1996-1999

Lynne Avadenka.  Compassion.  No. 9 of 50 copies.

Huntington Woods, Michigan: Land Marks Press, 1996.

After studying the word “compassion” and its components in English and Hebrew, the artist created a shadow-box construction to represent three of the words found in it: Womb, Water, and Sea.

 

 

Compassion.jpg

Lynne Avadenka.  Mizrach.  No. 11 of 25 copies.

Huntington Woods, Michigan: Land Marks Press, 1996.

A mizrach is an ornament traditionally placed on the eastern wall of a Jewish home to denote the direction of Jerusalem. This mizrach includes a portion of a poem by medieval poet Yehuda Halevi: "My heart is in the East, and I am at the edge of the West."

 

 

Mizrach.jpg

Lynne Avadenka.  Boundaries of the Universe: Twenty-Two Letters.  No. 3 of 10 copies.

Huntington Woods, Michigan: Land Marks Press, 1998.  Gift of the Morris and Beverly Baker Foundation.

In the essay that precedes the prints, the artist points out that the letters of the Hebrew alphabet began as picture symbols and have rich associations with Kabbalistic thought. Each page (one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet) includes an intaglio print, a poem by Avadenka, and textual connections to antiquity.

 

 

Aleph.jpg

Lynne Avadenka.  Breathing Mud: The Legend of the Golem.  No. 17 of 35 copies.

Huntington Woods, Michigan: Land Marks Press, 1999.

Breathing Mud was inspired by a trip to Prague, the site of the legend.  The Golem was a man formed from mud who would, by magic, come to the rescue of Jews in trouble. The book's mud-like covers echo the text, while the center image shows the ten mystical realms of Kabbalistic thought that are said to animate the Golem.

 

 

Breatihng Mud a.jpg

Breathing Mud: The Legend of the Golem. [continued]

The spell for creating a Golem runs along the top of the pages and the spell that negates the its power is printed in reverse below.

 

 

Breathing Mud b.jpg

1987-1995

2000-2005