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Posted 21 November 2020 | art, art gallery, exhibits

Curator’s Clipboard: Online auctions connect collectors to works of art.

Studio 23 First Online Art Auction

Join the excitement starting at noon, Saturday, November 28, 2020.

Our Black & White Art Auction and Buy It Now Exhibit features the talents of our region. Local artists and small businesses have supported Studio 23/The Arts Center by offering their goods to benefit our mission. The artists of our state have opened their portfolios and donated over 40 works of art ranging from paintings, ceramics, photography, sculpture and jewelry. There is something for every collector.

Here is a preview party video with Tara and me showing some of the selections. We had a lot of fun making this video and we will do another Facebook Live virtual preview party on December 2nd at 7:00 p.m. with more artwork and community offerings.

This year our auction will be virtual with an easy to access online site. New items are being added daily so check back frequently to see new arrivals. Follow this link to www.32auctions.com/studio23baycity and register. You can save your favorites so you are ready to start bidding at noon, November 28, 2020. That’s Small Business Saturday following Thanksgiving.

DETAIL OF AUCTION ONLINE PAGE

While you browse the selections you will see both auction items and buy it now items. The opening bid on the auction items is approximately 10% of the value of the item. This is a wonderful value as a starting bid as it equates to a savings of around 90% to start the process.

Here are a few quick tips for success at a fundraiser art auction.

Review the artwork as it is added to the preview and mark your favorites before the opening day arrives.
Don’t automatically assume that everything can be bought at bargain prices. Bid on what you love!
Research your favorite artists on their websites, Facebook and Instagram.
Be generous! Going a little over is not a bad thing, In fact, it is a win-win-win for the collector, the artist and Studio 23.

All items in our auction will be on display at Studio 23, 901 N Water St., Bay City, MI 48708 during the two week auction from 11/28/20 – 12/12/20.

You are cordially invited to the public reception for artist Rosemary Kavanagh.

“My Bay City Family Tree”.

Saturday, November 28, 2020, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Artist Rosemary Kavanagh will have over 40 paintings and fashions installed in the Rowley Gallery of Studio 23. The paintings depict a family timeline that developed after Rosemary read her father’s letters from World War II that he had mailed to and received from all of family. The portraits depict the relatives mentioned in the letters. Her cousins helped her find photos and retrace details that revealed genetics, health and looks that were passed down through the generations. Rosemary states, “When an artist paints or draws or sculpts, that moment in time is captured in the artwork. So we can experience the concept of survival, hope and share it with others.” There will be an online Facebook Live virtual tour of the exhibit at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 28, 2020 preceding the public reception.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We are looking forward to seeing you on Small Business Saturday.

Kind regards,

Val

Valerie Allen, curator

Studio 23 is part of the Amazon Smile gives program for nonprofits. Please consider using this when ordering from at smile.amazon.com and choose Studio 23 as your nonprofit.

by Megan Koch

Posted 13 November 2020 | art, art center, art gallery, community, Healthy, Preview Party, Safety, Virtual Event

Art is good for the soul.

With COVID counts on the rise in Bay County, we want to encourage everyone to be safe. Studio 23 is committed to being a safe environment for our patrons, students and community. Each morning we arrive the studio is completely sanitized and we get ready to open the doors for you. Our students enter the classrooms wearing their mask and sit at their own table spaced apart from each other. A class is complete and we wipe down the surfaces to prepare it for the next class. Our staff has some beautiful masks that we are happy to wear everyday. Thank you for letting us serve you!

ART is so good for your soul. With the stress and worry we face everyday, I’m inviting you to come into Studio 23 to create, view art and experience joy. Here are five reasons why art is good for you!

