sheydgarden

[sheydgarden]

Hey! First of all, I absolutely love your work. It's so provocative and I'm a huge fan of your clear inspiration from history and your reinterpretation/modernization. Absolute 10/10 a feast for the eyes. I love love love active participation in history/religion/folklore through art so much, and you're one of the artist I've seen it pull off best. Instant love and frankly a great inspiration (like for real, this kicked me back into working on my little medieval west European manuscript project).

I do have a question! I am not Jewish myself and I'd love to buy something at your shop. I also understand many of the imagery and items you're selling are deeply grounded in your faith/culture and I absolutely do not want to buy something that is not for me! Ergo, which items are you OK with selling to a goy (I presume the zines are) and which should I stay away from? (sidenote: I'm not about to use anything for spiritual purposes, unless my aforementioned obsession with history/material culture/art counts).

♥️ I hope you're having a great day!

thank you so much for this sweet message! really appreciate hearing that my work has inspired you ♥️

you've inspired me to make a FAQ page, as i get this kind of question fairly regularly (it's a great question!) & i can never remember exactly where i've answered it. i've written in more length on that page, but the short version is:

i'm absolutely cool with non-Jewish folks buying almost anything from me, with the rare exceptions being things like the "GOTH JEW" shirt (which literally refers to the person wearing it as a Jew) or any Judaica bought for the purpose of using it in a non-Jewish/appropriated religious or spiritual practice, which i could see potentially happening with something like a pocket golem - i do see that as different than appreciating the golems as cultural art, which i'm happy for all kinds of folks to do!

#asks

[sheydgarden]

What’s on the scrolls the golems are holding?

nothing yet! they're meant to be customized by the owner. from their little cards: "your golem is a guardian, and holds a blank scroll that can be customized with any of the following: the name of something or someone you want to protect, a quotation from one of the psalms, an intention for your future, a secret, or a wish."

#asks

[sheydgarden]

✨TODAY✨

...but as of posting this (~10 mins after publishing the listings) all the golems & almost all the pendants are GONE. okay. listen. i will make the time to make more.

mark your calendars! 4/16/24, 12:30PM EST: new stuff coming to my Etsy shop for the first time in over a year - thank you very much for being so patient! other zines & stickers will also be restocked in various quantities, some fairly limited, & there are only 7 golems & these 5 incantation bowl pendants this time around. if you don't manage to snag one, rest assured i'm still planning to continue to make them as i'm able!

the B'TZELEM ELOHIM lino prints are 8x10" (hand-done & signed!) while FEYGELE is a cute little 5x7" & THORN PANSY is only 3x5" (this is a bizarre size for a print, i know, but you can fit in anywhere & it comes with a pin). excited to stock my poetry chapbook for the first time ever as a zine! ♥

#etsy shop #i'm a little overwhelmed right now #but very very grateful

[sheydgarden]

mark your calendars! 4/16/24, 12:30PM EST: new stuff coming to my Etsy shop for the first time in over a year - thank you very much for being so patient! other zines & stickers will also be restocked in various quantities, some fairly limited, & there are only 7 golems & these 5 incantation bowl pendants this time around. if you don't manage to snag one, rest assured i'm still planning to continue to make them as i'm able!

the B'TZELEM ELOHIM lino prints are 8x10" (hand-done & signed!) while FEYGELE is a cute little 5x7" & THORN PANSY is only 3x5" (this is a bizarre size for a print, i know, but you can fit in anywhere & it comes with a pin). excited to stock my poetry chapbook for the first time ever as a zine! ♥

#jewish art #jumblr #jewish artist #judaica #etsy shop #shop update

[sheydgarden]

hi Ezra,

I wanted to reach out and apologize to you. I've tagged you recently when I've seen posts of your zine when not attributed - in order to give you credit for your work. This is genuinely coming from a place of respect for your work.

I'm going to delete my reblog via @tuchisenjoyer

I apologize for pulling you into a thread needlessly. thank you for sharing the work you do.

Sincerely, dt

hey - i appreciate this, thank you, and i wanna be clear that i don't mind being tagged for credit when my work is going around!

my reblog/addition to my earlier post wasn't directed at you specifically for tagging me, it was a response to the context & content of various blogs that were interacting with that post. making it abundantly clear that i'm not a Zionist is something i just do for my own safety, in the hopes that those folks will steer clear of me rather than settle in to follow & later have a dramatic (often abusive) reaction once they figure out my politics. it's honestly very tiring but it's just a part of existing online for me now.

so, no worries about tagging - i'm grateful for it both as a way to make sure my work is credited & also as a heads up when my work is coming up in a context that might eventually lead to harassment.

