An illustration from The Garden of Time by Zoe Cohen.

Nearly five years ago, when Zoe Cohen was pregnant with her first child, she knew she wanted to illustrate a children’s book. That book, the West Philly artist decided, would illuminate the Jewish holiday’s deep-rooted connection to nature and the seasons.

Come 2014, and that seed of thought has developed into The Garden of Time, an illustrated 32-page children’s book exploring this bond, both in history and spirit, through the eyes of Adam and Eve. Published in March by Skinner House, The Garden of Time features 12 illustrations by Cohen, which were crafted between 2009 and 2012, and the interweaving tale written by Rabbi Jill Hammer, author and co-founder of the Kohenet Institute.

To celebrate The Garden of Time, Cohen is hosting a book release party this Sunday, May 4th at The Cedarworks (4919 Pentridge St.) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The free event will feature a potluck lunch and book reading, and will have copies of The Garden of Time available for sale and signed by the artist.

This week, West Philly Local had a chance to chat with Cohen about the book, how it came to fruition, and its ultimate message.

West Philly Local: How did you come to collaborate with Rabbi Jill Hammer for The Garden of Time?

Zoe Cohen: I knew I would not do the idea justice as a writer, and I immediately thought to ask Rabbi Jill Hammer, a visionary and scholar of the earth-based connections and history within Jewish practice. I had gotten to know Jill in 2005 when I was living in New York. Jill agreed to write the story, and came up with a beautiful and elegant structure for literally walking the reader through the seasons, by having us walk through the Garden of Eden along with the first two humans. Once Jill sent me her text, I began the process of creating the twelve images.

WPL: How did you come up with the name for the book?

ZC: I honestly can’t remember how it came about! Somewhere in one of our many email and phone conversations, Jill and I came up with that title, although I’m pretty sure it was mainly her [devising]. I love it because it reflects the long view of the story – showing a real evolution of human understanding of the seasons and the many wonders we can experience in the cycle of nature.

WPL: How is The Garden of Time an extension of your art series, “What Was Our Vision”?

ZC:  The Garden of Time continues the “What Was Our Vision” series mainly in visual approach and source material. In both projects, I researched imagery and symbols from the Ancient Near East that was compelling to me and connected and combined them with my own invented imagery.

WPL: To that end, how do you establish the book as an entity apart from the series?

ZC: The artwork for the book is really quite distinct from the previous work, because of the specific story it is illustrating, but also because I wanted each image to have a similar visual structure. I also needed to include certain visual elements in each image, while for What Was Our Vision I was working much more improvisationally, and composing each image as I worked.

WPL: What is the ultimate message of The Garden of Time?

ZC: I believe that Jill’s story and my imagery work together to show the timelessness of connection to nature and the seasons, and how holidays can be special times that help us connect to the ultimate source of our joy, which is our planet and environment.

The Garden of Time is available at West Philly, Bindlestiff Books (4530 Baltimore Ave.), which is cosponsoring the release party with Kol Tzedek Synagogue. You can also purchase the book online here.