Arts Entertainment

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Art For Every Taste

Birmingham Festival kicks off art-fair season.

SUZANNE CHESSLER

Special to the Jewish News

D

"Er

5/10

2002

94

have become her full-time occupation. -
"I attended a Conservative synagogue
while I was growing up and hope to
travel to Israel, photograph the sites
and then use paint to color the pic-
tures," says Gilbert. The artist, coming ..s
to the Birmingham fair for the third
time, will be showing her newest pro j -
ects as performing artists entertain and
many food stands fill a variety of tastes.
Saturday's entertainers include David .
Nefesh, the Hope Orchestra, the
Village Players, the Sheila Landis Trio,
Rhythm and Rain and Sean Blackman
and the John Arnold Quartet.

eborah Gilbert gets very
serious about clowns.
Maybe that's because she's
been one.
The former Ringling Bros. entertainer,
a self-taught painter and photographer,
spent a year as a traveling performer with
a colorfully made-up face. Over many
more years, she has devoted time taking
black-and-white pictures of clowns and
using oils to color their faces.
Gilbert is one of 300 featured artists
at this year's Birmingham Fine
Art Festival, which runs May
11-12 at Shain Park and sur-
rounding streets in downtown
Birmingham. It will be followed
by a -myriad of fairs at venues
across the Detroit metro area
(see accompanying list).
At the Birmingham festival,
juried participants will exhibit
their talents in 17 different
media, bringing unique
approaches to ceramics, draw-
ing, fiber, furniture, glass, jewel-
ry, leather, painting, photogra-
Deborah Gilbert takes black-and-white pictures
phy, wood and more.
of clowns and uses oils to color their faces.
"I think my process of paint-
ing on photos is a good -
Sunday's entertainment lineup fea-
metaphor for clowns and their painted
tures Mady Kouyate, Work in
appearances," says Gilbert, 44, who
Progress, Rich K. Brazil and Beyond,
lives and works in New York. "I also
do still fifes and scenics using the same the Michael King Band and Jelly's
Pierced Tattoo.
technique and get some really unusual
New to this year's festival will be a
results."
silent auction of works donated by the
Gilbert has been taking her work to
artists. Instructors from the Birmingham
about 25 shows around the country in
Bloomfield Art Center, co-producer of
each of the past five years. She started
the festival with the Birmingham
painting when she was quite young,
Bloomfield Chamber, will lead children's
gave it up for a while as her interest
activities,
such as painting silk scarves
switched to camera work and then
and making treasure boxes.
decided to combine the two disci-
"This is a great festival," Gilbert
plines. With this approach, she also
says. "I've always found the people
can alter backgrounds to give each
friendly and well educated in,art."
PO—rfrait new dynamics.
Although Gilbert enjoyed working
as a clown, she had to give it up
The Birmingham Fine Art
because of injuries suffered while run-
Festival runs 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
ning, jumping and dancing on con-
Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
crete floors. For seven years after that,
Sunday, May 11-12, at Shain
she did advance work for the circus.
Park and surrounding streets in
The former clown later found employ-
downtown Birmingham. (248)
ment in a camera store, ran a photogra-
644-0866, Ext. 108.
phy workshop and served as picture edi-
tor for a publication. Her photo-paintings

Let There Be Art!

here are lots of
places to find art
this spring, sum-
mer and fall. Here is a
list of art fairs for which
information was avail-
able at press time. For
times and to make sure
there are no date
changes, call ahead.

T

Mt. Clemens Annual
Art Fair
May 10-11
Downtown
Mt. Clemens
(586) 469-8666

Greektown Arts Festival
May 17-19
Streets of Greektown
(877) GREEK-TOWN

East Lansing Art Festival
May 18-19
Downtown East Lansing
(517) 319-6804

Berkley Art Bash
June 1
Robina, north of 12 Mile,
and Griffith,
south of 12 Mile

(248) 544-0611

Spring Juried Art Show
June 1-2
The Hill,
Grosse Pointe Farms
(313) 882-4626

Art on the Avenue
June 2-3
Monroe Street,
Dearborn
(517) 318-6804

Northville Art
in the Sun
June 15-16
Downtown Northville
(248) 349-7640

Royal Oak Clay &
Glass Show
June 8-9
Washington Street in
Downtown Royal Oak
(248) 547-4000

Liberty Fest Fine Art
& Fine Craft Show
June 20-23
Heritage Park, Canton
(734) 394-5460

Art on the Pointe
June 8-9
Edsel & Eleanor Ford
House,
Grosse Pointe Shores
(313)- 884-4222

Livonia Art
in the Village
June 8-9
Greenmead Historical
Village, Livonia
(734) 466-2540, Ext. 3

Women of Bloomfield
Art & Craft Show
June 12
First United Methodist
Church, Birmingham
(248) 335-8308

Strawberry Festival
of Arts & Crafts
June 14-16
Trinity Episcopal
Church, Belleville
(734) 699-3361

Fine Art at
Meadow Brook
June 22-23
Oakland University,
Rochester Hills
(313) 576-5111

Howard Alan Events
West Bloomfield Art
Festival
June 22-23
Henry Ford Medical
Center, Maple Road west
of Orchard Lake Road
(954) 472-3755

Art in the Woods
June 29-30
Huntington Woods
Lutheran Church,
(248) 543-9720

NVyandotte Street
Art Fair
July 10-13
Along Biddle between
Oak and Eureka
(734) 324-4506