arts & life

scu lp t u re

All That I Am

Wired

Suzanne Chessler | Contributing Writer

Israel-raised artist

Bonnie Shanas

brings her beautifully

ethereal sculptures to

West Bloomfield.

A Summer State of Mind

40 July 21 • 2016

B

onnie Shanas learned the
essentials of her sculptural
approach in Israel, but she
adapted them very specifically to
showcase universal subjects.
Shanas uses wire mesh sheets to
form figurative representations of
men and women, many of them
dancers, and stops each work at the
chin line to suggest anonymity and
thereby encourage viewer identifi-
cation.
Recent works can be seen locally
for the first time at the Orchard
Lake Fine Art Show, which runs
July 30-31 on Powers at Daly in
West Bloomfield. In its 14th year,
the fair will feature 180 juried art-
ists showcasing a range of media
and styles.
“The material I use is not the
kind of wire mesh that you would
have in a window screen,” explains
Shanas, who was raised in Israel
before settling in New Jersey, where
she was born.
“I use galvanized steel, a con-
struction and industrial material
malleable enough for me to manip-
ulate with my hands. It’s very firm
so I don’t need to do any treatment

to keep it in place.
“My sculptures are not full-
round, but they are very solidified.
One of my challenges is to take
something that’s otherwise very
hard and turn it into something
that looks very soft.”
Shanas, whose ideas come from
imagination rather than live mod-
els, paints her sculptures, which
start out with a silver color because
of the wire mesh. She applies black
paint and goes over that with
brighter hues — usually silver, gold
and red — to emphasize textures
or clothing. Once coloring is fin-
ished, the pieces are set onto silk
mats and framed.

Each work extends five or six
inches from the wall. Viewers con-
fronting them straight on and from
a distance sense they are looking
at paintings. The dimensional-
ity comes across as people move
closer.
“The framed sculptures vary in
size,” says the artist, who recalls
neoclassical works by using drap-
ing effects. “I have some that are
about 18 by 25 inches, and I have
very large pieces that go up to 50
inches each way. Usually, the sculp-
ture itself is anywhere between half
life-size to three-fourths life-size.”
Shanas, 51, dabbled in art long
before giving up a pharmaceutical

Bonnie Shanas

business career in 2006. She had
taken workshops and studied on
her own to try painting and clay
sculpting. One inspiration was her
mother, who also experimented
with various art forms but did not
turn professional.
“I had studied management and
psychology at an extension of the
Hebrew University in Israel,” she
says. “I worked the 10 years before
sculpture and felt I had to take
time out and break away from a
demanding startup company.
“I decided to go to a sculpture
class because that was something
I had been longing for. I studied
with Shulamit Hartal, who was

details

The Orchard Lake Fine Art Show runs July
30-31 on Powers at Daly in West Bloomfield
(west of Orchard Lake Road between 14
and 15 Mile roads). The admission fee of $5
for those 13 and older helps support the
nonprofit Institute for the Arts & Education,
which fosters art opportunities for children.
(248) 684-2613; hotworks.org.

Shanas
at work