Left, Susan Kuznitsky paints portrait of David Fuks  at Celebration of Art.  Above, the finished portrait.

"Should I wear my clown suit?"  mused David Fuks (center above), executive director of Cedar Sinai Park, before sitting for a portrait Oct. 30 at the Celebration of Arts hosted by ORA Northwest Jewish Artists at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.  Completed in just two hours, the realistic portrait had multiple layers of colorful gestural pastel strokes.  A steady stream of shoppers flowed through the MJCC to examine jewelry, carved stone, dyed silk, photographs and beadwork.  Diana Unterspan described the process of pressing local wool into felt for hats at her Dayenu Designs. Guest artist Jonas Blaut showed menorahs and other stone carvings, while describing the moh scale of hardness for stone; explaining that a Sawzall or diamond-coated tool are needed to cut the hardest stones.  His carved/painted granite bench was donated to the Oregon Garden by his patron.  The volunteer at the cashier desk reported many successes.

ORA Jewish artists ready annual show at JCC

CSP’s David Fuks tapped for portrait demonstration

By SHARON SEGAL, Special to the Jewish Review

ORA Northwest Jewish Artists will present its sixth annual Celebration of Art at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center on Sunday, Oct. 30.The ballroom will be transformed into an art gallery featuring the works of emerging as well as experienced artists representing a variety of media. In addition, recent artwork by residents of Rose Schnitzer Manor will also be on display. The sale begins at 10:30 a.m. and concludes at 4:30 p.m.

During the event, portrait artist Susan Kuznitsky will paint a portrait of Cedar Sinai Park Chief Executive Officer David Fuks.

“We are very excited that David has agreed to be the subject of this painting,” said Kuznitsky.

Fuks is well known in the community not only for his role at Cedar Sinai, but also as a passionate writer, eloquent speaker and comedian. When asked if he would sit for the portrait, David humbly responded, “Me? I’m just a working guy,” and he then rattled off a list of names!

“It is precisely because of David’s humility and hard work, that we want to honor him. David is an artist; he uses words to paint pictures and now in front of his community, Susan will paint his portrait,” said ORA Director Eddy Shuldman.

”We hope everyone will stop by the demo booth during the day to say hi to David while he strikes a pose for Susan. She is masterful and will no doubt capture his essence!”

New to the show this year will be painters, Anna Kodesch, Diane Russell and Janice Katz. Ceramic and stone artists include Jonas Blaut, Glenn Decherd, and Emunah Noa. New member Roberta Cohen will be selling her jewelry and related bead work. Back after a brief hiatus will be paper and glass artist Judith Hankin (Eugene) and quilter, Sharon Stern.

The exhibit/sale will include paintings, collage, silk, fused glass, ceramics, jewelry, beadwork, sculpture and photography. Some of the work will have Jewish themes.

Returning artists include Leslie Elder, Laurie Fendel, Diane Fredgant, Esther Liberman, Sharon Segal, Ellen Shefi, Eddy Shuldman, Sabina Wohlfeiler, Barbara Berger, Jessica Israel and Diana Unterspan.

For more information about individual artists and the sale go to the ORA blog—northwestjewishartists.blogspot.com—where a new artist is featured daily.

At left, a painting by Janice Katz, "Man Reading, Boy Sleeping." Above is a ceramic mezuzah, the work of Emunah Noah. Both artists will be in the ORA show.

ORA annual Celebration of Art Oct. 30 at Mittleman Center

    "A man (and a woman) should hear a little music, read a little poetry and see a fine picture every day... in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which G-d has implanted in the human soul," wrote Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
    With that thought in mind, ORA, Northwest Jewish Artists hopes that everyone will visit the sixth Celebration of Art in the ballroom of the Mittleman Jewish Community Center on Sunday, Oct. 30.
    The event -- set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- will present a variety of fine art from founding members Leslie Elder, Laurie Fendel, Diane Fredgant, Esther Liberman, Sharon Segal, Ellen Shefi, Eddy Shuldman, Sabina Wohlfeiler, and new members Barbara Berger, Roberta Cohen, Judith Hankin, Jessica Israel, Janice Katz, Anna Kodesch, Sharon Stern and Diana Unterspan.
    The exhibit/sale will include paintings, collage, silk, fused glass, ceramics, jewelry, beadwork, sculpture and photography. Some of the work will have Jewish themes.
    Guest artists this year include Jonas Blaut, Laura Dawson Rosenblit, Glenn Decherd, Diane Russell and Jessica Schurtman. Also on display will be the work of artists from the Rose Schnitzer Manor.
    Since ints beginning in 2005, ORA has held fast to the commitment of providing opportunities for artists of Jewish heritage to find each other, supporting their collective artistic growth and creating exhibits/sales in which people from the extended metropolitan area can experience Jewish art.
    Membership structures have been expanded to include both beginning and professional artists.
    ORA is the oldest Jewish arts collective in the Northwest.                  

