- ts &Entertainment r 111.0 zb #404 Through her multimedia art, Edie Simons urges all to discover and experience their own creativity. Elizabeth Applebaum Special to the Jewish News I t was a nothing more than a plain brown velvet dress, and that was pre- cisely the problem. Edie Gallagher was only 8 years old, but already her creativity was free and bright and shining, like ribbons of every color dancing in the wind. So really, there was no place for "plain" here. Edie Simons She picked up her scis- sors, got cutting and soon the brown dress was covered with fringe. Another time the issue was sleeves (unfortu- nately the same color as the dress), so Edie cut them off and sewed on sleeves from a different outfit. Edie Gallagher Simons doesn't cut up her clothing these days, but just about anything else is fair game. Simons is an artist whose latest passion is altered book art. The concept is simple: Take an old book and make it into something new. Use paint, markers, beads, sparkles, stamps — whatever you like. Simons, of Bloomfield Hills, is director of education for the International Society of Altered Book Artists; and her work has appeared in Cloth, Paper, Scissors and Altered Arts magazines. Simons, 50, also is a jewelry designer, and she is a certified teacher in precious metal clay, which uses particles of silver in clay form that once fired in a kiln are trans- formed into solid silver. An administrative assistant at the Jimmy Prentis Morris Jewish Community Center in Oak Park, Simons was born in Pittsburgh, where her father owned a restaurant and her mother was an in-home nurse. As a little girl, Edie loved attending the Bashear Art Association's classes for gifted students; but mostly, she wanted to visit resi- dents of the apartment complex where she lived. Virtually every one was a senior citi- zen, and all considered Edie their adopted granddaughter. Simons eventually moved to New Orleans, where she met and married her husband, Al, a chemical engineer. The two lived in a series of small towns and raised three children. Edie worked many jobs, including as a den- tal assistant, a silversmith and an art teacher. Then the family moved to Michigan. Al suggested Edie volunteer at the JCC. When she arrived, the sports and recreation department was in search of a new adminis- trative assistant. "By the way, can you type?" she was asked. She could. Simons was asked to take the job. Simons' passion for altered art began during a Google search for interest- ing graphics; the look was ,_lemkos • something Altered Book completely new. "I love altered art because it gives free creative reign and anyone can do it," she says. "It's also 'green art' because you can use anything to make it. You can find plen- ty of great stuff in trash or recycling:' Simons has created altered books for wed- dings, for the JCC of Metropolitan Detroit's Jewish Book Fair, as personal commissions and for the JCC Maccabi Games. Among her fans, and customers, is Teri Weingarden, West Bloomfield Township's treasurer. "Edie Simons' whimsical multimedia creations caught my eye when I was visit- ing the Janice Charach Gallery," Weingarden says. "I personally commissioned her to create a unique piece for my new office at Town Hall. The result of Edie's inspiration is a playful, vibrant piece that puts a smile on my face every day." Much of Simons' work is done while she isn't even awake. "I'll go to sleep and think about a project," she says. "Then I'll wake up and know exactly what I need to do:' Orchid coated in precious metal clay The next night she'll head to her topsy- turvy ("I'm a bit of a pack rat:' she admits) studio in her basement and work — usu- ally on several projects at once — in the quiet. "If you ever visit me in my lovely, self- painted office at the JCC, you will notice that I am possibly the only person who works in such a quiet office," Simons says. "I love to be able to hear myself think." In addition to her jewelry and altered art, Simons creates beaded kippot and loves viewing the paintings of Juan /vliro, reading mysteries and helping feral cats. What she does not love is keeping the secret of how to do an art project or the notion that only a select few are capable of making it. "Everyone is creative:' she says. "People just need a little encouragement, time and training and anyone can make art?' ❑ Elizabeth Applebaum is a marketing specialist at the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit. For information on altered art or precious metal clay classes, contact Edie Simons at esimons@jccdet.org . Jews Nate Bloom Special to the Jewish News Rivers Flow Joan Rivers is one busy 76-year-old. Her new TV series, How'd You Get So Rich, is a six-episode reality show in which Rivers covers "nice" Joan Rivers rich people. New episodes air Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on TVLand cable. The Comedy Central Roast of Joan Rivers airs 10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9. Kathy Griffin hosts, and roasters include Carl Reiner, Gilbert Gottfried, Jeffrey Ross, Brad Garrett, Mario Cantone and Tom Arnold, who con- verted to Judaism after he wed his now ex-wife, Roseanne Barr. Two Chefs Nora Ephron, 69, whose parents were top Hollywood screenwriters, enjoyed great success as a witty 38 August- 6 2009 magazine journalist until she switched to screenwriting in the early '80s. She penned such hit films as When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail. The dismal failure of Bewitched in 2005 dimmed Ephron's Hollywood star. Her new film, Julie & Julia, which opens Friday, Aug. 7, profiles two interesting women. One part of the movie covers a critical time in the life of the late celebrity chef Julia Child (Meryl Streep). The other part of the film takes place in 2002. Julie Powell (Amy Adams) is a college grad with a degree in creative writing and theater. Stuck in a dead-end office temp job, she decides to try and prepare, within one year, all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and report the results on her Web blog. This proves to be a very tough challenge, but Julie's blog does get a lot of attention and ultimately her life is transformed. Be A Natalie (Not A Tori) It's no secret that Natalie Portman, 28, provides a model example of a life well lived with a classy, stellar career. The Natalie honors Harvard grad Portman has lived a life with- out scandal, and she's given back to the general and Jewish communities in the form of charity work. In the past month, she was cast in the co- starring role in the action/adventure Thor (opening in 2011) and accepted a co-starring role in The Black Swan, an upcoming film by director Darren Aronofsky. Now playing Jewish film festivals is the short film Eden, starring Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara. Portman directed this sweet romantic tale, which was made in 2008. On the other side, as it were, there's Tori Spelling, 36. Her late father, Aaron Spelling, gave her a plum TV role in Beverly Hills 90210. But nobody else want- ed to hire her to act in anything but low- budget TV movies. So, bleached-blonde Tori clawed her way Tori Spelling back into the public eye with an adulterous affair, a cheesy reality TV show (Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood) on the Oxygen channel and tawdry fights with her mother, Candy Spelling. Last month, Candy wrote a per- sonal letter to the gossip site TMZ. com in which she castigated Tori for turning their relationship and the lives of her grandchildren into fod- der for reality TV. E Contact Nate Bloom at middleoftheroadl@aol.com.