*Sparked is excited to launch a premiere collection of art letterpress cards featuring the musings of international award winning artist and illustrator Igor Kopelnitsky.

Igor’s whimsical style satirizes societal themes both political and global and can be seen in the pages of many national and international publications such as the Op-Ed pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, Courrier International, and La Repubblica.The Kiev born artist had originally studied physics at the University of Novosibirsk; but upon the publication of his first cartoon Igor discarded physics in favor of cartooning and illustration. Look for Kopelnitsky’s illustrations in “All the Art That’s Fit to Print (And Some That Wasn’t): Inside The New York Times Op-Ed Page” by Jerelle Kraus published by University Press, 2009. Click here to view more of Igor’s work.

Debut Card Set Available January 2009

The art card series offers 8 humorous original designs printed by Peter Fraterdeus of EXQUISITE LETTERPRESS - SLOWPRINT.COM on Crane’s Lettra Letterpress repurposed cotton paper. Each design is a unique and amusing commentary on issues ranging from energy independence to the evolution debate with themes and titles including “Play Date With The Devil”, “Bright Idea”, “Heavy Thoughts”, “Don’t Be Shy”, “Balancing Act”, “Peace Out”, “Drill Baby Drill”, and “So Evolved”.

About *Sparked

*Sparked.biz is a new art & design collective directed by designer Geoffry Gertz collaborating with artists and illustrators to infuse their unique concepts and visions into well crafted “art products”. Geoffry’s work has spanned diverse design markets from international design such as Perry Ellis, Issey Miyake and JOOP!; to large-scale fast fashion for Limited Brands; and most recently, the celebrity influence as the Creative Director for Hilary Duff. His designs have been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, Lucky, The New York Times, New York Magazine and Women’s Wear Daily. Geoffry is a design consultant in the fashion industry and Adjunct Faculty member at FIT.

Igor Kopelnitsky Recent Work

The discovery dates back to the time of Christ, during the Roman period, said Doron Ben-Ami, director of excavation at the site. The piece was found in a Byzantine structure built several centuries after the jeweled earring was made, showing it was likely passed down through generations, he said.The find is luxurious: A large pearl inlaid in gold with two drop pieces, each with an emerald and pearl set in gold.

“It must have belonged to someone of the elite in Jerusalem,” Ben-Ami said. “Such a precious item, it couldn’t be one of just ordinary people.”

In a statement released Monday, the authority said the piece of jewelry was “astonishingly well-preserved.” Finds from the Roman period are rare in Jerusalem, Ben-Ami said, because the city was destroyed by the Roman Empire in the first century A.D.

Shimon Gibson, an American archaeologist who was not involved in the dig, said the find was truly amazing, less because of its Roman origins than for its precious nature.

“Jewelry is hardly preserved in archaeological context in Jerusalem,” he said, because precious metals were often sold or melted down during the many historic takeovers of the city.

“It adds to the visual history of Jerusalem,” Gibson added, saying it brings attention to the life of women in antiquity.

Though Gibson dates the piece slightly later than the antiquities authority, to sometime between the second and fourth centuries A.D., he said its quality and beauty were impressive.

Ben-Ami added that he expects more small, luxury items to turn up in future excavations.

Earrings similar to this one have been found at archaeological sites throughout Europe, Ben-Ami said, where the Roman Empire also flourished. The authority said the earring appeared to be crafted using a technique similar to that depicted in portraits from Roman-era Egypt.