About the Illustrators
When an author chooses to illuminate a book with illustration, it is not only for ornamental purposes. The right illustration serves to give the reader more information, depth and can bring the pages to life.
The particular narrative elements illustrated in A Boy Named 68818 were chosen very purposefully. Each drawing complements its chapter by lending visual information that words alone may not adequately convey. The reader will discover that each individual piece of artwork tells its own story and evokes an emotional response.
A Boy Named 68818 is privileged to feature the work of not one, but two very gifted illustrators...
Alex Firley (obm)
Alex was born in the Ukraine, orphaned at the age of eight and raised by his grandmother. At an early age he found comfort in painting and eventually studied drawing and fine art at the Grekov Odessa Art School.
Alex married in 1983 and immigrated to Israel in 1990, with his wife and daughter, to Kfar Saba.
Alex was a man of many talents and never limited himself to one particular medium. He was equally gifted in the areas of illustration, editorial illustration, coin design, technical and medical illustration, multimedia, web site design, animation and painting to name a few. Alex founded his own private design company and worked with several high profile companies including Aroma, T.N.T., Delek Dragon, Thelma and Strauss.
Alex passed away suddenly at the age of 51 on May 3, 2015. We are deeply saddened by his loss and that he will never have the chance to see the efforts of his labor realized in this publication. We pray his wife, children and extended family take comfort in knowing that his brilliant artwork will live on and be memorialized in "A Boy Named 68818".
Gadi Pollack
Gadi (who prefers to not be photgraphed) was born in Odessa, Russia to a family of musicians. At the age of fifteen Gadi attended the Academia school for art and focused on sculpture. After serving in the Russian army he worked as an artist for an advertising agency. Gadi began to discover and explore his Jewish roots when a gentile colleague asked him ro make a comic strip about the bible. Gadi embraced his Jewsih heritage and ultimately immigrated to Israel where he established himself as one of the most recognizable illustrators in Jewish literature.
Gadi's work can be found in A Tale of Seven Sheep, The Katz Passover Haggadah, Purim Shpiel, Rabbi Baruch Chait's Good Middos series and many other publications.
Gadi currently resides in Kiryat Sefer.