Artist Michele Sider has created a series

Arts&Life art

Portraits in Glass

Artist Michele Sider has created a series focused on the Jews of Yemen.

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Michelle Sider has combined her love of artisanal glass and her interest in the Jews of Yemen to create a stunning collection of glass mosaic portraits. She calls it “painting with glass.”

Sider has completed four portraits in a collection, “I Am Yemenite,” that will eventually number 12. Each piece is 14 x 18 inches, and each takes about 100 hours to complete.

Sider was inspired by glass mosaics at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Originally a painter, she studied glass art locally and with artists in Boston, Costa Rica, Belgium and Israel. Her first glass mosaic effort was a triptych, nearly 4-feet-by-5-feet, of a modernized Queen Esther. Sider became interested in the Jews of Yemen when her oldest son Joshua, 26, who lives in Israel, got engaged to a woman of Yemenite heritage. “I started learning about their history and I was hooked!” she said. She listened to her future daughter-in-law’s family stories and examined their old photos. She used some pieces of her daughter-in-law’s mother’s jewelry as models for jewelry in her portraits.

Sider has read numerous books about Yemenite Jews, from scholarly tomes to reports from explorers, including one published in 1792. She turned to a translator to help her read a replica of a book of essays in German, Von Den Juden Des Yemen, published in 1913.

Sider, 60, grew up in Detroit and graduated from Birmingham Groves High School. At the University of Michigan, she majored in fine arts, joking that she did her “junior year abroad” at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies. With a master’s and doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Detroit, she worked for many years as a counselor. She taught art for 41 years, offercontinued on page 48 AUGUST 27 • 2020 | 47

ing private tuition and classes at Farber Hebrew Day School, Frankel Jewish Academy, the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center and various community centers. She gave up teaching four years ago to concentrate on her own art.

In 2017, Sider and Rabbi Joseph Krakoff published a book, Never Enough Time, to help people grieving the loss of a loved one, and a companion coloring book for children.

Sider spends many hours working in her first-floor home studio.

“I must create,” she said. “It is the essence of my being. I am continually thinking about how I can translate my experience into art.”

An entire closet at the entrance to her studio is filled with large sheets of glass in dozens of colors. Some are thick and opaque, resembling marble; others are extremely thin and nearly transparent.

Sider gets her glass, all of it hand-made, from vendors all over the world. She particularly likes Italian smalti, a type of glass produced in just two places in Italy.

“Italian smalti is created with a focus on brilliance, purity of color, quality and consistency,” she said. “The recipes for over 3,000 colors have been handed down for centuries, often kept within family groups. The production of the glass itself is con

Michelle Sider at work in her studio. sidered an art form.”

She starts the process with drawings, which she uses as a guide to create an acrylic painting. Sometimes she uses her own hands as models, taking numerous selfies with her cellphone to get the right angle. She creates the mosaic by placing glass pieces atop the painting.

Sider uses no grout in her portraits, so each piece of glass has to be cut precisely to match the pieces next to it.

Scrupulous about detail, Sider points to the embroidered edge of a shirt in one of her portraits where there is a break in the “stitching.” Yemenite Jews often intentionally included a tiny flaw in their work, whether a building or a garment, to show that nothing man-made could be perfect.

The mosaics have a fluid look, as the glass pieces reflect light differently at different times of the day.

Sider hopes a museum will be interested in exhibiting the “I Am Yemenite” collection when it is complete.

Sider and her husband, Bill, an attorney, are members of Kehillat Etz Chaim in Oak Park. In addition to Joshua, they have 22-year-old twins, Ben and Eli, who live at home, and a Bernese-poodle mix named Juneau. When she’s not in her studio, Sider spends time in her garden, which has been certified as a butterfly habitat.

Arts&Life

celebrity jews

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

SPACE STUFF; MAYA AS KAMALA; AND PENN’S PHILANTHROPY

Away is an original Netflix series that premieres Sept. 4. Hilary Swank stars as an American astronaut who must leave her husband and teen daughter behind to command an international space crew embarking upon a treacherous, three-year mission. There are six more characters in the credits, and I presume they are crew members. Two are Jewish: Josh Charles, 48, and Mark Ivanir, 51.

Charles, the co-star of the hit TV drama The Good Wife, is the son of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother. He’s described himself as Jewish. In 2013, he wed Sophie Flack, now 38. Flack, whose mother is Jewish, is a retired New York City ballet dancer and a novelist. The couple have two children. Avenir’s family left Ukraine and settled in Israel when he was 4. He’s worked steadily in mostly smallish film parts since 1988.

It looks like Maya Rudolph, 48, will appear at least a couple of times on SNL when the series resumes sometime this fall (no date set yet). Rudolph played Sen. Kamala Harris in three SNL debate skits last season. (She was recently nominated for a guest appearance Emmy for these skits).

Last week, she told the Hollywood Reporter that SNL creator/producer Lorne Michaels, 75, all but said she’d be back: “He sent me a GIF of myself, as Kamala, in sunglasses, sipping a cocktail and saying, ‘Oh no.’”

Maya added that she doesn’t think of herself as an impressionist, but she has long noticed that when she quotes anyone, it

CASA ROSADA VIA WIKIPEDIA

Sean Penn

somehow just comes out in their voice. She attributes this to being a good listener.

After the first skit, Harris sent out this tweet: “That girl being played by Maya Rudolph on SNL? That girl was me.”

Rudolph told the Reporter: “It [the tweet] was really clever and great, so I wrote her back. But I haven’t had the chance to meet her. I would love to.”