ORA art celebration supports Kehilla Housing program

By JEWISH REVIEW

This year’s Fifth Annual Celebration of Art hosted by ORA Northwest Jewish Artists will benefit Cedar Sinai Park’s Kehillah Housing program.

A total of 25 local Jewish artists will be featured at the fine art show and sale on Sunday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the ballroom at the Mittleman Jewish Communtiy Center. This year, ORA chose the Kehillah Housing program as their community partner.

Through this partnership, ORA will donate a percentage of their proceeds from art sales to the Kehillah Housing program.  

The Celebration of Art event will feature works that evoke feelings of home—a message that parallels the purpose and spirit behind Kehillah Housing. Additionally, resident artists from CSP’s Rose Schnitzer Manor will have a table featuring their works of art.

Kehillah Housing, a program currently in development, will be an affordable housing program for adults with developmental disabilities.  Cedar Sinai Park’s Kehillah Housing program will partner with Jewish Family and Child Service to offer adults with developmental disabilities affordable housing and access to an array of social services that support their ability to live independently in the community.

Kehillah Housing will offer 14 apartments to residents, many of whom have continued to reside with their families into adulthood. An important component of Kehillah Housing is its focus on supporting residents’ inclusion into the community through social activities and supported employment. In addition, life skills training will be available to assist residents with their successful transition.

ORA Jewish artists event Oct. 24

By JEWISH REVIEW

The fifth annual celebration of art by ORA Northwest Jewish Artists is set for Oct. 24 at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

This event is an exhibit in which the art works are for sale.

Ten percent of the proceeds from this year’s event will be donated to Kehillah Housing, a project of Cedar Sinai Park and Jewish Family and Child Service that helps to provide housing for developmentally disabled adults.

The ORA exhibit will also include space for Rose Schnitzer Manor artists to exhibit their work.

Works by ORA members Eddy Shuldman, Diane Fredgant, Leslie Elder, Robin Esterkin, Sabina Wohlfeiler, Esther Liberman, Sharon Segal, Julie Hockley, Ellen Sheffi, Susan Kuznitsky and Laura Fendel will be on display and for sale. Fourteen guest artists will also take part this year. 

Nearly 500 people attended last year’s ORA event.

Kuznitsky portrait of Stampfers at Neveh Shalom By PAUL HAIST

Susan Kuznitsky was in the Stampfer Chapel at Congregation Neveh Shalom not long ago for her younger son Matthew Heiteen’s bar mitzvah rehearsal. Associate Rabbi Bradley Greenstein was there along with Matthew’s tutor Deb Freidberg.

They looked out the open doors of the chapel where Kuznitsky’s portrait of Rabbi Joshua and Goldie Stampfer had recently been installed facing the chapel entrance.

“They looked like they were smiling into the room,” said Kuznitsky of the canvas that seems to glow with its own light.

Stampfer is emeritus rabbi at Neveh Shalom. He and his wife Goldie endeared themselves to generations of Neveh Shalom members and are greatly admired across the Jewish community.

Kuznitsky is a Neveh Shalom member and a portrait artist who was recruited last May by CNS Executive Director Fred Rothstein to create the portrait.

The canvas measures 24 by 30 inches. The painting is executed in oil.
Kuznitsky said she worked from a photograph selected by Stampfer daughters.

No one was sure exactly where or when the photograph was made, although Kuznitsky estimated that Rabbi Stampfer was in his 70s at the time. He is 89 today.

Stampfer daughter Nehama Glogower, now of Ann Arbor, Mich., found the photograph, according to her sister Elana Stampfer Emlen of Portland.She said everyone agreed the painting should be adapted from that image.

The painting does reveal the couple’s inner selves.

Emlen said, “I love it. It’s so joyful. It really captures their delight.”

Greenberg said, “It captures Rabbi Stampfer’s sweet and gentle nature.”

Greenstein was present when the Rabbi Stampfer first saw the painting. He said Stampfer wanted right away to bring his wife to see it.

Kuznitzky studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and then with Albert Handell when he was in New York.

Today, she paints and teaches art at her Studio in the Woods Northwest near her home in the vicinity of Alpenrose Dairy. See more of her work at studiointhewoodsnw.com.

