Praying with Knives in Wonder Valley

[This post was co-written with my wife, Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik, and is also posted on her blog, which can be found at www.TorahGeek.com. Photos are courtesy Rabbi Rick Winer and Bill Leifer.]

It is always a privilege and pleasure to worship and create in a new community — making new friends, gaining new insights, and bringing new works of art into being. This past weekend was such an experience, when we joined Temple Beth Israel of Fresno as the scholar and artist in residence for their 2017 Shabbaton retreat (in Wonder Valley, California).

The heart of the weekend was “praying with knives” — meditating on the Saturday morning prayers and then using knife and paper to explore their meanings.

Encouragement from Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik

In our Shabbat morning worship Rabbi Shawna encouraged worshippers to choose a prayer that intrigued them, reflected a personal experience, or spoke to how they were feeling right then, and to focus on it during personal silent prayer: to read it more than once, to connect with the language, to read it slowly to pull out meaning, to imagine what words they would use if they were writing the prayer, to see what images came to mind when reciting the prayer, to meditate on the feelings that it invoked. And when our service finished, we began to pray with knives.

Guidance from me

After a bit of guidance from Isaac on approach and technique, and a little experimenting with their knives, the worshippers began to wrestle with their prayers — first sketching out some basic ideas, and than translating that idea to a papercut design.

Mark and Cindy, hard at work!

No two creations were the same, even when people chose the same prayer. Several people used rays of light in some fashion, but each time it was a part of a different prayer. A few people asked us to figure out which prayer they were working on based on the images they were trying to convey in their sketch, in a pictionary-meets-prayer sort of moment.

The prayer book was explored in its entirety — worshippers weren’t limited to the standard prayers that compose a service, but also explored psalms, readings, quotes and songs in the artwork. The lines that we often skip over because they are placeholders were sometimes the inspiration that reached out and grabbed someone.

Rabbi Laura Winer shares her papercut prayer.

At the end of the Shabbaton on Sunday everyone had a chance to share their artwork. Prayer by its nature is personal, and it can be a vulnerable moment to share a piece of artwork based on prayer, even among friends — but so many people wanted to stand up and share what they had created. The art and stories took prayer to a new level; for some they had a favorite prayer that they were excited to represent, for others something just caught their eye.

Side-by-side with the prayer that inspired it.

We so often think of prayer as written, as the recitation of words written on a page. But all written prayer started out as someone’s inner thoughts — as a spontaneous moment of prayer — and over the years became a part of our standard worship service. In Hebrew school we often begin by teaching prayers; mastering them in Hebrew is often a requirement for bar or bat mitzvah. But beyond familiarity with the words of others, prayer is our attempt to express our deep yearning or to articulate our gratitude or to help us shift our own perspective, and we are able to do those things through art. In their creations participants expressed gratitude, their dedication to helping others, their appreciation for the people in their lives, looking inward, creation.

The retreat coincided with the Torah portion Vayekiel, in which we learn that God assigned Bezalel to create the mobile tabernacle — the mishkan — and the objects that go with it. Bezalel is a craftsman skilled in many art forms, but we learn that each of the Israelites has something to contribute to the creation of the mishkan. God is the ultimate Creator — the Torah begins with divine creation, culminating in the creation of human beings in God’s image — but we have the ability to create as well, and when we do we are connecting with the Divine within ourselves.

[For more information on how you can bring "the dynamic duo" to your community, please contact me via email: isaac@nicejewishartist.com.]

"Nevertheless She Persisted" – Judith

This is the big new piece I made for "High Priestess" – the group show opening at at ArtShare LA this Saturday night, March 18 (details at the bottom of this post). It's a portrait of the (apocryphal) biblical heroine Judith, a "daring and beautiful widow" (h/t Wikipedia) who slays Israel's enemy, the general Holofernes, with his own sword and brings his head back to her fearful countrymen, in triumph; Israel is saved.

I find it astounding how many portraits of strong women use the "head bowed" posture – when men in similar narratives are usually shown with heads held high, basking in their own greatness. Women are traditionally shown as humble or modest in their achievements, undercutting their strength and undermining their accomplishments. Or at least that's the way I see it. So my Judith is shown with head bowed to subvert that model, and her sword shines bright as she contemplates what she's achieved. The handle of that sword addresses the dichotomy of representation of female heroes in traditional narratives – the negative attributes applied to women so that they remain unsure of their power and themselves, positioned above the verses from the Book of Judith which celebrate her. It's like the folks who set down these stories just couldn't handle a strong woman, and kept trying to chip away at female strength with stereotypical insults.

