shopping
CLOCKWISE: The Soul Studio Gallery. Andrew
Lipsitt displays one of his dog paintings. The
“End of Darkness” hoodie is silkscreened
with original artwork by Lea Pollack. A fiber-
arts mezuzah crafted in the Soul Studio.
Good For The Soul
Pick up original
holiday gifts crafted
by unique artists.
STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
T
A giraffe onesie features artwork by
Dylan Somberg.
details
The Friendship Circle Soul Studio
2nd Annual Gift Show will be held
6 p.m.-9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16
at the Farber Center, 5586 Drake
Road, West Bloomfield. (248) 788-
8600; friendshipcircle.org/soul.
here’s a little-known
gem brimming with
goodness — good shop-
ping,
p
good deeds and good
vibes
v
— tucked away in West
Bloomfield.
B
The Dresner Foundation
Soul
S
Studio at the Farber
Soul
S
Center is an extension of
Friendship
F
Circle’s mission of
inclusion
i
of those in the com-
munity
m
with special needs.
The art studio provides a
platform
p
and outlet for adults
with
w special needs to uncover
t
their
artistic talents and hone
t
their
creative skills. Painting,
ceramics,
c
weaving, sculpture,
photography
p
and more are
introduced to the artists.
And the artists — includ-
ing fiber artist Stephanie
Harris and painter Danna
Cicaramitaro, whose work
was recently featured in the
exhibit “One Way or The
Other” at the University of
Toledo’s Center for Visual Arts
— will be celebrated at the
Soul Studio’s 2nd Annual Gift
Show Thursday, Nov. 16. The
show will highlight original
artwork as well as apparel,
furniture and other creations
made in its Soul Studio pro-
gram. Prices of gifts range
from $25 to more than $125,
and some finds may be as
inexpensive as $10. Each piece
comes straight from the heart.
At the studio, artists earn
a 40 percent commission
from sold original pieces and
10 percent from reproduced
works, such as key holders,
tote bags and home furnish-
ings.
Although the Soul Studio
Gallery offers regular business
hours, it also celebrates the
artists with special exhibits
every three months. The Gift
Show is one of those special
exhibits — curated for the
holiday season.
“The work gives our resi-
dent artists confidence and
independence,” says Soul
Studio Assistant Director
Cassie Johnson. “For me, this
job has exceeded my expecta-
tions in my desire to be part
of something special. Every
day I get to witness a victory,
however large or small, when
our artists show their pride in
what they have created.”
In the main gallery, Jacob
Barron of West Bloomfield
is already hard at work on
his next composition: a wall
mural of abstractions com-
bined with forms, shapes and
textures created with random
words written in his flowing
cursive penmanship.
The show will feature some
functional pieces such as a
sturdy cloth tote bag and otto-
man created from one of his
more colorful abstract com-
positions, then scanned into a
screen printer to be used as a
pattern on blank fabric.
“I love working with a
quill pen and ink and then
I combine that with color-
ful shapes, all based on how
I see the world,” Barron says
as he proudly showed off his
creations and pointed out the
details of his penned letters in
his art. “Through this work, I
jn
get to explore different things
and thoughts, and I’m pretty
good at it.”
Andrew Lipsitt’s love of
dogs shines through the
moment he introduces him-
self. From his phone, the
Franklin resident readily
shows off photos of his own
two dogs — a beagle and a
lab/husky mix — and plans to
become a veterinary techni-
cian through a degree from
Macomb Community College.
This passion is evident in
his large-scale paintings of
canines. These designs are
then shrunk down and repro-
duced to create dog earrings
made of light wood, which
are carved at the studio’s laser
cutter, or blank notebook
journals with designs on the
front and back covers.
“I’ve already sold a few
paintings here and someone
has ordered some of my note-
books,” Lipsitt says. “Art helps
me express myself and I love
coming here.” •
November 9 • 2017
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