JUNE 6 • 2024 | 41

else that would be presented 
and would have a better 
chance of being juried in. 
The majority of the work 
I do is of faces. I’m not a 
traditional mosaic artist so 
I don’t do portraiture. This 
piece is one of a group that’s 
different. I’ve developed my 
style by doing this kind of 
work.”
Schwartz uses found pieces 
to enhance her projects. 
She sees things that catch 
her eye and keeps a stash 
of materials to enhance the 
mosaic glass works that she 
is completing. A bookmark, 
parts of a broken mug, wire 
and wood spikes have been 
used to complete her recent 
project.
The artist, whose work has 
been exhibited in a variety of 
places, is on the board of the 
Society of American Mosaic 
Artists and is planning a 
September group exhibit 
at the Charach Gallery in 
conjunction with a group 
conference. 
She has permanent work 
at Children’s Hospital in 
Detroit and Beaumont 
Hospital (Corewell Health) 
in Royal Oak.
“I think there is so much 
beauty in the world when we 
look for it,” said Schwartz, 
who is in her 70s. “Art tells 
a story. There are all kinds 
of art for all kinds of people. 
We can appreciate the value 
and the work that goes into 
it all.” 
Rebecca Silverman, who 
expected to become an 
elementary school teacher 
when she entered Michigan 
State University, instead 
chose a glassmaking career 
based on jobs she had on her 
way to college graduation.
In this exhibit, which 

precedes the outdoor art 
fairs she will be attending 
to showcase her designs, 
Silverman will be displaying 
decanter sets and a menorah. 
While the decanter sets are 
made from blown glass, the 
menorah is made from hot 
glass pulled and sculpted, 
and it’s put together later 
with special glues, making 
it hot sculpted and cold 
assembled.
“I’ve been doing glass work 
since 2012,” said Silverman, 
who likes bright colors, 
patterns and textures. “I 
worked in a glass shop while 
in college, but we just sold 
glass. We didn’t make it, but 
I became really interested 
and met an artist who invited 
me to work for trade in the 
shop he was working at. I 
got the bug and have been 
addicted ever since.”
Silverman, 34, first 
saw how special pieces 
were made by her late 
grandfather, Nathan Barr, a 
woodworker who gave her 
many cherished items from 
furniture to puzzles. 
When Silverman works, 
she is renting studio time. 
Currently, she is looking to 
do requested custom work 
in glass as well. She thinks 
in terms of designing goblets 
and making bridesmaid 
gifts. Also renovating her 
home in the midst of making 
many glass items, she looks 
back on her bat mitzvah at 
Congregation Beth Shalom 

as she looks ahead to sending 
her son to Jewish schools.
Diane Marie Kramer, one 
of the artists in Rockets, 
Robots and Rayguns, has 
used cement and found 
objects to complete her 
robot, describing her work 
as intuitive. She likes to 
repurpose what she finds, 
has included peace signs and 
named her sculpture “The 
Rebirth of Gort.”

The piece has a music 
box that plays “Somewhere 
Over the Rainbow” by Jewish 
composer Harold Arlen, and 
she calls it a “friendly robot.”
A painter, photographer 
and sculptor, Kramer 
has been doing art since 
childhood. She was born in 
Detroit and lives in the Ann 
Arbor-Brighton area since 
attending and teaching at 
California schools. 

Details 

The Fifth Michigan Regional 
Glass Exhibition and Rockets, 
Robots and Rayguns will be on 
view for free through June 26 
at the Janice Charach Gallery 
in The J (Jewish Community 
Center) in West Bloomfield . 11 
a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday-Thursday. 
charachgallery.org. 

Diane Marie 
Kramer with 
her sculpture 
“The Rebirth 
of Gort”

