by Megan Koch

Supporting local artists and art education.

#GiveLocalBay is tomorrow!

Studio 23 has continued to make the arts accessible to all during this #stayhome order. Our members and donors like YOU, help us continue our mission. You can make a difference tomorrow and donate to help us reach our goals. The funds raised will support visual art education, local artists and daily operations.

In 2019 we:
– Offered visual arts education to three elementary schools
– Created with over 2,100 children
– Hosted over 5,900 people in our galleries
– Hosted 50 Artists of the GLBR and awarded over $3,000 in cash prizes

We need your help! Please join our campaign and help us reach our goal of $5,000! We need you to tell your friends and family members about the important work we do and ask them to join us in helping to make a difference. Read below to hear from a local artist!

Get ready to give! On May 5th, starting at 12AM on May 5, visit https://www.givelocalbay.org and make a donation to us and/or to any of the great participating nonprofit organizations in Bay and Arenac counties. You will have 24 hours to make your donation, and all giving will end at 11:59PM on May 5.

Questions? If you have any questions or would like more information, let us know. Thank you in advance for your generosity to our organization!

My name is Katrina Rae, I’m a pastel artist. I reside in Frankenmuth, MI. I’m honored and humbled to have been one of the artist chosen for the 50 Artist of the Great Lakes Bay Region. I’m tremendously honored to have received the Award of Merit Peoples Choice Award, in the company of so many talented and gifted artist, for my piece, Thailand Tree Frog.

What this award has given me is encouragement to continue with my current artistic direction, to evolve and grow. Receiving a peoples choice award is exciting, due to being chosen by the people. The monetary addition to the award is aways a pleasant financial boost. Winning a monetary award helps aid in the purchase of supplies and entry fees needed for the next project or exhibition. The project I was able to fund with my prize money, is a series called Street Stings, this is my entry for ArtPrize 2020, held in Grand Rapids, MI. This was a large piece requiring additional pastels, wood, and insulation board, which is my painting surface. Additionally, I was also able to purchase materials needed to build a crate used for transporting my paintings.

I’m proud to be a member of Studio 23/The Arts Center, with Curator Valerie Allen. Studio 23 gives artists visibility and education, through their various events, classes and exhibitions. I’m also grateful for those who continue to support and sponsor the arts, and local art centers like Studio 23. The arts are such an important and vital part of our community.

Being a part of this exhibition has been a wonderful experience, and I look forward to more events and exhibitions in the future.

– Katrina Rae, Local Artist

by Val Allen

Curator’s Clipboard: There is so much talent here!

Hi! It’s Val, curator of Studio 23!

Hello from my home! I didn’t expect that we would be working from home but here we are. Actually, we are accomplishing quite a bit keeping the arts relevant and accessible to all via the internet. Within a week of the shelter at home order, our team rallied and began a creative stream of social media content that is serving as a source for visual art to bring encouragement, escape and education to the Great Lakes Bay Region.

The hashtags #Studio23OnTheGo and #MakeArtVirtual will now retrieve many informative videos, posts and events. I’m proud that we were in the forefront of joining forces with the Make Art Virtual movement and became part of a coalition with Midland Center for the Arts. This type of connection leads to a strong, robust art community and can only further prove that Mid-Michigan is full of talent!

We have had a few weeks now to refine our Facebook Live event titled, “Live Art Talk and Art Project. This 45-minute segment on the Arts Around the City Rail Trail highlights an art image by one of our 50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region. To date we have featured artists Rosemary Kavanagh, Sally Rose, Sheri Moore, Sylvia Coon, Bonnie Lalley and this week we will feature Josh Roupe.

Here is a sampling of their artwork and we thank them for sharing their talent!

Rosemary Kavanagh

Bonnie Lalley

Sylvia Coon

       Sally Rose

 Sheri Moore

               Josh Roupe

As the curator of Studio 23 and a professional artist, I have been creating artist demonstrations focusing on art materials and techniques. These presentations are inspired by the aesthetic of our featured artists. Since all of this is done live via Facebook, we sometimes have surprises while filming, often many comments from viewers and we are always learning new ways to connect regional artists with our audience.

Another exciting development that came about because of our increased awareness into virtual connections is the formation of our Studio 23 Books on Art Club. We are reading the book “The Last Painting of Sara De Vos by Dominic Smith and will be having a virtual Zoom meeting next week. All of these online applications will serve us well into the future and allow us to expand our mission beyond our brick and mortar space! However, we hope that soon our community will begin to return to a new normal and we will see our friends again in the gallery. Until then, please enjoy these images created by Studio 23 member artists during our time of shelter.

