Meet Ellen Fisch - Multimedia Artist With Deep BHC Roots

Infinity. photo by Ellen Fisch

Profile by Annie Hoyer

Ellen Fisch is an artist whose connection to BHC goes back almost 50 years.

Ellen’s parents, Mort and Adele Fisch, are intricately linked to BHC’s history. Mort was the president of BHC for 18 years, and her outgoing mother worked right alongside of him. Her folks were Brooklyn public school English teachers. In 1975, they chose to retire to Bethlehem because it had clean air and they could have a home in walking distance of shopping, the library, and most important, the synagogue.

Ellen grew up in their Brooklyn home, surrounded by books and the sound of classical music. Her parents ensured she had a thorough Jewish education: She attended Talmud Torah, and Hebrew high school. Her extended family “number in the thousands.” “We have everything from Hasidim to not-Jewish, and everyone gets along. The key in my family is acceptance. This was my father’s attitude in Bethlehem – everyone should have a place to worship.”

 From the time Ellen was four years old, she’s been drawing. At seven years old, she received a Brownie camera and began seeing the world through its lens. It was clear she was a budding artist. In 1968, she graduated from Brooklyn College with a major in art that combined classes in architectural drawing, art and photography, and she minored in education. She then began graduate school at night at NYU, paying for her master’s by working during the day as a draftsperson for commercial companies.

She also worked as a substitute teacher, which left her free in the late afternoon to photograph the architecture of Greenwich Village before her classes. It was in a rough Harlem middle school that she met Kenny Karcinell, a dean there. During her first days, he told her not to worry for her safety: “I will protect you, and I will marry you,” he said. His startling prediction came true. The two wed in 1970. Instead of an engagement ring, Kenny used the money to help pay for Ellen to complete her master’s degree.

The couple had Sarah in 1975 and Joe in 1980. Before she became pregnant with Joe, Ellen had continued to work all her various jobs. But during that second pregnancy, Kenny encouraged her to focus on her true interest. “You don’t want to do that anymore, Ellen,” he told her. “You want to paint.” Since that time, she’s made a living as an artist.

In the early 70s, the emphasis in the art world was on abstract art. Although Ellen could paint this genre, and sold pieces, she was interested in traditional art. She was lucky to find an established portraitist as a mentor. Each Saturday night, they attended a sketching session at the well-regarded Salmagundi Club, located a few blocks above Washington Square Park. There, he taught her his painting techniques and helped her refine her work. That, she feels, gave her a solid foundation as a painter.

The Trek - watercolor on paper

During the 80s and 90s, Ellen painted portraits of small animals, working with the Westminister Dog Show. She found that every animal had an essence, a spark that she endeavored to show. She became well-known and has painted the pets of very famous people, including “Ranger,” Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother’s Corgi.

When that genre ran its course, she turned to landscapes of New York and New Hampshire, which she captured in paint and in fine art photographs. She met a publisher who wanted photography for the mass market, images in a series that might decorate a hotel or a private home. She was a natural fit for this. However, she needed to learn digital photography to do it efficiently, for “suppliers want the images right away.” “I hired a kid from New York City’s School of the Visual Arts to teach me,” she explained. “He practically lived at my house for a couple of years.”

When Covid hit, Ellen, like so many people, decided to use the isolation to declutter her house. In the process, she re-discovered still life photography. These images, as well as her watercolors of the NH landscapes and her architectural photography, can be found at her website www.ellenfisch.com.

Art is a profession as well as a passion, and Ellen acknowledged she spends about two hours a day monitoring four social media sites and answering comments and questions from admirers. She’s cheerful about this chore. “I’m grateful,” she said, “I appreciate that I have an audience.” She never plans to “retire” from art: “Art isn’t what I do, it’s who I am.”

Kenny has been a teacher, an administrator, and a professor of education at Fordham and CUNY. He’s written two books and is at work on a third. Throughout his own career, his support has helped Ellen flourish.

Ellen’s parents bought a tiny bungalow for Ellen and Kenny in Bethlehem. Later, her folks put a small bungalow beside their property for Ellen’s growing family. As an educator, Kenny had the summer off, so off to NH the four of them would go. For 10 summers, Ellen taught Sunday school at BHC.

Now that her parents are gone, the couple summer in her parents’ Bethlehem house, returning in the fall to their home in Hewlett, NY. Ellen likes to attend Friday night services at BHC. The sanctuary is alive with memories for her. “I always sit where my mother sat,” she remarked. “It makes me feel like she’s there with me.

Ellen has offered to teach a photography workshop next summer.