ARTS&LIFE LIFE ART
2 Part Hex Earrings
Fractured Circle Brooch
Art in the Streets
Ann Arbor Art Fair is back for three-day event. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
T COURTESY OF MICHELE FRIEDMAN
wo distinctive jewelry designers and a whimsical assembly artist are among the participants joining the multi-media creative contingent as the Ann Arbor Art Fair resumes showcasing new work. Although this year’s event will be three days — July 15-17 — instead
Layered Chevron Brooch
of four, the three artists are glad to travel the distances from their out-of-state homes so they can once again meet with customers and display the pieces made during pandemic isolation. CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY Michele Friedman, based in Chicago, will be at the original art fair and has brought an unusual material, wool felt, into her sterling silver-based necklaces, brooches and bracelets. Like the other two artists, she defines herself as culturally Jewish but not currently offering Judaica. “I treat fiber as if it were a stone,” said Friedman, who has been developing original pieces since 1998. “I wanted to do something different and experimented with texture and saturated color. There is depth, not just thin material, and the fabric is water repellant and durable.” Friedman, who began showing her work in Ann Arbor in 2007, had gone to the Parsons School of continued on page 40 JULY 15 • 2021
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