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“Wishing all love and happiness today!” Mark Piotrowski

“Walking through my woods during this time of seclusion, I made a great early morning discovery to paint.” Alan Maciag

Stay safe and keep well, Studio 23 family!

Kind regards,

Valerie Allen, curator

by Val Allen

Curator’s Clipboard: Interview with Bonnie Lalley, Artist/Illustrator

 #Understory #BonnieLalley #MichiganArtist

Hi! It’s Val, curator of Studio 23! It is a true pleasure to introduce artist Bonnie Lalley and her exhibit titled Understory. Bonnie has created 47 artworks for this exhibit. The mixed media pieces range in size from approximately 12″x18″ framed to well over 8 feet. Some are exquisitely framed in custom and handmade hardwood frames by Timothy Lalley, a known artisan in the Thumb area and Bonnie’s husband. Others are installed as if they are vintage tapestries, without a glazing treatment and inviting the atmosphere to age them naturally over time. Such a great concept! I had a chance to ask Bonnie questions regarding her life, her creative process and philosophies and here is the content. I hope you enjoy reading!

Interview with Artist Bonnie Lalley

1. Please describe the logistics of your exhibit.

Understory is comprised of 47 pieces of paintings on paper. The title describes the vegetative layer that lies beneath the canopy of trees. This title was chosen by Elizabeth Lalley, who, as well as being my daughter, is a curator of contemporary art in Chicago. This title is apt and poetically describes the source of much of my imagery. It is used loosely, as Elizabeth describes it, for I am “under water as much as under bushes looking at things…”

2. Which is the most autobiographical artwork?

I would have to say Beasts and a Ladyis the most autobiographical piece for reasons only I would know. The “lady” is not me, but, the imagery, the colors—everything—are redolent of childhood imaginings for me.

3. How do you describe your process? Is it collage? Is it mixed media? Is it painting?

My process is difficult to describe because I feel I have found my voice. I don’t follow any system. The way I work—by painting and drawing images and then cutting and arranging them on a larger paper ground—is very free and unplanned. I am able to move things, change background colors, layer, stencil, etc., in a manner that is fluid, like music. If I call them “collages” it suggests that I use appropriated imagery, which I don’t. I draw and paint everything. So not being able to give them a tidy category has kept me out of a lot of juried shows! (Ha ha!)

4. You talk about your art being inspired by flora and fauna. Can you tell us more about that and also about your gardens?

My family culture was always centered around nature, whether we were living in Detroit or on my grandfather’s farm. Botany and beauty were important topics of discussion: “Did you see the sunset? Did you hear that bird? Someone saw a patch of Blue Fringed Gentian…” My mother had beautiful flower gardens, and I try to emulate that, but I find it much harder than she made it look! I have English roses that I cherish, but my gardening skills are not so great. I find I would rather be in my studio painting flowers than digging in the dirt. However, hope springs eternal, and I make new promises every year to have the best garden ever! This year is no different (a double ha ha!).

5. I’ve seen your studio space—small, intimate, and, in my mind, an artist’s hideaway. Why does that setting work so well for you?

Because it is near a teapot and toaster. Actually, somedays I kind of long for a few more square feet for really large pieces.  Having said that, I make it work. I love my little studio…

6. You and your husband are both artist and artisan. Do you often talk about the creative process? Do you inspire each other with ideas and, if so, can you be specific about your collaborations?

Regarding his cabinetmaking and my art, we tend to both be internal. Regarding our house and garden restoration, though, we collaborate on all levels. This we both enjoy, and we recognize each other’s talents and have equal input. The other important collaboration that happens is the framing of my work with his spectacular handmade frames.

7. If you were to invite an artist to your beautiful home for dinner, who would you invite and what would you serve?

Can I invite three? Or a combination of the three and two of them dead? If I could do that, it would be Mary Delaney, who was an 18th-century English aristocrat who in her 70s developed the style of painting, cutting, and assembling pieces into beautiful botanical compositions. Her work inspired the first piece I did, which was the beginning of this body of work. Next, I would have Maria Sibylla Merian. Born 350 years ago, she left her husband and Holland and with two young daughters travelled by ship to distant tropical countries. She painted some of the most beautiful and best-regarded botanical and reptile/animal illustrations. She was one of the first to understand and illustrate the life cycle of moths and butterflies. I would love to talk to her about her travels and the natural world she witnessed. Finally, I would invite Cornelia O’Donovan, who is a young contemporary British artist whose work I admire. We both have a love of early textiles, so we could talk about that. Her imagery is so freely composed—I really love that.

