Made in the Shade IV | Micah Parker

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Dimensions:
Budget: 16" x 16"
Standard: 20" x 20"
Canvas: 20" x 20"

The tongue-in-cheek title is taken from the 1975 Rolling Stones album of the same name in honor of my long time general manager who has been in love with Keith Richards since before he was scary looking (yes, that long).

The design has a multi-faceted theme of two trees coming together as two people would with the leaves at the center where they connect spelling the word "chai": (Hebrew for "life":). The trees also form a canopy representing a chuppah, which was initially used to "shade": the couple from the hot sun during their nuptials. They also represent the shelter of the couple's new home and life together. The carved hearts and two doves are timeless symbols of love.
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

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