Adath Jeshurun entryway commission complete!

I'm so pleased to share photos of the new entryway at Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Louisville, Kentucky. Last year the congregation completed work on their new ark doors, which are an adaptation of my "Burning Bush: Flame On" papercut (see here for details and pix), and now five of my "paper tefillah" papercut series have been produced in metal for the entryway to their synagogue.

From left to right are V'ahavta, Shalom, Yotzeir, Avot, and Mi Chamocha; you can see the whole set of 16 paper tefillah papercuts in this PDF.

They are EXTRA LARGE and very well-executed; I'm so pleased to have my work included in the redesign of the synagogue.The ark doors and the entryway are both featured on the front page of Adath Jeshurun's redesigned website.

Paper Tefillah series: "Yotzeir"

Here's a photo of the completed "Yotzeir" papercut -- part of the "paper tefillah" series I've created for a show this January in Memphis. It's structured around the ten sefirot (סְפִירוֹת) -- according to Kabbalah, the ten attributes of God through which the universe is sustained. These sefirot are often described in metaphor as vessels of light. Here's an excerpt of the text of this morning prayer:

Be praised, Adonai our God, for the excellence of your handiwork, and for the lights You created: may they glorify You.

Back with comics (as is the rest of the series), you can see some Firestorm, some of Frank Miller's Ronin, Peter Gillis' all-digital graphic novel Shatter, some Kirby krackle, and plenty more -- but you'll have to wait for the show catalog to see the entire listing.

"Kulam bhochma asitah"

I've finished my latest commission, "Kulam bhochma asitah," and I'm pleased to share it with you here.

The Hebrew loosely translates as "you have created everything in wisdom," and it's for an interior designer -- so some of the textures in the background are reminiscent of materials you'd use in designing a home, including woods and textiles. The Hebrew serves as a scaffolding on which I've hung the various colors and textures that back it, making the positive and negative space equally beautiful.

Special treat: here's what the reverse of the papercut looks like before I close it up:

Commission in progress:"Kulam bhochma asitah"

The Hebrew here loosely translates as "you have created everything in wisdom." It's a commission that I'm working on, and in this photo you can see the finished papercut (awaiting background, which is going to be really exciting) alongside the finished sketch in my sketchbook.