a huge mistake in the brochure about where "Green Angle" is located. HUGE.

The Broads like Jeff Koons, and there are a lot of his works on display.

I discovered Barbara Kruger when I was in college learning about design and art. Still love her work.

Detail from a Roy Lichtenstein piece. Ben Day dots FTW!

Lichtenstein sculpture. Works weird effects on your eyeballs in person.

Ed Ruscha is such a Southern California artist, you know?

Looking down into "the vault" – where the rest of the collection is stored.

Another shot of "the veil" which covers the museum.

This Andy Warhol piece is ON THE FLOOR, which is just perfect.

I discovered the work of Christopher Wool in the art movie, "[Untitled]" – stunning big pieces here.

Thank you for a great 2015

Whew! It's been a great year, and I am so pleased to have shared it with you!

Workshops up and down the West Coast (including Congregation Kol Ami, Temple Beth Hillel, and  Temple Ahavat Shalom), the new windows at Maimonides Jewish Day School in Portland, my annual residency at URJ Camp Newman, commissions galore, an enormous ketubah featuring Adam Strange and Emma Frost, winning a juror's award in "Heroes & Villains" at the Smithsonian-affiliated Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center, the opening of my latest show "Women of Valor and Other Super Heroes" at National Council of Jewish Women/Los Angeles, participating in the Jerusalem Biennale, presenting "To Boldly Go" to William Shatner... and so much more! Too much to put in one graphic, in fact!

To paraphrase "Hamilton" – I'll see you on the other side of the year...

Oregon Jewish Life

There's a nice write-up in the January 2016 issue of Oregon Jewish Life about my appearance with William Shatner in Portland last month. Here's an excerpt:

Jewish-themed papercuts generally don’t conjure up visions of Star Trek. References to Jews beautifying commandments with this colorful, baroque folk art date to 1345. Symbols and inscriptions include biblical passages, Stars of David and the Zodiac – complete with fantastic animals. Captain Kirk and his Starship Enterprise are unlikely candidates. Unless, of course, you’re Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik.

Read the whole thing here.

2015 Jerusalem Biennale

I've finally received a copy of the catalog for the 2015 Jerusalem Biennale, and I'm so happy to be able to share a few photos out here. The biennale is over, but the sharing never stops!

The Jerusalem Biennale is dedicated to exploring the places in which Contemporary Art and the Jewish World of Content meet. It is a stage for professional artists who create today and refer in their work to Jewish thought spirit tradition or experience to exhibit their work in Jerusalem. In 2015 it included 13 exhibitions in 10 venues, including exhibitions from New York, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Barcelona and (of course) Jerusalem.

I was honored to be included in the "7,567 mi" exhibition put together by the Jewish Artists Initiative and curated by Anne Hromadka and Georgia Freedman-Harvey. The Jewish Artists Initiative (JAI) is an artist-run organization committed to fostering visual art by Jewish artists and promoting dialogue about Jewish identity and related issues among members of the arts community.

The catalog is, of course, bilingual.

List of JAI members in the "7,567 mi" exhibition.

Exhibition statement from the curators.

"7,567 mi" explored the physical, spiritual and cultural connections between Jerusalem and Los Angeles-based members of the JAI. Despite the 7,567 miles that separate our cities, we share a great deal in common.

My two papercuts, in the biennale catalog.

Two of the six papercuts in my "Paper Mishnah" series were included in the exhibition, and flown to Jerusalem to be shown in the Emek Refaim venue of the biennale: "Seeds" and "Women."

It is such a thrill to have my works listed in Hebrew as well as English!
(Even though I include a gimmel in my last name and they went with a more traditional Swedish pronounciation.)

It was truly a pleasure to be a part of this exhibition, alongside my JAI colleagues.

My two pieces, in situ at the Emek Refaim site.

KCET Artbound profile: "Classic Comix and the Art of Modern Judaism"

I'm pleased to post a link to a new review of my work by Shana Nys Dambrot on KCET Artbound.

Ms. Dambrot visited my current show, "Women of Valor and Other Super Heroes," at National Council of Jewish Women / Los Angeles and spoke to me about my work, my influences, and my inspiration.

"Bridging youth and popular culture with a thoughtful conversation on the lessons of the sacred Jewish texts may seem like a daunting task. In fact, it is a job for Superman."

"Brynjegard-Bialik brings these different types of stories together in the complex but clean layers of his papercuts, creating new meanings for the world's oldest stories as he engineers these combinations with the architectural presence of stained glass, the whimsy of gilded-age fairy tales, and the meditative aura of illuminated manuscripts."

The show is only open for a few more days – contact Carrie Jacoves at 323-852-8512 or carrie@ncjwla.org to find out when you can see it.

"Breathe Free" and the Syrian Refugee Crisis

It hurts me to hear people like House Speaker Paul Ryan say we should close our doors – whether he says it's a "pause" or whatever. We have a welcome sign at the border, on a statue given to us by France, and it contains America's core value: we welcome the tired and weary – the refugees who seek freedom and safety. Don't turn them away! They are us!

"Breathe Free" (shown above) is a new papercut in my exhibition, "Women of Valor and Other Super Heroes," now showing at National Council of Jewish Women / Los Angeles through November 30, 2015. This was inspired by my wife's Rosh HaShanah sermon about the Syrian refugee crisis.

The original Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers, has recently “passed the torch” to a young Muslim immigrant from Pakistan. Both dedicate themselves to the ideas of peace and freedom, and the message carved in stone at the foot of the Statue of Liberty — words written by the Jewish poet, Emma Lazarus. This papercut explores the idea of America as a nation of immigrants, with a changing demographic of people all committed to the same ideals: refuge and liberty for all.

