arts & entertainment

Art, Sport And Cupcakes

The Janice Charach Gallery's new exhibit, featuring works
by Jessica Kovan, takes notice of life's small moments.

Elizabeth Applebaum
I Special to the Jewish News

A native of Lansing, she attended
Michigan State University — from which she
holds three degrees, including a doctorate in
he temptation with Jessica
educational administration — and went on
Kovan's art is to bite in, starting
to hold professional positions in philanthro-
with the fat, juicy strawberry on
py, as director of an environmental action
top of the frosting that's a swirl of creamy
group and teaching college classes.
and gooey deliciousness and filially, the
She married Jeff, whom she met at Camp
cupcake itself: soft, fresh, deep-red and so
Walden, and had three children: Brianna,
ethereal it must taste like a sweet cloud.
now 22; Sarah, 20; and Zachary, 17.
"Daily Gratitudes: Art, Sport and
And always there — sometimes promi-
Cupcakes:" featuring the art of Jessica
nently and sometimes only after fixing
Kovan, will open 5-8 p.m.
school lunches and attending
Thursday, July 17, and con-
kids' soccer games ("I'm a true
tinue through Sept. 11 at the
soccer mom:' she says) — was
Jewish Community Center of
her passion for art.
Metropolitan Detroit's Janice
Once her children were grown,
Charach Gallery in West
and thanks to support from her
Bloomfield.
family and with the help of her
The paintings and mixed
mentor and high school teacher
media focus on the "quiet
Mark Mehaffey, Kovan was able
moments, the brief laughs and
to dedicate herself fully to paint-
the small miracles that regu-
ing and mixed media, including
Jessica Ko van
larly occur around us," Kovan
her "quilted squares:' created
says. "On days when life seems
from paintings she made and cut
a bit too heavy, we are reminded to be
apart. The images of flowers, words, faces,
thankful for these gifts:'
images are then arranged and rearranged
"Jessica's artwork is a reflection of her
until they form something completely new
inspirations that embrace all the small,
and exquisite.
yet spectacular, moments:' says Gallery
"Art, Sports and Cupcakes" was inspired
Director Kelly Kaatz. "When viewing her
by her life.
paintings, you are reminded to slow down
The art is obvious.
and enjoy life
As for sport: Starting with Jeff, who is
Kovan, 52, who lives in Okemos and
head of sports medicine at MSU, the Kovan
belongs to Congregation Kehillat Israel in
family loves everything from running
Lansing, always has been skilled at balanc-
(Jessica aims for five miles a day) to simply
ing life's big moments with the small ones,
enjoying ("We watch a tremendous amount
practical needs with dreams, the impor-
of basketball; she says) to cheering (Sarah
tance of being alone so thoughts can burst
Kovan plays soccer at MSU, and Zachary
into colorful and creative ideas, along with
will soon play there, as well).
the need to interact with others.
The cupcakes came thanks to a challenge.

T

•I.
4

N ate Bloom
cial to the Jewish News
I Special

.12 Canadian Landsmen

The Canadian-American co-production

0) Working the Engels debuts at 9:30
p.m. tonight, Thursday, July 10, on
CI O NBC. It stars the very funny Andrea

) Martin (who is Armenian-Canadian
but often plays Jews), with Canadian
Eugene Levy, 67, her former SCTV
co-star, in a recur-
ring role.
Martin plays Ceil
Engel. Her lawyer-
husband suddenly
dies, leaving the fam-
ily in deep debt. She
and the rest of the
family go to work at
Sarah Levy

(s

42

her husband's storefront law firm. The
problem is that only one family mem-
ber, daughter Jenna, a newly minted
lawyer, is qualified to practice law.
Levy appears as Arthur Horowitz, a
prominent nice-guy Jewish attorney
who is secretly a bit sweet on his
neighbor, Ceil, and is hoping to retire
and give a few good clients to Jenna.
Levy's real-life daughter, Sarah Levy,
27, plays his daughter, Irene Horowitz.
Meanwhile, another hilarious SCTV
veteran, Martin Short, plays a pastry
mogul who used to be sweet on Ceil.
Seed is a Canadian TV comedy that
was just renewed for its second sea-
son. The first season of the series will
be broadcast on American TV on the
CW. It premieres at 9:30 p.m. Monday,
July 14, and stars Adam Korson, 32,

