Arts & Entertainment Collage artist Rachel Zainek shoat' about 40 pieces of mixed media, three- dimensional work in Ann Arlo;: Visual Narratives Despite being legally blind, Ann Arbor Art Fairs artist Rachel Zamek has an artist's eye. SUZANNE CHESSLER Special to the Jewish News Ann Arbor achel Zamek's collages reveal much about her inner feelings, but they don't hint there's a condition that might be expected to inter- fere with her work. Zamek, who will have a booth at this summer's Ann Arbor Art Fairs, is legally blind and plies her talents with a limited visual field. Zamek joins some 1,200 artists whose works will be shown Wednesday-Saturday, July 20-23, in four seg- ments: the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, Ann Arbor South University Art Fair, State Street Area Art Fair and Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair. There also will be street corner entertainment, foods from around the world, artists' demonstrations and children's activities. "I will have about 40 pieces of mixed media, three- dimensional work," says Zamek, 41, who arranges her booth to resemble a gallery. 'A lot of my pieces are nar- rative, and they range from the serious to the joyous." Zamek, who grew up in Waterford and now makes her home in Orlando, Fla., uses boxes as frames for her larger projects, which include painted segments, found objects, photographs and clippings. She punc- mates the main section with artistic touches on the borders. Very small projects are framed by thimbles. Emaciating Grace, which presents a woman covered with disturbing words clipped from newspapers and includes soldier images on the frame, suggests that sad communications starve the soul. We're Not Alone shows a boy in the foreground with a group of people behind him to advance the idea that all of humankind is connected. Egghead features a smart-looking person with mathematical equations and three-dimensional eggs as well as blueprints toward the outside. R On The Circuit "My ideas come from objects and a journal I write," says Zamek, who travels the country to appear at art fairs and is driven by her boyfriend, Matthew Cornell, a painter who also works the fair circuit. "I layer the pieces for emotional and visual depth." Zamek always liked working with art, getting into trouble by drawing on the walls in her family home. Later, she found ways to use her mother's fabrics and yarns, bought for sewing quilts and knitting. Although she studied art at Saginaw Valley State University after graduating from Waterford Township High School, Zamek dropped out to work with agencies serving people with disabilities. Born with an optic nerve disorder, she wasn't diagnosed until about 10 years ago. Before that, she was thought to have a learning disability. The artist returned to college at 32 and earned a bachelor's degree in art from Western Michigan University. She received her master's degree in fine 7/14 2005 52 arts from the University of Michigan, where she was the first legally blind visual artist to reach that level. "My work is about the representation of abstract ideas within a visual form," Zamek says. "By com- bining objects, imagery and text, I aim to evoke our natural tendency to create narratives and dip into a pictorial unconscious." Zamek, who attended Temple Beth Jacob in Pontiac and whose brother, Stanton, is a rabbi in Baton Rouge, has done some work with Jewish themes. Riga presents a story about a woman who left Latvia to attend the World's Fair in America and became the only survivor in her family. The central image is surrounded by yellow triangles on the frame to remind viewers of the identification markers the Nazis forced people to wear. Returning To Ann Arbor This will be Zamek's third year at the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair. Although not represented by Michigan galleries, she does have projects in Alabama, Maine and Florida spaces. "I like the fairs because I get to know the people who buy my work," Zamek explains. "I love what I do and find it exciting to meet people who find the work also resonates with them." There are many other Jewish artists with booths in Ann Arbor, where some have been featured for many years. Among the Jewish artists at the Ann Arbor South University Art Fair are Ernest Abel of West Bloom- field (photography), Yoram Gal of Israel (painting) and Todd Kurtzman of Oregon (sculpture). The State Street Area Art Fair showcases Marcy Feldman of Southfield (jewelry) and Rebecca Levenson of Ann Arbor (clothing). Jewish artists in the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair include Donna Burstein of Florida (paintings), Shari Cohen of Farmington Hills (precious jewelry), Nancy Finesilver of Ohio (functional clay), David Levy of California (functional wood), Lynn Marcus of Ohio (contemporary precious jewelry) and Kay Yourist of Ann Arbor (functional clay). ❑ The Ann Arbor Art Fairs invite visitors Wednesday-Saturday, July 20-23, in four sec- tions of the city. The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair is located on the streets surrounding the Burton Carillon Tower. The Ann Arbor South University Art Fair has expanded to the entire South University area. The State Street Area Art Fair is in the center of the city. The Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair has two locations, Main Street and State Street. Hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. (800) 888-9487 or www.annarbor.org . Rachel Zamek: (top to bottom) "Emaciating Grace," "Contained Herein," and "Riga."