The artist at work
Behind the scenes with Gabriel Wolff, Hebrew calligrapher creating Hebrew and Jewish art, Based in Berlin, Germany
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Drawing in the woods
There are two elements dominating their immediate space around my house and my studio. One is the water of lake Müggelsee. The other is the woods, on the other side of the Spree, the river crossing Berlin. Whenever the weather allows for it, I leave the studio behind and go draw in the woods. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught us the importance of hitbodedut, self secluded prayer in the forests or fields. Drawing alone, surrounded by trees and birds alone, is my form of hitbodedut.
2:13
Mishna Midot 2:2
Did you end up going on a journey to get any of your tattoos? Tell us about it in the comments. We sat down with Laura from Portland, OR, to talk about her experience with our process at #Hebrew_Tattoos, and what this tattoo art meant to her. Laura's gorgeous ink was done by @ValeriaTattooing at @SashaTattooingGallery in Los Angeles.
In the Studio
All I draw and paint is letters. I haven't created anything but letters for well over 20 years. And still, it doesn't get boring. Each of them is a world of its own, with internal flows and connections, balances and structures. Time and again I find myself with a renewed appreciation for the old Jewish idea, expressed in Sefer Yetzirah. According to this oldest of Jewish mystic books, the world was created by the 22 Hebrew letters (or, to be precise, by 23 of them. One got lost on the way).
My thought process
"A shoemaker sells shoes. A carpenter sells furniture. An artist, though, sells thoughts." I just listened to an interview with Christian Boros, one of the most important art collectors in Europe. I'm impressed by this person's thoughts and capability to verbalize them. If you speak German, please check out the episode with him on "Alles Gesagt?." And indeed, I sell thoughts. And feelings. So I spend most of my workday thinking. And reading. Can't say it's the worst part of my job ;)