Kovan and a friend noticed paintings of
cupcakes that were small but pricy. Both
women announced, in a heartbeat, "We
could do that!" and each decided to paint a
different dessert once a month.
It was, Kovan says, "Hard! I had to totally
eat my words."
Finally, she settled on just one sweet: the
cupcake.
So Kovan, who adores coffee shops, went
to favorite spots to buy something to drink
plus a cupcake — the former to consume,
the latter to use for a model. She filled her
house with the treat ("I drove my son crazy
with all the cupcakes in the fridge that he
couldn't eat"); people stopped by to offer cup-
cakes as gifts; she was asked to participate
in a cupcake-themed fundraiser; and she
gained a nickname: "The Cupcake Artie
Small, sweet and delicious. Cupcakes
could easily be one of Kovan's "soul
moments" — five daily gratitudes she writes
in her journal. Or such moments could be
a bite of chocolate, a wonderful run in the
woods, a phone call from her sister, all things
that "make you stop and say, 'Life is good:"
Kovan, who said she is thrilled to have
her paintings on exhibit at the Charach
Gallery and whose son will play guitar at
the reception, has had her works shown
at the Shiawassee Arts Center in Owosso,
Mich.; the East Lansing Public Library;
and Indiana's National Art Museum of
Sport, among others.
She also sold two paintings to the
National Collegiate Athletic Association,
which are now on display at NCAA head-
quarters in Indianapolis.
Also opening at the Charach Gallery on
July 17 will be new art by the JCC Masters,
participants in the JCC's Farber Art Class,

who grew up in
Thornhill, a Toronto
suburb, as Harry, a
likeable bartender
who discovers he
has offspring from
his sperm donations.
11I
The series focuses
Korson
on his relationship
with his biological
kids and their families.

■

Holocaust Meets Vampires
The Strain, a horror/detective drama,

premieres on the FX cable channel
at 10 p.m. Sunday, July 13. The series
opens with a plane landing at JFK air-
port with the lights off and the doors
sealed. Epidemiologist Dr. Ephraim
Goodweather, played by Corey Stoll,

a- .T
Top: Peace, Love and Cupcakes.
Above: Embrace Life.

taught by Harriet Gelfond. Artists include
James Britt, Jeffrey Burnett, Hilda Castro,
Julie Eliason, Marcia Fast, Peggy Fura,
Gila Gelfond, Pearl Luss, Debra Nelson,
Tamara Povarinets, Irene Raab, Dorothy J.
Rutkowsky and Harold Shudnow.
The Side Gallery, showcasing an upcom-
ing artist, will present the work of Teresa
Petersen, who lives in Detroit and creates
art from finds in thrift shops and hard-
ware stores. ❑

Elizabeth Applebaum is marketing director at
the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan
Detroit.

"Daily Gratitudes: Art, Sport and
Cupcakes" opens 5-8 p.m. Thursday,
July 17, and continues through Sept.
11 at the Jewish Community Center
of Metropolitan Detroit's Janice
Charach Gallery in West Bloomfield.
Hours: noon to 4 p.m. Sundays, 10
a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays,
and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursdays. (248)
432.5579; www.jccdet.org .

38, and his team are sent to investi-
gate.
On board they find 200 corpses
and four survivors. The situation
deteriorates when the bodies begin
disappearing from morgues; shortly
thereafter, there's a mysterious viral
outbreak that has the hallmarks of
vampirism.
It turns out that Professor
Abraham Setrakian, a Romanian
Jewish Holocaust survivor turned
pawn-shop owner, may have answers
about the outbreak (John Hurt plays
Setrakian in the pilot; David Bradley
plays him thereafter). Newcomer Jim
Watson plays Setrakian in flashback
scenes, showing him in a concentra-
tion camp. ❑