(Source: https://obxartstudio.com/5-reasons-art-good-soul-world/)

Art Generates A Love For Learning & Creativity: Art gives you a chance to explore parts of yourself maybe you did not know existed. It teaches risk taking, and being open to how things may turn out different from what you originally wanted them to. It helps you learn to be more passionate and curious.
Art Develops The Whole Brain: It is proven that art increases attention, strengthens focus, requires practice, develops hand-eye coordination, and interacting with the world using mediums and tools. I feel strongly that art is mentally a good thing for not just kids, but everyone to do.
Art Supports Your Emotional Intelligence: Art really supports the expression of feelings that maybe you can’t put into words. Art helps you discover joy in one’s self, and often you’ll be surprised. I personally know that in some cases situations and feelings are very hard to express in just words. There are usually such strong feelings behind a piece of artwork you may think is just something pretty.
Art Teaches Problem Solving: Art challenges our beliefs and encourages us to be open-minded. It helps us think, and realize that there is more than one answer to a problem. It forces us to really get creative and to use our crazy imagination.
Art Is Eternal: Self-expression and creativity has always been essential to our humanity. Going back to beginning of time, our earliest expressions were recorded in petroglyphs, cave paintings, and ancient sculptures. Imagination has always been apart of our world, and we should value it.

This Wednesday, November 18th we will be hosting our first virtual preview party for the upcoming auction. Traditionally in December we host a large fundraiser that auctions off artwork and items from local businesses. This year we are moving the auction online and having it stay open for three weeks. With this change we are hopefully that we will raise funds for our nonprofit to help us end 2020 on a high note.

We are getting excited to show you the amazing items up for auction. Join us for our first Preview Party from the comfort of your own home.

Our Preview Party Partner is Artigiano. They have paired a cheese and wine for each night and you can purchase these at their shop located on Saginaw Street in Bay City.

The Fawn is a mild yet very flavorful American Cheddar cheese that is from Wisconsin. It is a gold medal winner at the International Cheese Awards.

Sansilvestro Dulcis Moscato is a light, semi-sweet wine that will pair perfectly with the fawn. The bottle is a beautiful piece of art on its own!

Stop in to Artigiano to purchase the pairing and get comfy on your couch for November 18th at 7pm.

I’m looking forward to seeing you virtual,

Tara Welch

Executive Director

Studio23.Executive.Director@gmail.com

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 Val Allen

Posted 17 October 2020 | art, art gallery, exhibits

Curator’s Clipboard: Finding Opportunities for Artists

Calls for Artists are opportunities to explore!

As a professional artist and a curator, I have my radar up for opportunities that will connect artists to exhibition opportunities, residencies and professional connections. Artists, here is a list of links that that I have used to add to your tool box. Some even send you updates via email.

Cafe-Call for Artists is a popular service now used by many museums and art center across the country to announce all sorts of opportunities for artists. I remember when you would just see a few exhibits but now there is a great selection and you can subscribe to weekly emails. Artists can create a portfolio to manage on the site with images.

Public Artist is a call for artist site that features public art opportunities across the nation. Opportunities can range from airport installations to hotel installs. It can be hit or miss as a lot of them are region specific but sometimes the calls are national and international. I enjoy subscribing to see what sorts of public art projects are being promoted across the country.

EntryThingy has a visual map that can be helpful when you are looking for a specific location. Keep in mind that each of these websites may sometimes or almost never show the same opportunities so it pays to subscribe to all of them.

These are just a few websites to keep in your radar. I also regularly “google” call for artists. Sometimes I add “call for artists: New Mexico or Ohio or Canada…. any state or country that I want to visit. You just never know if there is a way to combine travel and exhibits. You can watch my video interview with artist Wanda Juhl talking about her travels to Colorado to compete in a plein air festival. It will be available on our Facebook page after the video premiers on Monday, October 19 at 11:00 am.

BONUS LINKS: Facebook public group links that relate to opportunities for artists: Studio 23 Call for Artists Group and Opportunities for Creatives.

Calling all artists!