I've titled this papercut "Nevertheless She Persisted" after the words used just last month by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to attempt to silence the voice of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). “Senator Warren was giving a lengthy speech,” said McConnell. “She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” Dick move, McConnell – and his words became a rallying cry for those, like me, who will not stand idly by and allow women's voices to be silenced. "Nevertheless, she persisted."

The papercut is made of cut-up comics featuring female super heroes, including Wonder Woman, the first female human Green Lantern Jessica Cruz, Mary Jane Parker, Black Canary, Scarlet, Elektra, and more. The words in Judith's face — "I've got no reason to be afraid any more" — come from a comic book called "The Wicked + The Divine" (written by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by Jamie McKelvie) attributed to a character named Inanna – who shares a name with the Babylonian goddess of love, wisdom, and war.

Want to hear more about it? And see it in person? Join me this Saturday night, March 18, from 7-10 pm, for the opening reception of "High Priestess" at ArtShare LA in downtown Los Angeles (801 E 4th Place, 90013.

Femininity is both an energy and an idea, and is not necessarily the same as femaleness — as these hypnotic and quasi-mystical works explore through images of secular mythology and cultural power.).

The show features a bunch of new work by me, as well as some wonderful art by Hagop Belian, Elena Johnson, Mirabelle Jones, Lois Keller, Erika Lizée, Rebecca McFarland, Lauren Mendelsohn-Bass, Lena Moross, Robert Nelson, Jason Pippen, Nataša Stearns, and Tslil Tsemet.

 Click here for more details.

Nevertheless She Persisted
24" x 36"
Mixed media
Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik
2017

Beware My Power (Asher)

Another day, another executive order – and this time it's a rehashing of the anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim travel ban. (Yeah, we're getting political out here.)

So to mark the day and to make it clear where I stand – WITH THE TIRED, HUDDLED MASSES – I'm posting another of the papercuts in my new Twelve Tribes series: "Beware My Power (Asher)."

This one is made of cut-up comics featuring the new Green Lantern, Simon Baz – a Lebanese-American, and the first Muslim member of the Green Lantern Corps. Like many of his brethren he is misunderstood, wrongly accused, and generally a target of suspicion and mistrust. And yet he continues to wield his ring to fight for all humanity.

The tribe of Asher is traditionally represented by an olive tree – this one has a strong twisty trunk with Baz's forearm tattoo, the Arabic word for "courage."

I'll be premiering this series (and MORE) at Brave New World Comics (in Newhall, in the Santa Clarita Valley of Southern California) the evening of Saturday, April 8 — details will be posted here once I've got more to share, but please save the date for now.

Join me at the opening reception for "High Priestess" on March 18

"Nevertheless, she persisted."

I am daily disappointed, overjoyed, angered, uplifted, and I have dealt with the turmoil in the best way I can: by cutting paper.

This is "Let Her Speak (Judah)" – a new papercut that's one of twelve in my "Twelve Tribes" series, and the whole series is (apparently) going to be protest art. Each of the twelve papercuts is made with a minority super hero, with bits and pieces that help me struggle along with the ups and downs in my daily news feed.

"Judah" is traditionally represented by a lion, and is known as a leader — so my interpretation is made of cut-up comics featuring Storm (leader of the X-Men, occasional Queen, and so on). She's a strong woman who leads by example, and speaks truth to power. It's also got a few pieces of Brian Bendis's "Scarlet" as well (the protest scene shown in close-up below, for example).

The whole series uses a lot more speech bubbles than I usually do – with messages reflecting my beliefs in what America stands for: welcoming the stranger, striving for equality and rights for everyone regardless of gender identity, color, religion, etc... an America in which we "Let her speak."

I'll be premiering this series (and MORE) at Brave New World Comics (in Newhall, in the Santa Clarita Valley of Southern California) the evening of Saturday, April 8 — details will be posted here once I've got more to share, but please save the date for now.

Why am I posting this early preview? I'm inspired by all of the #shepersisted activity that's sprung up after the efforts to silence Senator Elizabeth Warren. This piece isn't called "Neverthless, she persisted" (but I'm secretly working on such a piece for an upcoming group show... again, details to come).

Learning and teaching at Limmud in England

Heavy coats at all times for winter in Birmingham – below freezing most mornings!

Limmud UK! Thousands of attendees from around the world, hundreds of sessions — all focused on Jewish culture, education, and art. This is the 20th year of the conference… but our first.

Six months ago when my wife and I were first approached to teach at the conference in Birmingham, England, we were a little unsure about what it would be like, but we decided to take the leap — and it was fantastic!

Wearing the colors.

