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Top left: Hecht's tree of life "Dor L'Dor" graces the lobby

of the Fleischman Residence in West Bloomfield.

Lower left: Hecht's "Little Darling" evokes images

of a mischievous child.

Right: Hecht, recovered now from carpal tunnel syndrome,

sculpts and paints in her Bloomfield Hills home studio.

Opposite page: Hecht combines ceramic and everyday

t was just about the time that
Deborah Hecht began sculpting a
series of hands for a commissioned
piece for Fleischman Residence
Blumberg Plaza of West Bloomfield,
that she noticed she was gradually los-
ing the use of her own hands.
"To me, hands are symbolic of power
and the ability to do anything," says the
Bloomfield Township artist who recent-
ly underwent surgery for carpal tunnel
syndrome. "I didn't know what was
happening at the time. Here I was
sculpting hands while I was struggling
to use my own."
What resulted was Hecht's tree of
life, "Dor L'Dor," meaning generation
to generation. Housed in the lobby of
the residence, the sculpture's trunk is
made of hands of different ages, "with
older hands supporting younger hands,"
explains the artist. "The main hands

represent the Fleischman residents."
Hecht, who began painting watercol-
ors in 1974, later moved on to creating
art on tile. "I did painted tiles in peo-
ple's kitchens for years," says Hecht,
who designed the tiles in former
Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca's
kitchen. "Tile is my canvas and glaze is
my paint," she muses. The progression
then led to Hecht's mural-like "fired
paintings" made with carved pieces.
"They're higher relief and look like
they're mounted into the wall."
Working out of a home studio
equipped with a couple of kilns, Hecht
seems to have found a way to combine
her lifelong passion for painting, ceram-
ics and antique "found objects" she
finds at estate sales. Just take a look at
her recent piece, "Home Cooking," and
you'll see just how inventive she is.

objects into this work of art titled "Home Cooking."

STYLE AT THE JN • JANUARY 2002 •

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