Artist Aviva Stanoff believes art is powerful.  It can speak beyond any boundaries of ethnicity, language, religion, or country.  Coming from one place, it can speak to many. Made in one moment, its meaning persists. Aviva Stanoff comes from two different worlds: her grandfather’s Buddhist temple in Japan and the coastal redwood forests of California. Her Japanese name “Beni” is a poetic word that means “threads that connect”.  Her studio celebrates connections between cultures, just as different threads in textiles interweave to form a richer and more interesting whole. Aviva’s artwork pays homage to her family tradition, one that dates back 600 years, sixteen generations of artists, artisans, word smiths, and kimono painters.