56 | SEPTEMBER 8 • 2022 

ARTS&LIFE
ART

T

hree mornings a week, 
at Congregation Beth 
Shalom in Oak Park, 
some 15 painting students take 
studio classes taught by artist 
Harriet Gelfond. The class, 
previously taught at the Jewish 
Community Centers in Detroit 
and Oak Park, moved to the 
synagogue when the Oak Park 
center closed in 2015.
Students’ recent work is 
being shown through Sept. 15 
during a popup exhibit at the 
Janice Charach Gallery in the 
Jewish Community Center in 

West Bloomfield. The display, 
Enduring Through Art, features 
samples of projects developed 
by each student attending the 
Farber Art Class. 
The works range from 
realistic to abstracted images. 
Students who have participated 
over the years have shown their 
work in earlier exhibits at the 
Charach Gallery.
“I’ve been teaching this class 
since 1968, and I just want the 
community to see how an art 
class can produce this won-
derful, imaginative work,
” said 

Gelfond, whose own art train-
ing came from Cass Technical 
High School and Oakland 
Community College. 
“My brother-in-law, Charles 
Gelfond, who is an artist, 
taught the class for a year, and 
he is in that class still. If stu-
dents see that it’s a safe place, a 
friendly place where they can 
get help if they want to and 
some kind of encouragement, 
I think that’s what keeps them 
coming. 
“It’s a wonderful thing to see 
the progress of each student 
and their ability to keep mov-
ing and learning. One thing I 
appreciate is that it’s not that 
easy for someone who wants 
to paint to get up the courage 
to do it, so I give them credit 
for wanting to openly do their 
work.
” 
James Britt, who generally 
paints portraits, has been with 
the class almost since the very 
beginning. His work has been 
shown at a gallery in Saugatuck 
and at the Birmingham 
Bloomfield Art Center. 
“I go to this class two or 
three days a week,
” said Britt, a 

retired restauranteur who lives 
in Redford Township and miss-
es classes during the part of the 
year that he spends in Florida. 
“I had an aunt who put a paint-
brush in my hand and gave me 
some paints when I was 12. 
That started it, and it developed 
over the years.
”
Britt offered six recent paint-
ings for the exhibit and believes 
painting brings magic into his 
days. 
“Using paint to bring things 
to life on canvas is a magical 
experience,
” said Britt, who has 
taken some art instruction at 
the College for Creative Studies 
and Muskegon Community 
College. “Sometimes, it’s breath-
taking, and I spend a couple of 

Farber Art Class students exhibit 
at the Janice Charach Gallery.

Enduring 
Through Art

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

CLOCKWISE: 
Students have been 
coming to the Farber 
Art Class. Artwork by 
Anne Olender. Artwork 
by Beth Dzodin-Fuchs.

Details
Enduring Through Art 
can be seen through 
Sept. 15 at the Janice 
Charach Gallery in the 
West Bloomfield Jewish 
Community Center. Hours 
are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays 
and Tuesdays and by 
appointment. (248) 432-
5579. gallery@jccdet.org.

