On Being an Artist

About the Book

Judith Weinshall Liberman, best known for her Holocaust-themed artwork, explores the creative process in this collection of three plays, a libretto, and black-and-white reproductions of twenty-five of her original artworks. The plays and libretto are all semi-autobiographical and express insights about writing and art that she’s gained through half a century of honing her craft. In Soul Mate, which was inspired by Liberman’s collaboration with a gifted young composer on her first musical play, a woman in her eighties struggles to accept constructive criticism, and in the process discovers that her mentor is her soul mate. Vincent’s Visit tells the story of an elderly artist visited by Vincent Van Gogh, who’s been dead for more than a century. Judith and Anne dramatizes an encounter between the playwright and Anne Frank. To Be an Artist integrates elements from Vincent’s Visit and Judith and Anne into a musical play in which the characters express themselves through frank dialogue and in twenty lyrics that provide insight into their minds and hearts. Reproductions of artwork help readers better understand the themes in each work as well as the author’s insight into On Being an Artist.

About the Author

Judith Weinshall Liberman, a native of Haifa, Israel, came to the United States in 1947 and earned four American university degrees, including a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School and a n LL.M. degree from the University of Michigan Law School. She spent most of her adult life creating visual art and is the author of many literary works.