Author: Megan Koch

Posted 4 February 2020 | art, art center, art gallery, artist collective, community, gallery, member, membership, painter, painting, studio 23

Meet our member, Amy Gibas

#meetourmembermonday

Studio 23’s mission is to provide the Great Lakes Bay Region with a vibrant arts center dedicated to making the visual arts relevant and accessible to all. It is our passion to connect artists with our local community and to engage our community with art!

This past week we sat down with Amy Gibas, a member of Studio 23 to talk about her journey with art and how Studio 23 helped connect her with artists right outside her studio doors.

Amy Gibas has been involved with Studio 23 since 2012, if our memory serves us correct! Amy taught Sip N’ Swirls at Studio 23, during her BFA program at Saginaw Valley State University. Then she moved on to complete her MFA at Ohio University. Luckily, we had Amy move back to our community to begin her career in the Great Lakes Bar Region. Right away she wanted to reconnect with the art community, to work alongside artists just like she did in school.

On FaceBook she saw a post for the 100 day project with Studio 23. This opportunity helped connect her with local artists and our Curator, Valerie Allen. Val and Amy shared a vision to create a group for artists that would help engage with one another, participate in professional development and notify each other of exhibition opportunities. Amy tells us that Studio 23’s Artist Collective was formed by the excitement around the first 100 day project.

You can be a part of the Artist Collective by becoming a member of Studio 23. Through the collective they host various events throughout the year, focusing on networking and professional development. They also have a private FaceBook page where they share information weekly on exhibit opportunities across the state and encouragement on artwork.

Amy’s best advice to up and coming artists is “Don’t give up and don’t sell out. Always make the work you are passionate about!”

Join Amy and the many other artists in our collective by becoming a member today!

by Megan Koch

Posted 27 January 2020

Meet our member, Joanne Grabinski

#MeetOurMemberMonday

On January 23rd we kicked off our membership campaign at Studio 23/The Arts Center by welcoming in our 100 Day Project. On Day One, we gained eight new members and three renewing members. What a great way to welcome in 2020!

The same day I sat down to chat with our friend, Joanne Grabinski. We enjoyed our conversation and I am so glad she has chosen Studio 23 as one of her galleries in our region.

I met Joanne three years ago when she applied for the 50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region. It was our first year doing a call out for this show, so we were nervous here at Studio 23! Lucky for us we received a whooping 91 applications for only 50 guaranteed entries. The juries narrowed down the artists on a warm summer evening, picking Joanne as one of the 50. In Joanne’s word, “I took the leap off the high board and got accepted.” This exhibit was the perfect introduction of Studio 23 for Joanne. Not only was she displayed in our gallery, she participated in artists talks, a community art walk and other networking opportunities that we hosted during that time frame. We all at Studio 23 became fast friends with Joanne.

Now she is participating in her next 100 Day project with us at the Studio. The 100 Day Project is the commitment to create for ten minutes a day, for a continuous 100 Days. This is the third time we have offered this event at Studio 23 under the guidance of the official 100 Day Project. Joanne has completed both previous rounds and is participating with her third one this year. Her plan is to use the 100 Days to research women artists, in preparation for a Call to Artists. What a great way to use the 100 Day momentum!

We are so grateful to have members like Joanne! You too, can become a member today. Please see our registration page on our website for more information or call a staff member to chat today.

by Megan Koch

Posted 9 January 2020

Welcome to 2020 at Studio 23!

Welcome to 2020!

The past year came and went so fast for us here at Studio 23. We are so thankful for a successful year of programs, workshops, and exhibits. A big accomplishment for us included our 60th Anniversary renovation. Can you believe that we have been your community arts center for that long? I know I can’t. The galleries and classrooms got a big facelift, and we are now able to host even more programing. We feel so lucky to be in a beautiful space every day. The new ceilings, lights, and floors feel like a modern art gallery you would see in a large city. If you haven’t been in to see the new space, please stop in. I’d love to show you around.

5,900 visitors walked through our galleries in 2019. The quality exhibits we hosted, the festivals downtown, and the programing we offered helped achieve that high count of visitors.

Art Around the City got a big expansion this past year. Public art is important, and because of this project you get to see 50 local artists on our rail trail systems in Downtown Bay City and Uptown Bay City.

