Hi, I'm Rachel:

I am an artist based in Chicago, Illinois, where I settled after earning an MFA in Visual Art at The University of Chicago in 2012. I started my formal artistic training way back in elementary school in Mrs. Woloshin's class, then continued to hone my craft through high school and on to college. I studied Studio Art, Art History, Religious Studies, and Psychology at Indiana University as an undergrad. Now, my education continues through my own discoveries with Bat Sarah Press, YouTube tutorials, and by way of attending workshops and residencies, and participation in collaborative projects.

The Evolution of Bat Sarah Press

I was raised in a Jewish household in Ohio where a close-knit group of family was always nearby. I have identified as an artist and as Jewish for as long as I can remember. I could be found coloring for hours in my high chair before I could speak. Since then I have explored various modes of artistic expression: drawing, writing, painting, printmaking, sound installation, photography, performance, experiential events, and the list goes on.

After I fell in love with my husband, a man who is not Jewish, I had to confront my own connection to my culture and heritage. As we come from different backgrounds, I realized how important it would be for me to share my tradition with my future husband. Together we dove into the study of Jewish teachings and traditions. As this progressed, we each carved out a space for our own interests seen through the lens of Jewish culture and we collaborate between these two creative outlets. Dylan founded "Diaspora Dinners", a pop-up dinner series, educating platform, and caterer in Chicago that focuses on narratives of foods from different geographic regions of the Jewish diaspora. My own work investigates ritual through making contemporary Judaica and fashioning cultural experiences to share with others.  This ongoing and evolving commitment to learning leads us both to feeling more connected than ever to cultural scholarship and to Judaism. In summer 2021 just before we welcomed our second child into the world, Dylan went to the mikvah, on a Chicago private beach, as his final step in converting to Judaism. We continue to learn Jewish teachings and celebrate the holidays as we build our life together.

No matter the material I use, the work is almost always motivated by an ever-present curiosity to connect with other people and promote understanding among the diversity of individuals (even within the Jewish experience alone) who we meet out in our miraculously multicultural world. Bat Sarah Press is a mode of exploring ritual and its effect on human connection through art objects.

I have found new ways to share cultural stories and personal identity in its many forms through developing Bat Sarah Press. My ambition is that as BSP grows, the forms of ritual that are addressed can expand into other cultures, experiences, and spiritual or religious practices outside of my origins, guided by others with similar goals.

In addition, I am fortunate to work with talented translators and rabbis who are scholars of Torah and Hebrew. They make sure that all of the content BSP puts out is well considered and accurately translated. I am immensely grateful for their participation in this project.

Follow my other artistic projects at Rachelellisonhappyforever.com

About

For Susan, Miriam, and Ellen.

About the name: Bat Sarah Press translates from the Hebrew to “Sarah’s Daughter’s Press”. The name has two meanings, with Sarah being both the Biblical matriarch of monotheistic religion, and the Hebrew name of my mother Susan. She passed away on November 18, 2014.

Bat Sarah Press was founded in Spring 2016 in the loving memory of the matriarchs of my family, who passed their deep passion for their culture, their resilience in fighting for their beliefs, and sense of purpose in making their mark on the world to the next generation. My mother Susan, her sister Ellen, and their mother Miriam have now moved beyond this physical world. They were some of the most encouraging to me, and of my artistic development in the most formative moments of my life. They made me think hard and laugh harder. They gave the best hugs.

I have devoted my life to a practice of thinking and creating. From painting, to printmaking, to performance art, and now back to making objects and prints, the world for me is processed through materials and metaphors.

Growing up in a family strongly rooted in Jewish tradition, my mother often encouraged me to make artwork that reflected my culture. I resisted, or so I thought. The idea of "ritual artwork" felt archaic and detached from contemporary thought and values. Meanwhile the body of work I have made throughout my artistic practice has always related to issues around ritual, value, and community—all pillars of my Jewish upbringing.

It was only after my mother’s passing in November 2014 that I was asked to make my first Ketubah for my brother Jason and my now sister-in-law Rachel. I fell in love with the diverse beauty of Ketubah documents throughout time, and also loved the process of working with the couple to create a meaningful and personalized work of art.

It was then that I began to wonder about other cultures’ ritual art objects, knowing that art is often a means for sharing stories. Bat Sarah Press is meant to be a platform for exploring generative aspects of religious and spiritual ritual through the lens of art objects. At this stage the company sells an array of traditional and culturally Jewish items and services. In time, the goal is to add more interfaith and secular ritual items to the shop, so that through the sharing of culture we can better understand and appreciate people coming from different backgrounds. 

It is also important that BSP create an opening for individuals who have historically been subjugated or told they did not belong. BSP is equally eager to make ketubot and ritual artworks for Jewish, interfaith, LGBTQ, and not Jewish-identifying couples. I am always open to exploring new ways of expressing ritual with my clients. I do my best to create an inclusive space through the BSP platform, where commonality is found in a willingness to go deep. If you have any suggestions that could help in achieving this, please do be in touch. I encourage feedback.

All manually printed items are currently produced at Spudnik Press and digital prints are made by the stellar team at my studio by the expert eye of Warren Winter in Chicago, Illinois.

Please be in touch with questions, comments, or suggestions.