Paintings
The Yom Hashoah Community Arts Project
RESILIENCE
A note from the artist: "Resilience" is an emotional reaction to the current state of our world. The abstract pour paint technique in the background against the impressionist depiction of candles in the foreground characterizes the darkness & struggle against our perpetual attempts to grasp onto hope & resiliency. 11x14 Acrylic on canvas.
About the artist: Ahdee is a Los Angeles-based artist whose main focus is abstract and impressionist painting—sometimes combining the two styles and drawing inspiration from her beautiful surroundings in Southern California. Her colorful pieces have been featured in local, regional and international exhibitions.
Originally from Chicago, Ahdee has been playing with, and studying art her entire life. After nearly 30 years as an entertainment executive while keeping her creativity "on the side," Ahdee finally surrendered full-time to her sequestered passion: art & expression. As her creative spirit unleashed, she has flourished with her exploration of human emotion through colors, strokes, lines and drips.
by Ahdee G
UNTITLED
A note from the artist: See the light BE the light. Always, no matter what, even in these disturbing times, it is important to look for the positives around you. Try to be the source of this light for others.
About the artist: Penny Schneider is an author, illustrator, and art educator. She lives on Long Island In New York.
by Penny Schneider
LOVE, ACTUALLY
A note from the artist: “Love, Actually” is a direct response to my concerns about the rising levels of anti-Semitism in and outside of the United States. Drawing (literally and figuratively) from the cobalt blue color emblematic of the campaign to stop Jewish hate, her piece is dedicated to spreading love, respect and hopes for peace among everyone, everywhere.
About the artist: Dori is an illustrator, designer, and former lawyer who founded the Gallery of Good®️ in 2018 to inject joyous, unifying artwork into the world, support as many small (but mighty) businesses within the USA as possible, and maintain a charitable component as well. Her work is offered in a variety of presentations including print, canvas, acrylic, fine paper, and NFT/digital assets. These can be found on her website as well as various discerning retail partners including the Four Seasons Hotel (PHL). Through her donations of time, funds, special collections and art pieces, Dori has been proud to support more than 24 charities worldwide (and she’s just getting started).
by Dori Desautel Broudy
Lovers Dancing
A note from the artist: I created the “Lovers Dancing” (Acrylic on canvas 24 x 36 inches) as a means of engendering empathy for the kidnapped Israelis. (May they be returned home at once.) Too often we read about them as numbers, as blank figures caught in the midst of great tragedy. I have seized on the Bibas twins, K'fir and Ariel. They are in my thoughts hour to hour. I mean that literally. For me, they represent both the hatred I hold for our enemies, and the love I have for our people, Am Yisroel. I try my best to focus only on the latter.
About the artist: Peter Himmelman is a Grammy and Emmy nominated singer-songwriter, visual artist, best-selling author, film composer, entrepreneur, and rock and roll performer with over twenty critically-acclaimed recordings to his credit.
by Peter Himmelman
SIVAN
A note from the artist: My recent paintings are mainly created through a technique of placing paper, sponges, stencils, paper towels, palette knives, and occasionally even brushes dipped in acrylic paint several times onto watercolor paper. Although each application is similar to a monotype, the end result has multiple layers that interact with each other to produce vibrant improvisational works. This painting is titled Sivan after the Hebrew month in which Shavuot occurs. The piece reminds me of the variety of weather that we experience in New York City at that time of year as well as a movement towards heaven that we can feel from the giving of the Torah.
About the artist: After earning a degree in Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, Shoshana participated in Sherut Le'am in Sderot. On a trip to the Sinai, she met her American husband and they made aliyah together. Due to the difficulties in the Israeli economy in the mid-1980s, they returned to the US. They have since become active members of the liberal Brooklyn Jewish Community. Shoshana is a retired Transit Planner who now spends her time volunteering, assisting her aging parents, and making art.
by Shoshana Cooper
THE SPIRIT OF JUDA MACABEE
A note from the artist: 36"x48", Oil on Canvas
About the artist: At age eighteen Paul Weingarten caught fire and art became a monomaniacal passion. He went to the Art Students League of New York on a merit scholarship and worked at night in his family’s bakery in Manhattan. He met the contemporary giant, Oskar Kokoshka who gave him early encouragement. Paul eventually became a teacher, saved enough to go to Europe, to see the great masters and settle in Paris for a year. He also painted for a year in Israel. Upon his return, he was given shows at The Cathedral St John the Divine, became their first Artist in Residence, and had a solo show at the Irwin Brenner Gallery. He has lectured at the Studio School, Binghamton University, Dartmouth College, The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and the National Academy of Art School. The most profoundly important element of his life was having a family. Paul continues to paint with a constant desire to grow as an artist and as a person.
by Paul Weingarten
UNTITLED
A note from the artist: While the world is seething with antisemitism, I have never been more proud to be Jewish. Standing with my Jewish sisters at a pro-Israel counter-protest on a Friday afternoon, we lit candles together as the sun set and Shabbat rolled in. With my hands covering my eyes, I made the bracha as the pro-Hamas mob behind me chanted, “there is only one solution, intifada revolution!” As vile and pervasive as their hatred was, it could not stop me from bringing in the light of the Shabbat candles, and it can never extinguish the light of the Jewish people’s spirit.
