Ahuva Elany

Producing fine art from crafted and heat treated copper

Rishon-Le-Zion artist Ahuva Elany emigrated to Israel with her Zionist parents at the age of four. The family left the Soviet Union to begin a new life in Israel. Ahuva grew up loving the natural beauty of Israel, its religious holidays, the living connection to an ancient historical land, and the Jewish traditions and symbolism inherent in daily life. She draws on all these influences for artistic inspiration, and developed her own unique copper working techniques to create stunning original artwork.

Ahuva Elany opened her own studio in 2003 at her home in Rishon-Le-Zion. Her innovative artistic process goes through several stages.  “I use a special saw to cut through a thick sheet of copper, then a photochemical burning process. Next the copper is heated by fire using unique heating and cooling methods to make the metal malleable and give it a fantastic variety of colors. The copper goes through a hammering and embossing process where it gets its shiny texture. Slowly, the symbols become three-dimensional and look almost alive. The next step requires two layers of lacquer covering to prevent oxidation. When the copper is dry, holes are drilled, and beads are added.”