Arise, My Love Ketubah
by Nishima Kaplan
Ketubah Description
“…The winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing is come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land; the fig-tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines in blossom give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away…” (chap. 2:13) A golden honeycomb of swirling forms and colors, “Arise, My Love” is the third in Nishima Kaplan’s “Song of Songs” series. The artwork evokes the stir of life as the World wakes up from her winter slumber and robes herself in spring blossoms. As the world stirs, so does your weary heart. The voice of your Lover calls to you, “let go of the everyday and join with me in the adventure of love. There is a New World for us to explore, a world created for us alone…” This torn paper collage is constructed from hand-made Japanese paper that is torn, applied and layered onto board over the course of several days. The process is intensely meditative for the artist. She begins with only an idea in mind. No sketches of the artwork are done prior to beginning and no instruments other than the artist’s hand are used to tear the paper. Sudden inspirations, “accidents” and the natural beauty of the paper are allowed to “create” the artwork, using the artist as the vessel of expression. Spontaneous, creative, mystical: the words used to describe the process of creating this torn paper ketubah also describe the people who love it.
Ketubah Artist Bio
Nishima graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 with degrees in Russian studies and Multinational Management from the Wharton School of business. Unsatisfied with business, she continued to search for her life’s work. Later, she discovered that her deepest passion and destiny was to be an artist. She continued and completed studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art for three years, receiving classical training in drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpting. In 1998, she designed and painted her first ketubah as a wedding gift for friends. Since then she has created hundreds of Hand-Made and Limited Edition ketubahs.