It Doesn’t Have to Cost A Fortune . . .
Only Look Like It!
Complete kitchen
and bathroom
remodeling along
with furniture design and
installation including
quartz, granite, wood and
many other materials.
Gamesmanship
ORT events. She has entered proj-
ects into ArtPrize in Grand Rapids
and takes on portrait commis-
sions. Private clients have includ-
ed the families of the late Eugene
Applebaum and the late Max Fisher.
“When people are sitting for por-
traits, I talk to them in ways I think
will bring out their personalities
to be represented on canvas,” the
artist says.
Neumann, who works out of a
home studio, began painting as a
5-year-old competing for the atten-
tion given to a newborn brother.
While growing up in Illinois, she
studied at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago.
Although majoring in psycholo-
gy at the University of Illinois and
working in that field with a move
to Michigan, she deepened her
interest in art after marrying and
becoming a mom. Classes at Wayne
State University and Lawrence
Technological University (LTU),
formerly Lawrence Institute of
Technology, helped advance her
talents.
“The gallery holding this exhib-
it is part of LTU, and I’ve known
Christopher Stefani, the associate
director, through a community pro-
Designs
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Lois Haron, Allied Member ASID
gram,” Neumann says. “We’re think-
ing about doing two more shows of
my work using different media; one
involves reclaimed refrigerator doors
to express issues related to food, and
another focuses on benches holding
themes.
“To make the benches, I get old
headboards and paint on them.
A carpenter adds pool table legs.
One headboard I found was very
ornate so I used that for the theme
of excessiveness and added my own
poetic lines:
‘Dreams of power, wine and sex
Become nightmares in excess.’
“Surrounding those words is a
painting of Napoleon, who wanted
to conquer the world; Bacchus,
who drank too much wine; and
King Henry VIII, who had too
many women. Everything on that
bench is gold and glittery to fit in
with the theme.”
Neumann refers to her current
exhibit with ideas even beyond the
World War II setting.
“I hope the reception will start
off with a recording of the Lee
Greenwood song ‘Proud to Be an
American,’” Neumann says. “That’s
an important part of what I’m
expressing through this exhibit.” ■
jn
October 18 • 2018
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