My wife, Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik, and I were asked to lead as many sessions at the week-long conference as wanted, so we picked some of our favorite topics and put together a host of options combining my art and her scholarship, some of which we’d presented elsewhere but some of which were completely new:

• Women of Valor and Other Super Heroes
• Damaged Heroes: Midrash and Pop Culture Mythology
• Under the Chuppah with Superman and Lois Lane
• Paper Midrash: Text Study with Knives

We'll be doing all this again in Fresno this spring, in case you missed us in England.

Most of these sessions centered around conversations between me and Shawna, with slides and text handouts for everyone in the session. It was great to share our ideas with inquisitive and engaged people. The “text study with knives” workshop almost didn’t happen… funny story: I had asked for art knives and cutting matts to be provided, and the resources folks were happy to introduce themselves to me with a box containing… BUTCHER KNIVES AND FOOD PREP CUTTING BOARDS. Split between anxiety and laughter, it wasn’t long before the confusion was resolved and the proper materials were located. I would be remiss if I didn't mention at this juncture how incredible the all-volunteer conference staff was in every way — as I said, THOUSANDS of attendees and HUNDREDS of sessions, and it all ran so smoothly... yashar koach to Limmud!

Plenty of photos from the workshop, since my kids were there (and willing).

I was also a panelist in a session on “Pictures That Say 1000 Words” (I discussed Morris Louis’s “Pillar of Delay”) and Shawna read a letter in the first “Limmud Letters Live” session (she read Henrietta Szold’s letter on saying kaddish).

But of course, there were so many hours in the day and SO MANY SESSIONS to attend, so we took advantage of all that Limmud had to offer. Torah, Talmud, Israel, cherry tomatoes (seriously)… and of course, I attended all of the art sessions I could fit into my schedule.

One of several GREAT sessions led by Professor Marc Michael Epstein of Vassar College

Artist Jacqueline Nicholls was also one of my favorite presenters; here she is discussing her "Draw Yomi / Daf Yom" project.

And here's Jacqueline Nicholls presenting a panel from "V for Vendetta" as part of the "Protest Art" panel.

I went to a session on the New Venice Hagaddah, which includes work by my buddy Hillel Smith.

The conference took place over Hanukkah, and with our kids by our side (whom we’d brought along and who also enjoyed the heck out of Limmud) we participated in the nightly candle-lighting (big group lightings and individual hanukkiah lightings as well).

And of course, lots of socializing (I met and hung out with the incomparable Jeff Klepper!), Pokemon with "Rashi's Daughters" and "Fifty Shades of Talmud" author Maggie Anton (not joking), and Snapchatting.

I hope we have the chance to attend again — to learn and teach with our extended global Jewish community, and to revel in our religion and culture and traditions.

Cutting Paper in Orange County at Temple Beth Sholom

What a pleasure it was to spend my Sunday at Temple Beth Sholom in Irvine, California, to cut paper and make art with almost 50 people from their community (including participants from their high school program)! The theme was identity, and participants had to design a papercut that reflected some aspect of their Jewish identity. Lots of names, in Hebrew and English, as well as stories from the Torah, symbols of joy and celebration, and even a pet chicken!

My Story Happens in Music – A commission for a cantor

Last night I got to celebrate my buddy Yonah's 45th birthday, and make a special presentation on behalf of his wife Sydnie. Yonah and I have been friends since junior high, so when Sydnie commissioned me earlier this year to make a new papercut to mark his birthday, I was pleased and honored to accept.

This papercut is called “My Story Happens in Music”and it measures 24" x 18". Yonah lives his life at the center of his family and community, and has literally done so at Dodger Stadium when singing the National Anthem — and so this papercut’s structure is based on Dodger Stadium, and includes elements from Yonah’s life, all taken from comic books. He is a cantor and singer and a father and a husband and a friend... and I tried to represent all of this in the papercut.

The title comes from a bit of text taken from a Daredevil story; as well, the papercut features cheering crowds and engaged congregations; it includes the characters Black Bolt (known for having the most powerful voice in the universe), Dazzler (who transforms music into powerful beams of light), and Ragman (one of the first openly Jewish super heroes). Obvious and subtle references abound, alluding to music and spirituality, family and community, humor and joy. There’s a dove, in reference to the Hebrew meaning of “Yonah”; soccer, a sport close to Yonah’s heart, which he shares with his children... and more than a few inside jokes between Yonah and the artist, whose friendship dates back to junior high school.