Oh, and I would serve shrimp and grits with a side of greens cooked in a little bacon fat, a garlicky salad, and gingerbread with orange curd and whipped cream. This is because I just made this for friends and the cooking gods were with me.

8. What is your art teaching philosophy in a nutshell?

To teach skills and philosophy; i.e., “methods and materials” and “art is important.”

9. If you were not a visual artist, what would you be?

Hmmmmmmmmmmm—a grower of cardoons in France.

Thank you, Bonnie for sharing your thoughts with us during this time of sheltering! You gave us much food for thought on living your best life as an artist. This exhibit will unfold virtually over the next few days on our website and Facebook page.

The exhibit is generously sponsored by Chemical Bank. 

Thank you for your support of the visual arts in the Great Lake Bay Region.

Stay safe and keep well, Studio 23 family!

Kind regards,

Valerie Allen

Curator

by Val Allen

Curator’s Clipboard: Artists as collaborators!

 #Collaboration

Hi! It’s Val, curator of Studio 23! The artist Robert Rauschenberg has been a major influence in my life since art school. He lived between 1925–2008 and was very prolific in mixed media artwork involving printmaking, painting, photography, and performance art. He led the charge for many collaborations between visual artists, scientists, musicians, dancers and social activists and he strived to promote world peace and understanding. “There is no reason not to think of the world as one gigantic painting,” stated Rauschenberg in 1971. Not only does that quote speak to me of all the possible materials we can use in our artwork but also the big picture of defining collaboration as a complete creative process. Here are just a few of the collaborations we initiated at Studio 23 so far in 2020.

On January 25, Studio 23 collaborated with City Market Bay City for “A Taste of Art” held during the market’s Sample Saturday. Faculty members from our education department demonstrated drawing, painting, printmaking and offered a station for market-goers to do their own mini paintings. I’m happy to announce that this community event was successful and our collaboration will now be scheduled four times a year with the next “A Taste of Art” being on Saturday, April 25, 2020. Below you will see artists from left to right,  Amy Gibas, Julie Tyslicky, Ruth Howell, Deb LaRocque, Misty Coss, all instructors at Studio 23.

Studio 23 is collaborating with Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy to present Land to River, an exhibit that features artists in the role of communicators, explorers and environmentalists. Artists include: Mark Bleshenski, Zachary Branigan, Frits Hoendervanger, Erwin Lewandowski, Alan Maciag, and John Sabraw. This exhibit will open on May 14, 2020 at 5:00pm. The topics of conservation, restoration, education, utilization and activation as it relates to over 6000 acres of land in our region will be addressed through the message of visual art with the opportunity for our community members to participate in workshops and environmental events. This exhibit is sponsored by Waste Management.

The Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra and Studio 23 presented Where Art and Music Unite, a collaboration that featured artist Valerie Allen painting to the music of Haydn, Torke, and Copland performed by the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra and led by Conductor Fouad Fakhouri. The painting was then auctioned at the afterglow for the evening. The collaboration also included a food drive for Hidden Harvest, a regional organization that strives to alleviate hunger and food waste in the counties of Bay, Midland and Saginaw. 

Kind regards,

Valerie Allen

Curator

Current Exhibit:

Teenworks & Kids’ Kreations continues until March 7, 2020

Don’t miss this popular exhibit featuring the young artists of Bay County. The exhibit features over 375 creations by elementary, middle school and high school art students. We have a family-fun scavenger hunt for this exhibit and if you correctly answer the questions you will receive a label. Collect a label from each exhibit in 2020 and you will receive a prize in December. Gallery hours are Tuesday and Wednesday: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 11:00 am – 7:00 pm. We are closed Sunday and Monday.

Upcoming Exhibit:

Understory: Bonnie Lalley, artist and illustrator

March 19 – May 2, 2020

Bonnie Lalley is a full-time artist/illustrator and art professor at Delta College. She lives in the countryside by choice, as flora and fauna are the motifs she loves best. Her 100-year-old home and studio in the Thumb reflect her aesthetic with vintage colors and patinas. There will be large scale collages as well as mixed media works custom framed by artisan Timothy Lalley. 

Artist’s reception: Friday, March 20, 2020, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm 

A Conversation with Artist Bonnie Lalley: Saturday, April 11, 2020, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm