Please tell the readers of the SHDC eNews about yourself. Have you always considered yourself an artist?
I’m not sure if I’ve always considered myself an artist as much as I have just always drawn. I was lucky to grow up in the Heights area of Cleveland. I graduated from Cleveland Heights High in 1983. I would often go with my mom to the Cleveland Museum of Art while my older sisters took music lessons at The Music Settlement. When I was in third grade and I was waiting for my own music lesson, a friend of the family drew a quick portrait of me. I thought how cool it would be to be able to do that! The following week at school I drew portraits of all my friends during recess.
My love of drawing was nurtured by my parents and my grandfather. My grandfather was an artist but had to leave art school because of the Depression in the 1930s. He would come to town and see what I was up to and say, “Oh, you are drawing like Toulouse Lautrec!” and then he would send me a book on Toulouse Lautrec.
When I was younger, I took classes at the Cleveland Museum of Art and as I grew older, I was able to take more challenging classes at the Cleveland Institute of Art. I remember being the youngest kid they ever had in life drawing, so I guess you can say art was always intrinsically there for me. I have always loved to draw, write and read.
I went on to major in Illustration at The Parsons School of Design in New York City. After graduation, I worked in the fashion and arts industries. I spent four years working for the internationally known PushPin Group. Working for a master illustrator like Seymour Chwast was incredible. I learned what it took to create every day. After a while, I burnt out from my high-pressure, high-profile job and decided it was time to make a change and be on the creative end instead of the business end of art.
My dad convinced me to take a break and move to Cleveland. I accepted a one-year stint with a company. The job fell through as this was the early 90s and we were in a recession. While figuring out where and what I wanted to do next, I received three phone calls in one week asking me to be commissioned to make a ketubah, a Jewish marriage certificate. Three phone calls in one week from three completely different people who had seen what I created for my sister, friend, and cousins’ weddings prompted me to start my own business.
When I was moving back to New York City, I met my husband, and the rest is history. I am now commissioned locally and nationally for Judaica and non-Judaic art. I am known mostly for paper cutting. We have two fabulous daughters in their 20s, both graduates of Shaker Heights High School.
My hobbies include drawing, cooking, baking, reading, kayaking, traveling, and hiking.
Is there something in particular about having your studio in Shaker Heights that is important to you? Can you talk a bit about that.
Shaker is such a great community to be in. My kids were in middle school and high school when I signed my first lease at Christ Episcopal Church. Location was important as I needed to be close to the schools.
Having my own space to work, separate from my home, but close enough to the Shaker Schools has been great! When I am at the studio, I can focus on the art I am creating. I do not have to think about making dinner or changing the laundry or anything else home- related.
It’s been an exciting time as the Van Aken District is being developed. I just signed my ninth lease. Being across the street from the Van Aken District is so convenient. I love that I can take a break, walk the district, grab a bite, and meet a friend for five minutes. If I need an impromptu gift, there are shops, or for a few groceries, Nature’s Oasis is just across the street.
Christ Episcopal Church has been great to work with. I’m one of their first renters so we have grown together. They are such a hard-working organization. In addition, all the renters in the garden area, (this is what we call our location in the church) are so interesting. Being an artist can be isolating, so being in an area where other creatives are creating is a definite bonus.
Do you have any business advice or thoughts to share with other business owners who may be reading this article? Do you have any thoughts about the intersection of art and business?
It's important to stay on top of the administrative aspects of the business even if it's not as much fun. I guess you can say I am finally at the point where I am investing in the business aspect of my art now that my kids are out of the house.
There is an intersection between art and business. Having a business is not a one-person show. It takes a team. If you don’t meet deadlines and listen to your clients, you wouldn’t have a business. Recently, I hired a team to help me with a new website, a person to consult with writing and an accountant. I have learned to take a few hours out from creating art to work on the business part. It's one thing to have an idea, it’s another thing to develop the idea into something tangible.
What else would you like readers of the SHDC eNews to know?
I just completed a major exhibit in Beachwood at The Temple Museum of Jewish Art, Religion and Culture. The exhibit was of multi-layered papercuts on the meaning within the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The exhibit took three years to research and create and will be traveling nationally. I have an upcoming exhibit at The Shaker Historical Museum in October. Over Covid, I realized I had stopped drawing so I started drawing one quick drawing a day to get my skills back up. I did this for 100 days. At the exhibit, you’ll see drawings from walking around Van Aken, to meeting a friend for lunch, and coffee at On the Rise and J. Pistone. They are capturing a moment in time of what is going on around me.