Expressions in Glass

ART

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

At least three glass artists new to showing their work in Michigan will be represented as two simultaneous exhibits are presented through May 18 by the Janice Charach Gallery at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield.

Adam Goldberg, of Ohio, will display a contemporary sculpture in the 4th Bi-Annual Michigan Regional Glass Exhibition, which spotlights some 50 Michigan and Ohio artists, including Albert Young, founder and owner of Michigan Hot Glass Workshop, and son Nolan Young as well as Andy Koupal, Herb Babcock and Lou Krueger.

A complementary exhibit, SIP, in the upper gallery, which spotlights original approaches to functional and decorative glassware, has invited artists from more distant states to debut their projects. They include Alexander Rosenberg, of Pennsylvania, who often uses glass as a tool to observe the natural world, and Josh Bernbaum, of Vermont, who experiments with color.

Curator of the main exhibit is Alli Hoag, glass artist and professor at Bowling Green State University, where she heads the glass program. SIP curator is glass artist Ryan Thompson, supervisor of the Greenfield Village Glass Shop.

“I’ll be showing a sculpture made out of steel and glass that’s called ‘Gnomon,” said Goldberg, who links the work to a public commission. “It’s made up of two triangles that are in balance.

“The piece is a study for what has turned into a large installation that’s going in an Ohio park. It represents a 9-foot tall version functioning as a sundial and casting a shadow on a large scale.”

During high school, Goldberg started experimenting with glass as a fun activity offered by the Toledo Museum of Art. Serious studies happened through a bachelor’s degree program at Bowling Green State University.

At the suggestion of his grandfather, who made Toledo warehouse space available, Goldberg began offering his projects to the public while teaming up with other glass artists.

“I like to make glass that anybody can interact with,” said Goldberg, who designs Judaica for family and friends. “I like to think about the end user.”

With a varied clientele, he has made large projects for business display.

“I like to spend time in the garden, and I like to incorporate my ideas of gardening and landscape design into my sculptural work,” Goldberg said. “I’m drawn to glass because I like the team aspect [that we have].”

Alexander Rosenberg, who divides his

continued on page 48

ART

continued from page 47 time between personal projects and teaching at the college level, has won many awards, written for artistic publications and appeared on the Netflix glassmaking series Blown Away.

In West Bloomfield, he is showcasing two projects that depart from the intended use of functional glassware.

“Much of my work is in conversation with the history of science and the role of glass in measuring, encapsulating and observing the natural world,” said Rosenberg, glass studio director at Wheaton Arts in New Jersey.

“One object [on display] is called ‘looking glass,’ a goblet-like object used to examine a distant landscape in miniature. The other, titled ‘orb,’ comes from a design derived from an orrery, a mechanical model of the solar system.”

Rosenberg, whose undergraduate studies were at the Rhode Island School of Design and whose graduate accomplishments were at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, does not use molds. Instead, he prefers glass that is gathered out of a furnace and shaped with hand tools. Josh Bernbaum develops more functional pieces. “I’ve made drinking glasses since I started working with hot glass, and it’s kind of a touchstone for me,” Bernbaum said. “A lot of what I do involves techniques or processes in blown glass which allow me to explore the use and placement of various colors. “I employ processes that allow different layers of coloration throughout the wall thickness of each piece.”

Bernbaum melts his own glass colors from scratch, which means he is mixing the raw materials together and melting them in a furnace instead of incorporating premade glass colors. When the piece is cooled off, he carves through the exterior with diamond carving tools to reveal other layers of color. “I have a pair of black goblets in the show,” Bernbaum said. “Even though you can source black glass to incorporate, it is never going to be the same look as if you melt that black glass in a furnace and gather

Details it out of the furnace when it’s in a molten Complementary glass state.” exhibits will be on Bernbaum, who knew he wanted to display through May 18 be an artist in high school, entered the by the Janice Charach Massachusetts College of Art and Design Gallery at the Jewish in Boston thinking he would specialize in

Community Center graphic or industrial design. That changed in West Bloomfield. (248) 432-5579. Charachgallery.org. after he studied glassblowing. Through early employment with a designer-builder of glassblowing equipment, he learned techniques to construct his own equipment. “The nice thing about making my own is that it’s all customized to me,” said Bernbaum, whose wife, Marta, is a glass artist specializing in jewelry. “I know how to fix pretty much everything I build.” Predominantly marketing through social media stands out as one approach the three artists have in common.

According to the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer, the average cost of battling childhood cancer for just one family starts at $833,000, including medical costs and lost parental wages. Northwestern Mutual, through its Foundation, is committed to making a difference in the lives of those children and their loved ones, including providing needed financial support.

As part of these efforts, local Huntington Woods resident Shayna Lopatin has been recognized as one of the company’s 2021 Childhood Cancer Sibling Scholarship recipients.

Northwestern Mutual’s Childhood Cancer Scholarship Program was created in an effort to ease the financial burden on families affected by childhood cancer by helping to fund school tuition and fees. This year’s program marks the largest group of scholars to date, with 50 students nationwide receiving a $5,000 renewable scholarship (for a total of $10,000).

When Shayna Lopatin was just 9 years old, her sister Cara was battling cancer. Because of the various cancer treatments, including inpatient chemo, six weeks of radiation and a stem cell transplant, Shayna’s sister and mother were gone for weeks at a time.

Shayna found positivity through the kindness from friends and family who wrote letters, made sure her family had plenty to eat and helped with household chores. This inspired Shayna to support other families and children going through cancer by creating the Better by Letter Club where letters were written to those facing challenges. Additionally, Shayna has completed three half-marathons to raise money for Chai Lifeline, an organization that helps families with life-threatening illnesses, and has participated in panels discussing the impact of cancer on siblings. Shayna is currently attending the University of Michigan to find a career based on her passions of communication, theater, social activism and politics.

“Helping siblings of those going through cancer has also helped me in processing what I went through,” said Shayna Lopatin.

“I aspire to create and support organizations that provide sibling support. My sister’s cancer has given me the tools to support other families who are affected by childhood cancer.”