Saturday, January 31, 2009

Cantor Wally CD available now!


I did the design for Cantor Wally Schachet-Briskin's latest CD, "Awesome Journey," and it looks pretty sweet! If you're in the mood for some fun Jewish music with a lot of camp-style ruach and plenty of Yiddishkeit, check it out here.

No camels were harmed in the making of this CD.

Monday, January 26, 2009

The Cooper-Poster Ketubah

Cooper-Poster Ketubah
I couldn't be prouder of the ketubah I just completed for David Poster and Rebecca Cooper; it's the one I've been sharing details from here on the blog, and now I'm letting you see the whole thing (click on the pic to see it larger).

The overall look of the ketubah is based on a deco aesthetic, to reflect the feel of the Palais Royale, where they will celebrate their wedding; this can be seen in the decorative borders, the patterned style of the imagery, and the English calligraphy style.

The Torah portion from the week they were married is Parashat Bo, which describes the preparations our ancestors undertook in Egypt prior to the Exodus, which we now celebrate as Passover. Specifically, the mezuzah is discussed, and that is represented as an abstracted door frame around the ketubah, built out of traditional wedding verses from the book of Jeremiah: “It is still heard in the land of Judea, and in the street of Jerusalem: the sound of celebration and joy, the voice of the bride and groom.” This shape also represents the hupah under which they were married.

The main imagery is based on the seven species, described in the Torah, in the book of Deuteronomy: “A land of wheat, and barley, and vines; of fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and date honey.” This is a traditional Jewish motif, selected to illustrate David and Rebecca’s love of cooking together. The colors are warm and organic, reflecting the natural world.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Pomegranates and wheat!

Two more details from my recent "seven species" ketubah, completed in January -- pomegranate and wheat! The seven species are grapes, olives, wheat, barley, [date] honey, pomegranates, and figs -- all mentioned in D'varim (Deuteronomy) 8:8.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

My new Passover cards are here!


I just received a package today from Sunrise Greetings, a card company in Bloomington, Indiana. I do some card design for them every so often, and today's box had samples of my latest Passover design, based on the first line of the "four questions" and four cups of wine. I created the illustration and lettering in Adobe Illustrator, and I'm really pleased with the result. If you want to order some for yourself call Sunrise Greetings at 800 457 4045 and ask for the new Passover cards by Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik (item # REAGC.94289)!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Grapes!


Another detail from my recent "seven species" ketubah -- some grapes on the vine.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

B'ruchim ha-ba'im.

I've decided to start documenting my artwork with this blog -- just a small record of bits of pieces as I go about creating papercuts, paintings, and other art. Today: a detail from a ketubah I just completed that features a "seven species" motif; this is a palm tree, representing date honey.


All work on this site is copyright by Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik; see more at my website.