26 Thursday, August 1, 2024 BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.comThe art gallery at Commerce
Pointe Gallery in downtown Battle
Creek is exhibiting the works of
Ann Rather, Linda Compton and
Ven Sandoval, known as the Three
Friends/Tres Amigos.
“The artists met and developed
a unique alliance while taking
private art classes with renowned
artist Kenneth Freed,” said curator
Linda Tafolla. “They share their
talent in an exceptional celebration
of that friendship as they display
their art for the public to enjoy.”
The exhibit will run through
October.
Rather works predominantly as a
commissioned artist to paint fam-
ily portraits.
Always interested in paint-
ing people, she was encouraged
to seek formal training at the
Kalamazoo Institute of Art, where
she studied under Freed.
“That connection transitioned
into an atelier program, where Ann
studied alongside new classmates- now friends – at Freed’s private
studio,” said Tafolla.
Compton has been fortunate to
have had several paintings accept-
ed in the West Michigan Art Show
and the Muskegon Art Show.
Some of her portraits have found
homes in San Antonio, Louisville,
New York, Washington and
This portrait of an eagle is on display at the Commerce Pointe Gallery.Curator Linda Tafolla straightens a
work of art at the gallery.Commerce Ponte Gallery
exhibits works by Tres Amigos
London.
Sandoval is an electrical engineer
by trade and takes great pride in
his art accomplishments.
“When I finished a painting,
it’s a joy to share with others the
mystic experience I went through
capturing the subject,” he said.
Commerce Pointe Gallery,
located at 77 E. Michigan Ave.,
is open Monday through Friday, 8
a.m. to 5p.m.
More information is available
by contacting Tafolla at (269) 832
4743 or [email protected].Helping adults with disabilities secure
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The practice is located at 215 E.
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Patients may call (269)
558-0710 to set up an
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Samani specializes
in endocrinology, dia-
betes and metabolism,
and before his arrival at
Oaklawn Medical Group,
he completed his fel-
lowship at Michigan
State University/Sparrow
Hospital, where he was
also chief fellow from
March 2022 to February 2023.
He also served as a hospitalist in
Acute Cardiology/Internal Medicine
at the University of Iowa Health
Care and Clinics from 2021-22.
Born in Iran and raised in the
Chicago area, Samani said that as
a boy, he always imagined himself
becoming a physicist.
The decision to pursue medicine,
however, came while he was in col-
lege at Benedictine University in
Illinois.
“I remember taking this biology
course and that got me interested
in medicine, but then that interest
really flourished when I took a 300-
level class in endocrinology,” said
Samani, who majored in biology.
“After taking that course, every-
thing pointed me in the direction of
pursuing something in medicine.”
Endocrinology is one of the
Soroush R.
Samani, M.D.Endocrinologist joins
Oaklawn group in Marshall
cornerstones of medicine, noted
Samani.
“It’s the caring of the endocrine
glands and includes many differ-
ent glands responsible for diabetes,
thyroid disorders, parathy-
roid, pituitary and adrenal
disorders,” he said. “An
endocrinologist’s job is
to care for these glands
and the hormonal interac-
tion that takes place. ...
From my perspective, it
[marries] biochemistry,
genetics and physiology
to patient care. It’s very
important; without these
glands, we cannot func-
tion, we cannot live.”
“Within endocrinology, I am able
to provide a lot of preventative care
to my patients,” he continued. “The
chronic nature of these diseases we
take care of allows me to establish
close relationships with my patients.
At the same time, the patients
become like educators for me. I love
that aspect of being able to see peo-
ple’s progress and help them.”
The advancements in diabetes
technology, such as insulin pumps
and continuous glucose monitoring
systems, as well as a recent rise
of the use of GLP-1 agonists and
SGLT2 inhibitors, has led to an
interest in the field of endocrinol-
ogy, Samani added.
“Now we have better tools to help
people,” he said.
Samani and his wife, wife Zahra,
have a 15-month-old son, Iliya.