We are taking submissions of artwork donations for the Black & White Affair Art Auction and Gallery. Here is the Artist Application with much more information on how to submit your donated art and also an artwork to show in our gallery for sale. This video with marketing expert, Donna Wagner of DMWagner and Associates and our curator, Valerie Allen explains the importance of promotion and networking for visual artists.

Our current exhibit MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition 2020 will be on view until 1: 00 pm,Saturday November 14, 2020. Starting at 1:00pm November 14, the artists can start retrieving their artwork from the exhibit.

Thank you to our current list of 50 Art Advocates 2020 of the Great Lakes Bay Region.

We appreciate your support!

Valerie Allen & Armin Mersmann

Katharine Atkinson

Cynthia Bancroft

Leeds and Margaret Bird

Larry Butcher

Alma Cooke

Olive Cupal

Dr. Rajesh and Sarah Dandamudi

Mitzi Dimitroff

N. J. Drummond

Wanda Dziwura

Laura Ebel

Carol Fowler

Delores Furland

Marty & Marsha Gottesman

Joanne Grabinski

Elli Hennesy

Jen Idalski

Rosemary Kavanagh

Ed & Kathy Langenburg

Debra LaRocque

Ray Lore

LeBourdais Orthodontics

Karen M. MacArthur

Keith & Barbara Markstrom

John McCormick & Nancy Vader-McCormick

Jean McCue

Susan Meade

David and Ruth Ann Mikolajczak

Sheri Moore

Christopher and Susan Moss

Jennifer Paradise

Steven and Connie Parkhurst

Nancy J. Philo

Paul Revard and Fran Santoro

Bob and Jane Rogers

Dennis Rosenblum

Paul Rowley

Shelia Stamiris

Tim and Jan Tobin

Tommy Trudell

Julie Tyslicky

Silas Warren

Lynn Weaver and Bruce Weiss

Janice Wegner and Rich Polena

Tara Welch

Jett and Shelley Whitehead

Shaye Wilcox

Amy Wurdock

Lois Zurvalec

Important dates to remember for Studio 23’s exhibition season are:

MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition Final Day for Viewing: Saturday, November 14, 2020, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm. Please note that artists will begin retrieving their artwork starting at 1:00pm.

Public Reception for Rosemary Kavanagh, Bay City Family Tree Solo Exhibit: Saturday, November 28, 2020, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Kavanagh is featured artist for this year’s Black & White Affair, December 11, 2020.

Black & White Affair Art Auction and Gallery on view online and in our Tabor Gallery: Saturday, November 28, 2020 – December 12, 2020.

Kind regards,

Val

Valerie Allen, curator

Now is your chance to support local businesses and nonprofits through Buy BAY COUNTY!

Purchase a gift card to your favorite Bay County restaurant, retail or service business and receive 25% free! Studio 23 can apply your Studio 23 gift card purchase to artwork and/or classes.

Order your gift cards from this link!

Studio 23 is part of the Amazon Smile gives program for nonprofits. Please consider using this when ordering from at smile.amazon.com and choose Studio 23 as your nonprofit.

by Megan Koch

Posted 10 October 2020 | art, artist, classroom, community, fall, fundraiser, gallery, programs, support, workshop

Falling into October

The leaves are changing, a cool breeze is blowing off the river and we are getting ready for fall.

Classes are in full swing and we are so happy to have the studio full of voices and laughter. Our students have been awesome with our mask policies, we thank you! Make sure to check out our fall workshops that are coming up. You can paint the Lord of the Rings or paint a pallet, new options are being scheduled each week.

MI Artists, a juried exhibition opened this September. We ran a virtual reception and had over 100 people join us through Facebook and Zoom! Each artist was thanked for their talents by Stephen Prince, who represented Representative Brian Elder. We really appreciated his support for all of our Michigan Artists and also thank MCACA for supporting Studio 23 with a COVID Support grant.

Stop in to see this beautiful exhibit. Thirty-two Michigan cities are represented and the artists are fabulous. I really have enjoyed seeing so many different mediums like fiber art, sculpture, cold-wax and more.

