Poised For

SUCCESS

Young metro Detroiters make their mark in the world of art.

SUZANNE CHESSLER

Special to the Jewish News

Natalya Lemberskaya: "In a Different View"

Julie Schwartz: Yeans Over A Chair"

here's no need. to look
s far
i nnovat ive
is
even being delivered to your
home — if you subscribe to
the Detroit Jewish News, that is.
Young Jewish artists, many sharing the
goal of becoming full-time artistic pros, can
be found on Michigan college campuses or
recently graduated. They use many types of
materials to express a variety of interests.

ITI

• The work of Natalya
Lemberskaya could be the most
familiar in this group of 20-
somethings. An employee at the
JN, Lemberskaya creates ads,
designs cover art and processes
photos. The cover designs for
June 21 and 28 — one a blank-
faced jigsaw puzzle depicting
Michigan's as-yet-unknown next
governor and the other pictur-
ing the pleasures of summer
reading — were her work.
"I'm interested in abstract art and using those
kinds of images to express feelings," says
Lemberskaya, a graphic design senior at Wayne State
University. "I like to alter figures in expressive ways.
After a while, instead of seeing figures, I begin to see
shapes form from shadows. Then instead of seeing
shapes, I see figures."
Lemberskaya, who most enjoys working with
acrylics, has been drawing since she was a young girl
growing up in Russia. She kept up her interest while
attending Harrison High School in Farmington
Hills and has shown her work at student exhibits.
"I keep a sketchbook with me, and I'm always
drawing," says Lemberskaya. "I have a studio in my
basement."

• Julie Schwartz is not an art major, but she enjoys
pursuing her interests in painting and drawing and
has helped fellow Jewish artists showcase their cre-
ativity.

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2002

74

Danielle Nelson: "Untitled"

Schwartz, a Michigan State
University sociology student,
last spring organized the work
of 40 students into an exhibit
called Thought for the Eyes: A

Celebration of Jewish Artists.
"We had art, live music and
food," says Schwartz, who clas-
sifies herself as an impressionist.
"It gave me a real sense of
accomplishment and a voice for my own ideas."
Schwartz uses acrylics to paint images that reflect
ideas in Jewish songs and prayers. For instance, she
has shown Miriam as a prophet and as a weaver.
Judaism figures in Schwartz's life as well as in her
work. She celebrated her bat mitzvah at Temple Kol
Ami; was very involved in the MSU Hillel program;
taught Jewish studies at Congregation Kehillat Israel
in East Lansing; and this summer supervises special-
needs campers at West Bloomfield's Jewish
Community Center.
"I've always been interested in art," says Schwartz,
whose mom, Harriet Schwartz, was an art teacher. "I
did my first painting at a summer art program that I
attended when I was 16. I went to Wellesley College
in Boston, and my teacher made me promise never
to stop painting."
Schwartz, who ultimately hopes to become an art
therapist, plans to gain social work experience at the
Agency for Jewish Education while continuing her
artistry in a basement studio at her West Bloomfield
home.

• Another young artist who was
inspired by her mother is
Danielle Nelson, whose mom,
Sylvia Nelson, is artistic director
at the Janice Charach Epstein
Gallery in the West Bloomfield
Jewish Community Center.
Growing up with an appreci-
ation for many types of expres-
sion, Danielle Nelson decided
to study at the School of the
Art Institute of Chicago, where students work with
many media.
"We don't have majors," says Nelson, a senior who
currently is drawn to making paper and creating
combined photographic images. "I like the fact that
we don't have to choose one area, and I appreciate
the opportunity to get paid internships and make
POISED FOR SUCCESS on page 76