I was born in 1969 to parents who had recently immigrated to the US from England and India to raise me and my sister in San Antonio, Texas. I left home at 19 to explore the world, then recently came back to live near my primary family. Along the way I was blessed with three daughters who inspire me continually with their vitality, fresh insights, and loving hearts.
"Where does the name 'Nishima' come from?" My father gave me the name 'Nishi,' or a "good night" in Hindi, with a full name of 'Nishima'. When I converted to Judaism, I reclaimed my birth name Nishima after my 'Neshama,' or "Soul" in Hebrew.
I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 with degrees in Russian studies and Multinational Management from the Wharton School of business. Yet my “extra” figure drawing and sculpting classes brought me a taste for my deepest passion and destiny—to spend my days making art.
I continued my studies for the next four years in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, receiving a classical training at the oldest, most traditional art school in the US. Carving marble, limestone and wood, studying anatomy, and mixing oil paints to capture light on a figure created a foundational structure that continues today to grant me freedom to experiment and grow in my studio.
In 2000, I called upon my Wharton business school training to build my successful business, Artketubah.com. Since then I have created over 3000 ketubahs for Jewish weddings. My academic studies have broadened to an ongoing interest in anthropology, philosophy and religious studies that informs my figurative works.