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Thursday November 15, 2007

Printmaker aims for artwork that ‘always brings you pleasure’

by stacey palevsky
staff writer

Lila Wahrhaftig’s may be 73, but she has the attitude —“I don’t know what I’d do without Craigslist,” she says — and outlook of someone half her age.

“The world is still an exciting place,” she said. “There’s still so much to learn and see and explore.”

Wahrhaftig, who works out of her home in the Oakland hills, is a printmaker, etcher, embosser and papermaker. She will be among the 300 artists displaying their work during the Celebration of Craftswomen, Nov. 24 to 25 and Dec. 1 to 2 at Herbst Pavilion in San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center.

“There’s not so much a distinction anymore between art and craft,” she said. “People who bring their own vision to their work are artists in the true sense of the word.”

Hebrew letters, Jewish traditions and the landscape of Israel inspire Wahrhaftig’s art. She often incorporates Hebrew prayers or phrases into her pieces.

“Judaic art is like all art,” she said. “It allows you to have something in your life that always brings you pleasure.”

Wahrhaftig’s home art studio has taken over two rooms and an outdoor courtyard. Art supplies cover every square inch of surface area. The space looks as if a mad scientist should inhabit it. Olive green labels on dresser drawers are the only sign of organized chaos.

When she was younger, she typically worked upward of 60 hours a week on her art. Now she spends about 35 to 40 hours each week creating — making a plate for a print, then pressing and inking it, using the technique of printmakers in the 17th century. She also makes embossed prints by hand, as well as her own paper, which she uses for mixed-media amulets and other artwork.

“People who buy my work always tell me, and I swear I’m not embellishing, that my artwork makes them happy, or that they see something different in it every time they look at it,” she said. “That makes me feel good. How many people can say that about their work?”

Wahrhaftig was born in El Paso, Texas, to a single mother. She grew up “very poor,” an upbringing that has made her resourceful and thrifty. She bakes all her own bread, buys used art equipment on Craigslist and sometimes frequents the hardware store instead of the art store (prices are “one-third less, usually,” she says).

The self-proclaimed “hard-nosed” woman was feisty even as a teenager. She hated that women couldn’t study Hebrew or have a bat mitzvah, and was kicked out of Sunday school more than once when she challenged that reasoning.

When she was 19, she quit U.C. Berkeley. “I wanted to have fun! “ she explained, “so I dropped out and took a secretarial course. There were not very many fields open to women at that time.”

She met her husband, Jack, on a blind date. They live in a modest home in the Oakland hills and are among the pioneers who moved to Skyline Boulevard “before it was fashionable.” They still love the woodsy neighborhood. They have three children and two grandchildren, with a third on the way. They have been members of Temple Sinai in Oakland for 45 years.

Wahrhaftig made a second attempt at college in her 30s, earning a fine arts degree from Holy Names College. She has since displayed her work at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco. She has taught art classes at the former Camp Swig in Saratoga, and occasionally teaches papermaking classes at her home. To get on her mailing list or to sign up, email her at art@lilahands.com.

“It’s especially fun to teach adults and help them discover they can make beautiful things,” she said. “It changes their whole perception of themselves and of art.”

Lila Wahrhaftig is one of 300 artists who will display their work during

the Celebration of Craftswomen, Nov. 24 to 25 and Dec. 1 to 2 at the Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. The show is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: $8.50 general admission, $6.50 for seniors, students and disabled individuals. Admission is free for children under 12.

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