PAINTING • SCULPTURE • CERAMICS • PUBLISHING • WORKSHOPS
STANWOOD HOUSE
YONNAH
YONNAH
Yonnah Ben Levy was raised in Seattle, Washington. She attended Whitman College and received her B.A. in art from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she studied at the Corcoran Gallery under a Zen master ceramicist. She received a Masters of Art for Teachers at the University of Washington. She has been a professional artist since 1976.
A Sabbatical of Flowers
Looking back on our year of confinement in Israel during the pandemic, I think of it as a Sabbatical. We were in a house near a park and near the sea. We took two walks a day in for exercise. My eyes became amazingly open to details I had never paid attention to before. Flowers throughout the year came in waves of glorious shapes and colors as one season played into another. I was never without inspiration right outside my door.
almond3
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
almond4
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
almond5
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
almond6
almond7
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
almond8
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
almond 9
almond 10
acrylics on canvas board, 12 x 16 in.
apricot1
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
apricot2
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
bee1
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
bee2
acrylics on canvas board, 12 x 16 in.
bird-of-paradise
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
Cassia
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
flame-tree1
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
flame-tree2
acrylics on canvas board, 16 x 12 in.
Flame-Tree-Petals – Copy
Hibiscus1 – Copy
Iris – Copy
Jacaranda
Judas Tree
Judas-Flower
Lupin
Oleander
Plumeria
Rangoon
Sea-Lily
Squill
Yonnah’s Birds in Painting, Sculpture, and Ceramics
My mother taught me the love of birds when we identified the species that came to our bird feeder. My art is by no means limited to birds or wildlife, but it remains something I come back to time and again. My name, Yonnah, means dove in Hebrew. I have had the good fortune of living on two major flyways for a good part of my life. One of them is our home in Stanwood, Washington, where geese and swans return to each autumn and stay until April. The second home, that I established in 1981, in Israel, is a land-bridge between Africa and Europe. During my life, I have had many birds of different breeds for pets.
2owls
owlets
bronze-owlets
owl2
owl-moon
2doves
dove-plaque
zebra-doves
diving-dove
grey
red
3swans
Peacock in Full Display
pastels, 16 x 20 in.
Two Peacocks
pastels, 18 x 24 in.
Two Mallard Drakes and a Duck
oil on canvas, 187 x 24 in. (1977)
Three Ducks
acrylics on canvas, 18 x 24 in.
Duck and Ducklings
acrylics on canvas, 18 x 24 in.
Gaggle of Geese
acrylics on panel, 18 x 24 in.
Two Hawks
pastels, 18 x 24 in.
Two Pileated Woodpeckers
acrylics, 18 x 24 in.
Barred-Owl
bronze-owl
Hoo-Me
owl-mixed-media
owl-moon
snowy2
snowy-owl
snowy-sculpture
birdies
lidded-owl-box
saggar-dove
zebra-dove-urn
Bronze Hummingbird
bronze on marble pedestal, 12 x 5 x 5 approx. (1980)
Doves in Flight
mixed media with acrylics on canvas, 30 x 24 in.
Hummingbird
acrylics on paper, 18 x 12 in.
Majestic Peacock
acrylics on canvas, 36 x 24 in.
Two Flying Doves
acrylics on canvas, 30 x 24
Untitled-1
acrylics on canvas, 30 x 24 in.
Raku-Peacock-Box
The-Promise-Urn
Peacock Urn
high fired ceramics, 25 x 8 x 7 in.
Nestling
ceramics (private collection)
The Promise
acrylics on canvas, 24 x 18 in. (2001)
Paintings and Sketches from the Desert
Sketch I
colored pencils, 7 x 5 in.
Sketch II
colored pencils, 7 x 5 in.
Sketch III
colored pencils, 7 x 5 in.
Sketch I
colored pencils, 7 x 5 in.
Thousand Palms I
acrylics on canvas, 48 x 32 in.
Thousand Palms IV
acrylics on canvas, 48 x 32 in.
Thousand Palms II
acrylics on canvas, 48 x 32 in.
Tongues of Fire, Thousand Palms
acrylics on canvas, 48 x 32 in.