We have a lot of ENGAGING activities for you in 2020. Can you tell we picked a theme word for 2020? Our mission is to make the visual arts relevant and accessible to all. The only way to do this is to engage with our community. New this year, there will be a hands-on art activity with each exhibit. Your current membership now gets four makers projects that you can do for FREE. Our artist collective, which every current member is a part of, has tons of programming ready to go. We really want you to think of our galleries and classrooms as a place to come and be creative and network with your community.

Please encourage friends and family to come walk through the gallery, take a class, or enjoy an event or festival. As always, my door is always open! Please stop in and say hi or reach out to me with any questions.

Yours in creativity,

Tara Welch

Executive Director

UPCOMING EVENTS

January 11, 2020 @ 3pm

Studio 23 and Artigiano Bay City as part of Downtown Bay City‘s Lifestyle + Wellness Weekend present an artist conversation with Ju-Yu “Louise” Chen on the Healing Power of Art. This informal presentation will be in Artigiano Artisan Cheese Shoppe at 815 Saginaw Street in Bay City. Louise will focus on one of her original watercolor paintings that has profound personal meaning for her. There will be time for questions and answers at the end of the discussion.

January 15, 2020 from 6 pm – 9 pm

The Mandalorian Featured Sip ‘N Swirl w/Star Wars Trivia

If you’ve never heard of The Mandalorian, you’re not living on planet Earth! (Maybe you’re from Dathomir?) Join us for Star Wars trivia while we paint a picture including everyone’s favorite baby!

Tickets are $45/person and include all your supplies, instruction, and dinner from BJay’s Pizza.

Star Wars-themed prize will be awarded for our trivia winner!

WHATS NEXT BAY CITY – Bay Arts Council , Bay City Players , Bay Concert Band , Studio 23 , The Bay County Historical Society , Bay County Library System, Bay Sail, The State Theatre and Delta College Planetarium Presents:
Comedy Night with Rob Little
Saturday, January 18, 2020 at 7pm
State Theatre, 913 Washington Ave. Bay City, MI 48708
Box Office: 989-892-2660 x2
Tickets: $27 Reserved Seating
All ticket sales are final. No refunds or exchanges.

Don’t let the “Little” name fool you. Little is BIG! But that has never slowed him down. “Yeah, I’m big, and all my relatives are too. Heck, we just got our family portrait done by aerial photography. And there are only three of us.” The truth is, Rob is big in more ways than one. With a grin on his face, a gleam in his eye, and a passion for comedy that is larger than life, he’s the biggest thing to happen to comedy in a long, long time. www.roblittle.com

January 22, 2020 @ 5:30pm

This event is designed to introduce new Studio 23 member artists and welcome back returning members to The100DayProject! Bring your questions, your project ideas and your notebooks. Studio 23 is one of several art organizations across the nation that start on this day! Attending this session will check off one of your 100 days as well as set you up for success through April 30, 2020. You can register your project in advance at this link. http://the100dayproject.com/registration-form/

January 28, 2020 @ 6pm

Join Studio 23 as we guide you in personalizing ‘Night Route’ during our Out on the Town Sip ‘N Swirl at Courtyard by Marriott!

$35 gets you all your instruction and supplies. While painting, you’re encouraged to grab some food. Marriott has a great menu to order dinner and drinks from and will be offering specials on both exclusively for our Sip ‘N Swirl painters.

Dinner, drinks, and painting… what a fun way to spend an evening.

You MUST register in advance for this class either online or by calling 989-894-2323!

by Megan Koch

Posted 7 November 2019

Expand Your Palette

February 20, 2020
4–6 pm, $30 per ticket

Expand Your Palette is a way to get out of your comfort zone with your friends. This event has been created to help you try some art and try some wine.

Four art stations will be placed around the gallery where you will experiment with watercolor, acrylic paint, colored pencil and mixed media. You will leave with a piece of art that you can display in your home!

Art is not the only thing you get to expand: you will be expanding your wine palette as well. Tables will be set around the gallery with popular choices of wine, like merlot or chardonnay. When you visit the tables you will also see samples of wine that are not those options, opening your palette to other
flavors that are similar. This is a perfect way to expand your palette!

Light hors d’oeuvres will be supplied by Artigiano.