Senior Line’s cover is the work of Ilana Shafir, an Israeli artist who was instrumental in re-establishing mosaic as an art form in the 20th century. Her recent death at the age of 90 in Israel, signifies the end of a productive and creative process of “spontaneous mosaic”, her definitive artistic language.
Born in Sarajevo, hidden from the Nazis during the WWII in the small town of Kula, she ultimately arrived in 1949 to Ashkelon. Using her signature materials of handmade ceramic, pebbles, found objects and gold smalti, Shafir weaves fantastic stories and creates fruitful universes filled with joy, exuberance and strength. Her work has won numerous international awards and the artist was recently honoured with the only solo exhibition organized in conjunction with the biennale RavennaMosaico 2011 (http://www.inspirationgreen.com/ilana-shafir.html or put Ilana Shafir, images in the Google search box).

Her grandson wrote in his eulogy to her: “She was all at once an artist, a teacher and an entrepreneur. She brought her immense love and creativity to both her career and her family, without compromising neither. She was simultaneously old and young, flourishing both in routine and in change. She was courage, feminism and social justice without talking about it or demanding any praise for it.”

There are a series of 8 short films on www.youtube.com (Ilana Shafir, Mosaic Films) llustrating the various stages of her creativity and her art. She is a role-model for women who strive to communicate through their art and aspire to fulfill their potential as human beings.