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