The Modern Ketubah Blog » News

artist-in-residence at the Miraval Resort

Daniel Sroka — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:11:08 +0000

This month I had the honor to be one of the first artist-in-residence at the prestigious Miraval Arizona Resort in Tucson. My art has been displayed at the Resort for a couple of years, and they just launched this program to let their guests get a deeper understanding of the artwork they display. I was honored to be a part of it.

I have always felt that my work has a strong affinity to resorts and spas, especially ones like Miraval that place so much focus on your emotional well-being. To my surprise, Miraval shared an even deeper connection to how I create my art. Everything at Miraval revolves around the idea of being “mindful”. Every class and activity is designed to help you become fully aware, fully present in the moment. And as I worked on my art each morning, I realized that “mindfulness” is also the foundation for my own artistic process.

Each work of art I make, whether I am in the desert or my studio at home, starts with me being mindful of the natural world and my relationship to it. I disconnect the analytical side of my brain, and quiet the chatter in my head. I try to calm the brain’s reflexive need to process and categorize, and just allow myself to absorb what my senses perceive, unfiltered. Even when I am out gathering subjects to photograph, I cannot worry about the past or plan for the future: I have to just be aware of the present, and experience my environment as openly and simply as possible. Only then do the ideas and images come to me. In a way, my art has become my own form of meditation or prayer, helping me be more mindful, more present, more centered.

You can visit my blog to read some more about my experiences at Miraval.

P.S. If I look tired in the video, it’s because I just came in from a 2-hour mountain bike ride in the 95 degree heat!

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

artist-in-residence at the Miraval Resort

running an eco-friendly ketubah business

Daniel Sroka — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:18:58 +0000

It is important for everyone to do their part to help preserve our environment. As a small business owner, I work hard to make sure that my business’s carbon footprint is as small as possible. Here’s some examples of how I run a green business:

My studio in based in my home. I only have to go upstairs to get to work. Since I have no commute, I don’t generate any extra carbon emissions.
My ketubah store is online and my ordering and proofing processes are completely digital. This ensures quality while minimizing paper waste.
I actively recycle any paper I do use, as well as all of my used ink cartridges.
I print my ketubahs individually for each customer, instead of printing them in bulk from a large printer company. This means I am not generating huge amounts of paper waste or consuming tons of excess energy.
I only print my ketubahs on the highest quality 100% cotton-rag paper. Unlike paper made from tree pulp, cotton is an easily renewable resource. I also only select paper that does not use any artificial brighteners or chemicals. These chemicals not only pollute the environment, they can harm the archival quality of the paper.

I also hope that my artwork, which celebrates the beauty of nature, helps encourage people to respect and protect our natural environment. If you have any questions about my green business policies, please let me know.

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

running an eco-friendly ketubah business

Named nominee in the Photography Masters Cup

Daniel Sroka — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:32:55 +0000

My photography has been nominated in the prestigious international competition The Photography Masters Cup. It is always an honor to be recognized like this, especially when the other nominees are such amazing artists from all over the world. There is some wonderful inspiring art here, and browsing this collection will fuel my creative fire for a while! If you’d like to learn more about the photograph that was nominated, and how I created it from a dried autumn leaf, check out my other blog Daniel Sroka Open Studio.

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Named nominee in the Photography Masters Cup

Your feedback inspires new ketubah designs

Daniel Sroka — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:09:56 +0000

A lot of my ketubah designs, texts, and options have been inspired by suggestions from my customers. I always love hearing ideas from someone who is seeing my art for the first time — it helps fire up my creativity, and inspires me to continually create and improve my work.

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Your feedback inspires new ketubah designs

Celebrating my 5th anniversary as a ketubah artist

Daniel Sroka — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:39:02 +0000

This March marks my fifth year of being in business as Modern Ketubah. It’s hard to believe that the time has gone by so quickly! In five years I have created 700 ketubahs for couples across the United States, Canada and the UK. I have make ketubahs for nearly every type of wedding ceremony, including interfaith, reform, conservative, orthodox, same-sex, and special anniversaries. I have met and befriended so many interesting and fun people. I’m proud to have had the opportunity to create something of such deep and personal meaning for so many wonderful people.

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Celebrating my 5th anniversary as a ketubah artist

New ketubah designs for 2008

Daniel Sroka — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:33:51 +0000

I have just released seven new ketubah designs for Modern Ketubah. I created these new ketubahs from my some of my most recent photographs of lilies, roses, wildflowers and leaves. If you are interested in learning about how I got about creating these new ketubah designs, please read this post on my fine art photography blog.

Here are two of the seven new ketubah designs: Horizon Ketubah and Wildflower Ketubah.

You can find all of my new ketubah designs here.

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

New ketubah designs for 2008

New texts for interfaith couples

Daniel Sroka — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:25:41 +0000

Modern Ketubah is proud to now offer interfaith couples three new texts written specifically for them. I have written these new texts to honor how an interfaith marriage represents the coming together of two traditions, a merging of two different families into one new, stronger one. Here are a sample of what each new Interfaith text says:

Interfaith 1: “Our lives are now forever intertwined. Our similarities will bind us, our differences will enrich us, and our love will define us.”
Interfaith 2: “We approach this ketubah as two individuals with different backgrounds and individual lives, but shall leave it as one couple, one family, joined in love and commitment to each other.”
Interfaith 3: “We will create a home built on the foundations of our traditions, and nurtured by the values of our families.”

Learn about all of the options you have available for your interfaith ketubah. To read these new texts, visit my page on text options for your ketubah and choose Interfaith 1, Interfaith 2, or Interfaith 3 from the menu for English texts.

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

New texts for interfaith couples

New poetic verses for interfaith couples

Daniel Sroka — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:53:02 +0000

Modern Ketubah is proud to now offer interfaith couples new choices to better customize their ketubahs. Each of my ketubah features a large poetic verse incorporated into the design. These verses usually come from Jewish tradition, such as “Ani l’dodi v’dod li” (I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine), which a very popular phrase for Jewish weddings which comes from the Song of Solomon.

To help interfaith couples make their ketubah more inclusive of both of their traditions, I have added a number of new poetic verses from a variety of non-traditional and non-religous sources, including Aristotle, Thoreau, and Ghandi. Through these words, any couple should be able to find a sentiment that best expresses what their ketubah means for them:

Love must be as much a light as it is a flame (Henry Thoreau)
Life is the flower for which love is the honey (Victor Hugo)
To live without loving is not really to live (Moliere)
Where there is love there is life (Gandhi)
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies (Aristotle)

These verses can be added to any of my designs. To see all of the verses available for your ketubah, visit my page on options for your ketubah. If you have a suggestion for another verse, please let me know.

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

New poetic verses for interfaith couples

Interviews with me about my photography

Daniel Sroka — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:50:56 +0000

If you are interested in my artwork, and would like to learn more about my influences and methods, check out these links. This month I was chosen to be the current Featured Artist on Area of Design, an organization that showcases established and emerging artists. I was also interviewed on Positive Focus, a nonprofit organization for “emerging photoartists” based in Brooklyn. These are both great sites, and it’s an honor to be among all of the wonderful artists that they have chosen before.

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Interviews with me about my photography

Happy New Year! L’Shonah Tovah!

Daniel Sroka — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:25:18 +0000

On this Rosh Hashanah, I wanted to take a moment to wish you all a happy new year! I hope the upcoming year is filled with happiness and fun.

P.S. Be sure to follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Happy New Year! L’Shonah Tovah!