About
I am an artist and gleaner living in the Mahicantuck / Hudson River Valley of New York. My story begins with my immediate family relocating to the U.S. as Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union (Ukraine) in 1980, a few years before I was born. My childhood was a complex tangle of cultures and identities in true Third Culture Kid fashion. Just like the “tradition” of my living family and ancestors, I continue the intricate and complex journey of weaving together a life in the diaspora.
Why?
Creating Judaica has been one of the few entry points into Judaism for me that feels suited to my pre-existing knowledge and skillset as a long-time maker and artist. Growing up severed from Jewish community, custom, language and ritual, I began the journey in 2016 to start reconnecting to these parts of my heritage. Making ritual objects has given me the chance to use my hands while learning about observance, halacha (Jewish law), and other aspects of Judaism throughout the process of creation. I have been making art and mostly functional objects for the last 20 years in a variety of mediums and techniques including ceramic, wood, textiles (sewing, embroidery, knitting, crocheting), basketry, herbal medicine, natural dyeing, and small building construction.
Education + Learning
I graduated from the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at the Cooper Union in 2011 and attended the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Art from 2004-2006. My Jewish education includes learning with Svara, Linke Fligl, Kolektiv Goluboy Vagon, as well as study with numerous Jewish educators including Linda Motzkin, Julie Seltzer, Ayelet Adelman, Chana Rusanov, Rebekah Erev, Dori Midnight, Annie-Rose London and Elana June Margolis. I co-created Krivoy Kolektiv with Irina Zadov and Sophia Sobko, a post-Soviet Jewish art collective which has exhibited work in the Radical Jewish Calendar 5783 and the Dagesh TRANSITIONS Festival of Jewish Contemporary Art. I am involved with Kolektiv Goluboy Vagon and have participated in a variety of events including “Befriending Our Ancestor Comrades, a Former Soviet Jewish Lineage Healing Workshop” performed for Linke Fligl’s Sukkot Night Live in 2020 as well as “Saved”, an original performance screened through the Jewish Museum of Maryland in 2023. I have created unique curriculum which has been presented at Linke Fligl’s Living into Olam Haba in 2022, Urban Adamah as part of a Jewish Ancestral Skills series and at Isabella Freedman Retreat Center for Rosh Hashanah in 2023. My art and craft educators include basketry with Katie Grove, herbal medicine with Wild Gather: Hudson Valley School of Herbal Studies, weaving with Nelly Detra at the Marshfield School of Weaving, spoon carving with Matty Hart at Drop Forge and Tool and many others over the past 20+ years. I am also predominantly self-taught in numerous mediums through the practice of research, trial and error.
Get in Touch
I am open for commissions ~ it would be an honor to make a piece of custom Judaica for you. Maybe something I’ve made resonates with you, or you have an idea for something else – please reach out to share your ideas and questions with me. You can also contact me if you’d like me to offer one of my workshops with your organization, synagogue, etc. You can email me at: aravah.berman.mirkin(at)gmail(dot)com. My long-form writing can be seen on my Patreon and creations in real-time on my Instagram.
Shop
You can check out what items I have currently have for sale in my Etsy shop. 7% of my ceramic sales are donated to rotating organizations and individuals on a quarterly basis.
