Almanac

4 regional artists exhibit their pastel paintings at the Glen Lake Community Library (Empire), through October 29, 2021 Four regional artists are exhibiting their work at the Glen Lake Community Library through October 29, 2021. Leelanau artists Julie Avery, Chris, Nettleton, Jan Price; and Lesa Seefled of Grand Traverse County have each worked in the arts for some time and have more recently moved into painting with pastels through both individual and group explorations. Nature Through Pastels gives them an opportunity to come together to share their creative works with the community. Tuesday, September 28th, 6 – 8pm Meet the artists and hear about their works at the library. Many of the works are for sale with 20% of the proceeds benefitting the library. ABOUT THE ARTISTS 1 page bios and artist statements available on each artist from: Julie Avery averyj@msu.edu ABOUT PASTELS Artist’s soft pastels are comprised of pure color pigment held together with a binder and formed into sticks for drawing and painting. Unlike watercolor, acrylic or oil paints, pastels do not dry or become set and thus pastel artworks are more fragile and can be damaged if not protected by framing under glass.

Exhibition entitled "PRESENCE" with two northern Michigan artists Paul Varga & Steve Toornman. Exhibit runs: September 17 - October 30, 2021. Opening reception Friday, September 17 from 5 - 7pm. A contemporary figural exploration with local artists Paul Varga of Pellston and Steve Toornman of Charlevoix. Two local contemporary fine artists who explore the figure each with a distinct approach. Varga is a sculptor working primarily in bronze and wood and Toornman is focused in oil painting. SPONSORED BY: DCL Inc. Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday 11am – 4pm, Saturdays 11am – 3pm, closed Sundays. Charlevoix Circle of Arts is a 501 c(3) non-profit organization and community arts center.

Close to Home: Contemporary Anishinaabek Artists is an exhibit of works from Anishinaabek artists in our region, supplemented by objects in the Dennos Museum Center’s collection. Artists include Kelly Church, Reneé Dillard, Jamie John, Yvonne Walker Keshick, and Jenna Wood. The exhibition represents current trends and connections to traditional practice by contemporary, working artists. Image: Yvonne Walker Keshick, Underwater Panther. N.d., Birch bark, porcupine quills. Detail.

BIRDS FLY IN: A Human Refuge is a cross-cultural art collaboration focusing on themes related to Migration and Intuition. Artist Ellie Harold was surprised by birds who “flew” onto her canvas after the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. As intuitive messengers, they brought not only an entirely new way of painting, but comfort during confusing times. Later, as migration issues came to the fore, she felt birds were a metaphor for the universal human desire to move toward greater freedom and love. Following her intuition, Ellie met Mexican composer David Mendoza, creator of the soundtrack music, and German architect Wilfried Schley who designed the Refuge Space. This exhibit is intended to heighten awareness of how individuals, liberated from the cage of limiting beliefs, might open to good ideas that “fly in” to inspire action that is helpful to all. We hope this guide will stimulate your intuitive appreciation of the art and music and encourage you to record your own creative ideas, images or insights. Image: Ellie Harold, Urban (Night) Flight. 2018, Oil on canvas. 48 x 60 in. Detail.

Illinois-based artist Patrick Earl Hammie uses figuration across traditional media to examine past and present black diasporic experiences and think-through themes related to cultural identity, social equity, narrative, and the body in visual culture. Through portraits and allegories, Hammie explores the complexities of identity, emotion, and family by layering existing histories with new narratives and navigating the tensions between feeling and knowledge, power and violence, and vulnerability and tenderness.

The subject of the “Great American Dream” is explored through photographer Charles Mintz’s series, “Lustron Stories.” Lustron Corporation manufactured porcelain-baked, enamel-coated, all-steel houses between 1948 and 1950 in Columbus, Ohio. The kit homes were shipped-to-site and assembled by local contractors. Many of the homes are still in use today. This project set out to discover who lives in these homes now.

The Glen Arbor Arts Center’s fall exhibition, Everyday Objects, explores the new and unexpected aesthetic possibilities in mundane objects – as art-making materials, and as new objects and ideas. This juried exhibition opens August 27, runs through October 28. In addition to the exhibition, the GAAC is offering four companion programs that dig deeper into the ideas behind Everyday Objects: Online interviews with visual artists from Leelanau County and Ohio whose work is built from repurposed and second-hand objects. An online interview with Leelanau County author Lynne Rae Perkins about her new book, The Museum of Everything. “Everyday Objects: Common Things, Uncommon Art” is an art historical survey of work created during the 20th and 21st centuries from plumbing fixtures, shoes, and tires – among other things. Viewable online. Read more about these programs at GlenArborArt.org/EXHIBITS. Everyday Objects is free and open to the public. The GAAC is located at 6031 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor.

Traverse City artist Denise Samuels papers the walls of the Glen Arbor Arts Center’s Lobby Gallery with Paper Constructions. Samuels exhibits sculptural, geometric constructions with recycled papers – cereal boxes, common cardboard and other heavier fibers she sometimes paints and alters – and stitches each hand-cut piece together with wire. Paper Constructions opens September 4 and runs through December 17. After receiving a BFA and MFA from University of Michigan with a concentration in Fibers, Denise taught art at Cranbrook/Kingwood Upper and Middle Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, for 29 years. At the same time, she maintained a practice exploring work that brought together painting, print-making and sculpture. “This was sustained through inspiration from my students, travel, workshops and the inspiring Cranbrook surroundings,” Denise said. In the collage constructions, pieces of cardboard are retrieved from the trash to become treasure.  Other materials are collected from sales or gifts from friends. The pieces are measured, cut and sewn with fine wire to create a self-supporting and dimensional cloth. 

4 regional artists exhibit their pastel paintings at the Glen Lake Community Library (Empire), through October 29, 2021 Four regional artists are exhibiting their work at the Glen Lake Community Library through October 29, 2021. Leelanau artists Julie Avery, Chris, Nettleton, Jan Price; and Lesa Seefled of Grand Traverse County have each worked in the arts for some time and have more recently moved into painting with pastels through both individual and group explorations. Nature Through Pastels gives them an opportunity to come together to share their creative works with the community. Tuesday, September 28th, 6 – 8pm Meet the artists and hear about their works at the library. Many of the works are for sale with 20% of the proceeds benefitting the library. ABOUT THE ARTISTS 1 page bios and artist statements available on each artist from: Julie Avery averyj@msu.edu ABOUT PASTELS Artist’s soft pastels are comprised of pure color pigment held together with a binder and formed into sticks for drawing and painting. Unlike watercolor, acrylic or oil paints, pastels do not dry or become set and thus pastel artworks are more fragile and can be damaged if not protected by framing under glass.

Exhibition entitled "PRESENCE" with two northern Michigan artists Paul Varga & Steve Toornman. Exhibit runs: September 17 - October 30, 2021. Opening reception Friday, September 17 from 5 - 7pm. A contemporary figural exploration with local artists Paul Varga of Pellston and Steve Toornman of Charlevoix. Two local contemporary fine artists who explore the figure each with a distinct approach. Varga is a sculptor working primarily in bronze and wood and Toornman is focused in oil painting. SPONSORED BY: DCL Inc. Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday 11am – 4pm, Saturdays 11am – 3pm, closed Sundays. Charlevoix Circle of Arts is a 501 c(3) non-profit organization and community arts center.