Sefer Hana: A Book of Woodcuts by Ellen Holtzblatt in the Rissman Family Kol Ami Museum

The Rissman Family Kol Ami Museum will host a wine and cheese reception featuring artist Ellen Holtzblatt on Thursday, September 6 at 6:45 pm. Following evening Minyan, Jane Shapiro will lead a text study on the Haftarah for the first day of Rosh Hashanah. Reservations are required. Please contact Marcie Eskin at meskin@nssbethel.org or 847/432-8903 x234.  Open to the community, free of charge.

Sefer Hana is a limited edition accordion book of woodcuts, hand printed on Japanese paper, that is a feminist and personal retelling of the biblical narrative of Hana. The book, prints, and wood blocks will be on display in the sanctuary entrance of North Suburban Synagogue Beth El through November, 2012.

Ellen Holtzblatt is a Chicago-based artist, working in the media of painting, drawing, printmaking and artist books. She has exhibited her work internationally and nationally at diverse venues, such as Inselgalerie in Berlin, the Lancaster Museum of Art, ARC Gallery, Chicago Cultural Center, and Woman Made Gallery.  Her work is included in public and private collections, including the Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection in Chicago and The Center for Book Arts in New York, who selected Sefer Hana for an exhibition of works from their permanent collection in 2011.  Holtzblatt received degrees in visual art and art therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a M.Ed. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Visit www.ellenholtzblatt.com for more information.

Jane Shapiro is a graduate of Princeton University and holds a Masters in Jewish History from Columbia University and a Certificate in Educational Leadership from the Mandel Institute in Jerusalem. She is the founder of Jane Shapiro Associates (www.janeshapiroassociates.com) and brings over twenty years of experience as an adult educator and expert in adult Jewish learning to her work. Jane served as Associate Director of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School of North America and has been a speaker at conferences in Israel and across North America.