Festival Aug. 5-6.
“I’ve always been an artist, finishing
studies as an art major at the University of
California at Irvine,
” said Bruce, who cel-
ebrates Judaism by sharing holidays with
family. “I was a potter for 30 years, and my
wife painted on the pottery. At a certain
point, we did a lot of tiles and tile murals.
“We discovered that by using the comput-
er and the scanner, we could scan ceramic
tiles. When you enlarge the tiles, they show
all the details in the glaze. When we were
first starting out with aluminum, we were
working with the glaze paintings, and then
we went to the ink paintings.
”
Christine, a graduate of Ferndale High
School who has been doing art work
for most of her life, attended Oakland
University before moving on to the
University of Florida. She majored in sociol-
ogy and education and taught for 10 years
while working on pottery after her teaching
hours.
The Greens settled near Gainesville in
Florida and do their work in buildings locat-
ed on their property. Bruce can recall a late
sister specializing in developing works of
glass as another family artist.
“We’re both very compatible and enjoy
working together,
” Christine said about the
ways she collaborates with her husband.
“We have specialized skills that we utilize.
We’re not always in the same room, but we
combine our talents together to make our
art, and I think that’s kind of unique in the
art world.
“When I met Bruce, I had been working
in Orlando and was kind of discouraged
with the job scene. At that time, I wanted
to do something more creative, and I met
Bruce and took off from there.
”
While the Greens plan a schedule of trav-
eling to art shows, they also are connecting
with designers and galleries as they prepare
for the time when they will not schedule
traveling.
The two feel close to family and enjoy the
days they are devoted to their two children
and three grandchildren.
“I like meeting the people at art fairs and
being able to show our work directly to
the public so that our work gets exposure,
”
Bruce said. “The thing I like the most is
selling a big piece and, even more, selling
multiple big pieces.
”
Details
The works of Bruce and Christine Green can be seen at three Michigan
art shows: the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair (July 20-22), Orchard Lake Fine
Art Fair (July 29-30 on Orchard Lake Road near Maple in West Bloomfield)
and the Suttons Bay Art Festival (Aug. 5-6). For information on all the pro-
gramming, food to entertainment, at each event, go to theannarborartfair.
com, artsandeducationinc.org and traversecity.com/event-detail/annual-sut-
tons-bay-art-festival/12813.
continued from page 48
continued from page 49
children who had developmental
disabilities.
“What we do in drama ther-
apy is help students learn skills
through playing, doing improv and
participating in drama games,” he
said. “Those students find a love
for theater and want to be a part
of it.
“My job came to be about how
I can make theater accessible for
everyone who wants to be a part
of it no matter where they’re from,
disabled or not. How can we make
theater something you can do,
access and have fun with?”
Bernier’s religious practices have
placed him in Hillel activities. He
also taught at a Jewish Community
Center in Tampa.
“My favorite holiday is
Chanukah,” Bernier said. “It’s
something that my family has
made it a point to do no mat-
ter where we are in the country.
We did it on Zoom one year. It’s
always brought us together.”
Bernier believes that sense of
family comes across in Golden
Girls: The Laughs Continue.
“Among the things I’ve found
particularly comfortable about The
Golden Girls is the sense of family
and connection that it creates,” he
said. “There’s a camaraderie and
understanding and the need to be
there for one another that I think
is inherent in Jewish culture.”
The actor expresses an intention
of bringing laughter to audiences.
“Stepping into someone else’s
shoes and being able to tell
stories that are important to
how we developed as a soci-
ety and how we relate to one
another are among the things
I’ve always enjoyed,” he said.
“I think males playing these
roles brings a sense of whim-
sy and play. You immediately
understand that we’re not
taking ourselves seriously.”
Details
Golden Girls: The Laughs
Continue will be presented
July 27-30 at the Royal
Oak Music Theatre, 318
W. Fourth Street. $33-
$102. (248) 399-2980.
RoyalOakMusicTheatre.com.
Ryan Bernier
as Dorothy
ARTS&LIFE
THEATER
50 | JULY 20 • 2023