The Art Advocate campaign is coming to a close. This year we raised over $3,000 to help support our local artists. Since 2017 this program has invested over $21,000 back into our community through awards, scholarships, Art Around the City and exhibit opportunities. You should be proud to be an art advocate, you made the choice to support your local arts center. It is not too late to become an advocate today! Sign up through our donate page on our website.

The Black & White Affair is the annual fundraising event for Studio 23 and is getting a make over this year.

This evening supports our mission of providing the Great Lakes Bay Region with a vibrant arts center dedicated to making the visual arts relevant and accessible to all.

During this year’s event, you will enjoy an elegant sit-down dinner, catered by Old City Hall, accompanied by a wine pairing. You will enjoy a quaint setting with your closest friends, while artists paint the night in plein air style. The chef will take us through six courses, each paired with a wine, while we listen to sweet melodies and have fun conversations.

This dinner is limited to forty people. Tickets are now on sale through our website or by calling us during open hours. We hope you will join us!

Rosemary Kavanagh is our featured artist and will be displaying her family history through oil paintings. Her exhibit opens in November and will be on display until January.

Thank you for being a part of Studio 23. We are so happy that we get to be a part of our community and showcase the talent we have in our region. I will see you soon in the galleries or in a classroom!

Sincerely,

Tara Welch

Executive Director

by Autumn Reyes

Posted 26 September 2020 | art, art center, classes, community, painter, workshops

Art Education Updates with Autumn

Art is important. Interacting with art is important. Creating art is important. From the day we’re able to move our hands as babies, we’re communicating on an artistic level. Art challenges us. It challenges us to see things from someone else’s perspective. It teaches us to empathize and consider how we treat one another. What’s great is there is a large amount of evidence being published that supports these claims. A recent study from Brookings showed that art participation in adults contributes to a healthy society. It increase civil engagement, social tolerance, and reduces the opposite behaviors.

The last few decades has seen a huge reduction in the amount of art education our children are experiencing at school. This makes the role of our institution that much more important.

As our fall classes are starting back up, I implore you to invest in yourself or your child and take an art class or workshop at Studio 23. Because you’re not just investing in yourself… you’re investing in our community… you’re investing in our future!

Making art accessible is important to us here at Studio 23. Come join our art community as we endeavor to make the world a little better and a little brighter every day.

I hope to see you in class!

Autumn Reyes

Education Coordinator

by Val Allen

Posted 19 September 2020 | art, art gallery, exhibits

Curator’s Clipboard: Michigan’s Visual Artists Shine at Studio 23!

MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition 2020 is open!

I look at the curation of an exhibition as a timeline that evolves from the blending of the history of an organization with the input of fresh opportunities that become relevant with the times. In the past, Studio 23 has hosted All-Area exhibitions. We continue that with our 50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay held on the odd numbered years and now we’ve expanded the All-Area concept to include MI Artists All-State Exhibition as a biennial event held on the even numbered years. By inviting artists from across the state to enter, we created an exhibition environment that brings attention not only to our very talented artists here in Mid-Michigan and beyond but also to introduce our viewing audience to the trends in Michigan art today.

Gallery hours to view MI Artists All-State are Tuesday – Saturday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm. Masks are required and number of visitors in the galleries are limited to ten. Appointments are available for up to ten guests by calling me at 989-894-2323 extension 14 or by email at curator.studio23@gmail.com.

Timothy Norris was the juror for this year’s exhibition. I’ve posted his bio here showing in a previous blog post. Today I’m posting his follow-up juror’s statement preceded by this quote from Norris, “I selected work from over 280 images from artists across the state. During this trying time, it is very important to support our Michigan artists.”

