"Permission Granted: Art by & with Nancy Katz"
What an honor to create a retrospective exhibition of my life's work!
What better way for an artist to celebrate her 70th birthday and her return to a part of the world that was so formative in claiming that identity!!!
The Osher Marin JCC in San Rafael, California has housed some of my work for several decades.
Bringing new work into the space is more than thrilling.
This web page is my attempt to share some of that experience with those who are unable to attend the exhibit in person.
Join me.
How this Exhibition Came to Be
In 2012, as a 12 year old, Rachel Chancellor flew (with family in tow) across the country to where I was living in Western Massachusetts in order to make a tallit with me.
In late 2025 we met again at the Marin JCC.
There Rachel serves as the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Program Manager whose job (among other things) it is to secure and curate art exhibitions for the facility.
Hineinu/Here we are!
Memoriam & Gratitude
I didn't get to this place in my life without love, support, and playmates!
With 70 years of living has come the harsh reality of much loss of beloveds and much gratitude for the roles they have played in my life. I honor their memory and celebrate those still with me on my path!
The Banners
Hanging from the rafters in the foyer are four painted silk banners. The banners embody Jewish values that OMJCC staff members, in 1997, felt were the most cherished of the community.
Those values are Tzedakah (Righteousness), Gemilut Hasadim (Acts of Loving Kindness). Tikkun Ha-Olam (Repairing the World) and Hacnasat Orchim (Welcoming Guests).
The project was the brainchild of Jewish educator Matt Biers-Ariel, who served as Education Director at the OMJCC from 1997-1999. Matt was interested in creating a greater Jewish feel to the Center.
Gallery 1: An Artist's Journey
Included in the exhibition are a few cherished relics from my past! I have very little from my childhood art making days, but I DO have the tattered linoleum block that I carved in 5th grade and a silk screen print that I made in high school. I have also included a piece that I made 20 years ago, leading up to my 50th birthday.
The breakthrough for me in claiming my artist identity happened when I began "playing with fabric." Eventually I learned that quilting was indeed an art form and I loved it. For the most part, traditional patterns alluded me, but my respect for the tradition and it's possibilities for "community" never did.
When I, as a 30 year old, spent a summer working at UAHC Camp Swig in the Santa Cruz mountains, I recruited campers and staff to create a quilt to honor the 36th anniversary of the camp.
Upon my return to San Francisco after summer's end I literally stumbled into the storefront headquarters of the NAMES Project, AIDS Memorial Quilt.
That story is reflected here on a board in the gallery.
The Atrium: Form & Hebrew Letters
On the eastern wall of the Atrium, facing the lobby, are a few spots for hanging artwork.
We used that area to share work that showed my delight in the wonder of abstract forms that I find very connected with those of the Hebrew alphabet.
The Atrium: Leaded Glass
Mark Liebowitz and I met in November of 2005, in the exhibition hall at a convention that we both had attended for many years.
I had longed for partnership, but never quite found it. When we got together both my personal and my artistic lives changed radically.
Mark was (and still is) a master stained glass craftsman. He convinced me that my design sensibility was primed for glass.
Seeing these panels in the JCC's atrium, as well as installations in the homes and synagogue spaces we have embellished-- I know he was on to something!
Gallery 2: Painted Silk
Most folks know me for my work painting on silk. It makes sense because that was what I used to help hundreds of folks make their tallitot/prayer shawls and their chuppot/wedding canopies and for an unknown number of groups to make collaborative creations!
I was introduced to silk painting by Michael Katz (no relation) when I needed a gift for my mother's 70th birthday. Michael manufactured Jacquard brand products-- the dyes and the rubber based resist. It was love at first brushstroke until arthritis settled in to my thumb and didn't allow me to get the results I wanted.
It was, however, quite a run!
The Lobby & Stairwell: New(ish) Works on Paper
There are many reasons why my work has changed over the years-- limitations have surfaced and opportunities have presented themselves.
During the early days of COVID while living in Rhode Island I began to work on paper. Much of the work shown here was created then.
Upstairs
...and since Rachel granted me permission to take up as much space as I wanted (and I had so very much to choose from) there are assorted pieces on the OMJCC's 2nd floor as well!
