Anna Abramzon’s Labor of Love – Ketubah Maker
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For some couples, the ketubah—the Jewish marriage contract— is a focal point of their wedding planning. They invest considerable time and effort into its design and wording, placing it alongside other critical elements like the venue and entertainment.
For others, especially those less familiar with Jewish customs, the ketubah may only come to their attention when their rabbi mentions it.
Whether beautifully framed and prominently hung up in your foyer or rolled up and tucked away in your office desk drawer, we can all agree the ketubah remains a significant symbol in Jewish wedding tradition.
I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Anna Abramzon, a Los Angeles-based ketubah and fine artist who exemplifies that it’s never too late to blend your passions or explore new aspects of your talents.
Artist Anna Abramzon
JLiving: What’s your background? How did you end up in LA?
Anna Abramzon: Definitely not born and raised in LA. I was actually born in Ukraine and raised in Chicago. I’ve lived in a lot of places within the U.S. but after finishing college in Chicago, I made Aaliyah and spent four great years there. I met my husband and we had our first daughter there. After deciding to move back to the States with my new family, we went back to Chicago, before spending some time in Houston and San Francisco, before finally planting roots in Los Angeles in 2019.
JL: Wow, amazing! When you lived in Israel, was it part of an organized program or did you do your own thing?
Anna: Well, I worked for the Jewish Agency straight out of college, so I was sent to Israel eight times in two years, in addition to spending summers there. After I made Aaliyah, I found a job, took Ulpan on my own.
JL: I actually studied in Israel for a year myself, through a Masa program called Israel XP at Bar Ilan University.
Anna: Nice! I worked for Young Judea, another Masa program, where I spearheaded their visual arts, performance arts, and fashion tracks.
JL: So what inspired you to start designing ketubahs in particular?
Anna: During my own wedding planning, I decided to take a lot of the creative and artistic elements into my own hands. I painted our wedding invitations and our ketubah. Until then, I’d never done anything like that before. I was striving to be a serious painter, exhibiting in galleries and trying to break into the art scene. I was mainly a portraitist and didn’t know anything about Judaica, much less had an interest in decorative or functioning art, so painting our ketubah was very much outside my comfort zone. I used my art background and intertwined Jewish motifs such as the Tree of Life and the Jerusalem landscape to create my and my husband’s ketubah. After seeing it at our wedding, friends started asking me to paint their ketubahs and I was happily doing it for fun.
JL: I guess you never know what your calling is until you explore them all. How did you transition from designing ketubahs as a hobby to running a successful business?
Anna: When we moved back to the U.S. four years later, I had a baby and wanted to spend time with her instead of going back to a regular job. So, I painted a ketubah, put it up for sale on Etsy, and it sold! The rest, as they say, is history.
JL: It was meant to be! Are you self-taught or have you had a formal arts education?
Anna: I’ve been focused on art since childhood, so there was no doubt in my family growing up that I would attend art school. My father is a sculptor, so it runs through my veins. I attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
JL: Have you noticed any sort of shi in your work or what clients are asking you for since October 7th?
Anna: Aside from everything shifting in my personal life, it was really hard to bring myself to paint right after the tragedy of October 7th, both ketubot and my personal work. It took me a long time to process what had happened. I did paint one piece that explicitly dealt with October 7th – it’s called, “We Will Dance Again” and has already sold. I’m currently working on a collection that’s helping me deal with, and process this tragedy, as well as bring hope for a better time.
JL: I cannot wait to see it. Speaking of “We Will Dance Again”, I believe the Nova exhibition is coming to LA in August. I got the chance to experience it in New York and though extremely difficult, I think it’s so important to see it and bear witness.
Anna: I will definitely make it a point to go.
JL: On a happier topic, have any of your clients ever invited you to their weddings?
Anna: I love this question! I’ve designed for a lot of friends, so yes, I’ve been to their weddings and even had the honor of being a witness and signing a couple of ketubahs I’ve made.
JL: That’s so special! Does most of your business come by word-of-mouth?
Anna: Yes, a good chunk of it does, though a lot of people nd me just by my website and through rabbis I work with. ere are different types of ketubah shoppers out there. Some couples view the ketubah as a crucial part of their wedding, conducting deep research, requesting custom work, and ordering well in advance. Then I have the couples who don’t even know they need a ketubah until three weeks before their wedding when their rabbi tells them.
JL: My husband and I were definitely somewhere in between. Anyone you’ve worked with in the L.A. wedding world you’d recommend to couples?
Anna: Actually, yes! I recently had the pleasure of meeting Adee Drory of Event Pros LA at a pro-Israel rally at UCLA and she’s lovely, go check her out!
In the end, it’s clear that turning traditions into art is more than just a job for Anna Abramzon – it’s a labor of love. As they say, “When life calls, paint a ketubah and sell it on Etsy.” Mazel tov to a career crafted with creativity and chutzpah!
Anna’s work can be found on her website at: annaabramzon.com and she can also be found on Instagram @annaabramzonart