#asks

[sheydgarden]

it's come to my attention that my zine on antisemitism in occult movements is currently being passed around by Zionists, so here's your reminder that it's fully possible (and in fact not even a contradiction) to care about the historic & contemporary oppression of Jews while also vehemently rejecting Zionism as any kind of "safety" or solution.

i'm pointing at the sign again.

a reminder

i haven't been posting much here in a few months. part of that has been work-related - putting a lot of my time into illustration projects that i can't share, & also doing a lot of prep for a local Hanukkah market i both co-organize & vend at (which happened this past weekend). i tend to use this space as a sort of less-formal gallery, only posting work i consider "finished" or reblogging things related to projects i'm involved in. in the past i've been more talkative & more apt to share WIPs & personal things on my other social media (Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky), which is still true even though i've had to take several steps back from some of those platforms lately for my mental health.

all this is to say that if you only follow me here, you haven't seen me make any kind of statement about the crisis in Israel/Palestine, because that isn't how i've been using this particular site. i do not think of my art as apolitical & i am not secretive about my politics, but over & over again, i find myself followed by people who appear to be shocked to learn that i am proudly & actively anti-Zionist. i have been for my entire adult life. as a Jewish artist making visibly Jewish work, this puts a target on me, not only from garden-variety antisemites but also from fellow Jews who feel "betrayed" by my solidarity with Palestine & threatened by my vocal opposition to colonialism, apartheid & genocidal violence (as well as the very idea of ethnostates). in fact, the harassment & abuse i receive online is primarily from Zionists, which is not something i would have ever expected with so many white supremacists & neo-Nazis crawling all over the current internet!

so, this is just me cleaning house now & again. i don't feel the need to post signs shooing away folks who should be getting that message very easily from my work (if you hate queer, trans, fat, disabled & Jewish people i truly don't know why you'd follow me), but it's very easy for Zionists to see much of my Jewish-focused work & decide they like it, only to turn verbally abusive when they realize i don't share their views. here's your sign! if you want to bail, do so quietly & civilly like an adult please. thank you.

#artist psa #anti-zionism #palestine

[sheydgarden]

Any thoughts on the little fellows from the Bird's Head Haggadah?

delightful ask, thank you. huge fan of those fellows! i love how modern that kind of medieval cartooning can look sometimes. here's a pair enjoying some Jewish zines (was the haggadah the original Jewish zine? discuss) ♥

#asks #jewish art #jumblr #birds head haggadah

[sheydgarden]

okay folks, when i posted that bookplate, i mentioned the occupation of the commissioner because it a) related to the piece & b) was also a way of explaining why i didn't feel the need to edit out his full name, as he's in a public-facing job & gave me permission to post unedited.

it was not an invitation to comment on his employer (there is literally no reason to do this on an art post about a personal commission) or to speculate or double-check about whether or not he is actually Jewish (this is unbelievably rude & i am so disappointed it needs to be said)

obviously (?) i am not personally connected to the Museum of the Bible, nor do i know enough about its current leadership to have any strong feelings about it. unfortunately, i think you will find a history of theft & questionable funding/interests in the foundation of most major museums - which is always good to know about, & totally irrelevant to this particular situation. what is relevant is that a Jewish curator of Judaica commissioned me, a Jewish illustrator, for a personal bookplate. the institution is not at all involved.

it is not okay to speculate about or disparage a client, even via implication, on an artist's post. it's also very offensive to suggest to me that i need to do a better job "vetting" my clients (to what extent? to whose satisfaction?) - i am a professional, i take work at my own discretion, i am not looking for input from strangers.

in the future i'll be taking more steps to obscure (whenever possible) identifying details - i know i can only control my own actions, but i hope this reminder to think more before you offer up commentary is taken seriously.

#psa #i am really truly annoyed about this

[sheydgarden]

delighted by these tags & reblogs, very happy to say that in fact @kuttithevangu & i have been friends for years & i read some of the earliest drafts of Angels! it's one of my favorite books.

also, for folks curious about sheydim (@tieflingmonk in the tags) i have a 101-level mini-zine available here & some recommendations for further reading on various aspects of Jewish magic, mysticism & folklore (including demons) here ♥

a really fun recent commission: this custom bookplate for the curator of Judaica at the Museum of the Bible! it's based on a variety of texts that describe (at least some) sheydim as observantly Jewish - especially the Talmudic stories of Yosef Sheyda, a demonic scholar or possibly even a rabbi himself. the quote in the window is from Psalm 24, "the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it" which is often written above an owner's name in Jewish books, but provides double meaning here for the fact that sheydim too are divinely created. Jesse shares my love for sheydim as transgressive, marginalized figures who are nevertheless deeply Jewish, so this was an ideal collaboration & a delight to make!

also done entirely in Procreate, inked with True Grit Texture Supply's "Rusty Nib" engraver brushes - totally in love with this new process & the relative ease of accomplishing this type/level of hatching vs. traditional media (giving me added respect for the 17th century printmakers I've been studying). i will always love working traditionally but adding more digital techniques to my repertoire has been super useful.

