Laya Crust Bencher Cover

 

Laya Crust Bnei Akiva bencher cover design copyright Laya Crust

I’ve been meaning to share this for a while. Although I provide cover designs for use with Bnei Akiva bencher orders, some families like to come with their own design, especially when the order is for a wedding. Sometimes I ask whether I can share the designs here because I think they are special. That is the case with this bencher cover. This order made use of the couple’s (or should I say wife’s?) Ketubbah design for the cover illustration. Thank you to Leon and Deborah and artist Laya Crust for permission to include an image of the design here.

Laya Crust, is a Canadian artist who largely works in paint and ink on paper although she also has works in other media. Her works can be found in private collections and synagogues around the world. Her works contain vibrant colors and her Ketubbot often recall medieval manuscripts, but in a contemporary fashion.

You can see that this ketubbah design includes symbols that are of particular importance to the couple but incorporated in a beautiful and inspiring way. For instance, in the lower portion of the design there are musical notations and if you look carefully you’ll note that its a text from tehillim/psalms set to music. The musical notes are from Salamone Rossi’s setting of Psalm 128  to music. Salomone Rossi (c. 1570 – 1630) was a Jewish court composer and violinist in Mantua during the late Renaissance/early Baroque period. This had personal significance to the couple (which I’m not going to tell you in order to maintain their privacy.) I love touches like that in Ketubbot and cover designs.

I also love how delicate the design feels. You can find out more about Laya Crust’s work on her website.

Copyright notice: Image copyright Laya Crust, all rights reserved. Featured Image includes detail of Laya Crust’s Ketubbah design as well. Rights reserved by the artist.

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