Nishima Kaplan

My life in community frames my art and transforms my art making into a constant stream of communication with others. From co-designing ketubahs, to collaborating in the creation of art projects, to building with clay in my family kitchen, to sharing various art forms through workshops and art therapy, to raising children to happily play in my studio, I constantly find ways to include others in my creative life. This process becomes a two-way communication: as my art touches those around me, others touch and impact my art, and the end result is greater than all of us.

“Where does the name ‘Nishima’ come from?” My Indian father gave me the name ‘Nishi,’ or a “good night” in Hindi, with a full name of ‘Nishima’. When I converted to Judaism, I reclaimed my birth name Nishima after my ‘Neshama,’ or “Soul” in Hebrew.

I was born in 1969 to parents who had recently immigrated from England and India to raise me in San Antonio, Texas. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 with a dual degree in Russian studies and Multinational Management from the Wharton School of business. Yet my “extra” figure drawing and sculpting classes brought me a taste for my deepest passion and destiny—to spend my days making art. I continued my studies for the next four years in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, receiving a classical training at the oldest, most traditional art school in the US. Carving marble, limestone and wood, studying anatomy, and mixing oil paints to capture light on a figure created a foundational structure that continues to grant me freedom to experiment and grow in my studio.

My art business began as a Ketubah business. Later I added Hebrew art, Soulful English words, and recently Flower Paintings. Each step connected me to others in ways that deepened my art and my life. In 2021, I began studying to become an art therapist, an outgrowth of my life as a Jewish artist, mother, multimedia specialist, and compassionate Jew.

In addition to making ketubahs and offering art therapy, I am an active artist. I work with clay and multimedia, to hand-build large hamsas and menorahs, and fabric art using paint, beads and ribbons, Jewish words and symbols, to create challah covers and sacred wall art. I draw and paint from life— people, flowers, and landscapes. My writing influences my art through poetic story telling with words and imagery. The loving attention I give my children and my clients deepens my ability to be present to my artworks. I strive and work to create a Jewish home for my children – this keeps me grounded in Judaism, the tradition that I have chosen to provide a specific framework for my lifelong spiritual search.