This papercut, like all of my work, is made with cut-up comic books, including:

• Avengers [Free Comic Book Day] #1 (Jun 2015)
• Captain Marvel #1 (Nov 2015)
• Ms. Marvel #15 (Mar 1978)
• Ms. Marvel #1 (Oct 2014)

The original is already sold, but you can buy an archival giclée print at my store site.

To Boldly Go: William Shatner (and me) in Portland

Presenting "To Boldly Go" to William Shatner.

I still can't quite believe it. This photo? It's me and William Shatner. With a papercut I made for him. Seriously.

Deep breath.

Sorry – but I'm genuinely such a  huge fan of Star Trek and William Shatner, and this was a dream for me. I was given the opportunity to create a piece for William Shatner and present it to him on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland at their annual gala.

The complete papercut; click to enlarge. You can buy a print here.

The papercut is a representation of “Lech L’cha,” the Torah portion in which Abraham and Sarah are told by God to leave their home and travel to a new land: Canaan (Genesis/Bereshit 12:1–17:27). This desert journey is set against the backdrop of Vasquez Rocks, a California location familiar to viewers of Star Trek (and many other television shows and movies), and it’s made of cut-up Star Trek comics with a focus on Captain James Tiberius Kirk.

Details of a bit of an old chumash and the opening words from "Star Trek."

The papercut contains comic book quotes and speech bubbles related to the message of “Lech L’cha,” it is set against a star-filled background from those comics, and the background behind Abraham and Sarah’s caravan is made of a mosaic of appearances of Captain Kirk’s uniform shirt. And of course, the Federation Starship Enterprise is included as well.

The Federation Starship Enterprise, a travel-related quote, and Abraham and Sarah.

This is the chapter in our Torah when people are first cited as a source of blessing to others; we read that Abraham and Sarah are a source of blessing for all those they come in contact with. Similarly, William Shatner has used his talent and celebrity to share his blessings with others in various community and philanthropic pursuits.

It was such an immense pleasure to present it to him in front of the Portland Jewish Community – to share the meaning behind the piece and to hear him say that he liked it and would be putting it up in his home.

He had such kind words to share about my work.

When I had originally told my wife this might be happening, she told me that if I was meeting William Shatner, she was coming – and so were the kids. And they did! And he was so gracious; he spent some time with the family, asked each of the girls what they want to be when they grow up and offered them encouragement and suggestions. He knows how to talk to girls! And of course, we not only took an "official" photo with the art...

We are all freaking out! Except for Mr. Shatner.

We also took selfies with him in the green room!

Selfie with Mr. Shatner and my wife/muse Shawna.

This was an incredible experience – and one I owe to the fine folks at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland (especially Event Coordinator Allison Specter and President Marc Blattner) and my buddy Barry Greenberg (of Celebrity Connection).

One last thing – the original papercut is going in William Shatner's house, but you can get an archival giclée print of your own, right here. I'll sign it and ship it to you in a fancy tube and everything.

Birkon Mikdash M'at: NFTY's Bencher

Just in time for Shabbat!

This groundbreaking publication fills a need for a handy source for Shabbat, weekday, and holiday blessings and songs. Created by NFTY, edited by Jeremy Gimbel, and spearheaded by Rabbi Dan Medwin, this app makes all the blessings and songs even more accessible and easy to use. For use in the home, the synagogue, in camps, at weddings, or wherever your travels take you.

And yeah, it features a bunch of my Paper Tefillah papercuts. I'm so proud to be a part of this!

Get it from the app store for your iPhone... or there's a print version too.

There's No Place Like Camp

Honorees Jim Heeger and Daryl Messinger being presented with "There's No Place Like Camp" by URJ Camp Newman Development and Alumni Director Tracy Klapow

This past weekend URJ Camp Newman held a celebration to honor Jim Heeger and Daryl Messinger for their contributions to and support of the camp over the years – the theme of the evening was "There's No Place Like Camp."

This fabulous husband-and-wife duo have been involved with the URJ camps for many years – serving on the board, developing the long-term vision, and so much more.

I was so pleased the camp asked me to make a papercut for Jim and Daryl, since I'm at Camp Newman every summer and am proud to call it my second home — and I'm glad to share with you a photo of the presentation (above) and a cleaner image of the papercut (below), which I call "There's No Place Like Camp."

Click the leaf to see it bigger!

The papercut is based on the leaf shape used in another event element, but I've filled out the structure with a modified version of the Camp Newman logo. And within? Cut-up comics, of course, including an issue of Lumberjanes. You'll also see a bit of a map (to stress the importance of location), some camp photos, and a little bit of Hebrew text – words from "Mah Tovu," a blessing bestowed upon the Israelites for the beauty of their tents.

"Women of Valor" Opening Reception

A big THANKS to everyone who came out to the opening of "Women of Valor and Other Super Heroes" this weekend – I had a great time, and I think you did too! Here are some photos from the event, including all of the photo booth shenanigans.

(And if you want to swing by NCJW/LA to see the show – 543 Fairfax in Los Angeles – contact Carrie Jacoves at 323/852 8512 or carrie@ncjwla.org to find out when you can visit.)

My muse/inspiration/bride and I, showing how it's done.

Really pleased with the vinyl wall graphics – they added some extra OOPMH to the exhibition.

Left: Hamsa Thwip. Right: This Is A Job For Us

Getting up close and personal with "Jacob and Esav"

Perhaps a fan of Marie Curie, on whose life "Radiant Energy" is based?

It's me, in action!

My girls manned the photo booth, where guests could step into a simulated papercut.

We premiered some rough footage of a documentary currently in production, titled "You did WHAT to my comics?!?"