PAINTING • SCULPTURE • CERAMICS • PUBLISHING • WORKSHOPS
STANWOOD HOUSE
DEKEL PRESS PUBLISHING
American Scrolls
ISBN 978-0-9995958-4-8, paperback, 134 p., 150 illustrations, 8 1/2x 11”
Returning to America after many years abroad, artist couple Chaim Bezalel and Yonnah Ben Levy rediscover the country. Living and working in several regions including the Hudson River Valley and Catskills, birthplace of the American landscape, the Gulf Coast of Florida, the Sonoran Desert, and the Pacific Northwest, they have created a series of paintings depicting the breadth and depth of the American landscape. With descriptive passages and poems.
$30
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Touching on Place
ISBN – 978-0-9995958-0-0, paperback, 6h x 9w in. 90 pp, 77 illustrations
Original Paintings and photographs of architectural elements in Israel with descriptions and some historical information. The book represents the culmination of a 25 year project of a husband and wife artistic collaboration documenting the history of Israel through architectural elements.
$25
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The Twelve Tribes
ISBN-13: 978-0-9995958-3-1 52 p., 50 illustrations, 11 x 8 1/2 in.
This book contains words and pictures relating to two different but related art collaborations, “Bowls of Blessing” (2011) and “Urim and Thummim” (1991). The bowls illuminate excerpts from Jacob’s blessings over his twelve sons, the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel. Regarding the “Urim and Thummim portion, nobody knows what they were physically. They served as an oracle through which the nation got direction and specific answers to their queries. The series consits of 12 panels, each with 12 images and surrounding illumination, after the pattern of the breastplate of the ancient high priest. Sometimes art steps in where language leaves off.
$25
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Objects of Veneration
ISBN 978-0-9995958-1-7, 86 p., 52 illustrations, 9 x 6 in.
The author and artist began collecting small carvings as a child in the 1960’s. Only later did he begin to research the religious and cultural meaning behind many of these objects. He began doing a series of paintings of these as well as objects in other collections. The objects, all by anonymous artists, span six thousand years. They are described and put into context as they migrate from their original cultic and religious purpose to their presence in modern day collections. Finally, the author addresses his own culture which traditionally disdained the veneration of objects but venerates words. Thus an essay called, “The Talmud, a Brief Travelogue” is included, which discusses history, the Bible, and religion in a contemporary and entertaining way.
$25
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Mandalas – Coming Full Circle
ISBN: 978-0-9995958-9-3. softcover, 8 ½ x 8 ½ in., 40 pages
Lifelong artist and teacher, Yonnah Ben Levy, presents her recent project combining art and poetry in this book containing 16 mandalas with accompanying poems. This series was painted over a year spent in Israel during the COVID virus as she depicted the succession of flowers and flowering trees seen in a nearby park, in her own garden, along the Mediterranean, or in Jerusalem
$25
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NYC – Return for Redemption
softcover, 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 in., 68 pages
In 1975, Chaim returned to New York, city of his birth. He was 25 years old and had come to choose between a career as an artist or a stockbroker. Despite encouragement from a gallery, he followed a false lead from a brokerage firm. A year later, he began his training to become a stockbroker, ultimately leading him to Wall Street. Some of these paintings are from those slides taken at that time, but since then there have been other returns and paintings representing them, both individual and collaborative works.
$25
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In Search of Beauty
58 pages, 34 illustrations, softcover
During the time of the recent pandemic, artist and poet, Yonnah Ben Levy spent time in her Ashkelon studio and home painting the succession of flowers as they came into season in Israel. She has paired these paintings with poetry which she has written over the past 30 years in Israel and America.
$25
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Songs from the Territories
ISBN: 978-0-9995958-5-5 120 p. black and white illustrations, 9 x 6 in.
In 1988, a 38 year old ex-hippie, ex- stockbroker on the lam boards a plane to Israel, where he has never been, with a one way ticket and two suitcases. Two years later, during the Gulf War, he is drafted into the Israeli army reserves. This is his journal. “A timely, profound, and artful work which seamlessly weaves the strands of memoir and history, religion and culture into a beautiful tapestry.” -Kota Press
$20
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The Bible is not for Children
ISBN: 978-0-9995958-8-6. 8 x 8 in.
Softcover, 86 pages with 38 full color illustrations
36 difficult Bible stories told in rhyming verse, each illustrated by a sculpture or painting, brings new insights to the Bible. The book is an in depth Bible study disguised as a simple picture book. “Witty poems and beautiful images bring alive the grown-up parts of the Bible for the modern reader. A feast for eyes and mind.” – John Barton, Emeritus Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture, Oxford University.
$25
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Public Works
ISBN-13: 978-0-9995958-2-4, 118 p., 53 illustrations, 9 x 6 in.
A cross-genre exploration of art and community. The book includes art, poetry, and essays on art. The author began the book while serving on the Planning Commission of his city, where he wrote poems describing the current agenda. He then went on to create an installation in various artistic mediums dealing with the subject. The incive essays on art and culture were written over a 20 year period.
$25
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For Such a Time as This
54 pages, 7 x 9 in.soft cover
The entire Book of Esther relatred in verse with original illuminations, accompanied by the Biblical text.
$25
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Birds in Painting and Sculpture
56 pages, 11x 8 1/2 in.soft cover
Lifelong artist and bird lover, the name, Yonnah is Hebrew for dove. She has worked in bronze, ceramics, oils, acrylics, and watercolor.
$25
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MUSIC
My musical background began in the bathtub, when I was a baby. My mother would sing to me, "The headbone's connected to the neckbone..." She had a collection of 78 rpm records of folk music, mostly from the 40's, when she had hung out with some of the artists. I was also steeped in classical music from the radio, as well as every other kind; you name it. As a teenager, I hung out in Greenwich Village, where I learned to pick guitar and listen to jazz. Yet, it wan't until I was middle-aged that I began to write my own songs. I spent 10 years in a string band and then assembled my own groups to record and perform. I have written about 50 songs to date.