Rock Formation III, Joshua Tree
acrylics in canvas, 32 x 48 in.
Rock Formation II, Joshua Tree
acrylics on canvas, 303 x 30 in.
Rock Formation I, Joshua Tree
acrylics on canvas, 30 x 30 in.
Whitestones
acrylics on canvas, 60 x 30 in.
Joshua-Tree-1
mixed media with acrylics on wood panel, 11 x 11 in. framed
Joshua-Tree-2
mixed media with acrylics on wood panel, 9 x 9 in. framed
Joshua-Tree-3
mixed media with acrylics on wood panel, 11 x 11 in. framed
Joshua-Tree-4
mixed media with acrylics on wood panel, 11 x 11 in. framed
Mandalas
In 2020, my husband and I found ourselves locked down in our Ashkelon home. These Mandalas came rolling out that year – so much fun to use the gifted
round handmade papers from Japan! They are like the gold and jewels. As I see the finished work we did this year, I particularly notice the concept of coming full circle with these images. I guess it wasn’t such a bad year after all. 24 x 24 in. each including a 2 in. mat.
mandala-clemartis-copy
mandala-flametree-copy
mandala-hibiscus
mandala-iris
mandala-judas
lily
mandala-lupin
mandala-purple
mandala-rose
yellow
mandala-z
butterfly
Sculptures
Grammie Evie as a Girl
ceramic sculpture, 16 x 18 x 9 in.
My Mother, Judith, as a Young Woman
ceramic sculpture, 10 x 7 x 7 in.
My First Grandchild as a Young Woman
ceramic sculpture, 10 x 7 x 7 in.
Self-Portrait-(1998)
ceramic sculpture, 16 x 12 x 10 in.
Fawn
13 x 15 x 7 in.
Elephant
ceramic sculpture, 16 x 18 x 11 in.
fruition
White Horse
ceramic sculpture, 20 x 20 x 9 in.
Butterfly Gal
Segmented ceramic sculpture, 43 x 18 x 12 in.
Victorian Dancer
ceramic sculpture, 20 x 16 x 8 in.
Seated Nude
Clay, 22 x 8 x 8 in. (1966)
Bird Angel
Clay Paper sculpture, 38 x 18 x 12 in.
chipmonk
wedding-cake
Thinking Outside the Box
12 x 8 x 8 in.
rabbit
Lion-Head
Mother-and-Child
Decorative and Funcitional Ceramics
Yonnah has been a ceramic artist all of her adult life. As a teacher, and often a teacher of teachers and other professionals, she is able to work in many different styles. Here are some of them. Her work is for sale, but because her inventory changes due to sales and new additons, it is best to contact her through this website for any and all inquiries about ceramics.
eye-candy
circle2
circle3
circle-yellow
art-nouveau-candlesticks
Peacock-candlesticks
rainbow-candlesticks1
tall
butterfly-bowl2
butterfly-bowl3
butterfly-dish
yonnah_Ben-Levy_butterfly-bowl1
Aegean-Cup1
Aegean-Cup2
Chevron-Cup
Philistine-motif
bw1
bw2
bw3
bw4
bottle-forms
Raku-Bottle-1
Raku-Bottle-2
Raku-Bottle-3
Saggar-Fired-Vessel-1
Saggar-Fired-Vessel-2
Saggar-Fired-Vessel-3
Saggar-Fired-Vessel-4
Inscapes
Dreams, musings, and visions.
Wings
acrylics on canvas, 48 x 30 in.
healing-wings
acrylics on canvas, 20 x 16 in.
butterflies-encaustic
inscape-1
oil pastels on Fabriano paper, 22 x 30 in.
inscape-2
oil pastels on Fabriano paper, 22 x 30 in.
inscape-3
oil pastels on Fabriano paper, 30 x 22 in.
inscape-4
oil pastels on Fabriano paper, 22 x 30 in.
The Promise
acrylics on canvas, 24 x 18 in.
The Promise box
saggar fired clay, private collection
spiral1
acrylics on canvas mounted on wood, 25 x 48 in.
spiral2
spiral3
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.
