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 Interview with Stacey Lederman for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Perry Seidelman. Stacey talks briefly about her family history and growing up in Tsawwassen. Her post-secondary education led her to working in business and finance, but having children changed her career path after not working for more than a decade. Stacey discusses her introduction to recreational art classes in Vancouver and how attention from peers quickly saw her realize her talent, and also book her first art show. She describes her work as mixed-media, which includes using different mediums such as acrylics, ink, resin, and photography. Stacey talks about how she is drawn to edgy, colourful pieces including graffiti which can be seen in her own art pieces. Stacey talks about the artists who inspire her as the motivations behind her pieces. Stacey discusses the theme of hearts in her work, art crawls, and her favourite pieces of work. She speaks about how visiting Israel inspired her, and how things like real life, emotion and intuition informs her art practice.

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 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 Interview with Cynthia Minden for the JMABC Artists Scribe. Interviewed by Bill Gruenthal via remote Zoom call. Cynthia was born in Toronto in 1953 and describes growing up into a family full of musicians, including her parents, who also admired visual arts. She talks about her professional background in classical music as a flautist where she was a member of ensembles, a music teacher, and an arts administrator. Cynthia speaks about her brothers moving to Vancouver and her love of rural living as inspiration for her to move from Toronto to Denman Island. Cynthia discusses her beginnings as an artist through making baskets and subsequently sculpture, collage, surface design, and other art forms. She talks about translating her art practice into therapeutic work through equine facilitated wellness, where people can connect with nature and do be guided through art projects. She speaks about her work in exhibits including the political inspiration behind her pieces: from themes of refugees and migration to environmentalism and making art from reclaimed objects.

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.