And of course, multiple references to the home and family that Yonah and Sydnie have made — the “4” from the Fantastic Four uniform, and a quote from the 45th anniversary issue of their comic... spoken by a certain postman... and comics from each of their birth years. The sheet music at the center is an interpretation of the book of Psalms, from A. Z. Idelsohn’s 1967 book, Jewish Music in its Historical Development. A listing of the comics used in the making of this papercut is on the back of the papercut, and includes:

• Action Comics #903 (Sep 2011)
• Astonishing X-Men #26 (Oct 2008)
• Automatic Kafka #4 (Dec 2002)
• Billy the Kid #88 (Dec 1971) — Yonah’s birth year
• Bullseye: Perfect Game #2 (Feb 2011)
• Daredevil #51 (Nov 2003)
• Dazzler #4 (Jun 1981), #38 (Jul 1985), #41 (Jan 1986)
• Fallen Angels #1 (Apr 1987)
• Fantastic Four #59 (Feb 1967), #273 (Dec 1984), #543 (Jun 2007) — 45th anniversary issue
• Green Lantern: Fear Itself #1 (Apr 2011)
• Gwenpool Special #1 (Feb 2016)
• Justice League #33 (Oct 2014)
• Justice Society of America #11 (Feb 2008)
• The Legion of Super-Heroes #300 (Jun 1983)
• Los Angeles Dodgers: The Legend of the Blue Knight #1 (Apr 1997)
• Mutopia X #3 (Nov 2005) — daughter’s birth year
• Nevada #1 (May 1998)
• Ragman #3 (Dec 1991), #5 (Feb 1992)
• The Ringo Kid #5 (Sep 1970) — Sydnie’s birth year
• Shadowpact #6 (Dec 2006)
• Stadium Comics: The All-Star Story of the Dodgers #1 (Apr 1979)
• Superman #205 (Jul 2004)
• Superman/Batman #44 (Feb 2008) — son’s birth year
• Thor #394 (Aug 1988)
• Ultimate Fantastic Four #4 (May 2004)

You May Kiss the Groom – Both of You!

Mazal tov to Meir Bargeron and Jon Tam! I am so pleased to share with you the Bargeron-Tam ketubah, which I created for them — and they just signed it and got married this past weekend!

According to Kabbalah the four days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot are especially holy days, and excellent for a wedding — and Jon and Meir got married during that auspicious time. For that reason, their ketubah is a hupah and a sukkah. The sukkah has many parallels with the hupah, after all: both represent dwellings, and are places of peace and comfort. We invite guests to join us for both, and we celebrate with food and drink. The top of the ketubah is the sukkah’s lattice roof, filled with texts about marriage taken from comic books and the ketubah text.

The lattice incorporates texts from comic books and from traditional texts referenced in the ketubah text – here, from the book of Bereshit (Genesis).

Overflowing with promises!

Here's where the ketubah gets its name from – text from X-Men #51 (August 2012). Also, text from the book of Hosea, referenced in the ketubah text.

Grapes and pomegranates climb alongside the English text: symbols of joy and family, and a reference to the wine Meir and Jon share under the hupah.

The section in between the English and Hebrew texts is made of tea leaves, specifically those used to make dong ding oolong tea, which the couple had in a tea ceremony prior to entering into the hupah. Blazing beside the Hebrew is a havdalah candle with two wicks joining into one flame; this represents the Havdalah service Jon and Meir included as part of their wedding, and the colors are those of the silk hupah under which they make their vows. The candle is also a reference to these words from the Baal Shem Tov:

From every human being there rises a light that reaches straight to heaven, and when two souls that are destined to be together find each other, the streams of light flow together and a single brighter light goes forth from that united being.

The ketubah is made of cut-up comic books, in particular wedding-themed issues — and many pieces are from mainstream superhero comics’ first same-sex wedding, in Astonishing X-Men #51. Comics in the ketubah include:

• Astonishing X-Men #51 (August 2012) — wedding of Jean-Paul Beaubier (Northstar) and Kyle Jinadu
• The Justice League of America #121 (August 1975) — wedding of Adam and Alanna Strange
• The Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #2 (1983) — wedding of Val Armorr (Karate Kid) and Princess Projectra
• Superman: The Wedding Album #1 (December 1996) — wedding of Clark Kent (Superman) and Lois Lane
• Ultimate Comics X-Men #22 (April 2013)
• The Wedding of Deadpool #1 (March 2016)
• X-Men Legacy #255 (November 2011)

The Place of the Cure of the Soul: A Commission for Robert Kirkman and Skybound

This is “The Place of the Cure of the Soul,” a papercut I was commissioned to create for Skybound Entertainment (Robert Kirkman! The Walking Dead! Yeah, those guys.)

The papercut is a representation of the Ancient Library of Alexandria, one of the largest libraries of the ancient world and dedicated to the Muses. According to legend, an inscription above the library’s shelves of papyrus scrolls read, “The Place of the Cure of the Soul” — and what better way to represent Skybound Entertainment, whose work serves that same goal — with its body of work encompassing comic books, television shows, merchandise, games and more.

