MIRIAM DAUBER

One Woman Show

Religion Notwithstanding,
These Four Love Jewish Art

AMY CHOUDHURY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

D

on Drumm is an Akron,
Ohio, sculptor and design-
er/craftsman who has a
reputation as "Ohio's
greatest menorah maker."
He got started making meno-
rahs after friends returned from
Israel, showing him the ones they

Original Works On Paper
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tracts from as early as the 15th
and 16th centuries show that
Jews in Europe hired gentiles to
create their ritual art.
In later years, leading artists
— including Salvador Dali — be-
came interested in Judaica. Two
of Mr. Dali's most famous pieces
are a gold menorah
and a depiction of
the Kotel, the
Western Wall.
Mr. Drumm's fa-
vorite medium is
casting, traditional
molds for which are
made of sand. Sand
casting, Mr.
Drumm says, dates
back to the time of
the Bible. Among
the items made of
sand casting: King
Solomon's bathtub.
Mr. Drumm,
who also works
with pewter, never
begins a project
without first doing
research. When
commissioned to
design the Holo-
caust memorial
sculpture for the
Akron Jewish Cen-
ter, he opted to in-
clude a number of

Drumm, who has his own alu-
minum foundry, enjoys produc-
ing environmental art. Among
the materials he has used are ap-
plied cement and all-weather
steel.
Some of Mr. Drumm's artwork
is available at Tradition! Tradi-
tion! in Oak Park, which is owned
by Alicia Nelson who got anoth-
er gentile artist, Chris Fijak, in-
terested in producing Judaica.
Ms. Fijak, a glass designer
from Lake Orion, met Mrs. Nel-
son at an art show. Mrs. Nelson
told Ms. Fijak she liked her use
of colors, "and encouraged me to
try making mezuzot."
For about two years, Ms. Fijak
has been selling her mezuzot,
which are hand-cut, stained-glass
with a silver trim.
She recently sold more than
100 mezuzot to the major dis-
tributor, AlefJudaica, which also
includes her pieces in its cata-
logues which are mailed to tem-
ple and synagogue gift shops
nationwide.
Ms. Fijak's latest menorot are
green beveled glass, cut and pol-
ished, with brass or gold-candle
cups.
Tina Forbes, of Lexington,
Mass., lives in a Jewish neigh-
borhood, which she describes as
"a wonderful support group and

biblical symbols in his piece. They
help illustrate "the rebirth of Is-
rael," he explains.
The sculpture measures 13'x4'
and begins, at the top, with a
dove, representing the bird that
brought the olive branch to Noah.
It also includes the burning bush,
the Ten Commandments and the
Western Wall. The base of the
sculpture bears a single word: za-
char, remember.
In addition to Judaica, Mr.

form of publicity" for her art. She
says she sees "an enormous need
for contemporary Judaica."
Ms. Forbes, who specializes in
menorahs, says she finds mak-
ing Judaica "a true learning ex-
perience." When she first started,
she thought she needed to tell
clients that she was not Jewish.
Now Judaica, which she has
been producing for the past 15
years, comprises 90 percent of her
line. And while some may admire

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NOV. 3 - 26, 1994

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Above:
had purchased
Mr. Drumm's
at the airport or
Holocaust
on kibbutzim.
memorial
"You can do bet-
sculpture.
ter than this,"
they said.
Right:
Tina Forbes of Karen Johnson's
Noah's Ark
Lexington,
menorah.
Mass., is a potter
and sculptor.
Like Mr. Drumm, she began
making menorahs because of
friends' encouragement.
But Mr. Drumm and Ms.
Forbes have more in common
than artistic inspiration. Neither
is Jewish, but both are dedicated
to making Jewish ritual art.
The practice of creating Jew-
ish art began in the Middle Ages,
and from the earliest days, it was
never an exclusively Jewish ac-
tivity. In fact, a number of con-