About Nishima

Posted

I was born in 1969 to parents who had recently immigrated

from England and India to raise me and my sister

in San Antonio, Texas. I left home at 19 to explore

the world, then recently came home to live near my
primary family.  Along the way I was blessed with

three daughters who inspire me continually with their

vitality, fresh insights, and loving hearts.

"Where does the name 'Nishima' come from?" My 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 graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992

with degrees 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 turned away from the path of business

and academics and 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
today to grant me freedom to experiment and grow in my studio.

Since 1998 I have also created over 2900 ketubahs for weddings and other
forms of Jewish art through my successful business, Artketubah.com.
I am currently developing Modern Art with Sacred Texts that reach
 more deeply into Judaism and beyond into other religious and 
spiritual traditions.