Cathy's Creations

I was motivated to write this article because Catherine Spertus Orkibi has innovative ways of conveying her unique artistic designs. I simply felt that I wanted to share. Cathy is a very special and talented artist. I was privileged to see most of her creations in their original format, but conveying them here through photographs enables them to be seen and appreciated by many.

Her wall hangings are made with different types of fabrics and materials. Cathy creates appliques denoting and expressing many Biblical scenes, as well as many personal works created for family members. Cathy also has done quilting, which she featured as the background cover of her first album.

I have been friends with Cathy – who hails from Highland Park, Illinois, USA – since Wisconsin Camp Ramah days, where she also met her husband Yaacov in 1962.There, Cathy was an arts and crafts counselor. She studied art formally for a semester and a half at Washington University in St. Louis and at the Pratt Institute of Art in New York City. In 1964 she made aliyah to Israel with Yaacov and their infant son Moshe.

When Cathy presented me with her first book, My Creations, a few months ago, I was overcome, and felt that it must be shared. Her visual interpretations are exceptionally creative. They are unique, as is her medium. My personal favorite creations are her Biblical scenes. It seems superfluous to write more, so I'll let the readers enjoy and view some images of her scenes, in Cathy's special medium.

I paraphrase from Cathy's book, My Creations, 2019:

"I create intuitively from my feelings only, with no external rules or demands about how to execute... I enjoy the technical and pictorial challenge of tackling the difficulties of creation from the inception of an idea to its final execution."

Her works are so expressive! Here are some of my favorites, though it is hard to choose among so many! They will "speak for themselves." The Garden of Eden, Cathy's first "creation." Embroidery, 1965 Animals with Boy and Girl, 1995, was made for one of Cathy's grandchildren, with the family dog "immortalized", Noah's Ark (above), 2009, made for her granddaughter, Circus, 2005, made for her grandson, and an extremely expressive work, A Theater Scene, 2009, created for her son who studied psychodrama.

In a paraphrase describing the Theater Scene (below), Cathy wrote:"…Shhsh, on the right, a psychoanalysis session is in progress. Portrayed below in the VIP audience, among others, are the fathers of psychology. On the left, on stage, is an enactment of the song-play Lila, by Goethe, written in the 18th century, the subject of her son's master's thesis, which dealt with elements of psychodrama, as evidenced in this early play."