#the idea of elderly little ash is taking me out though #he is a perpetual tiny gremlin teen to me

[sheydgarden]

a really fun recent commission: this custom bookplate for the curator of Judaica at the Museum of the Bible! it's based on a variety of texts that describe (at least some) sheydim as observantly Jewish - especially the Talmudic stories of Yosef Sheyda, a demonic scholar or possibly even a rabbi himself. the quote in the window is from Psalm 24, "the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it" which is often written above an owner's name in Jewish books, but provides double meaning here for the fact that sheydim too are divinely created. Jesse shares my love for sheydim as transgressive, marginalized figures who are nevertheless deeply Jewish, so this was an ideal collaboration & a delight to make!

also done entirely in Procreate, inked with True Grit Texture Supply's "Rusty Nib" engraver brushes - totally in love with this new process & the relative ease of accomplishing this type/level of hatching vs. traditional media (giving me added respect for the 17th century printmakers I've been studying). i will always love working traditionally but adding more digital techniques to my repertoire has been super useful.

#jewish art #jumblr #illustration #bookplate #commissions #ex libris #sheydim #digital art #jewish artists

[sheydgarden]

protective hamsa with crossed swords & primroses for Me'ira - thank you so much!

NOTE: this is a one-of-a-kind custom tattoo commission for a client, NOT flash, and as such it is NOT available to be tattooed.

as an aside, this is my first work done entirely in Procreate - i'm dipping my toes back into digital art this year with new (current?!) tools, & excited about the possibilities & ease of use! as someone who's been pretty much exclusively using Adobe CS5.5 since it came out & had previously never drawn with anything past a 2011 Wacom Bamboo tablet, it's a whole new world.

#jewish art #jewish tattoos #illustration #jumblr #artists on tumblr #hamsa #digital art

[sheydgarden]

just wanted to let u know i saw one of your zines at a pop up zine library near me the other day! i recognized the cover from twt and i was so psyched to see it there!

that’s so cool, thank you for letting me know! which zine? i’m always excited to hear they’re out there in the wild! hooray for pop-up zine libraries too, that’s great

#asks

[sheydgarden]

do you plan to start selling on your etsy again at any point? i love your art and would love to purchase prints, stickers, etc.

thank you! i do plan to restock, yes - i realize i said that whenever i was asked for pretty much all of last year & in fact ended up taking the entirety of 2023 off from Etsy (sorry!), but i'm actually making it a priority to get it updating more regularly this year. monthly would be amazing but realistically i think every couple of months is more manageable for me. i missed January (where did it go) but maybe i can pull something together before February slips by...

in any case i will absolutely post everywhere in advance of any drop, so if you're following me you won't miss out!

#asks

[sheydgarden]

How do you feel about jewish supernatural creatures being portrayed in media? Is it okay if done correctly, since it is a closed religion? I'm really curious, especially since you obviously know so much about them.

I also want to say that I love your art! And I love being able to learn more about these creatures.

thank you for the kind words, i appreciate it!

i have to say i'm confused by the question, or possibly its framing - i'm not sure what Judaism being a "closed religion" has to do with portraying creatures from folklore in media. "closed religion" is a term people generally seem to use when they're talking about not appropriating the actual religious/cultural practices of a (usually contextually marginalized) religion that you don't belong to. recently i've seen some pushback against the term "closed practice/religion" for Judaism, as it's not literally true. yes, Judaism is for Jews, but anyone can convert to Judaism - it's just that it's a whole process that involves a lot of learning & then being accepted by a Jewish community. to my knowledge, "closed practice" as a term grew out of the pagan/neo-pagan community anyway & was used to describe any religion whose symbols, deities & practices weren't socially considered fair game for use in your own personal spiritual practice - i have a lot of thoughts on this odd sort of "restaurant view" of religion & culture, where some things are at a free-for-all buffet so you can just take what you want (who put them there?) while other things are only served at certain tables by reservation (is anyone else ever invited?), but that's a whole other post.

