By Renee Larr
Artist Yael Kahanov, a former Carmel resident who recently moved to be near family, is creating a unique 3-D piece of art to adorn the wall in the Woodland Terrace senior living community.
“A designer that knew my work brought me into (Woodland Terrace) and wanted a large piece for one of their projects,” Kahanov said. “They asked me to come with an idea. They showed me the logo, and I gave them three designs. They chose one, which I’ll start working on soon.”
The piece chosen by Woodland Terrace is simple but has a unique meaning, Kahanov said. The piece will take two full months of work if she works on it every day.
“It has to do with trees. It’s very simple. It’s probably about 8 feet tall,” Kahanov said. “On one of the trees, the leaf is down. To me it represents that at one point we do break. Life is not perfect.”
Kahanov’s art is unique in that the pieces are large, heavy, wall-mounted pieces. She creates them with copper covered in glass fired at 1,800 degrees.
She has also worked with etching and wood cuts and previously owned art galleries in Indianapolis and Carmel.
“I’ve been in Indy for 40 some years. I had my business there for 30 years. I just left a few months ago for a new life closer to my children,” Kahanov said. “I did a lot for Eli Lilly and Methodist Hospital. I sold all over the country and world. Indianapolis really opened the doors for me.”
Kahanov feels lucky to have been able to make her life’s passion into her livelihood.
“My art is my job, my business,” she said.
