Audrey Heller: "Double," photograph.

vivor. The artist wanted to connect the
tragedy of the terrorist attacks to the
tragedy of the Holocaust.
"I really put myself into my work,
and Judaica is close to my heart," he
says.
Another jewelry designer, Idell
Hammond-Sass
(www.guild.com/artist/913.html) of
Ann Arbor, is one of 190 artists in the
South University Art Fair, located
between Washtenaw and Tappan. She
has shown her work during all four
years of the fair's existence.
"I look for an asymmetrical sense of
balance in my pieces, and I use various
textures," says Hammond-Sass, who
also will be showing mezuzot. "I make
gold and silver jewelry and mezuzot
that appear to float."
Hammond-Sass, who recently had an
adult bat mitzvah and is involved with
Jewish Renewal programs in Ann
Arbor, has a Hebrew font in her com-
puter so she can incorporate Hebrew
etchings as desired or requested.
The artist, who got her degree from
the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago, began her career as a painter
and changed to metalwork after noting
the projects of a friend. Early on, she
came to do wedding rings and contin-
ues with them.
"Designing gets my full attention
when I have a project to complete,"
says Hammond-Sass, who often pairs
contrasting surfaces and adds gem-
stones and pearls as accents. "The
entire process promotes meditation."
Jeffrey Weiss (www.jeffreyweissde-
signs.com ) of Bridgeport, Conn., will
visit Ann Arbor for the first time to
show his one-of-a-kind coats. Weiss,
whose fiber projects have been shown

of Deland, Fla., brings multidimen-
sional paintings to the South
University district. He works with
clear acrylic to give layers to his
abstract renderings.
"I've shown at Ann Arbor a couple
of times, but that was many years ago,"
says Abrams, a self-taught artist who
did architectural graphics by hand
before computer-generated drawings
became popular. "Because I use acrylic,
I can paint some shapes on the reverse
sides of the material."
Free-form brush strokes are found
throughout Abrams' pieces.
"There is no deep meaning in my
work," says Abrams, who has a Jewish
heritage but does not practice Judaism.
"My paintings are done strictly for aes-
thetic value."
Steven Goodman (stevengoodman-
designs.com), who lives in Berkley,
Mich., will have mezuzot in the State
Street Area Art Fair, where 325 artists
at the Smithsonian and the American
Crafts Museum in Chicago, gets special mark the 34th year of this event.
Goodman brings artistic touches to
effects using reversible appliques.
functional objects using fossilized ivory,
"Each coat is made with unique iden-
metals, wood and turquoise elements.
tifiers," says Weiss, whose grandfather
"My work is influenced by the
was in the garment business and whose
Indian, Japanese and Mexican cul-
father is a painter. "I once did a coat for
a bar mitzvah student that reflected how tures," says Goodman, who started as a
jeweler and is self-taught in the skills
I felt when I had my bar mitzvah."
needed to enhance his cabinets, mail-
Weiss, who studied economics and
philosophy at Columbia University, was boxes and sculptural boxes. "I want to
give objects brand-new identities
a painter before turning to textiles.
through different artistic touches."
After completing a series of T-shirts, he
Goodman's large, fossilized cabinet
moved on to coats.
handles
have been filmed for HGTV's
"I like working with coats because
program, but an air-
Modern
Masters
they are the garments that go on last
date has not been set.
and are seen first," Weiss says.
Shari Cohen of Farmington Hills has
'Although I have not been to the Ann
participated in the Ann Arbor Summer
Arbor fairs, I have had customers from
Art Fair for 27 of its 33 years.
Michigan visit my gallery."
Operated by the Michigan Guild of
David Greenbaum (vvww.green-
Artists
and Artisans, this year's fair will
baumpottery.com ) of High Springs,
feature the work of 470 artists.
Fla., also will be in Ann Arbor for the
Cohen sculpts in a lost wax casting
first time, but he brings a more serene
method to create small figures with
artistry to the South University area.
semi-precious and precious stones.
Greenbaum creates pottery without
using glazes. His technique recalls more This season, she has a tree of life figure
ancient methods as he does his burnish- as part of a Judaic pendant.
"I love reconnecting with people each
ing by rubbing surfaces with stone.
year," says Cohen, trained at Eastern
"I make wallpieces, vases and vessel
forms," says Greenbaum, whose work is Michigan University. "My customers
come back to tell me what a personal
conceived and executed on a potter's
attachment they've formed to the
wheel. "I show a lot of metallic black
pieces, and that is very fulfilling."
because I think of that as subtle, ele-
gant and enduring."
The Ann Arbor Art Fairs run 10
Greenbaum, a graduate of Ithaca
a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Friday,
College, sometimes includes carving on
July 16-18, and 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
his pieces, showing geometric forms
Saturday, July 19. There will be
and abstract figures. Although he has
additional parking with shuttle
done Judaic carving for early projects,
services. Information on all activ-
he is not doing any at this time.
ities is available at (800) 888-
"I'm trying to create work with tran-
9487
and www.annarbor.org .
quil beauty," he says.
)
Rick Abrams (wwvv.rickabramsart.com

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