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Posted 10 June 2022

Summer Solstice Art-a-Thon

Summer Solstice Art-a-Thon 2022
June 21 – 26th

Our third annual Summer Solstice Art-a-Thon is right around the corner!

The Summer Solstice Art-a-thon began in 2020 as a way for the Studio 23 Artist Collective to connect and celebrate our creativity together. As this tradition evolves, we continue to add opportunities to learn, grow, create, and connect with one another.

Summer Solstice Plein Air Paint Out
Sponsored by Michigan Sugar

Michigan Sugar has invited us back to their farms for another year of plein air painting. Artists who register will create paintings or drawings on location at farms who supply Michigan Sugar with sugar beets. Registered artists will receive a list to submit preferences and will be assigned to a location.

Registration

Artists can register online by following the link here.

In place of a registration fee, artists will create a Facebook Fundraiser for Studio 23 to be run during the Summer Solstice Art-a-Thon. Once registered, artists will send an image of themselves or their artwork, and Studio 23 will create a graphic and message for each artist to use when creating their fundraiser campaign.

Schedule for Plein Air Paint Out
Saturday, June 25

8 a.m. – 9 a.m. Check in at Studio 23
Have your canvases, paper, or other surface ready to be stamped at check in. Only work with a stamp will be accepted for exhibit.

8 a.m.- 3 p.m. Painting on the Farms
Once checked in, artists will travel to their assigned farm to set up and paint. Plan to be back at the Studio with enough time to frame your work before the 4 p.m. deadline. Look up your location ahead of time and determine your travel time.

3 p.m. – 4 p.m. Framing
Return to the gallery to frame your work. We will have workstations for artists to use, but please bring your own framing supplies. Have your stamps verified before framing. Artists can submit up to 2 works for exhibition.

4 p.m. All Work Complete
All work must be verified and framed by the 4 p.m. deadline. Work will be arranged on tabletops in the gallery for the Sunday reception.

Reception
Sunday, June 26, 1-3 p.m.

Join us in the galleries to see the artwork created during the Paint Out event and help us in celebrating our local farms and local artists. Our juror Rob Clark will be announcing prizes and congratulating all of our local artists. Thanks to our sponsor, Michigan Sugar, we have exciting cash prizes that will be awarded.

First prize: $600
Second prize: $300
Third prize: $100

Other Summer Solstice Event

Summer Solstice Kick-off Party
Tuesday, June 21^st, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Enjoy live music, watch our progressive painting being created, and learn more about the week’s activities!

Lunch & Learn Sessions
Wednesday – Friday at 12 noon

Bring a brown bag lunch and join us in the gallery Wednesday through Friday at noon to hear from experts on various professional development topics for artists.

Wednesday, June 22
CV and Resume Development for Artists with Andrea Ondish

Thursday, June 23
Insurance for Artists with Cameron Sich, Sponsored by MCI Insurance

Friday, June 24
Portfolio Development with Nick Reszetar

Storytelling for Artists with Rae Chesny
Wednesday, June 22, 7 p.m.

Author Rae Chesny will discuss the importance of storytelling about yourself as an artist and how to share your story with others.

Matting & Framing Workshop
Thursday, June 23, 4 – 7 p.m.

Join the Studio 23 Artist Collective to learn the basics of cutting matte board for framing.
Registration includes one 24”x36” piece of black matboard and ‘scrap’ boards to practice cutting. The studio will supply matte cutter, blades, and acid-free tape for mounting and hinging. Artists must bring their own frames. Materials are non-archival. Artists wishing to use archival matboard should supply their own.
Registration Required. $65 for non-members, $55 for members.

Drink & Doodle with Sean Gallagher at Drift Shoreline Beer Garden
Friday, June 24, 6 p.m.

Join instructor Sean Gallagher for a laid-back evening of drawing together and enjoying drinks at Drift Shoreline Beer Garden.
$20 registration is required.

Art Ladders LIVE!
Saturday, June 25, 3 p.m.

