GLASS from page 79

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bowls, perfume bottles and figurines.
Comfortable with sandblasting
processes for her architectural installa-
tions, she has returned to glass blow-
ing techniques after a 15-year hiatus.
"I've been working on this exhibit
since February," says Kelman, 51,
who became a certified diver in
Mexico and has touched down in the
Caribbean. "The images are reminis-
cent of a coral reef. I've always loved
the colors and shapes of things that I
can't see in my normal life.
"The dishes remind me of sea

anemone, usually flesh or reddish
colors with tentacles that wave
around and sting. The perfume bot-
tles are in the shapes of snails with
twisty stoppers that look like little .
tongues. I also will have a few fish
and little pieces of glass in the shape
of worms.
"I'm going to have a window
tableau with sheer fabric and hang
pieces there. I'll have a box filled with
sand and crushed glass holding little
pieces that are reminiscent of water
creatures — spiral designs like shells
and two-part structures like clams."
Kelman's interest in glass dates
back to her college days, when she
was a chemistry major at the
University of Michigan. Although
her mother, Gwen Kelman, had

been an art teacher, the professional
commitment did not get passed
down initially.
"I loved chemistry when I started,
but I wasn't enthralled for the last
couple of years," Kelman explains.
"There was a glass maker who made
the lab ware in the building, and I
became fascinated with what he was
doing. I eventually bought a book
and a torch, took classes at the
Birmingham Bloomfield Art
Association and rented my own stu-
dio. I made figurines, giraffes and
kangaroos, and sold. them all over the
country."
In 1975, Kelman opened a studio
with another glass artist, Sylvia
Vigiletti, who serves on this year's
Michigan Glass Month Committee

with Jean Sosin and Herbert Babcock.
Soon, Kelman introduced the work
made there at a wholesale show spon-
sored by the American Craft Council
in San Francisco, took a year's worth
of orders from galleries and repeated
the process a few times.
Although building her business,
Kelman still wanted access to a career
that would be more practical and
earned a master's degree in dietetics
from Wayne State University in the
late '70s. She enjoyed the experience
but is glad she could earn her living
through glass projects and never had
to take a professional detour.
Kelman spent most of her time
with sandblasting work after she
stopped sharing studio space with
Vigiletti in 1983. Among her current

More Glass Acts

Michigan Glass Month features the work of many
Jewish artists. Meet some of them.

usan Glass returned to her maiden
Qiname for professional reasons. What
could be more perfect for a glass artist?
During Michigan Glass Month in April,
Susan Glass will be showing her work at
Ariana Gallery in Royal Oak and is only one
of many artists with Jewish heritage repre-
sented in galleries across the metro area.
"I'll be showing large platters, bowls and
vases that are multicolored," says Glass, who
designs works that are deliberately asymmet-
rical. "I like to have clear side wraps and
fluted pieces."
This artist found her focus unexpectedly.
She took a class with a friend in Seattle and
was captivated with the material.
"I love the texture, look and transparency
of glass," she says.

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David Goldhagen is represented by a large
platter form at Ariana, where his glass is
shown throughout the year.
"I usually work with bright, bold, rainbow
colors," says Goldhagen, a North Carolina artist
trained at Tulane University. I've made meno-
ras, candlesticks, dreidels and kiddush cups.'
Lauren Cohen, who graduated from the
Center for Creative Studies, is showing her
glass work at the Prism Contemporary Glass
Gallery in Pontiac.
"I will be showing glass and metal sculp-
ture," explains Cohen, who lives in Franklin.
"I have cocoon forms with glass pushing out
from copper wire. I explore the metamorpho-
sis of a self-contained spirit to the freeness
and rebirth felt with water and the tranquility
experienced in the bathtub. I prefer working