Mickie Caspi

Mickie Caspi
Born Micha Padawer
(1961-06-07) June 7, 1961
Chicago, IL
Nationality Israeli-American
Alma mater Columbia College
Spouse(s) Eran Caspi
Website caspicards.com

Mickie Caspi is an Israeli-American calligrapher and artist specializing in Judaica.

Mickie Caspi, Israeli-American master calligrapher and artist filling in the Mystic Jerusalem Ketubah, Artists' Studio, December 2014

Early life and education

Caspi was raised in Highland Park, Illinois by two artists, Thelma and Philip Padawer,[1][2] who encouraged creativity from a young age. She lived in Israel on Kibbutz Nachshon for three years (1970–73).[3] After returning to Highland Park, she studied art at Columbia College in Chicago.[4][5]

Career and Artistic Inspiration

Caspi worked as an artist-in-residence at the Kohl Jewish Teacher Center in Wilmette, Illinois.[6] After graduating from Columbia College in 1982,[7] she returned to Israel, living on Kibbutz Harel and then in Jerusalem. She spent seven years as a freelance artist and calligrapher in Israel before returning to the United States in 1989 and establishing Caspi Cards & Art.[8] Her hundreds of original designs have been reproduced on ketubot, greeting cards, Judaic art prints, calendars and more.[9][10]

Caspi derives her inspiration from many sources, including traditional Jewish motifs, Persian and Arabic illumination, contemporary graphics, as well as art nouveau and art deco.[11] Her art has been exhibited in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Chicago, San Francisco and Boston, and her illustrations have appeared in Hebrew children’s books[12] and English publications. According to Marc Michael Epstein (scholar of religion, focusing on Jewish religious culture), "Examples by American artist... Mickie Caspi are among the best and brightest examples of motifs often found in ketubot from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries."[13]

Caspi volunteers at the Horace Mann School in Newton, Massachusetts. In 2011, the Oakland Hebrew Day School used her artwork as a stepping off point for the students to create their own works of art.[14]

An avid organic gardener, Caspi incorporates the beauty of nature into much of her artwork.[15] Originally known as Micha Klugman, since her return to the United States she has used either Mickie Caspi or simply Mickie. She currently resides in Newton, Massachusetts, is married, and has three children and two grandsons.[16][17]

Exhibitions and Awards

Publications

References

  1. "Worlds Largests Online Family Tree". www.OneGreatFamily.com.
  2. "Caspi Cards Blog".
  3. "Kibbutz Nachshon".
  4. "Columbia College Chicago, "Columbia College Alumni News" (1985). Alumni Newsletters. Book 25.". p. 8.
  5. "Mickie Caspi Artist Profile".
  6. Piper, Barbara (1982). Teachers' Centers Exchange Directory. San Francisco, California: National Institute of Education, Far West Lab for Educational Research and Development. pp. 127–128, pdf edition.
  7. "Columbia College Chicago, "Columbia College Alumni News" (1985). Alumni Newsletters. Book 25.". p. 8.
  8. "Credibility.com".
  9. Freiser, Debbie. "Made by Americans. Judaica Artist Mickie Caspi".
  10. "Mickie Caspi Artist Profile".
  11. "Mickie Caspi". The Ketubah Artists Association.
  12. "Ketubah.com". Artist: Mickie Caspi Pop-Up Window.
  13. Epstein, Marc Michael, ed. (2015). Skies of Parchment, Seas of Ink: Jewish Illuminated Manuscripts. Princeton University Press. pp. 241–243. ISBN 978-0300135534.
  14. Rosenkrantz, H. Glenn. "Art As Window Into The Jewish Experience".
  15. "Mickie Caspi Judaica Artist Bio". www.judaism.com.
  16. "Mickie Caspi Artist Profile".
  17. "Jewish Wedding Blog Featured Artist, Mickie Caspi".
  18. Jacobson, David. "Equal Vows".
  19. Markell, Cecille (18 October 1990). "The Jewish Advocate". p. 14.
  20. "The Jewish Advocate". 7 December 1989. p. 25.
  21. Fisher, Eliezer. "Private Collection".
  22. Markell, Cecille (18 October 1990). "The Jewish Advocate". p. 14.

External links

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