Art Fairs In Season Birmingham springs forward with the first major fair of the year, featuring fresh jewelry, Judaica and more. SUZANNE CHESSLER Special to the Jewish News B oth unfamiliar and familiar Jewish artists will showcase their fresh works to be seen around the state as this year's crop of art fairs begins to sprout. Coming up this weeke id on the open-air scene is the Birmingham Fine Art Festival, a 20-year tradition now showcasing the designs of some 300 artists. While the paintings, pottery, photos and other forms fill Shain Park, music groups, food vendors and children's activities will add to the air o f entertainment. Co-produced by the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center (BBAC) and the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber, the festi- val will give youngsters, under the direction of art instructors, a chance to create original silk scarves, pinch pots, personalized treas- ure boxes, hand puppets, sun prints and other artistic Mother's Day gifts. Fair sponsors will offer giveaways, includ- ing a package of classes at the BBAC. Ann Arbor photographer Diane Aronoff brings her colorful flowers to the festival for the first time. "The flowers in my own garden were the motivation for my photography," says Aronoff, who works with a manual 35 mm camera. "I get interesting effects from water." Aronoff likes to capture details. For exam- ple, she will take petals, put them on top of shells, float them in a pool and then shoot. Her subjects are popular — tulips, violas and even dandelions. Aronoff found encouragement for her work through members of the Ann Arbor Art Association after learning techniques from readinab on her own. She went on to take classes at Washtenaw Community College, where she studied how to print her photos. "My studio is my back yard, and I use all natural light," explains Aronoff, who is rep- resented by the River Gallery in Chelsea. Also new to the festival is another Ann Arbor artist, jewelry and Judaica designer Idelle Hammond-Sass. Working with sterling silver or 14-karat gold, she gives a feeling of texture and patterns. Drawing then etching on brass, she rolls heated silver and gold into the brass to make patterns on the metal. "I use the patterns for details rather than 5/11 2001 98 having them on an entire piece," says Hammond-Sass, vvho is represented by the Selo-Shevel Gallery in Ann Arbor. "I studied painting at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the jewelry came later. A friend showed me some jewelry she had made and demonstrat- ed techniques, and I went on to take classes and workshops, including studies at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina." For the past year, Hammond has created mezuzot. One design, 12 Elements, has 12 pieces to represent the 12 tribes. A commis- sioned work was a Torah pointer given as a gift to a religious instructor. Using silver oval tubing, she put black onyx on the pointer, added turquoise and amethyst stones, the teacher's favorites, and structured the piece to close and be worn on a chain. Illinois jewelry artist Barbara Sucherman returns to the state with a new line, which,_ Clockwise from top left: nodturner Mitch. Wolok uses rosewood in his new designs. Photographer Diane Aronoff brings her colorful flowers to the festival for the first time. Barbara Sucherman introduces a frosted look to her sculptural designs with marine colors dominating many of the pieces. Jewelry artist Marcy Feldman is showing pendants for Mother's Day "Boxology”: Richard Rothbards Star of David boxes, just like other boxes in his line, can be customized so that the interior- is a diorama that captures a person's interests or marks an important event. she calls her "Ocean Collection." Inspired by a trip to Hawaii in November, Sucherman introduces a frosted look to her sculptural designs with marine colors domi- nating many of the pieces. "I used sterling silver and fused glass to give a luminous look," says Sucherman, also represented by Selo-Shevel. "The large pen- dants, earrings, pins and necklaces are abstract forms with a somewhat figurative quality." Nancy Finesilver, an Ohio pottery artist who has brought her work to Michigan over several years, will be showing some new approaches to her. functional and decorative bowls, vases and platters. Oven-safe, microwave-safe and dishwasher-safe because of the high-fire porcelain clay she prefers, Finesilver's table pieces suggest flowers and emerge anew with shapes and glazes that demonstrate a tendency to experiment.