Kuznitzky is a member of ORA Northwest Jewish Artists, which will host its fifth annual exhibition and sale Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

Jewish Arts Month kicks off Wednesday with Pre-JAM slam, continues into April

By Nancy Haught, The Oregonian

February 23, 2010, 6:00AM

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Arts Commission funds Jewish Arts Month

By JEWISH REVIEW

The Pre-JAM Slam kick-off for Jewish Arts Month, a new collaborative festival of the arts, will be held at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center at 7 p.m., Feb. 24.

The Oregon Arts Commission awarded the MJCC a $4,200 Arts Build Communities grant to organize and promote Jewish Arts Month in Portland. JAM will reach hundreds of people at venues throughout the Portland community through art, music, theater and the spoken word. Additionally, MJCC Chief Executive Officer Lisa Horowitz offered the center’s facility and staff support.

JAM is a collaborative effort between various Jewish and secular cultural arts agencies including the MJCC, The Multnomah County Library, Portland Center Stage, Jewish TheatreCollaborative, Triangle Productions, Oregon Jewish Museum and the Elements Gallery and Hot Shop, among others.

Eddy Shuldman, JAM director and chair of ORA: Northwest Jewish Artists, imagined an arts festival that would involve collaboration between various local Jewish and secular cultural arts agencies.

“Stories can be told through spoken and written words, images and sound; they play an essential role in all cultures,” said Shuldman. “We are known as ‘the people of the book’ but we are also a people of music and art, film and theater.

“We have successfully assimilated in America and, because of that, it is easy to lose touch with our traditions and values. Judaism is often viewed through a lens of stereotyped images and expectations. Through the arts, I think we can begin to displace those Hollywood clichés.”

JAM will begin Feb. 24 with a “Pre-JAM Slam” celebration at the MJCC, beginning at 7 p.m. and featuring an official city proclamation to launch the festival. Jennifer Yocum will attend as a representative of Mayor Sam Adam’s office to deliver the proclamation. Brian Wagner with the Oregon Arts Commission will also be present, along with numerous, artists, musicians, actors and theater directors.

Art exhibits will accompany several theater productions: including Sarah Horowitz’s “Yiddish Alphabet” and Shelley Jordon’s animated painting “Family History” at the Portland Center Stage’s production of “The Chosen.”

Renata Dollinger’s oil paintings of shtetl life will be on display at Coho Theater with Triangle Productions’ one-woman play “Rose,” starring Wendy Westerwelle.

The Jewish Theater Collaborative will present “Kindertransport” at Artists Repertory Theatre. (See story below.)

“Fugue: Exile, Emigration and Displacement,” a photography and poetry exhibit by Friderike Heuer will be featured in the ART Alder Stage lobby.

ORA: Northwest Jewish Artists have an exhibit called “LIGHT” at the Elements Gallery and “Hot Shop” March 4-12. There will also be a weeklong exhibit at the MJCC.

JAM will present Joanne Greenberg, best-known author of “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,” in an intimate adult storytelling event at Oregon Jewish Museum. After lecturing about her novels at Reed College and the University of Oregon, Greenberg will tell Jewish stories intended for mature audiences on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. Her stories will include “A Corpse Bride;” “The Jewish Orpheus and Eurydice” and “The Litvak Eulogy.”

Music concerts at the MJCC will feature V’Chaverim, an eclectic klezmer band, on March 11 at 7 p.m., and Amy Shapiro and Jeff Olenick, an evening of folk and theatrical music, on March 18 at 7. p.m.

Shelley Jordon will present “An Artist’s Journey” (or…”How a middle-aged Jew Reinvented Herself”), a lecture and screening at The Oregon Jewish Museum.

Numerous other activities also fall within Jewish Arts Month and can be found on its master calendar northwestjewishartists.org/JAMschedule2010.html). These include the Sholom Aleichem Conference at Congregation Neveh Shalom, the Jewish Film Festival, and the Women’s Seder led by Cantor Ida Rae Cahana.

Also, the Yuval Ron Ensemble: Mystical Music of the Middle East—Concert for Unity will perform at the First Unitarian Church in downtown Portland. At Havurah Shalom, A “Fah-bring’-in!” and CD Release Party honoring Rabbi Aryeh Hirschfield, zt”l will take place on March 21 at 5:30 p.m. to benefit the Southwest Community Health Center and P’nai Or of Portland.

At Portland Jewish Academy, fifth- and sixth-grade students will participate in a workshop at the Hillsdale Library on April 21 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Family Heirloom Art, Celebrating Family Stories and Creating a Family Tree will be led by artist Lisa Kagan. The workshop is free, multi-generational and open to the public.

"In the Evening" by Friderike Heuer