By LARRY MAIER
"I see a memorial to my son Jason," says fellow Merrick resident Susan Helsinger. "And I see a day when hopefully they will find a cure for children's heart diseases."
This holiday season, Jane Rubinstein is painting the town red, white, green, blue and every other color under the winter sun. With brilliant brush strokes, she is transforming dozens of Merrick storefront windows into festive displays of holiday cheer. And she's doing it all for a great cause -- the Jason F. Gruen Research Foundation.
Jason is the late son of Susan Helsinger. He died suddenly in 1985 at age 15 of a heart disease called idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis and cardiomyopathy. Helsinger started the Jason Foundation after his death to raise money to support research in the field of pediatric heart disease.
Last summer, Rubinstein, who year-round operates a store-window painting business called Smooth as Glass, was trying to think of a way to do something special for others over the winter holidays. When she read a Herald article about Helsinger and the Jason Foundation, she knew she had found a worthy cause.
"It touched me deeply," said Rubinstein, 49. "I have been very fortunate. I have a wonderful husband and two healthy sons and I have always wanted to pay that good fortune forward."
When she approached Helsinger with the idea of painting store windows and donating the proceeds to the Jason Foundation, Helsinger was elated. She put Rubinstein in touch with Julie Marchesella, president of the Merrick Chamber of Commerce, to help the generous artist reach out to Merrick merchants for support.
Marchesella wrote a letter encouraging chamber members to take part in the charity window-painting project, which Rubinstein has dubbed "Art with a Heart." Rubinstein said she thought the response from Merrick merchants might be a bit subdued in light of recent events and the fact that so much charity was deservedly focused on assisting victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
But Merrick storeowners, Rubinstein said, have come through big time.
"I went to all the merchants I could, and almost everyone said yes," said the former art teacher. "The merchants in Merrick have been so generous and giving during such a hard time. It warms my heart."
Merrick merchants say their hearts have been warmed as well by the spectacular scenes Rubinstein has painted in their windows.
"It surpassed our wildest dreams, and it's supporting an important cause," said Michael Freiser, owner of Yussell's Place. The window of the Judaic art and gifts shop on Merrick Avenue is now bedecked with a giant dreidel, a colorful menorah and many dancing potatoes.
Pat Aguece, manager of Matty's Toy Stop in the Merrick Mall, said her staff was also overjoyed with Rubinstein's work.
"Jane did a great job," said Aguece. "A woman came in the other day and said, 'I'm going to shop here because it is so beautiful, and it celebrates everyone.'" The mural in Matty's Toy Stop's window cleverly combines Christmas, Chanukah and patriotic scenes.
Indeed, many merchants and customers have been impressed with Rubinstein's ability to blend different holiday seasons and patriotic themes into beautiful works of art.
Rubinstein has asked Merrick merchants for a minimum $50 donation for her artwork, but many have come through with more substantial sums. When all her work is complete, about 40 windows in Merrick and dozens more in surrounding communities will have been painted. Rubinstein hopes to present the Jason Foundation with more than $3,000.
It won't be the biggest donation ever presented to the Jason Foundation, but it might have been raised in the most creative way, said Helsinger. "And it is so special because it is from the heart," she added.
Some of Rubinstein's favorite murals include the pizza-toting Santa on the front door of Roma Pizza and a menorah made of nail polish bottles that she painted for Crazy Nails. Her piece de r
