As her son’s bar mitzvah approached, artist Hillary Miller was inspired. She would hand-paint the tallit he would wear during the ceremony.
Two years later this gesture has blossomed into a fruitful endeavor resulting in a handsome collection of hand-painted silks.
Primarily a painter, Miller has been creating secular and Jewish art for more than two decades, beginning with ketubahs and Havdallah sets.
“There is a strong sense of spirituality imbued in all my work, but there is definitely a more specific spiritual aspect to the Judaica,” says the artist, who lives in Chino Hills in San Bernardino County.
Her interest in silk as a medium is a relatively recent development, but she has delved in full force and will be displaying numerous tallits, a chuppah and some non-religious scarves and shawls at this year’s To Life! street festival. She is one of approximately 100 artists participating in the juried show.
As of late, Miller has been focusing on filling commissions for her hand-painted tallits.
“The great thing about tallits is that they function as beautiful paintings, and are also worn in prayer,” she says.
Miller adorns the silk with everything from cheerful to serene imagery, crafted to each client’s specifications. She can effortlessly create a sweeping landscape on a modest sized piece of silk.
Some of her florid ketubahs and ceramic Havdallah sets — with cups and candleholders — will also be on display and available for purchase.
“I’m drawn to creating art that people can really use,” she says.
While Miller has participated in a number of smaller festivals and fairs, this will be her first large-scale festival.
“I’m excited to show there and get the opportunity to meet other Judaica artists,” she adds.
Another newcomer to the festival, Harvey Brody of Healdsburg, works with Plexiglas and mixed media. His interest in creating Jewish art was serendipitously inspired.
About 15 years ago, a friend of Brody’s commissioned him to handcraft a menorah for her — sparking an interest he has been cultivating ever since.
“Making the menorah increased my interest in the cultural icons I grew up with,” says the Chicago native.
He has been creating Judaica ever since. He has each piece of Plexiglas hand-cut, then morphs it into vibrantly colored, striking forms such as mezuzahs, menorahs and challah boards. The reverse-painted Plexiglas is often adorned with aluminum, brass and wood.
“The more I got into it, the more I wanted to discover these traditional forms and their meanings,” he says.
Brody has recently begun making Yiddish greeting cards — another connection to his childhood and the language his mother spoke.
“Creating this type of art has heightened my cultural attachment to these artifacts and given me a better understanding of their meanings,” he says. “The objects were familiar but I didn’t fully understand them; but now I have delved into the deeper meaning and root of these forms.”
Like Miller and Brody, nearly half of the artists displaying and selling their work at the street fair are newcomers to To Life!
For some of the artists, who come from all over the world, the festival is the main opportunity for their work to be seen in a public venue.
Among the first-time artists from out-of-state:
Mordechai Rosenstein, a Philadelphia painter of Judaic themes inspired by the Hebrew alphabet;
Joseph Akarlya, an Israeli jeweler who creates 21-karat gold and precious stone jewelry evocative of the Roman Empire;
Leo Contini, an Israeli who makes museum-quality sterling silver Judaica.
“The festival is special because it’s an opportunity [for visitors] to buy unique gifts that you can’t find anywhere else,” says Dina Jacobson, who has served as its artist coordinator for the past seven years.
She adds that this year, participating artists will have an additional outlet to display their talents — in the JABA Open House, featuring items for the home.
Jacobson’s involvement goes beyond coordinating the arts area, however.
“I’m excited,” she says. “I love to shop at the festival, I always find something incredible to buy.”