42 | APRIL 22 • 2021 continued from page 41 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