Art Ladders hosts Armin Mersmann and Valerie Allen will record an episode of their podcast live from Studio 23! They will discuss the excitement of a plein air painting events as artists are returning from a day of outdoor painting at local Michigan Sugar farms.

To Register for Summer Solstice Events, visit studio23baycity.org/education/

by Autumn Reyes

Posted 29 May 2021 | art, classes, classroom, membership, painting, studio 23

The Importance of Summer Art Camp

Whether your child is an artist, athlete, or mathematician, an art camp can help your child balance-out and help further develop their growing brain. A recent Harris Poll revealed that 93 percent of Americans consider the arts to be an important connection to learning and success. Research shows us that arts-based education wires and rewires our brains for creativity in ways we are really only beginning to understand.

When it comes to shaping young minds, summer art camps have become an essential piece of the puzzle. The art camp activities can stimulate young minds with new concepts and skills, as well as lessons about art and art history.

Some children that absolutely love a specific art form find that getting an uninterrupted amount of time at art camp strengthens their skills and nurtures their talents. Many of these students may not even get time to dedicate to art during the school year. So art camp can be even more important to development for these students.

Even if your child is not a budding young artist, summer art camp can be a good option for your child with many benefits. Studies show that children of all ages who participate in the arts perform better on standardized achievement tests than students with low arts involvement.
Art also becomes another way for children to express themselves. By encouraging communication with new friends, summer art camp students can gain a big confidence boost, which can in turn be beneficial in how they communicate at home, school and with other adults.

Students who participate in summer art camps often work collaboratively to create projects, which teaches negotiation skills. They learn to work through creative differences, compromise, and learn that they can collectively create something great.

By interacting and working with a different students, children also learn an appreciation of different perspectives. They observe how other kids create different artwork based on the same instructions- a great way to teach students that just because something is different, doesn’t make it wrong!

Studio 23 is offering four different summer art camps for students aged seven to twelve.

June 21-25

July 12-16

July 26-30

August 2-6

All camps run 8:30-3:30 Monday through Friday and culminate in a student art show at the end of the day on Friday. Cost is $160 for members and $190 for non-members.

We have limited seating in these camps so you’ll want to register your student right away. You can register through our website www.studio23baycity.org or by calling the studio at 989-894-2323.

We hope to see you at art camp this year!

Autumn Reyes

Education Coordinator

Studio 23/The Arts Center

by Megan Koch

Posted 7 November 2020 | art, art center, art gallery, bay city, community, shop local, shop small, support, thank you

Thankful in November

I love seeing the fall colors. The fresh crisp air and beautiful deep hues of gold, orange and reds. Bay City has had some great views this season! This time of year is for reflection as we come upon the Thanksgiving holiday.

Painting by Ruth Howell, Studio 23 Instructor

Here at Studio 23 we have a lot to be thankful for.

Throughout the pandemic, our staff has worked hard to make sure we were engaging our community. For 2020 we set the intention of our theme word as ENGAGE. I know we are all proud to say that we did continue to engage virtually and now again in person at the studio.

While we were working from home we began to apply for funding to support our operations. We are very fortunate to receive funding from Bay Future/DOW, Michigan Council of Arts and Culture Affairs COVID Fund, MI Restart Program, Bay Community Foundation PPE Grant and Payroll Protection Program. These funds allowed us to keep our staff working at home and then prepare the studio to open to the public. We are taking every precaution we can to make sure we have a safe environment for you to create in.

We have made upgrades to our website to share our social media content even if you don’t have a FB account. You can view our main page and scroll through our feed. Autumn, Val and I continue to research the best ways to share videos and artist information with you. Every Friday we do live videos featuring our 50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region. You listen to an artist talk, see a fun family project and then see an artist demo. We relate everything to the featured artist of the week. If you see our content please give us a share! That way more people in our community can enjoy the local artistic talent we have.

I’d like to give a special thank you to artist and community member, Avram Golden. For Avram’s birthday this year he started a fundraiser on his FaceBook page to support us here at Studio 23. Through his birthday celebration he raised over $700 to support our mission of making the arts relevant and accessible to all. Thank you Avram for being a support of the arts and especially a supporter of Bay City!

