a (non-)traditional blessing for the home, commissioned earlier this year as a wedding gift for a wonderful couple who share my alternative/dark-fantasy Jewish aesthetic! having just finished Esther Hamori’s book God’s Monsters, i was already thinking about the nachash seraphim & was excited to integrate one as a guardian here. the original piece was sketched in Procreate and then finished traditionally, but the photo i took of it before sending it off wasn’t the right quality for prints, so this is actually a digital re-inking of the same piece.
it’s not my usual practice to make prints of commissioned work, but the family not only graciously gave permission but in fact suggested it to me in this case! so i’ll have some of these with me at my local Hanukkah market this December & will be stocking them in my shop next year.
queer as in fuck genocide. queer as in fuck nationalism, borders, surveillance & repression. queer as in fuck the cycles of violence that fascists grow by scattering seeds of fear & anger in the bloody soil of collective trauma. queers know safety will never come from the state, only from each other.
for years Zionists have been telling me how “stupid” and “self-hating” i am as a queer/trans anti-Zionist Jew, citing Israel’s supposed (pinkwashed) status as a “haven” for people like me. this total erasure/dehumanization of queer & trans Palestinians has always disgusted me. queer Israeli “safety” is a lie, but even if it was true, i want no part of it at the expense of occupation & genocide. the only way forward is embracing each other in direct opposition to those who profit off endless violence.
this piece was made entirely in Procreate (with True Grit Texture Supply’s Rusty Nib engraver brushes & Adilson Farias’ watercolor brushes). hoping to get some prints made & use a percentage of the profits to support Operation Olive Branch’s direct aid initiatives - stay tuned.
a short zine illustrating a chapter of the Hechalot Rabbati, an ancient Jewish mystical text which describes—in gory detail—the dangers of listening to the angels singing around the merkavah (holy chariot). it features detailed pen & ink artwork drawing from both Jewish symbolic tradition (including panel borders inspired by antique Ashkenazi gravestone carvings) and a modern macabre visionary style.
incredible to look back at this one 5 years later! my first Jewish zine. folks’ response to this really changed my whole creative practice & it helped me find my voice after almost a decade of artistic burnout.
still available as a free/pay-what-you-want digital download at itch.io, physical copies occasionally in my Etsy shop
Are you sure they’re still available? אזל means “sold out” 😂😂😂
Viv’s beautiful blessing in Tefilat Trans formed the initial inspiration & core of this amulet, which will be printed on 2.5" square cards that can easily fit in your wallet, inside a phone case, or whatever you’re carrying (i probably can’t be the first person to think of making amulets using a print company’s business card template, but i bet it’s not their usual fare).
planning to have them with me at the upcoming Hanukkah market on a sliding scale / by donation (down to $0!). if you’re trans/GNC & Jewish, you’re also welcome to just print one for your own personal use! i may eventually make a higher-res download available on my itch.io for that purpose.
these were also visually inspired by historical Jewish written amulets in the Gaster & Gross Family collections, which i highly recommend browsing if you love antique Judaica as much as i do!
ALT