I have no doubt that Sean Penn, 60, will win the humanitarian award at a future Oscars ceremony. Almost quietly, he’s emerged as a master organizer of disaster relief. It began in 2005, with help for Hurricane Katrina victims. Some then said it was a publicity stunt. But then, in 2010, he founded and oversaw an organization (CORE) that did tremendous work to help Haitian earthquake victims.

In 2012, CORE and Penn did the same for Pakistanis, following an earthquake there. Last March, CORE began free COVID-19 testing in California. Testing sites have expanded exponentially across the country (including Native American reservations).

CORE works with local organizations, and its reputation is so high that major foundations are now funding it. (I have to add that in 2013 Penn used connections to facilitate the escape of a Jewish businessman who was being held in a Bolivian jail on dubious charges. Penn then took him to his LA home and helped nurse him to health.)

On The Go virtual events | learnings

THE BEATS GO ON AUG. 27-SEPT. 3 Nearly 200 performers across nearly 15 genres will perform virtual concerts spread across a full week to raise money for the music community. All events have been constructed in collaboration with the Oakland County Health Department and meet current state of Michigan event guidelines.” A schedule and links to online performances can be found by visiting artsbeatseats.com/ virtual-showcase-supporting-localmusicians.

MOVIES IN THE PARK 9-11 PM, AUG. 28 Godzilla will be shown in City Hall Park in Downtown Dearborn. Free movies begin after dusk. Social distancing guidelines followed. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and settle in for a fun night.

OUTDOOR CONCERT 6 PM, AUG. 29 Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings blends unconventional stage design and a precise orchestral score to create an outdoor, socially distant concert presented in collaboration with the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival. John Luther Adams’ Sila: The Breath of the World will be presented with 32 professional musicians filling the Quad at Cranbrook Upper School, performing to an audience of no more than 68 people. Audience members will have the opportunity to enjoy the performance from 34 sectionedoff 12-foot squares, able to hold one to four individuals. Tickets will be reservation-based, costing $100 and are available at detroitchamberwinds.org or greatlakeschambermusic.org. SOUNDS OF SUMMER 7 PM, AUG. 29 (4 PM, AUG. 30) Theatre NOVA presents an openair summer concert fundraiser in Ann Arbor. The socially distanced open-air performance will be on the porch of the Yellow Barn. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy a concert featuring some of Ann Arbor’s most beloved bands and singers. Tickets: $20 per person or $50 for a family of four (adults and children) per performance. Advance tickets are required. Purchase online at TheatreNova. org. Information: email a2theatrenova@gmail.com.

WALK4FRIENDSHIP 8 AM-3 PM, AUG. 30 Friendship Circle will host the virtual walk. Info: jamie@ friendshipcircle.org or check the website friendshipcircle.org/soul.

ALISON SCHWARTZ

FASHION EVENT NOON-4 PM, AUG. 30 Council Re|sale, 3297 W. 12 Mile Road, Berkley, will host its fall fashion event Aug. 30 and Monday, Aug. 31, 10 am- 6 pm. All proceeds from the store benefit programs aimed at improving the lives of Detroit-area women, children and families. There are safety measures in place, including newly donated items being quarantined in a storage pod, staff practicing social distancing and wearing gloves while handling donations, hand sanitizing stations and only 10 shoppers allowed in the store at a time. All shoppers and staff wear masks. Shoppers can purchase a $25 VIP early entry fee by appointment; call 248-214-1205. On Aug. 28, there is a fill-a-bag sale for just $12.

VOTING PANEL 7-8:30 PM, AUG. 31 Because of the pandemic and Michigan’s expansion of absentee voting, a record number of Michigan voters are expected to cast their ballot in the November election. It is more important now than ever to ensure that citizens are fully informed of their rights as voters. Join the JCRC/ AJC for an informative Zoom program featuring voting rights advocate Wendy Wagenheim, who will address these rights, recent changes to voting law, tips on how to help others during the election and more. She will be joined by Rev. Kenneth Flowers, pastor, Greater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, and Ariana Mentzel, managing director, Detroit Center for Civil Discourse. Email young@jfmd.org for information.

LECTURE SET 7 PM, SEPT. 2 Case Western Reserve University - Siegal Lifelong Learning presents a remote lecture on “Isaac, Ishmael and Jesus: Jews, Christians and Muslims on the Binding of Isaac.” Lecturer is Aaron Koller, professor of Near Eastern Studies; Chair, Robert M. Beren Department of Jewish Studies, Yeshiva University. Free and open to the community. Registration required at case.edu/ lifelonglearning/koller. RACISM DISCUSSED 7 PM, SEPT. 3 The Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity, Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC and Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit will present “Racism and the Jews: History, Conscience and the Future.” Presenter: Professor Susannah Heschel, chair, Jewish Studies Program, Dartmouth College. The program will feature a clip from Shared Legacies, which features lessons of Black-Jewish cooperation, and a discussion with a new generation of Black leaders. Info: Sam Englender, (248) 891- 4837, englender@jfmd.org.

DRIVE-IN CONCERTS SEPT. 4-7 Downtown Royal Oak will deliver a series of live drive-in concerts from local musicians to support local musicians. These concerts will take place at the parking lot at 6th and Main streets. Each performance will deliver a pair of 30-minute high-energy sets from Michigan bands offering an array of themed genres. Each ticket admits two people per vehicle and may be purchased for $30. Find the The performance schedule, along with links to ticket registration, at artsbeatseats.com/ drivein-concert-series.

WELLNESS FORUM NOON-3 PM, OCT. 3 Presented by Yoga Moves MS. Event is free; $25 donation appreciated. Info: yogamovesms. org/holistichealthand wellnessforum. Registration

begins Sept. 3.

Compiled by Sy Manello/Editorial Assistant. Send items 14 days in advance to calendar@ thejewishnews.com.