A V

LIMITED TIME ONLY

Art From The Heart

A new exhibit, opening this weekend
at the Janice Charach Gallery,
provides a place for everyone.

Elizabeth Applebaum

Special to the Jewish News

udy Lewis
thought the
world could
use a little more heart.
Terri Stearn felt the
same way.
So the two women teamed
up, and the result is an art exhibit
and sale that emphasizes compas-
sion, acceptance and love.
"Art From the Heart" opens
Sunday, July 25, at 1 p.m. at the Jewish
Community Center of Metropolitan
Detroit's Janice Charach Gallery in West
Bloomfield and continues through
Aug. 19. The exhibit, which is free and
open to the public, features hundreds
of hearts decorated by artists, chil-
dren, community leaders and others.
Proceeds will benefit the gallery and
the Jewish Gay Network of Michigan.
JGN Executive Director Judy Lewis
initiated the project after reading
about Tu b'Av, a little-known Jewish
holiday celebrating love and romance.
"Everyone knows about the hard
things;' she says. "Why don't we know
more about things like this?" A bit of
Tu b'Av was exactly what was needed
at a time when the world was in such
a hard place, she decided.
Lewis remembered an exhibit at the
Janice Charach Gallery where artists
were asked to decorate a blank cham-
sah. She approached gallery director
Terri Stearn and asked about taking a
similar approach with blank hearts.
Steam liked the idea right away.
"I knew this would give us the
opportunity to present an exhibit
that emphasized important ideas like
acceptance and tolerance,' Stearn said.

j

"And we were really happy that groups
like Kadima and JARC decid-
ed to participate early on."
Lewis moved into action.
A carpenter friend offered
advice on which material to
use for the hearts and how to
produce them. An Oak Park-
based marketing firm, the Write
Stuff, volunteered to design and
print postcards and posters. The
Mark/Lis Family Foundation donated
the initial funding for the project.
In no time, "Art from the Heart" was
off — and beating at a very fast pace
with more than 200 blank hearts in the
hands of artists in a matter of weeks.
The diversity of the world is reflect-
ed in the artists' works: hearts made
of crayons, with textiles, collages, with
themes, filled with quiet pastels or
bright, singing colors. There are hearts
designed with bits of glass, and others
made of fabric.
While the event is a fundraiser, art-
ists do receive half of the sale price of
their hearts, "and I've already heard
from a number of artists who say they
are donating their profits back to the
JGN," Lewis said, "which is a really
powerful statement."
Like Stearn, Lewis was impressed by
the support she has seen from every-
one in the community
"I called Lindsey Fox-Wagner at
JARC, and she was sold on it before I
could even tell her all about it.
"This is a concept that resonates
so strongly to the whole community
because it talks about including each
and every one of us:"

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Elizabeth Applebaum is a marketing

specialist at the Jewish Community Center

It/S asiessousiont
ALSO AVAIL/AL! MI

of Metropolitan Detroit.

I-

"Art From the Heart" runs July 25-Aug.19 at the Janice Charach
Gallery in the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. Gallery
hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon-4 p.m.
Sunday. For information, call (248) 432-5579.
In conjunction with the exhibit, the gallery invites children and teens
ages 2-18 to decorate a piece of a large puzzle from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 1, or Sunday, Aug. 8, at the gallery. Each blank puzzle
piece costs $5, and when all pieces are placed together they will form a
heart to be displayed in the gallery. To register, call (248) 432-5579 or
visit www.jccdet.org .

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July 22 • 2010

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