Seven Species Ketubah
New ketubah: Seven Species, 18″ x 24″, egg tempera and india ink, for a couple in New York.
Hamsa For Cameron, 2010
New painting: Hamsa For Cameron, 36″ x 48″, acrylic
New painting: Amulet for Ethan, 36″ X 48″, acrylic
Amulet For Ethan
New painting: A Hamsa for Emmett, 36″ X 48″, acrylic, Friday the 13th, November, 2009
Hamsa For Emmett, 2010. They say every man must need protection, They say that every man must fall. Yet, I swear I see my reflection, Somewhere so high up on the wall. (Bob Dylan, I Shall Be Released)
Ketubot I made for weddings in November, 2009:
Ketubah: starlight in the Greek Islands; orchids, bougainvillea, a gondola in Venice, auspicious signs and blessings.
Gold Hamsa Ketubah, 2009, Judith Joseph
Ketubah.com
- Firefly Ketubah, by Judith Joseph
For the first time, my ketubot (illuminated marriage contracts) are available as prints. I am working with a company called Ketubah Ketubah. The president of the company, Michael Shapiro, approached me early last year about producing designs for them. I was somewhat reticent, as all of my ketubot have been commissioned works in the past: hand-lettered and painted by me, personalized to tell the story of each couple individually. It took some coaxing for me to decide to make prints. In the end, I was very impressed by every aspect of this company, including Michael himself (who is what we call a mensch), the array of beautiful work they offer and their website, which has a cool zoom feature that lets you see every detail.
It was hard for me to create ketubot without the input of real people, but I spent many months thinking about what the best elements in my work are, and which things people respond to the most. I created four ketubot, two of which are already posted on their website (Ketubah.com). They sent me proofs of the prints, and the quality and vividness of the colors are extraordinary! I can see every grain of pigment, every stroke of every hair of my fancy Kolinsky sable brushes which are so treasured by me that they are my only possession that NOBODY else is allowed to touch.
Henna Hands Ketubah, by Judith Joseph, at Ketubah.com
I still love to make custom ketubot. It gives me the opportunity to meet with people, listen to them, and tell their story in a new work of art, that will be theirs alone. But, I am happy that now people who aren’t able to commission an original work can obtain my work as a print.
