Dimensions:
Budget: 16" x 16"
Standard: 20" x 20"
Canvas: 20" x 20"
Done in the modern, boldly colored, Pop Art style, "Chicken Soup for the Heart" is our Jewish take on Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Can series. The orange and green label is shown from the back side of the can, so you see only a small portion of the front, which appears to be a can of Manishewitz Chicken Soup for Passover, the name in red on ivory, while the top and bottom of the can are capped in silver to complete the design. The black ketubah text cleverly lies in the ivory ingredients portion of the label with the text curving slightly to show the curvature of the can. In a straight line across the bottom of the artwork lie the signature lines. From the artist, Micah Parker: "The original concept was supposed to be based on a 50's or 60's era Manischewitz matzo ball soup can. Finding an historical image of any Manischewitz soup cans was the major stumbling block in creating the design. During the design process it occurred to me that it was unlikely that Manischewitz ever put matzo ball soup in a can. So I opted to change the design to the cure for everything -- chicken soup."
In just a short period of time, Micah Parker has become recognized as a leading ketubah artist with fresh, stunning designs that are unlike any others on the market. His modern interpretation of this traditional art form is being welcomed by today's generation of brides and grooms around the world. One of his ketubah designs, Renaissance, is featured in the Associated American Jewish Museum's traveling exhibition of ketubot, and his work was chosen by a national search firm to be featured on the front cover of a 5760 Hebrew calendar. His artwork has also been featured in several publications and on television during TLC's A Wedding Story.
Micah is originally from Middletown, Ohio. There, he began his endeavors as an artist at the age of three. He moved with his family to Austin, Texas in the early 1980s, where his high school created a new art program to accommodate his desire to learn and the skill he exhibited with acrylics, colored pencils and pastels. As he completed his art education, he was eager to begin his career as an artist. However, at his parents' request, he entered the family manufacturing business. He worked there for 13 years, working his way up from installer to vice president.
After a long hiatus from the art world, he grew anxious to draw and paint again. He had also developed skills in the use of a new medium while working in his parents' business -- computer graphics. In his spare time, he began creating artwork on the computer. Although Micah was not satisfied with creating art on a part-time basis, he had no plans, at that point, to turn his endeavors into a business, particularly given the difficulties in leaving his family's firm. continue reading
