About six months ago, we got a surpising request. A local Judaica Gallery wanted all of the artwork from Siddur Mah Tov: A Family Shabbat Prayer Book for an installation called “Inspired Illustrations.” We were so excited, because this artwork was created especially for the siddur by a local educator and visual artist whom we simply adore, Julie Wohl. Not only that, but Julie was at the time just finishing up artwork on a new project for us called Simply Seder, a haggadah and Passover planner that will be available in January.
Sometimes when we create a book at Behrman House, we just don’t know the reach it will have. Of course, we hope it will become part of your classroom materials and make its way into your religious school library. And every so often, someone will contact us and request to use our materials in unique ways. Perhaps they want to translate our book into a different language (Dutch, French, German) or take a novel and turn it into a movie, or even, put it IN a movie, as the Coen brothers did for the set of the film A Serious Man a couple of years ago. But never before has one of our books formed the core of an art installation.
We carefully and lovingly packaged up all of the artwork from both of these beautiful books and shipped it to the gallery. In just a few weeks, the exhibit will be open to the public. If you are in the NY area, please join us at the gallery reception on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 7:45 pm at the Koslowe Judaica Gallery at the Westchester Jewish Center, Rockland and Palmer Avenue, Mamaroneck, NY. The exhibit will run through the end of February.
And if you’d like to see some of Julie’s work now, see Simply Seder and Siddur Mah Tov.
