your most recent piece is absolutely beautiful, but are you not worried about having one of the names of hashem mass printed on something that naturally is going to get worn, dirty, and possibly thrown away, etc? I don't mean any sort of disrespect! just curious because I have had especial care for any of the hebrew names taught pretty thoroughly.
thank you! personally, no - i fully respect other folks feeling differently, but for myself i only avoid using the 4-letter name that way. i’ve seen another artist who makes “b'tzelem elokim” patches with a ה/ק substitution for this reason, but i decided against something like that as i really just love the word as it is & also enjoy the potential for it to not be a specific/proper name (as a plural noun for deities or spirits). i’m an extremely non-traditional Jew with my own unique relationship to observance & i think many folks who resonate with my work fall somewhere under that umbrella too. i’ve had more strictly observant Jews object to several of the things i make, which is not a big surprise to me as a queer/trans weirdo making a lot of art about Jewish monsters & demons! everyone is entitled to their own opinion - i’m very passionate about Jewish pluralism & the many ways we all have of interacting with our culture/traditions.
As a fellow jew who is also anti-zionist I want to say you speaking out really helps all of us so thank you. May your laktes be crisp and your candles burn bright this Hanukkah.
i appreciate hearing this! may all your dreidels land on gimel ♥
Hey uh, I just wanted to say a quick thank you. I just finished teaching a class on Jewish supernatural creatures to highschoolers, and your art was very appreciated in my slideshows. The kids also *adored* your zine on Dybbuks enough that I have convinced our Rabbi to buy the rest the zines in that series for our library. So yeah, thank you so much, and know your art is inspiring young jews
what a sweet message - thank you so much! this means a lot to me as a (former/not currently working) teacher <3
it also makes me so happy to know that younger generations of Jews have access to things like classes on Jewish supernatural creatures?? of course, different Jewish communities have very different relationships to our folklore/superstition - i had a wonderful conversation recently with a Hasidic-raised Mizrahi Jew who grew up steeped in stories of dybbuks and demons - but i know many US-based Ashkenazim like me who were raised in very assimilated Reform or Conservative communities & never encountered any of this. that’s a big reason why the zines exist! i’m so glad there’s more space now for kids to explore the weirder & wilder parts of Jewish culture, i feel very strongly that it can make a big difference to the weird/wild kids in connecting to their heritage. my inner little weirdo is really glad.