i'm assuming you're asking how i feel about non-Jewish people portraying creatures from Jewish folklore in various kinds of media, & the answer is that it totally depends on the thing & how it's done? i definitely don't subscribe to the idea that creators should never step outside their own experience/culture. i do think portraying (elements of) other cultures is something that should be done carefully & sensitively, ideally with input from members of that culture! unfortunately, it is very, very easy for creators to unintentionally fall into antisemitic tropes & stereotypes, because those ideas are so old & so pervasive, especially when it comes to monsters & other supernatural creatures (Jews having been literally demonized by Christian culture for centuries). i think if you're not Jewish, then making sensitive, educated work about Jewish monsters is probably hard mode, but that isn't to say it can't be done. i can think of plenty of bad examples off the top of my head, but i'm sure i could come up with some good ones too if given the time.

of course, this is all just my opinion, & should not be taken as a ruling on what's "okay"! other Jews will agree & disagree with me, which is fine & good. :)

#asks #antisemitism

[sheydgarden]

just finished the Kickstarter stretch goal bookplate for Beyond the Pale, which i believe will actually be printed on the inside cover of the books - it's not too late to pre-order the game, it could be your name on that bottom scroll!

the designs & lettering on the hands making the priestly blessing are a reference to a famous illustration from a Kabbalistic text called the Shefa Tal (with some changes, such as removing the tetragrammaton)

#jewish art #jumblr #illustration #ttrpg art #beyond the pale #jewish artists #drawing #traditional media

[sheydgarden]

wild to see this on my dash right after answering that ask from @goths-eat-electricity - i do still have some reservations about making lists like this, although the framing of "Anti-Zionist and/or Diasporist" may leave enough room for it to not necessarily be used as a "list of anti-zionist Jewish artists." i just think folks should be aware of the potential for targeting. that said, many people on this list are friends & mutuals who i know are very public about their politics & would have no issue with it.

i appreciate being included! just want to update that my Redbubble shop closed last year - i do have a Threadless & a (sporadically stocked) Etsy shop.

Anti-Zionist/Diasporist Judaica Roundup!

i know i’m not the only person looking for Antizionist and/or Diasporist Judaica, so i thought i’d put together a roundup of everything i’ve found.

JVP has a list of Social Justice Judaica, which at time of writing has seven (7) stores and one (1) class listed, which are:

Narrow Bridge Candles (not just candles!)

the Radical Jewish Calendar Project (exactly what it sounds like)

Rebekah Erev Studio (Moon Angels Oracle deck and more)

Emily Rosenfeld (Mostly metal Judaica and jewelry)

Lost and Forged (Metalwork from vintage materials)

Advah Designs (Tallitot and art prints)

Bat Sarah Press (specializes in Ketubot and Gematria prints, but now also stocks textile, wood, and ceramic ritual objects, baseball caps, and a couple zines)

Soul Candles for the Days of Awe (this is not a product, this is a class)

Candle Zayde makes custom beeswax ritual candles on a sliding scale.

Big Bubbe Energy makes beeswax ritual candles, besamim for Havdallah, and herbal medicines in the forms of teas and pre-rolls to smoke.

Beheld Ritual Arts makes Shabbat and Havdallah candles, along with other cool stuff that’s not explicitly Judaica.

Corvid Crossing Studio makes Jewish art prints; a bunch of them are explicitly Anti-Zionist.

EmilyKShop also makes radical/leftist Jewish art prints.  the artist also crochets custom kippot at this shop.

Diasflora makes art prints, jewelry, t-shirts, stickers, that excellent “Mazal Tov Cocktail / Goodnight Alt-Right” patch you’ve probably seen, and custom Shabbat clock covers.

MirandaCohenMakes makes Jewish Anti-Zionist art prints and laser-cut acrylic Jewish jewelry.

Sol Yael Weis makes Jewish art prints, and donates some of the proceeds to restore olive groves in Palestine and some to rematriate land on northeast Turtle Island.

Ayeloa Omalara Kaplan makes revolutionary surrealist art prints and art t-shirts.

Moon King makes vivid collage art prints and resin jewelry.

Dreaming the World to Come is a great daily planner, as well as a podcast.

The Omer Oracle is another cool oracle deck, with an associated class.

The Omer Oracle, The Liberate Your Seder Haggadeck, and Divining Pleasure: an Oracle for SephErotic Liberation, are available on Taya Mâ’s website.

Hadar Cohen weaves custom tallitot and prayer rugs.

Black Cat Judaica weaves tallitot, tallit bags, and challah covers.

Linke Fligl was a queer Jewish radical Diasporist farm, and they still have several great zines for download.

The Diasporic and Decolonial-Aspiring Jewish Land Tending Passover Zine is available here on Leora Sara’s website.

A Song With Wings is a zine for Shabbat Shirah dedicated to the birds and “re-enchanting interspecies kinship”.

