about the artist
Sonia Gordon-Walinsky is an artist and educator working primarily in paper, clay and wool. She brings Jewish texts to life through her Hebrew, English and Yiddish calligraphic artwork. She is known for her unique personalized Torah artwork that she calls “Name Pasuk Art”. Pasuk is the Hebrew word for verse, and a name pasuk is a Biblical verse that begins with the first letter and ends with the last letter of a person’s name, or otherwise contains the letters of a name. Sonia travels to synagogues, schools and other communities to teach about this Kabbalistic tradition, and engage youth and adults – with a special focus on intergenerational groups- in choosing a meaningful name pasuk. She creates this sacred artwork, as well as other text-based artwork for all life-cycle events.
Sonia is a graduate of Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, and was a Drisha Institute Arts Fellow. Sonia and her mother, Nina Gordon, began their intergenerational partnership as participants in the Temple Emanuel Artists’ Beit Midrash in NYC. They studied Jewish texts together and created collaborative artwork in response to the texts. Today they combine their skills and passions to create ceramic blessing and mindfulness bowls, and clay and wool sculptural artwork. Sonia and Nina have exhibited their work in group exhibits in NYC and Philadelphia, including an annual exhibit at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Follow their evolving art journey on Instagram @soniagordonwalinsky.
selected organizational clients
Clients include both individuals and organizations across North America and Israel. Here are a selected group of organizational clients that have commissioned artwork or hosted my workshops.
"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web."
Pablo Picasso
testimonals
I just wanted to say how glad I am that we asked you to work with us on the art for our Board Chair. It's beautiful! Vivian was moved to tears when she received it. And I am now ready to recommend you to anyone looking for beautiful art! Thanks again for putting so much thought and care into the piece, and best wishes for a sweet, happy and healthy new year.
I am so grateful for the beautiful pasuk art we have hanging in our home, and for how easily and beautifully it became a part of our day/weekend/life in the bar mitzvah invitations, my son’s tallit and the framed art. I so very much appreciate your talent, your soul and your delightful personality.
This beautifully hand-painted artwork inspires a personal connection to Torah
and greatly enriches all life-cycle experiences.
Commission a custom piece of artwork for a special baby naming gift, bar mitzvah gift, bat mitzvah gift, wedding or anniversary gift. PasukART is also a great way to honor your clergy, executive directors, presidents and other leadership and volunteers.
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