42 | APRIL 22 • 2021
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Pieced Together 2 presents an
encaustic print with texture and
pattern providing an abstract-
ed view of the human head.
European Graffiti takes form as
a painting using gouache and
watercolor pencil to enhance an
image originally captured in a
photo.
“Figurative and landscape sub-
jects remain my primary interest
since moving into encaustic tech-
niques in 2009 after many years
of working with watercolors,
”
Zaks said. “I don’t sketch, per se,
so I dive right in with color lay-
ering and layering with collage. I
begin a piece by randomly apply-
ing paint to a surface.
”
Zaks, represented in private
collections across the country
and having participated in solo
and group shows, has won many
awards for her artistry, includ-
ing first prize in this year’s “3rd
Online Encaustic Exhibition.
”
Even during COVID, her work
has been part of six shows.
Zip It Up! is the title of the
work submitted by Bloom, a
Birmingham resident who has
been active with Temple Beth El
and a Goodwill environmental
subsidiary as well as civic inter-
ests as a founder of Birmingham
Citizens for Responsible
Government.
“The mixed-media piece,
which can be interactive, consists
of two hearts zipped together on
linen backed by suit and dress
fabric,
” Bloom explained. “It is
mounted on a second canvas
symbolizing the vibrating uni-
verse and the color spectrum.
”
The piece can be viewed in
different ways beyond as a sin-
gle image. It also can be seen
with the zipper partially opened
against the canvas folded back
or with the zipper completely
opened.
“The painting represents two
people choosing to unite,
” said
Bloom, whose “Our Town” pres-
ence follows his selection into six
other art shows, including two
hosted by the Palos Verdes Art
Center in California and another
affiliated with the San Fernando
Valley Arts and Cultural Center,
also in California.
Now that Bloom has begun
art projects, he is moving into
a collaborative 175-foot mural
for the Baldwin Public Library
in Birmingham, The mural is
planned to make a unity state-
ment for the community. Forty
artists from across the country
will be participating.
Taking Shelter After the Rains by Steffanie Samuels
NEW SHOWS, INDEPENDENT
SPIRIT AWARDS
Rebel, a new ABC drama,
premiered on April 8 (10
p.m.). Katey Sagal, 65, plays
Annie “Rebel” Bello, a sort-of
Erin Brockovich character (a
blue-collar woman who fights
for regular folks). The recurring
cast includes Adam Arkin, 64,
and Dan Bucatinsky, 55.
Sagal describes herself
as “culturally Jewish,” even
though she isn’t religious and
her late mother wasn’t Jewish.
Her late father, Boris Sagal,
honed his chops in the Yiddish
theater and went on to be a
top TV director. Both her par-
ents died fairly young, but she
still has famous sit-com creator
Norman Lear, 98. He intro-
duced Katey’s parents to each
other and he’s her unofficial
godfather.
Rutherford Falls, a “tribal”
sit-com not about Jewish folks,
premieres on the Peacock
network April 22. The series
is about the relations between
people living in an upstate
New York town and the res-
idents of a nearby (fictional)
Native American reservation.
Ed Helms, who co-created
the show, stars as a town
resident who gets into pol-
itics when the city’s African
American mayor proposes
moving a statue of his colonial
ancestor because its place-
ment has caused several traf-
fic accidents. A series co-cre-
ator, Sierra Teller Ornelas,
is Native American and just
about the most seasoned
Native American comedy writ-
er around. Her credits include
writing for Brooklyn-Nine-Nine,
which was co-created by
Michael Schur, 45, the third
and most famous co-creator of
Rutherford Falls.
Schur has a great track
record, so Falls may be some-
thing special: He was a top
SNL writer and producer, a
producer and writer for The
Office; he co-created Parks
and Recreation and he creat-
ed The Good Place.
The 2021 Independent Spirit
Awards will be shown live on
April 22 on IFC and AMC+ at
10 p.m. Here are three Jewish
Spirit Award nominees that
didn’t get an Oscar nomina-
tion, but their “Spirit work”
is now streaming and worth
viewing: Julia Garner, 27, is
nominated for “best female
lead” for the title role in The
Assistant. She plays a “lowly”
office assistant who discovers
a culture of sexual harassment
in the film production compa-
ny she works for (streaming
on Hulu); Mike Makowsky, 29,
is nominated for best screen-
play. He is the writer of Bad
Education, an HBO original
dramedy inspired by a real
public school superintendent
who embezzled millions; and
Eliza Hittman, 41, the writer
and director of Never Rarely
Sometimes Always, a best
feature film nominee. It is a
beautifully acted and written
film about a 17-year-old who
becomes pregnant and wants
an abortion. It has a 99% rat-
ing on Rotten Tomatoes and
won film festival awards (view
on HBO). Hittman is also nomi-
nated for best screenplay.
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ABC
ARTS&LIFE
Katey Sagal
in Rebel