Spotlight on: Yelena Bryksenkova

Yelena Bryksenkova is a Russian born illustrator based in New Haven, Connecticut.  Using vibrant colors and amazing detail, Bryksenkova's drawings depict scenes of everyday life that are anything but ordinary.  In her work that toes the line between being dreamy and realistic, the familiar is fantastically alive: every object and creature--whether a face, tree, table, dress, imaginary elephant--buzzes with personality.

Bryksenkova's work has been featured in fashion, art, and design magazines, as well as in a special edition of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway's Party (La Fiesta de la Señora Dalloway), published by Random House Mondadori.

  Above: La Fiesta de la Señora Dalloway

Below: A mock cover for Anna Karenina

Recently, we received Ronald Tauber's The Little Book of Jewish Celebrations,  illustrated by Bryksenkova and published by Chronicle Books.  As written in the introduction, the book "is a tribute to the time-honored customs that enrich Jewish life, connecting Jews from all corners of the world in celebration." Bryksenkova's illustrations beautifully accompany Tauber's thoughtful accounts of Jewish tradition, each piece expressing history and ritual as part of life:

Be sure to also check out Bryksenkova's "Happy Birthday" and "New Baby" cards, by Red Cap Cards.

To learn more, visit http://yelenabryksenkova.com/.