Sculptor and painter Ida
Kohlmeyer always thought it
might be fun tiajmild a menorah.
So she created one for the Jew-
ish Endowment Foundation in
her native New Orleans. An-
other was commissioned for a
private client. Her latest venture
into menorah-Making is a piece
she describes as "organic." It is
made of wood and painted black
and "knock you between the eyes
red." "I often thought what fun
it could be because a menorah
could be
such a fanci-
Opposite page:
ful thing,"
Menorah by Ida
Kohlmeyer, 1995
said the
Painted Wood
artist, who
is 83 and
was recently widowed after 61
years of marriage."A menorah
is not just ornamentation. It can
be a very uplifting thing."
Mrs. Kohlmeyer's regular
body of work, which she exhibits
around the country, is general-
ly abstract paintings and sculp-
tures. She has been painting for
45 years and sculpting for 15.
Born and raised in New Or-
leans, Mrs. Kohlmeyer is the

daughter of Polish immigrants.
Her family was not observant but
took great pride in its Jewish
identity. That pride has stayed
with me and grown," said Mrs.
Kohlmeyer, who belongs to two
Reform and one Orthodox con-
gregation. "This is a very civic-
minded, culturally active Jewish
community."
Mrs. Kohlmeyer attended the
Newcomb College, the women's

division of Tulane University,
where she earned a bachelor's
degree in English literature. She
taught English for nine years and
then discovered a passion for art.
"I always loved looking at art
but I never put my hand to it un-
til 1950," said Mrs. Kohlmeyer,
who returned to Newcomb Art
School in 1950 to work toward a
master's degree in art. "I had no
idea my artistic ability existed

Robert Lipnick

N_O VE M B ER 2 4,

Ida Kohlmeyer

traces his interest in Jew-
ish art to his family. The
son of Rabbi Jerome Lip-
nick, he grew up in a Con-
servative home filled with
the Judaica his parents col-
lected.
"I had the interest and
the skills and felt I could
make a contribution to Jew-
ish art," said Mr. Lipnick,
43, who lives in Davenport,
Iowa. "I didn't just jump
into this. It evolved over
time."
Creating Judaica also
filled a void left by his mov-
ing to Iowa 15 years ago.
"When I moved to Iowa for
my first teaching job, I was
really separated from the
Jewish community and my
Jewish roots," said Mr. Lip-
nick, who estimates there
are about 500 families in
Davenport's Jewish com-
munity. "I began looking to
my past and this all swelled
up inside of me. If I lived in
New York, I don't know if
I'd be making Judaica right
now."
Raised in Utica, N.Y.,
and Minneapolis, Mr. Lip-
nick attended the Univer-
sity
of Maryland as an
Above:
undergraduate, earning a degree
The Lights Are On . .
in human ecology. He earned a
Marilyn de Silva, 1995,
Copper, brass, sterling silver,
master of fine arts degree in
gesso, colored pencils
sculpture and ceramics at the
University of Notre Dame. After
Left:
finishing graduate school, he took
Shecky
a job teaching art at Marycrest
Neil Goldberg, 1995
College, a small Catholic school
Mixed media
in Iowa. He taught there for 11
years.
er daughter is a psychiatric
Mr. Lipnick's piece for the San
social worker and the moth- Francisco show is based on an
er of Mrs. Kohlmeyer's only 18th-century Moroccan lamp and
grandchild, Benjamin incorporates both universal im-
Lowentritt, who is in med- ages of Jewish life and some from
ical school.
Mr. Lipnick's personal experi-
Unlike some of the other ences. He uses symbols of the
works in the exhibit, Mrs. Temple, pitchers for oil and He-
Kohlmeyer's piece is ab- brew letters from the dreidel.
stract and does not have "The glazed iconography on the
recognizable symbols of menorah is not only meant to re-
Chanukah. But it does rep- mind the viewer of the Chanukah
resent what she feels about story, but also uses symbols and
the holiday and the meno- ideas from a variety of Jewish
rah
as
a Jewish icon. The only holidays, historical events and
and my family thought I was
berserk for trying my hand at it." thing I put into this piece is what concepts," he wrote in a descrip-
After six years of classes, jug- was in my heart," she said. "I tion of his work. "Important to me
gled around the schedules of her have pride in what the menorah in the making of this piece is the
two young daughters, Mrs. symbolizes for me — home, love, interaction between the object
and the viewer."
Kohlmeyer earned her master's beauty and tradition."
He also included representa-
degree. She taught art at New-
tions of the Oakland and Golden
comb and the University of New
Gate bridges into the central im-
Orleans and then gave up the
For the last 10 years, Robert age and named the piece Bridge.
classroom to focus on creating her
light the menorah on
own work. Her daughter Jane is Lipnick has dedicated his career "When I G14
her business manager. Her oth- to the creation of Judaica. He LIGHT page