B’Samim Herbal Apothecary sells Jewish herbal medicine, and gifts a portion of annual profits to Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.

Dori Midnight’s Apothecary sells Jewish elixirs and potions.

Chelsea Taxman sells plant essence blends for the Hebrew months and for counting the Omer, and an herbal smoking blend, and other herbal medicines (based on personal consult).

Miknaf Ha’aretz has a shop which sells zines and a coloring book internationally (with additional shipping fees); and the Radical European Jewish Calendar, Linke Fligl t-shirts, Sol Weis’ art prints, and Dori Midnight’s potions and elixirs, to the UK only.

Pushcart Judaica sells accessible and liberatory Judaica, including: zines, posters, tinctures/elixirs/potions, t-shirts, stickers, and more.  some of these offerings appear at other stores on this list, but some of it i haven’t seen anywhere else.

Devotaj Sacred Arts Shop sells glamim (golems), amulets, stickers, and the Eht/Aht Netivot Wisdom Oracle deck.  they also have a bookshop.

jewdas has a shop which sells Jewish Antifascist t-shirts, pins, and stickers.  they also have a Haggadah available for download here.

JVP has a Haggadah and supplements here.

and Nishmat Shoom has a Haggadah.

and since JVP included a class in their list, I’m going to include Tzedek Chicago’s Intro to Judaism Class.  Tzedek Chicago also has a bookstore here.

Mika Benesh is an anti-colonial designer who makes ceramic ritual objects (mezuzot, natla cups, and candle holders), metal jewelry, and screenprints.

Megillat Guf (on Instagram) makes Jewish ceramics and hand-painted mirror spells for self-love in Hebrew or Yiddish, and sells them at sliding-scale or on auction to support liberatory causes in Palestine and the US.

Ezra Rose sells zines on itch.io and their art on clothes and stickers on RedBubble.

Tsukunst sells Jewish art prints, posters, and greeting cards; has a few free downloads; and takes commissions for Ketubot and life-cycle pieces on a sliding scale.

Micah Bazant makes Jewish, Anti-Zionist, and queer art prints, as well as a “Zionism = Death” t-shirt.

Zhydovka makes a wide variety of Judaica - Shabbat candle sticks, Channukiot, tallitot gadol, tallitot katan, shofarim, yadim, mezuzot, challah and matzah covers, underwear adorned with the letter Shin, and more.  Custom stuff here, Etsy shop here.

Ori Zusha spins tzitzit, makes tallitot, and makes custom amulets, by commission.  their email is [email protected].

Val Schlosberg takes custom orders for flamboyant queer ceramic Judaica.  you can see more examples of their work on their instagram.

and here’s a zine on how to forage your own ethical etrog & lulav for Sukkot!

please feel free to add to this list!  please do not feel free to fuck around.  thank you!!

#judaica #resources #maybe i'm wrong & it would just be great to have a database of bds-compliant & anti-zionist judaica! #but each person would definitely need to opt in to being added #i hate that there is a safety issue around this

[sheydgarden]

do you know of any other antizionist artists who make jewish/judaica art, especially handmade stuff? my antizionist jewish friend is looking for stuff to put on her wedding registry and obv doesnt want her money funding genocide

yes, i absolutely do - but unfortunately there isn't (to my knowledge) a handy list of avowedly anti-zionist Jewish artists/shops, for the obvious reason that something like that would put most of us in danger of harassment or worse. i hesitate to make public recommendations on that qualification for the same reason, & also because not everyone feels the same way about the word/label even if our politics are similar.

what i can happily do is point you towards my friend's Judaica distro - i'm linking to the Instagram page rather than the website because they've worked with a lot of artists in various places via pop-up shows & scrolling the gallery is a good way to get a lot more names than just whoever's in stock right now in the shop section. most (probably not all, but at least a very large percentage) of the artists you can find this way are either openly & proudly anti-zionist or non-zionist. you and/or your friend can scroll & see if anyone's work catches your eye, then find that person's individual account or website to see if a) they have any clear political stance & b) they're selling things currently. it's a bit more work but there's a lot of good stuff out there.

i'm also happy to make individual, private recommendations based on type of work - for example if you DM'd me looking for anti-zionist Jewish ceramicists or candlemakers i could give you names right away. lots of folks i know would probably be happy to be recommended publicly as anti-zionist artists - i certainly am - but i don't want to make that decision for anyone else. i know people personally who have lost their jobs over speaking out publicly against Israel, & not everyone is in a position to be loud/visible that way even if they are doing other things quietly or behind the scenes to support Palestine. best of luck!

#asks