Wedding Invitations, Calligraphy and Art Nouveau

When I was married my chief concern was my invitation. Sitting on the floor of my small lakeside apartment I drafted invitation after invitation. Basing my design on an Art Nouveau perfume bottle circa 1915, I sought to create an invitation that incorporated our Hebrew names, calligraphy and an Art Nouveau or Art Deco design.

My dress was from 1930. The long princess sleeves were cut and the neckline lowered. I found a tuxedo bought from a Fifth Avenue tailor in 1935, cufflinks, a shirt collar and a bowtie. Holding fastidious to my theme, I purchased a pair of ca. 1930s bridal shoes. The wedding invitation had to match.

Maintaining my black and white theme, I placed the Hebrew calligraphy into small banners; the English text in the center. As with many wedding and Bat or Bar Mitzvah invitations, the Hebrew calligraphy is decorative.

Combining the aesthetic of the Art Deco and Art Nouveau periods with my own and my husband's Jewish traditions allowed the invitation to be truly representative of our wedding day.

My Newest Endeavor--Silkscreened Bat Mitzvah Invitation

This past week I finished printing a Bat Mitzvah invitation which i also illustrated and hand-calligraphed using my very own alphabet. This was a Bat Mitzvah invitation that I also did the printing for. What a job. There were invitations drying all over the house.

I worked with both the mother and daughter to design the final Hebrew calligraphy image you see. The Bat Mitzvah invitation is three layers.

I loved combining an Art Nouveau sensibility with Hebrew calligraphy. The fonts I chose for both the Hebrew and the English were based on 1920s fonts I found whilst traveling in Morocco and France and then further developed.

The invitations were printed on my amazing Japanese Gocco silkscreen. I love it. Someday I will write an ode to the Gocco.