FEBRUARY 17 • 2022 | 47

past year.
“Whether you are drawn 
to paintings, ceramics 
or fiber, this exhibition 
showcases what can be 
accomplished if you just 
take the leap to explore 
your artmaking potential,” 
she wrote. 

JEWISH ARTISTS
Among the honorees are 
a handful of artists from 
the Jewish community. The 
JN caught up with three 
of them: Barbara Bayson, 
Jodi Galperin and Marlene 
Galperin. 
Bayson of West 
Bloomfield says the 
painting itself makes her 
happy and the fact it was 
selected to be showcased 
means so much to her. 
“I’ve always been interested 
in arts. I’ve taken classes 
all my life and I was not an 
art major in college. I had 
been a special education 
teacher as my career, but 
I always knew that once I 
retired, I would go to art 
school,” she said. 
“I realized doing the art 
and being in classes with 
other very talented people 
just made me happy. The 
BBAC is a very welcoming 
non-judgmental place 
for people of all levels. 
I felt like I was in the 
kindergarten of painting 
learning basics. I feel like 
I have learned a lot, and 
I’m not in kindergarten 
anymore. Now I take 
advanced classes and I’m 

able to just paint the way 
I see it the world,” Bayson 
said. 
Bayson says she’s been 
taking classes with BBAC 
for about 10 years. She is 
taking two classes with the 
art center and usually takes 
four but has eased up since 
the pandemic. She says she 
plans to continue to take 
classes for as long as she 
can. 
Jodi Galperin of 
Farmington Hills says this 
isn’t the first time one 
of her pieces has been 
selected for a show. After 
roughly five years with the 
art center, Galperin says 
she feels honored to be 
selected again. “This award 
is significant to me. It just 
shows that I’m making 
a lot of progress in my 
pursuit of learning. You’re 
always learning the craft,” 
she said. 
Jodi’s mother-in-law, 
Marlene Galperin, also had 
an art piece selected to be 
showcased. She told the JN 
that a love of art runs in 
the family. “I first started 
out upstairs with drawing. 
I just happened to walk 
downstairs to sculpture. 
And I said, ‘Oh, this is for 
me.’ I’ve always said it’s my 
happy place and it’s good 
therapy. It’s always been 
good therapy,” she said. 

The exhibition runs until March 3 at 

the BBAC in Birmingham. For more 

information about the BBAC and a 

complete list of artists, visit https://

bbartcenter.org. 

LESLIE MASTERS

“Swimming,” acrylic, by Barbara Bayson

SUE O’CONNOR

“Sister,” clay, 
by Marlene 
Galeperin

