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Howard Leviton and Harvey Fishbein: Wall hanging of Jerusalem in mirrors
and stained glass (Summer Art Fair).
Jewish artists will be well represented at
all four of this year's Ann Arbor Art Fairs.
Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News
Ann Arbor
A
s thousands of art enthusiasts from
around the country plan to visit
this summer's Ann Arbor Art Fairs,
glass artists Howard Leviton and Harvey
Fishbein hope to visit the homes and offices
of those who buy their wall hangings.
The men, based in New York State, combine
mirrors with stained glass and will be mak-
ing their 12th trip to Ann Arbor. They are
among many Jewish artists participating in
the 48th year of the outdoor events.
Four fairs, each judged separately, run
Wednesday-Saturday, July 18-21. The fairs,
showing the works of some 1,200 artists, also
feature skill demonstrations, children's activi-
ties, musical entertainment and food stations.
"We make appointments to bring our
designs where they will be placed and even
customize them:' says Leviton, 65, who devel-
oped his techniques during the years he also
worked as a math teacher. "We love to see
where the mirrors wind up."
Fishbein, employed as an industrial educa-
tion teacher during the time the artistic ideas
evolved, is Leviton's neighbor. The two work
out of their homes.
The mirror artists will be part of the Ann
Arbor Summer Art Fair, where the paintings
of Donna Burstein also will be seen.
"My work is varied;' says Burstein, 53,
whose home is in Florida. "I paint whatever is
in my brain. Some of my work is abstract, and
some presents Chagall-like images."
Burstein, a graduate of the University of
Miami, has been a graphic artist but is more
comfortable following her own creative
instincts. Depending on her project, she
works with oils, pastels, acrylics or graphite
pencils.
"I do 42 shows throughout the year:' she
says. "I will have 70 paintings in Ann Arbor!'
Another Jewish painter, Mira Raman of
Israel, combines Western and Eastern tech-
niques and shows her work at the South
University Art Fair.
"I developed a special approach after
studying Japanese art:' says Raman, 50, who
teaches art in a boarding school. "I paint on
handmade paper and represent outdoor and
interior scenes. I have many colorful minia-
tures!'
Another South University artist brings one
piece with a Jewish link. Dana Shavin, settled
in Tennessee, is a writer and painter who will
be displaying a family scene with a rabbi.
"I paint like I write says Shavin, 45, a clini-
cal psychologist who turned to art after feel-
ing burned out in her career. "It's all from real
life. I focus on the functional."
Shavin, who works with acrylics on canvas,
paints women, flowers and dogs and travels
with nearly 50 images. Her husband, Daryl
Thetford, a photographer of Americana, will
have the booth next to her.
Eleanora Eden, a Vermont potter, brings
colorful serving pieces to the Ann Arbor
Street Art Fair, the original fair of the four.
"My work is eclectic with both representa-
tional and abstract designs:' Eden says of her
platters, teapots, bowls, pitchers and vases. "I
often emphasize the shape of the piece in the
decoration!'
Eden, 62, who earned a bachelor's degree
in ceramics from the University of California
at Berkeley, went on for her master's degree at
San Jose State University.
"I love being part of the Ann Arbor fairs
because I think of them together as turning
the city into an ancient market town;' she
says.
Linda Adato, of New York State, has dedi-
cated herself to color etchings of urban land-
scapes and also is part of the Street Art Fair.
It's her 22nd summer in Ann Arbor.
"I have a small image of a now torn-down
synagogue in New York:' Adato says. "It was
the First American-Romanian Congregation
synagogue, built [in the 1800s], and I was
attracted to it because my mother was
Romanian.
"Everything I do is figurative, but I do
make changes. I sometimes put people in a
scene or take them out."
Adato, who learned her craft in England,
likes the graphic possibilities she can explore
while working with metal. She often captures
places in her own neighborhood.
Donna Burstein: One of 70 paintings she'll show in Ann Arbor (Summer Art
Fair).
Mira Raman: My Interior, acrylic on hand-
Dana Shavin: One of 50 acrylic
made paper (South University Art Fair).
images on canvas she'll show
in Ann Arbor (South University
Art Fair).
Linda Adato: Etching of urban landscape (Ann Arbor Street Art Fair).
Fair Territory on page 43
July 12 2007
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