As you begin your holiday shopping I hope you consider supporting Studio 23 and our local businesses in Bay City. In our Off the Wall Boutique we have many great gift options like; bowls, platters, wood vases, scarfs, cards and more! We are happy to gift wrap all items for you. A gift certificate to the studio also makes the perfect stocking stuffer. Our small businesses are gearing up for holiday weekends and our Downtown has many events planned. Join the merchants for Merry Little Weekend, November 13-15 and then Sundays in the City which will be announced very soon.

If you must do your holiday shopping online, please consider starting at SMILE.amazon.com. With SMILE you can support Studio 23 while you use your prime benefits. With every purchase Amazon donates a percentage of that gift to Studio 23. Just make sure you click us as your designated nonprofit.

Thank you for believing in the power of ART.

Sincerely,

Tara Welch, Executive Director

by Autumn Reyes

Posted 28 October 2020 | art, art center, classes, classroom, clay, drawing, watercolor

Art Education Updates with Autumn

Hello everyone! As this year flies by, I hope you’re all happy, healthy, and finding time for your art! Here’s a bit of what we have going on in art education at Studio 23/The Arts Center…

Fall classes are moving right along! Speaking of fall classes we have our next set of colored pencil drawing, watercolor painting, and adult clay starting next week. Take a peek below for more class info and as ALWAYS you can email or call Studio 23 with any questions you may have.

Julie Tyslicky’s drawing in color is a great way to learn to draw. Julie teaches beginners all the way up through advanced student. Her lessons will help you learn to draw what you see and become a better artist. Click the link below for a full class description.

Check out Julie’s colored pencil class here!

For this session of watercolor painting we have artist Ruth Howell filling in. Ruth is an amazing instructor with years of experience and you may even recognize her as our advanced painting instructor?! Click the link below for a full class description.

Check out Ruth’s watercolor class here!

Looking to try something new? Why not try your hand at oil painting with artist Jim Perkins?! Jim is an amazing artist that teaches in a traditional atilier style where you will focus on painting in real time. So you’ll do a lot of still life and plein air painting.

Check out Jim’s oil painting class here!

Adult clay is one of the most popular classes at Studio 23/The Arts Center! Clay is such a fun and enjoyable medium and we have some amazing instructors that will take their time with you to make sure you’re getting good results! Even better we offer day and evening classes, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday!

Check out adult clay classes here!

Speaking of clay classes we have a new Wednesday night clay instructor! Our Studio 23 family would like to welcome ceramic artist Mike Zureich! Mike comes to Studio 23 from Midland with many years of clay under his belt and vast teaching knowledge! Mike has been featured in our Art Around the City and has exhibited in many shows both juried and non-juried. Mike is very excited to share his knowledge and love for clay with the students of Studio 23/The Arts Center! So if you’re interested in signing up, give us a call today!

Ceramic sculpture rust — Artist Mike Zureich
Survivor
Stoneware High Fire Reduction

I’m so excited that we’re back in the studio and that our classes are up and running! I hope you are, too!

As always, if you ever have any questions or comments please feel free to reach out to me- I am but an email or call away!

Until next time,

Autumn Reyes

Education Coordinator

by Autumn Reyes

Posted 24 July 2020

Summer Classes are in full swing at Studio 23

We have so much going on at the studio for the summer! So many things we’re still offering you in the summer. We’re offering in-person and virtual Sip ‘N’ Swirls, in-person summer art camp, Star Wars summer art camp, wood burning workshop… check it out and sign up today because all of our classes have a limit of eight students per session.

Our children’s instructor, Sue Zolton, came up with an entire week of Star Wars-themed art projects for a week of art camp. Best of all, this is a virtual camp so your little one can participate from the comforts of home. Sue will use Zoom to instruct and participate with students so they will be able to get help and feedback in real time.

Our award-winning instructor, Julie Tyslicky is offering a wood burning workshop in-studio. You bring in the wood and Julie will provide you with a wood burning tool and all the instructions you need to get you wood burning!

