My family seems always to have considered art a premium. Whether art took the form of drawing, playing a musical instrument, needlework or gardening both my immediate and extended family has been blessed with talent. As I have mentioned in the past both my grandmother and mother loved to garden and that rubbed off on my sister and on myself. Grandma and Mom both had an eye for a great combination, and my mother’s indoor and outdoor pots still reflect that. Evie sticks a piece of this and a clipping of that into a pot and… a new design is born.
As a young age I also enjoyed drawing and painting, I took art lessons from my neighbor and made sure that I always had room in my High School schedule for extra art classes. One of my High School art teachers even recommended a life drawing class at a local college and my friends and I carpooled to practice figure drawing. I don’t think that I would have felt comfortable learning more and more drawing techniques if it hadn’t been for the fact that I was surrounded by artistic people and especially artistic women. From the time I was a little girl I knew that it was great to be creative and that is because my aunt, Lenore Perskie Holland, created a set of workbooks using her fabulous drawing skills and based on our families. The characters in the book that taught children to count, discern shapes, and pick up differences were my cousins, my brother, my sister and me!
Later on in life Lenny who had taken up needlework began studying illuminated manuscripts and began designing Judaica pieces. My first real experience with her talent was when our Synagogue on Long Island commissioned her to design huge tapestries that could be worked on by the congregants and would later decorate the walls of our sanctuary. Lenny designed these huge pieces, with a little engineering help from my Uncle Artie to get the scale right. The congregation (and even my grandfather) spent the next years using a rug hooking technique to complete the pieces.
Since that time Lenny has created many beautiful pieces of art that adorn her home, my mother’s home, and my cousin Judy’s home. Visiting with Lenny on my trip back home last month was extraordinary because I could see so many of the pieces all together. Her talent is incredible and I know that having a vision that needs to be shared is one reason that she will never ever be bored. She blends Torah with things that are meaningful in her life and always includes birds. Her birds have been with our family forever, from the cartoon birds of her earliest workbooks and cards to the beautifully rendered birds of her current works. Her newest piece which is pictured below is my favorite (maybe I say that each time she makes a new one) because not only does it have beautiful soft greens that speak to me, it is also actually one complete art piece within another and her extraordinary talent for design shines through. The balance is elegant, all the elements are clear and visible, yet at the same time subtle and begging you to take a second look.
I hope you enjoy her artwork as much I do, and that you find someone or something this beautiful to inspire you.
For more about my designs: thegrassisalwaysgreener
