Oral Interview with Sidi Schaffer for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Daniella Givon. Sidi goes over her family history in Romania, where she was born, and across Eastern Europe, and then details her immediate family in Canada. Sidi describes her artistic influences from her parents who were professional photographers after WWII, especially her mother who encouraged her to do art. Being born in 1938, some of Sidi’s earliest childhood memories are of fleeing from the Holocaust with her family. Sidi found art to be an escape from personal traumas, which eventually took her to art school in Bucharest where she met her husband, David. Sidi describes her and David’s time living in Israel, and eventually moving to Edmonton where she pursued more formal arts education. Sidi describes opportunities to show her printmaking and painted works, and teach arts across Canada. She also describes inspiration from nature, freedom of expression, and memories of the Holocaust. She outlines how the Gesher Project helped her develop as a Jewish artist, and how she produces Judaic influenced art with her sister.
Oral History Interview with Tanya Bub for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Daniella Givon. Tanya was born in Minnesota in 1969. Tanya speaks about her family history and her upbringing in Beit Yanai, Israel as a child as well as London, Ontario. Tanya discusses her life in academia while also focused on parenthood and finances, and how she transitioned into an art career in Vancouver. Tanya describes her art as part of the ‘eco-art’ genre, as her mediums are often natural, like driftwood, or recycled and/or found materials. Tanya tells stories of finding community by creating interactive sculptures, especially driftwood people and animals, shared through public art installations across B.C.
Oral History Interview with Janet Esseiva for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Helen Aqua. Janet Esseiva was born in South Africa in 1964. She is an artist currently based out of Bowen Island, B.C. Esseiva describes her younger years in South Africa during the time of Apartheid and her meaningful exposure to the arts. She explains her transition from an Information Technology professional in Cape Town to an immigrant in Canada eventually working as a full time artist. Esseiva is known for painted works that focus on nature, and she explains how these works can evoke strong emotions and meaningful connections between art and artist, as well as artist and viewer.
Interview with Elan Mastai about his mother Judith Mastai, interviewed by Michael Schwartz. Elan speaks about his maternal family’s origins in Chicago and Vienna, Austria and how the family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada because of Judith’s father’s pharmaceutical career. Elan discusses Judith’s upbringing and education in Oakridge and her enthusiasm for theatre, inspiring her education and early career as a theatre actress and director. Elan talks about Judith’s time as a theatre actress in London, England and English teacher in Jerusalem, where she met her husband, Moshe Mastai. Judith then immigrated back to Vancouver to obtain her PhD in education and raise her children. Elan talks about how his mother raised him in an untraditionally intelligent and artistic environment, prompting his career as a writer. He talks about Judith’s career in education at Simon Fraser University and her entrance into visual arts as the director of public programming at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Elan speaks about her time as a travelling art curator and critic, head of education at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and executive director of the Canadian Museum of Craft and Design.
Oral Interview with Monica Gewurz for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Carol Herbert. Monica tells the story about how her parents met and how they ended up in Peru, where she was born. She describes how she ended up in Canada through education in the sciences where environmental planning was a large focus of her studies and careers, and how environmentalism informs her art practice. Monica talks about her mission of incorporating visually pleasing images, most often natural landscapes, to advocate for environmental causes. These works often include using upcycled materials and attempts to illicit emotional response from the viewer in hopes of bridging the gap between art and science in her work. Monica discusses her experimental processes of making paintings and mixed-media pieces, and how she revisits old works to upcycle them as her methods change. She also explains her self confidence and adaptability, and how this has led to work with galleries, commissions and charity. She closes with thoughts on the accessibility of art.
Summary: Oral Interview with Pnina Granirer for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Daniella Givon as a follow-up to an interview from 2021. Pnina recalls her earliest memories of producing art at school in Romania, and learning illustration and painting home decor in Haifa. She explains how her art career truly started when her and her husband moved to Illinois as she didn’t have a work visa and thus spent her time painting and crafting. She discusses inspiration from her children, mixing medias and art genres, and the exploration of making and learning. She talks about themes in her paintings coming from universal human experiences such as identity and existentialism, and the only painting she ever did in regards to the Holocaust and its showing in Tel Aviv. She speaks about her working in galleries and pushing for galleries to be made in Jewish institutions in Vancouver. Pnina talks about the creation of Artist in Our Midst and other art crawls in Vancouver, and her experiences teaching arts on Gabriola Island. She closes with an encouraging message for upcoming artists in Vancouver and the importance of art education in the art world’s future.
Oral Interview with Jack Rootman for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Carol Herbert via remote Zoom call. Jack describes his early artistic influences attending children’s art classes at the Kost House in Calgary where he grew up. Jack speaks about how he fell in love with sciences in his teens, which lead him to a career in medicine as an ophthalmologist and ophthalmic surgeon. He discusses how his studies by night at Emily Carr aided him in his medical practice by day, but also how attending workshops, and working in his own studio propelled his painting career forward in BC and beyond. Jack talks about the different mediums he works with, including oils and watercolours, and what influences his paintings, like nature and colourscapes. Jack discusses is work in the arts community, including his thematic shows at various galleries and creating a program for having art in hospitals. Jack speaks about advice for other artists and doctors.
Oral History Interview with Olga Campbell for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Bill Gruenthal. Olga Campbell was born in Iraq in 1943 and immigrated to Canada at the age of five in 1948. She explains her family’s experience with both Russian prison camps and the Holocaust during WWII, where they eventually made it safely to Canada. She discusses her journey as a social worker turned arts professional, including her time spent at Emily Carr and Capilano arts schools. As a second generation Holocaust survivor, Olga discusses how being Jewish and the associated inter-generational trauma of Holocaust survivorship has informed her works. Olga is a mixed-media artist, working in digital and traditional mediums, including collage and sculpture. She also published her art in a book focused on her family’s experience of the Holocaust that has fostered connections to her story, shared herein.
Oral History Interview with Mia Weinberg for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Bill Gruenthal. Mia was born in London, England in 1958. She describes her life as a child of German-Jewish refugees post-WWII, growing up in England and the role this had on her life, including her art work. She discusses her transition from a materials technologist in England to an immigrant in Vancouver, going to art school in her 30s and becoming an independent working artist. Mia is known for working with unconventional materials in her works, most often sculpture and installations.
Oral Interview with Anna Lutsky for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Helen Aqua. Anna was born in Tunis in 1952. She describes her family history, mostly situated within Tunisia, where her artistic influences came from her mother and sister. She recalls going to a strict French school in Tunis until the age of 16, when her family moved to a diverse kibbutz in Israel. She discusses the beginning of her art career as a young mother at the age of 22. Anna describes how her artwork acted as diaries for the places she lived throughout her life, including France, Italy and Cyprus, where the landscapes were the common sources of inspiration. She talks about how her art evolved into a mixed-media style that included painting on objects like furniture or clothing to repurpose their form and function, but one of her largest reoccurring themes remains nature. Anna tells of her most prominent memories of galleries and exhibitions where her art has been shown; this includes turning her home into a gallery, but also participating in World Expos abroad and being commissioned to represent France and Canada with her pieces. She further discusses how her art is more secular than reflective of Jewish connections.