In-person summer art camp! Our children’s instructor, Spencer Scharf, will help your student create all types of fun art! From painting to clay Mr. Spencer teaches a little bit of everything! Students will play games and learn some art history, as well. A fun week of creating and learning, who could ask for anything more?!

This will be our first ever virtual Sip ‘N’ Swirl! Our instructor, Sue, will prepare a canvas, brush, paint, and image transfer supplies for you to pick up and then she will walk you through transferring images and painting! This is such a beautiful painting and this is such a fun and relaxing activity. Make it even more fun by inviting a buddy or two to paint online, too!

Our award-winning watercolor instructor, Bill Brinker, will be offering a workshop in August. This will be a hybrid workshop- you can participate in studio or online through Zoom. Which ever way you choose, bill will teach you to paint this beautiful image of apples and oranges.

We have many more workshops we’re offering through August… I encourage you to check our education pages and find one that interests you!

We can’t wait to have you create with us!

Stay well and we hope to see you soon,

Autumn Reyes

Education Coordinator

by Val Allen

Posted 15 May 2020

Curator’s Clipboard: Art in the World of Zoom and Beyond

This past month has been filled with new types of art happenings being produced in virtual formats. Facebook live, Instagram stories, Zoom meetings, fill up the days working from home and keep us connected to artists and art lovers. We are all getting very familiar with the protocol of talking to a group of mini boxes filled with friends. We stop and start, mute and unmute, schedule and show up to all sorts of art-related viewings during our days. The content branded with the #studio23onthego and #makeartvirtual grows daily and if you viewed each offering, I feel you become an artist through osmosis.

I have been blessed to know many artists in my life and I find them extremely generous to open their hearts, homes and studios to the art audience. Our virtual studio tours have proved to be very popular Facebook live events. This past month we have had two tours in our Great Lakes Bay Region. Open studio tours have always been a popular road trip happening but in this day and age we adapted with the next best thing-Facebook live tours. Productions such as this can be filmed using an iPhone or iPad, a password clearance to go directly to a page and just a bit of rehearsal to set the timing and sound.

Our tour with Misty Grumbley started with her and her cat on the beautiful landing of her Victorian home in Saginaw. Misty is one of our 50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region. As if we were there in person, she graciously toured us through the home, taking time to point out cherished artwork from artist friends she has studied with or been taught by. Her warmth and poise made me feel as if we would sit down for tea at any moment and when we entered her dark room and studio I wanted to hear all the details of her creative process. Many viewers were privileged to view live that afternoon and now you can access that same video on our Facebook page and leave comments.

Our second tour takes us to an historic farm near Bridgeport, Michigan. This farm and studio tour was hosted by Doug Barron and Brian Goff. They are both part of our 50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region and they work in oils on plein air and studio paintings. We start in their elegant parlor/studio filled with wonderful paintings and they both shared their painting process and concepts. The organization of the studio space was very impressive to me as it seemed every canvas, brush and tube of paint was positioned for easy access. In other words every item had it’s place of honor near the easels. Once outside, Doug and Brian took turns filming the tour so we had the sense of walking across the farmland and we could enjoy the gardens and outbuildings. What a wonderful way to escape while still being tucked away in our homes. The wind was blowing, the sky was blue and it was a refreshing way to spend time together. Many flowers and plants were identified along the way. The big trick up their sleeves at the end was a surprise visit with their chickens from the coop. Delightful! You can check out their video on our Facebook page and even leave comments with questions.

We look forward to bringing you more virtual events in the future as well as anticipate the day we can gather at Studio 23 again. Some items on the horizon include artwork displayed in our large gallery windows as part of our “Walk-a-bout Gallery for sidewalk shoppers walking the neighborhood and our Painters and Potters artwork inside starting July 9, 2020.

We are part of the Smile program with Amazon. Please think about this as you are shopping this spring and summer. All you have to do is go to smile.amazon.com and select Studio 23 as your nonprofit charity organization. Thank you for all you do for our art center!

Kind regards and Stay Safe,

Valerie Allen, curator

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.

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