Juror’s Statement

As I’ve always told my college students, the most effective art is that which displays an appropriate and interesting match of form to content. This “recipe” holds true for any stylistic choice made by the artist, whether representational, abstract, or nonrepresentational. Form involves how the artist goes about making the artwork—choices of technique, medium, and the use of certain visual elements as organized by certain design principles. Content is what the artist wishes to say in the work. Therefore, content is communicated through form. How well the artist matches form to content results in the judgments we can make between those works that are ineffective, mediocre, or excellent. Of course, all this sounds neat and tidy on paper or in theory, but in practice we may disagree as to what constitutes an effective match. I rely on my 40 years of experience as an artist and teacher along with my knowledge of art history.

My selections for award winners represent what I consider to be the most skillful matches of form to content among the submissions. These pieces display exceptional techniques and powerful compositions that convey intriguing messages.

Congratulations to all of the artists. It’s been a challenging year for all of us, and I wish you the best in your artistic pursuits. Thank you to Valerie Allen for asking me to be this year’s juror and for all of her hard work in putting the competition together. Thanks also to the staff members and volunteers who labored on their respective components of the show.

Tim Norris

Award Winners selected by Juror Timothy Norris

Best of Show $1000

Artist Douglas Malone of Royal Oak, Michigan

Cormorbidity Charcoal and Pencil

Award of Merit $100

Artist Ilene Curts-Thayer of Mason, Michigan

Whirl Oil on Canvas

Award of Merit $100

Artist Bruce Thayer of Mason, Michigan

What Matters Collagraph and Intaglio Print

Honorable Mentions

As we pivot to more online experiences for our audience, there is now a slide-show style online gallery you can view here that includes each piece of art in the exhibition plus you can read the names of all the artists included in this exhibition. Art collectors can browse the images at their convenience. For more information or questions please email me at curator.studio23@gmail.com.

Thank you to our current list of 50 Art Advocates of the Great Lakes Bay Region. We appreciate your support!

Valerie Allen & Armin Mersmann

Katharine Atkinson

Cynthia Bancroft

Leeds and Margaret Bird

Larry Butcher

Alma Cooke

Olive Cupal

Dr. Rajesh and Sarah Dandamudi

Mitzi Dimitroff

N. J. Drummond

Wanda Dziwura

Laura Ebel

Carol Fowler

Delores Furland

Marty & Marsha Gottesman

Joanne Grabinski

Rosemary Kavanagh

Ed & Kathy Langenburg

Debra LaRocque

Ray Lore

LeBourdais Orthodontics

Karen M. MacArthur

Keith & Barbara Markstrom

John McCormick & Nancy Vader-McCormick

Jean McCue

David and Ruth Ann Mikolajczak

Sheri Moore

Christopher and Susan Moss

Jennifer Paradise

Steven and Connie Parkhurst

Nancy J. Philo

Paul Revard and Fran Santoro

Bob and Jane Rogers

Paul Rowley

Shelia Stamiris

Tim and Jan Tobin

Julie Tyslicky

Silas Warren

Lynn Weaver and Bruce Weiss

Janice Wegner and Rich Polena

Tara Welch

Jett and Shelley Whitehead

Shaye Wilcox

Amy Wurdock

Lois Zurvalec

Follow this link to become a 50 Art Advocate today! Thank you!

Important dates to remember for Studio 23’s exhibition season are:

MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition Final Day for Viewing: Saturday, November 14, 2020, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm. Please note that artists will begin retrieving their artwork starting at 1:00pm.

Kind regards,

Val

Valerie Allen, curator

Now is your chance to support local businesses and nonprofits through Buy BAY COUNTY!

Purchase a gift card to your favorite Bay County restaurant, retail or service business and receive 25% free! Studio 23 can apply your Studio 23 gift card purchase to artwork and/or classes.

Order your gift cards from this link!

Studio 23 is part of the Amazon Smile gives program for nonprofits. Please consider using this when ordering from at smile.amazon.com and choose Studio 23 as your nonprofit.

by Megan Koch

Posted 12 September 2020

A Start to a New Fall!

