RiTUAL. A ceremonial act ~ Rites used in the course of worship ~ The performance of ceremonial acts ~ The prescribed form of conducting the ceremony ~ A method of procedure that is followed without variation ~ performance with gestures, words, and objects, often in a sequestered place.

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Judith Joseph

Judith Joseph started making ketubahs (illustrated, hand-lettered Hebrew marriage contracts) as a teenager.  She fell in love with this folk art form, and over 40 years has made hundreds of commissioned ketubahs.   The discipline of lettering and illustration has shaped her artistic expression, along with the narrative element of transmitting people’s stories in art.  She practices her calligraphy and painting like a dancer rehearses:  embedding the “steps” in muscle memory in order to achieve a graceful, free expression.  Her favorite media are egg tempera, sumi ink, watercolor, acrylic and gold leaf, as well as block-printing.  She exhibits widely and enjoys curating shows.  She is on the art faculty at the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Art Center, Highland Park.

Marking Time

Marking Time by Judith Joseph
Marking Time by Judith Joseph
Marking Time by Judith Joseph
Marking Time by Judith Joseph

As artists, we hope to leave our mark on the world. My book, Marking Time, reflects my experience of life flying by, faster and faster. I relish the slow activity of making careful marks and the direct, physical interaction of my hand with paint and paper. I like to make my own paint and ink. Marking Time contains fragments of paintings, prints and drawings which stretch back through my years in the studio. It combines vintage papers I found 30 years ago in my old Chicago neighborhood, with calligraphy practice sheets from the last year. We make marks, and they mark us.

Artwork in Ritual Single-sheet book show (2013)

Marking Time by Judith Joseph Marking Time by Judith Joseph Marking Time by Judith Joseph
Marking Time