The idea for a Judaica show at The Main Gallery grew from the interest of a group of people at the gallery who are Jewish, and who wanted to explore in an artistic form the importance of Jewish history, rituals and family. The title for the show, "A Mekhaye!" is a Yiddish phrase meaning "What a Joy!" There are some dark themes in the artwork, but artists Nina Koepcke, Elizabeth Noerdlinger, Jeannine Redon, Judith Serebrin and Susan Wolf are also looking at the joy and pleasure they derive from being Jewish and learning about Judaism. The work includes drawings, prints, paintings and clay sculpture.

Nina Koepcke first explored the idea of Judaica when she began making ceramic menorahs for the annual Holiday show at The Main Gallery. For this show, Nina gained inspiration from the writings of her friend, the poet Esther Kamkar, who often includes images of elephants and pomegranates - leading to NinaÕs use of those same images in her menorahs and spice boxes. While preparing for this show, Nina asked herself and her friends, ÒWhat does Judaica mean?Ó wondering whether she wanted to explore the dark side of Jewish history including the Holocaust and the Diaspora. ÒThere are an enormous variety of cultures that influenced Jewish art because of the Diaspora. including not only northern and eastern Europe, but also North Africa, the Middle and the Far East, and interestingly enough, South and Central America,Ó Koepcke said. Nina is particularly interested in Ladinos, the Spanish Jews who migrated to South America, and her intent is to make monotype prints that explore some of the threads of Jewish culture expressed in recently published stories from that part of the world. Jewish folktales from various other cultures are another theme that interests her, especially stories about the GolemÑa gigantic person made of clay and endowed with powerful properties for saving Jews during times of persecution. Nina uses a combination of underglaze and glaze on her pieces firing them numerous times to achieve a more painterly surface than is achieved in the usual two firing regime. She hand forms all the pieces employing mostly a coil and pinch technique with an occasional use of slab sections.

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