A Start to a New Fall

A new semester means to us: children laughing in our classrooms, artists hanging new work, and the start of our annual fundraiser. Some things, like most, are going to look a little different, but we are happy to make adjustments so we can still enjoy our art center.

Classes now are limited to the smaller number of eight per session. Students will have their own tables and access to sanitizer, and must wear a mask during our sessions. We are taking steps to make sure you are safe in our facility.

Please check out the new sessions that we are offering and of course our classics. From clay to watercolor, pencil to oil, we hope we have something that interests you.

Thank you to everyone who has made the pledge to be an Art Advocate for our 2020 MI Artists All-State Exhibition. This program has helped support our artist prizes, lectures, juror fees, and more opportunities for local artists. You can still help us make the pledge to advocate for our local art!

We hope you will join us for our virtual reception on September 17th at 5 p.m. Stream live on Facebook as our juror walks us through exhibit, announces the winners, and participates in a question-and-answer session. It will be a great event! If you cannot join us live, we will be adding the video link to our website under the exhibition link.

I look forward to seeing you soon in the gallery with your most stylist mask.

Tara Welch, Executive Director

Our Newsletter is now available online. Please visit this link to view: Newsletter

Our Class schedule is now available online. Please visit this link to view: Fall Classes

New: Portrait Drawing!

Let our instructor Julie Tyslicky teach you her methods of using proportion, studying facial characteristics, and using value progressions to capture the effects of light and make your portrait appear three-dimensional.

This class runs on Fridays from 4 p.m.–7 p.m.

Oil Painting with Jim!

Just one example of student work from Jim Perkins’s oil painting class. If you’ve ever wanted to learn to paint, Jim’s atelier-style class is perfect for you! He will teach you the foundation you need.

This class runs on Thursday evenings from 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

New: Daytime Clay!

Our clay studio is one of the most popular areas in our gallery. Have you been wanting to make your own bowls, platters, or garden sculptures?

Give one of our clay classes a try! Now offering a Monday daytime session from 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

by Autumn Reyes

Posted 29 August 2020 | classes, studio 23

Education Blog with Autumn Reyes

Hello Studio 23 family!

I hope this post finds you all healthy and well.

In today’s educational blog post I’d like to reach out specifically to our students for a moment… First of all, let me say “Thank you!” from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for trusting our instructors with your art education. I appreciate each and every one of you.

I would like to take this time today to appeal to Studio 23 students and ask you to use your voice to advocate for us. If you’ve taken a class with us I ask you to share it on social media. Share a picture of yourself working at the studio or even just the art you’ve created and tag us in your post. By simply sharing on social media and checking in at Studio 23 or tagging us, you’re using your voice to advocate for our Studio 23 classes… more than that, you’re advocating for our Studio 23 family!

Social media is always changing its algorithms and that makes it harder for non-profits like Studio 23 to be seen. With help from you we can continue to make art accessible even through these uncertain times.

If you’re unsure on how to get started here is a great example from Cindy Bancroft who shared her experience with the Smartphone group class taught by Armin Mersmann…

“This is my latest creation in Armin Mersmann’s iPhoneography Group class sponsored by Studio 23. Having just finished our term I must say the art created by this talented group of passionate artists to the thought provoking discussions about art was awe inspiring and has brought joy, laughter and community throughout the pandemic. As I have often said, this is a must take class with a new session starting soon so keep an eye out for announcements on both Studio 23 and Armin Mersmann’s Facebook page. For those that don’t live locally or even in this state this class is taught via Zoom!” Thank you, Cindy for sharing your talent and thoughts with us! #studio23onthego #makeartvirtual #michiganartist

With that said, don’t forget fall classes are now posted and start the week of September 14^th. Some classes are virtual, many are in studio. And don’t worry, we are committed to keeping everyone safe by keeping class numbers small and requiring masks at all time.

I can’t wait to see you all this fall!

Autumn Reyes

Education Coordinator