April 18 • 2019 51
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L
arry Pazol, while establishing a law career, kept 
a workroom in his home to take care of house-
hold tasks. Then one day, 30 years ago, he visited a 
Charlevoix art exhibit that showcased mobiles, decid-
ed his fix-it skills could be a start toward devising 
three-dimensional art and soon adjusted his workroom 
to be a studio as well.
Pazol’
s approach developed into shaping wood and 
metals to build images of people and animals. Vivid 
acrylic paints finished the details of each project.
While continuing his law practice and now into 
retirement, Pazol, 77, has affirmed his artistry by being 
chosen to participate in shows at fairs, temples and 
galleries inside and outside Michigan. 
Through May 9, seven of his pieces will be on view 
at the Janice Charach Gallery in the Jewish Community 
Center, offering a style contrast to the large glass 
exhibit.
“I am showing folk art reliefs,” says Pazol of 
Bloomfield Township, where his sculptures adorn his 
outdoor property and his reliefs enhance the indoors. 
“With this kind of art, viewers can touch the pieces.”
Pazol, feeling comfortable with many tools, taught 
himself art techniques and explains his style is espe-
cially popular in parts of the Midwest and Mexico.
“My work is whimsical and bright,” he says. “The 
pieces always must have bright colors.” 
Pazol, who devotes about 20 hours a week to new 
subjects and designs, is a member of Temple Beth El 
and volunteers to spend many hours at the Dresner 
Soul Center in West Bloomfield, where those with spe-
cial needs can realize their own artistic talents. 
Pazol’
s building skills are put to use in setting up 
displays for the center so visitors can view and pur-
chase artwork in an attractive space. These volunteer 
efforts bring him back to the original purpose of his 
structural skills while also calling on his artistic knowl-
edge and commitments to assist other artists. ■

Workroom Turns
Into a Studio for
Larry Pazol’
s Art 

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Artist Larry Pazol 

with his work at the 

Charach Gallery 

glass bubbles of different colors] to 
make it more sculptural.”
At the Museum of Biblical Art in 
Dallas, the exhibit is “Glass Matters: 
The Emergence of Simon Waranch.” 
The piece that means the most to him, 
a grandson of a Holocaust survivor, is 
Holocaust Memorial.
“The Holocaust piece took the most 
time,” says Waranch, who attended a 
Jewish day school before entering the 
Booker T. Washington High School 
for the Performing and Visual Arts in 
Dallas. “My goal was getting 6 million 
lines, and it took 500 hours to make 
it.”
Before turning to figurative forms, 
Waranch concentrated on nonfunc-
tional vessels to put the emphasis on 
viewing, not using. 

“I started painting when I was 5,” 
Waranch recalls about his early artist-
ry. “When other kids had lemonade 
stands, I had a stand with paintings. I 
got into a curated show when I was 9 
at FIG (Fashion Industry Gallery) in 
Dallas, and people thought the work 
really was done by my dad, who want-
ed to be an artist but went into real 
estate.”
Throughout school years, Waranch 
experimented with sculpture, photog-
raphy, graphic design and other dis-
ciplines that caught his attention. The 
fascination with glass began during 
a trip to Italy, where he saw the work 
of artists affiliated with the celebrated 
studios on the island of Murano.
“When I got back to Dallas, I took 
a couple of classes at Carlyn Ray 

Five Jewish Artists 
Represented 
at Habatat’s 
47th 
 Invitational

A 

visit to the glass exhibit at the Janice Charach 
Gallery will be among the special activi-
ties planned by Habatat Galleries in Royal 
Oak as part of its 47th Annual International Glass 
Invitational, the oldest and largest art glass exhibition 
in the world. 
This year’
s invitational, running May 4-July 5, fea-
tures more than 300 works of contemporary glass art 
by more than 100 artists from 30 countries.
Five Jewish artists, known by glass art enthusiasts 

details
The 47th Annual Interna-
tional Glass Invitational runs 
May 4-July 5 at Habatat 
Galleries, 4400 Fernlee, 
Royal Oak, preceded by 
a VIP Preview Weekend, 
May 2-4. (248) 554-0590. 
habitat.com.

California 

Amulet Basket, 

Laura Donefer

continued on page 52

Reticello Globe Grouping, 2019