This papercut is made of a single sheet of cold press watercolor stock, thematic selections from the Oxford English Dictionary, and cut-up comic books from Skybound Entertainment including:

Birthright #8 (Jun 2015), #12 (Dec 2015), #13 (Jan 2016), #16 (Jun 2016)

Invincible #121 (Jul 2015), #123 (Sep 2015), #126 (Dec 2015), #128 (May 2016)

Manifest Destiny #14 (Apr 2016), #15 (Jun 2015), #18 (Oct 2015), #19 (May 2016), #20 (Jun 2016)

Outcast #12 (Sep 2015), #15 – #17 (Jan – Mar 2016)

Techjacket #10 (Jun 2015), #11 (Sep 2015), #12 (Dec 2015)

Thief of Thieves #28 (May 2015), #30 (Aug 2015), #31 (Sep 2015)

The Walking Dead #142 (Jun 2015), #149 (Dec 2015), #150 (Jan 2016), #151 (Feb 2016), #153 – #156 (Apr – July 2016)

Home is a Road: the Greenwald-Hromadka Ketubah

Mazal tov to Adam and Anne! I was so honored that they asked me to make their ketubah, and my wife and I were so pleased to celebrate with them today as they became husband and wife.

The Greenwald–Hromadka ketubah is a labyrinth: an intertwined collection of paths with infinite choices, and the potential for serendipity and coincidence. A labyrinth is designed for discovery; wandering is the intent, and every path leads to the center. A labyrinth encourages you to walk slowly, to pause here and there, to experience the path instead of just focusing on a destination. In Bereshit we read about Jacob wandering and wrestling with an angel; afterward, he realizes that he has found holy ground. That’s Adam and Anne’s story: walking the multitude of paths until they met, realizing they had found something holy, and then wandering those paths together. For Adam and Anne, home is a road.

The ketubah text is surrounded by this labyrinth, built in a palette of blues, purples, and reds. These are the colors of the mishkan — the desert tabernacle constructed by Bezalel and the Jewish people during their desert wanderings; it was a focus for worship and a work of art in itself. These colors also reference grapes (for wine and joy) and pomegranates (for fertility and the mitzvot). The building of the mishkan is a wonderful metaphor for the couple, combining Adam’s commitment to serving the Jewish community through his rabbinate, and Anne’s drive to bring beauty to the world through creation and curation; accordingly, verses from Shemot/Exodus chapter 26 are incorporated into the labyrinth.

The colorful spaces surrounded by and created by the wandering paths are cut-up comic books representing Adam and Anne — their courtship, their couplehood, and the life they are planning together. Adam’s intelligence and focus are found in the characters of Professor X (leader of the X-Men) and Mr. Terrific (the third smartest man in the world), and his passion is seen in his namesake Adam Strange, who travels between worlds to be with the love of his life. Anne’s creativity and her gypsy and cajun roots are represented in Gypsy (a member of the Justice League of America) and Rogue (a member of the X-Men, whose real name is Anna Marie), and the power of her love is personified by Star Sapphire.

The ketubah is filled with speech bubbles that relate to the couple and their wedding, and glimpses of the superheroes that stand in for them; there are allusions to many of their stories, including references to Los Angeles — which Adam and Anne describe as a key player in their relationship.

The Greenwald–Hromadka ketubah is made of cut-up comic books; this is a partial listing:

• All-Star Superman #2 –Jan 2006
• Archie #1 – May 2016
• ETC #1 – 1989
• Green Lantern: New Guardians #15 – Feb 2003
• Justice League of America #121 – Aug 1975; #234 – Jan 1985; #39 – Jan 2010
• Justice Society of America #14 – May 2008
• Loki #1 – Dec 2010
• ODY-C #1 – Nov 2014
• Promethea #31 – Oct 2004
• Rogue #3 – Mar 1995; #4 – Apr 1995)
• Runaways #15 – Jun 2006; #16 – Jul 2006
• Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #15 – Apr 2007
• Strange Adventures #1 – May 2009; #2 – Jun 2009
• Superman: The Wedding Album #1 – Dec 1996
• Swamp Thing #63 – Aug 1987
• Tales of the Teen Titans #50 – Feb 1985
• The Wedding of Deadpool #1 – Mar 2016
• Ultimate X-Men #53 – Jan 2005
• Wonder Woman #23.2 – Nov 2013
• X-Factor #14 – Mar 1987
• X-Men ‘92 #1 – Aug 2015

#adamandanne2016