We were lucky to catch up with Kenny Zablotsky recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kenny, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Design and creativity have always played an important part of my life, but I was too afraid to fully step into that pursuit for many years. Instead of attending architecture or art school, I chose a liberal arts journey at NYU Gallatin followed by graduated school in Construction Administration at Columbia University – both educated me on many useful subjects for business and operations.

Rather than chasing my passion for art and opting instead to follow an adjacent career path that kept me somewhat frustrated in the wings while other people made the creative decisions that I was tasked to implement was not ideal, but I have been able to observe a lot of useful business strategy along the way that now will certainly prove useful.

I also was able to save money those years while working a corporate job that allowed me to take time off work the past couple of years and has funded the leap to start my art journey and launch my own retail e-commerce company. Money has gotten tight again, so I’ve moved back home with my parents to save up again – but I’m grateful that I have that ability to have their support.

Overall, I am pleased with how things have turned out – although there absolutely were moments along the way that I wished things could have happed sooner. I do feel a bit “old” compared to some of the amazing young artistic minds that I see on social media now, but I remind myself that with age comes experience and wisdom unique to me and I bring equal value with that.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have lead a life driven by a passion for hospitality and service that was instilled in me from a young age. In my corporate careers, my roles centered around the mission of delivering exceptional experiences to make a positive impact on the lives of people around me. After working for 15 years in the world of luxury retail facilities and store design for such brands as Hermes of Paris, Bvlgari, Zara, and Flywheel Sports, my enjoyment shifted and I knew that I needed to rest and reset.

The past 2 years I reconnected with myself through exploration of my creative pursuits and meditation with nature. Slowing down, I was able to realize that returning to my roots could bring me back to my passion for service – but this time in a new creative form as a Judaica artist (Judaica is the craft of Jewish art and objects). Initially, this began with the simple act of gluing some metal charms onto a spare piece of wood and that application method has maintained in my current sculpture style today.

Finding my own #JewishJoy has led me to my mission of creating cultural art that bridges the ancient traditions with modern sensibilities, and inspires a connection for people in present day context. I was also excited that this opportunity would allow me to relocate from New York City to move back to West Hartford where I was raised, to be near my family; it is particularly nice to be near my niece and nephew who are newly experiencing their own Jewish education and it is such a joy to relearn things alongside them.

Art can be a way to look into the past, as well a medium to explore ideas of what the future might hold. For me though, my intention when making art is to make things that help me find my place in time now. I strive to find my personal joy in the Jewish culture and traditions (what I call my #JewishJoy), and in turn I hope that the objects I make might inspire someone else to connect in their own way to their Judaism. Often I am drawn to working with amulets such as the Hamsa, Evil Eye, and Star of David symbols which offer representations and meaning of protection and prosperity.

I was raised in a Modern Orthodox family and attended a Yeshiva Day School through high school where we had both secular and Judaic studies courses daily, along with required prayers. Unfortunately, I never connected to the academic side of Judaism and textual learning. In part, this was due to a trauma that I experienced with sexual abuse by some teachers. For many years, I viewed all things related to Judaism to be bad, because of my trauma, but after processing my experience in therapy, and through the process of making my art, I have healed my relationship with my culture. I have always had strong familial roots in the Jewish culture and tradition from weekly Shabbat dinners and holiday meals and songs that we would gather to celebrate. The joy in those moments is what I aim to recreate in my art, and make available through everyday objects that can exist in our lives. This is the Judaism I seek to return to. And I can do so without ever having to attend a formalized religious service, where the trauma lives.

Frequently, my art is textural and is comprised of multi-media materials. I work in both sculpture and acrylic paintings and am starting to learn jewelry making and macrame to combine into wall hangings. Sustainability is important to me, so when sourcing materials I like to utilize vintage and upcycled whenever possible – and I often take advantage of knowledge and resources gained from working in the construction and architecture industry to bring to my art which sometimes can be a bit unconventional, but is always true to my spirit.

My art is made under the name Hamsas of Munkatch which pays homage to my favorite symbol the Hamsa which I value for the peaceful representation that it brings me, and Munkatch is a town in Europe that is central between the small towns where my grandparents were from. During the Holocaust, the towns where my family lived lost all Jewish life (Lida, Sighet, Slotfina, Zelem), but Munkacz is still known for the vibrant Jewish life that was once there both artistically and academically. I spell the word differently that the town to signify an imaginary place of “Munkatch” – a place in my mind that comprises all the traditions of the four town where my grandparents once lived, mixed with how my parents raised us and how we continue to do things now.

I sell my creations on my e-commerce retail site JewishJoy.co where I focus on curating a collection of other small artists who create Judaica with similar values. We launched in March 2023 and are based out of West Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Aside from trying to create beautiful objects that I find personally fulfilling, I would like to create Judaica that embraces more people in the Jewish community to make everyone feel welcome – regardless of how they choose to observe the religion. It is the aspect of culture and tradition that I focus on more than anything else.

There are many talented Judaica artists in the world who make religious objects meant for specific uses, such as wine cups and challah boards and knives used exclusively for Shabbat meals – but I want to create the engagement Judaica that can exist in and around your home that you can see on a daily basis. Wall art, a tissue box, garden decor, storage boxes, etc. are all things that are current projects.

I work on concepting my projects with my sister who lives in Houston, and one day I would love to be able to grow to a point where we could both work together full-time on our art. It’s such a pleasure to spend time with her and I want more of it!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Everything and everyone! Because of my past experiences in my childhood, I have trouble trusting people and I am a bit shy. I like to do things by myself and rarely ask for help or support – it’s partially a defense mechanism and partially to prove to myself and the world that I am capable on my own and don’t need anyone to be okay.

However, unlike any preconceived thought I had in my head, nearly every single interaction that I’ve had with people in the artistic community has been incredible. People are kind and generous with their time and suggestions for support and offer tips and tricks on new techniques and resources. It has felt awkward to receive feedback and input on my work, but it has been valuable beyond words to go through this process.

So even if you don’t feel prepared and if you have imposter syndrome like I did where you feel like you can’t call yourself an artist yet or take up space in the creative world – just go for it! The community is here for you and welcoming! And also, it seems obvious, but YouTube is epic for everything I’ve needed to figure out whether it’s resin pouring or twisting wire coils. The people who post free content are part of that same creative community I mentioned above and you can connect with people through their videos if you don’t know how to meet people in person.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jewishjoy.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamsasofmunkatch/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennyzablotsky