West Bloomfield Artist's Watercolors, Folk Art Featured at Ferndale Gallery

West Bloomfield artist Alice Frank's fascination with folk art will be on display this month at Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale. 

Frank is one of 27 artists who own and operate the gallery, which takes its name from the group's beginnings on Lawrence Street in Pontiac. Her show, "Artful", will officially open Friday, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.; the public is invited to attend. 

A former teacher in Bloomfield and Southfield schools, Frank said she has been "doing art forever". Her favorite medium is watercolor, but she also blows glass and works with fired enamel on metal. "Sometimes, I put them all together," she added.

Frank crafts unique collages using hand-painted paper that she attaches to a canvas to produce a three-dimensional effect. She has also created "teeples", pieces of metal fired with enamel that can be displayed on a necklace, as a pin or hung on laminate rectangles.

One of her teeples was displayed on a White House Christmas tree; her work is also owned by celebrities including Bob Seeger and Victoria Principal. 

The May exhibit introduces Frank's new folk art collection; she said she has always been fascinated by the traditional art form, but also "wanted to come up with my own concept." The result: a set of three-dimensional, whimsical creatures made from found objects and displayed in specially made boxes. 

Visitors to the exhibit should pay particular attention to the titles of Frank's works. She said she gives deep thought to the words she uses and hopes that people will take the time to read them. 

"The primary thing I enjoy is bringing a smile to people's faces," she said. 

Frank plans to donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of her art to a nonprofit that helps the homeless. In the past, she has donated to soup kitchens in Pontiac and Detroit. 

Lawrence Street Gallery is located at 22620 Woodward Ave., Suite A.

Hours of the exhibit are Wednesdays and Saturdays, 12 p.m.-5 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 12 p.m.-9 p.m.

For more information, phone the gallery at 248-544-0394 or visit lawrencestreetgallery.com.