About the artist: Orly Mobilio has been Jewish since birth and an artist since she was old enough to properly hold a drawing utensil. She has always sought to share her creativity with the world. As a descendant of both Holocaust survivors and members of the Haganah, she has always had a strong awareness of the importance of Israel. Since October 7th, she has had a newfound understanding of the need to emphasize its significance as the one and only Jewish state, and she has been privileged to be able to do so through her art.
by Orly Mobilio
UNTITLED
About the artist: Margarita is a writer and an artist living in Madrid, Spain.
She is the author of the award-winning I Named My Dog Pushkin (And Other Immigrant Tales) essay collection, published by Thread, an imprint of Hachette UK. She was the runner-up in the 2022 Kellogg College (University of Oxford) Creative Writing Competition for her one-act play Tanya.When she isn't writing, Margarita paints and her paintings have been published in many literary and art journals.
by Margarita Gokun
Tapestry
A note from the artist: "Tapestry" is about the importance and beauty of people from all walks of life standing together. In a world that seems more and more committed to dividing us, the only way forward is empathy and understanding. Acrylic on canvas, 40x50cm.
About the artist: Lalionne is a contemporary abstract painter, currently based in Brighton and Hove. Born from a tumultuous period of mental health exacerbated by the rise of antisemitism and islamophobia, Lalionne's work serves as a deep expression of her emotions and convictions.
Initially used as a form of therapy, her intuitive creative practice explores her psyche and brings out the raw substance of her life experiences. The heart of her work is an unshakable belief in the beauty of unity and the resilience of the human spirit. Through her art, she celebrates the rich stories of heritage and culture, inviting the audience to contemplate our shared humanity.
by Lalionne
UNTITLED
A note from the artist: I’ve created several artworks dedicated to October 7th. You can see them at www.etsy.com/shop/KronickArtStudio and on my facebook page Judaica by Anna Kronick.
About the artist: Anna Kronick is an award winning artist whose work is in private collections around the world. Anna attended the Kropotkin Art School and the Polygraph Art Institute in Moscow, and after moving to the U.S., continued her studies at the Montserrat College of Art. Subsequently, the New York Academy of Art awarded her the Andy Warhol Scholarship to pursue an MFA in sculpture.
Upon graduation, Anna studied restoration and traditional forms of painting in the Repin Institute, in St. Petersburg, Russia. The discovery of papercutting, ancient and still relevant to the modern world, has enabled Anna Kronick to combine her expertise in drawing, painting, and sculpture and create a unique approach to this art form.
Anna creates whimsical compositions full of poignant meaning, traditional symbolism and movement. Today, Anna lectures and teaches papercutting, runs Kronick Art Studio, provides demonstrations, and exhibits her work around the country. She has won numerous awards for her papercuts.
by Anna Kronick
INVISIBLE YHVH
A note from the artist: I don't do much visual art, but I do when something really moves me... I made this piece not too long ago after I started meditating/sitting Zazen - it's something I visualize when trying to clear my mind of thoughts and gently push them away, the YHVH Hebrew letters (יהוה), and I imagine my breath kind of going in/around the letters and try to follow my breath while thinking of the shape of the letters. I chose dark colors/purples/blues because that's what I imagine the inside of my mind to look like, and I also left the letters as the blank canvas space rather than painting them, because to me, it symbolizes the fact that just because something's not there doesn't mean you can't see it.
About the artist: Janna Pelle is a musician, writer, and sometimes visual artist when the mood and meaning strike her, but above all, she is a communicator. Having studied advertising at the University of Florida, she has used her artistic endeavors to amplify the missions of a variety of causes that are close to home, from rare disease awareness to distracted driving — and now, solidarity with the victims of October 7th and the broader Jewish community.
by Janna Pelle
UNTITLED
About the artist: Aviv is a pianist and a composer. He hosts a classical music podcast called, "classical composers". He is a rabbi's son and thus has had a lot of exposure to Jewish values, ideals, customs, and scripture. In his spare time, he likes to learn different languages and studies different cultures around the world, especially obscure cultures and languages like Tibetan and Toki Pona.
by Aviv Wieder
DO YOU BRING A SCALPEL OR A CANDLE
About the artist: Jude has a BA in art from Smith College and an EdD in cross-cultural communication from UMass Amherst. After a career in academic research, she built a freelance writing and editing business and ran two small independent presses. In her free time, she volunteers to support democracy, paints, gardens, meditates, and blogs at judeberman.org. Jude lives in Berkeley, CA, where she continues to work with authors and write fiction.
by Jude Berman
UNTITLED
by Rochelle Matzoball
A note from the artist: Antisemitism is rising and becomes terrifyingly normalized throughout diaspora. The Mighty Matzoball pseudonym was developed by Rochelle, a Jewish Canadian, to visually express her big feelings and jewish pride without fear of repercussions from her antizionist public union, which still has not condemned the Oct 7 Massacres. Find her on instagram @mighty.matzoball