These monotypes and artist book are from a series in progress, linking my present life with my historical past. They are part of a visual history that has motivated me to study my cultural heritage and to preserve it for my children and future generations. My family is Sephardic Jews who lived in Spain from the Roman time until 1492 when they were expelled during the Spanish Inquisition. They left Spain and settled in Izmir, then part of the Ottoman Empire, where they remained until 1906 when my grandparents emigrated to Cuba and eventually settled in New York City. All this time they maintained their culture, language (15th century Judeo Spanish) and religion.

During the process of creating this series I have researched and studied Sephardic art and history. My mother, Rachel Benjoya, reads Ladino, the written form of Judeo Spanish, and Hebrew. She has made a life-long study of Sephardic culture. She continues to be a great resource in developing this series. I felt that it was essential for me to pass on and preserve pictorially our culture to my children before the chain of generations is broken and the history lost forever.

In this section titled A Personal Odyssey – From Maimonides to Benjoya are monotype prints, an editioned artist book and photographs of family textiles and artifacts arranged in specific compositions.
The artist book titled Benjoya is in an edition of four. It is constructed of hand-formed gampi sheets using a traditional Japanese paper making technique. Two-sided color Xerox inclusions were placed between sheets during formation. Others are printed with a methyl salicylate (wintergreen oil) color Xerox transfer process. Other images are created using Xerox lithography. The cover is made of my own hand formed gampi paper stretched over museum board and rubbed with microcrystalline wax. The image printed on the cover refers to a decorative page from a XV century Spanish Hebrew bible from the library of Escorial in Spain. The binding is hand sewn. The book is a new family artifact depicting my family history and travels from the Ottoman Empire to Cuba and Coney Island, NY. The book contains family documents, photographs, and religious art of the Sephardic Jews living in Izmir.

The monotype prints explore a long history from Maimonides in the eleventh century to my mother’s graduation from the University of Pittsburgh in 1946. The monotype prints combine color Xerox transfer, collage, photography and watercolor on paper. They range in size from 22”x30” to 22”x15”. The transfer process uses methyl salicylate (wintergreen oil). The color copies were collaged and color copied then soaked face up in methyl salicylate and printed with heavy pressure through an etching press. Multiple runs were made in some of the prints to achieve greater color brilliance. Each piece incorporates images from traditional Sephardic art and refers to historical events while creating a new personal statement of my relationship as an artist to my family and Sephardic culture.