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.