art galleryTag

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.

 

 

 

READ MORE
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/)
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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
READ MORE
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

READ MORE
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.

 

 

 

READ MORE
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.

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.

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.

 

 

 

READ MORE
Posted 21 August 2020 | art, art gallery, exhibits

Curator’s Clipboard: 50 Art Advocates Campaign shows love for Michigan artists!

Campaign for 50 Art Advocates continues as Studio 23 prepares for

MI Artists All-State Exhibition 2020

Since 2017 Studio 23’s 50 Art Advocates have been generously supporting the artists of our region and the state of Michigan. This campaign has made a tremendous impact on promoting artists and exhibits that showcase the talent of Michigan. Calls for artists occur every year in the spring with 50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region Exhibition on odd numbered years and MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition during the even numbered years. After the jury selections are finalized the biennial exhibits are installed in the galleries of Studio 23 the month of September. 50 Art Advocates have provided awards of  more than  $7000 in cash prizes since 2017, invested $12,000 in the Art Around the City program and sponsored countless educational opportunities for local artists. As part of the #artistshelpingartists initiative, the 50 Art Advocate campaigns count a number of professional artists becoming advocates in support of their artist friends. That is truly heartwarming! Many thanks to all who contribute.

Art advocates contribute to

  • Educational growth seminars for artists.
  • Exhibition Opportunities
  • Awards
  • Exhibit program
  • Support for regional art

Follow this link to become a 50 Art Advocate today! We appreciate your support. Thank you!

 

The MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition is the featured biennial exhibit  for 2020. The timeline for this exhibit started in April 2020 with a general call for artists who live and/or work in Michigan. The application process for artists consists of submitting up to three images to be juried. This year’s juror was Timothy Norris, a professional artist and curator from the west side of the state. Norris recently retired from teaching art at Muskegon Community College. His duties as a juror for this exhibit included evaluating over 275 images and curating his selections into an exhibit. He is also the judge for the monetary awards, awards of merit and honorable mentions. The 2020 call for artists saw artists submit applications from as far north as Escanaba and as south as Canton, Michigan.

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

Painters and Potters 2020 Final Day for Viewing: Saturday, August 29, 2020, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition Virtual Facebook Live Juror Talk and Award Ceremony: Thursday, September 17, 2020, 5:00 pm – 6:00pm

MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition Final Day for Viewing: Saturday, November 14, 2020, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

 Studio 23 is filled with art created by our students, faculty and 100 Day Project members. Painters and Potters 2020 and our Off The Wall Gallery Boutique have artwork in different mediums, sizes and prices. It feels great to be back in the galleries and we are open Tuesday – Saturday 11:00 am – 5:00 pm. We are also available for appointments by calling me at 989-894-2323, ext. 14 or email me at curator.studio23@gmail.com.

#collectartbuylocal

Kind regards,

Val

Valerie Allen, curator

Fall Classes begin the week of September 14, 2020. Click here for more information. 

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.

 

 

 

READ MORE
Posted 17 July 2020 | art, art gallery, exhibits

Curator’s Clipboard: Newest exhibit – Painters & Potters 2020 now on display.

Painters & Potters 2020

Our galleries are open and filled with artwork created by our talented students, faculty and The 100 Day Project artists. A total of 95 artworks are part of the exhibit that includes 28 artists. The tradition of a Painter & Potters exhibit started in the 1960s and is a crowd favorite as an annual event. Our gallery visitors will see paintings in acrylic, oil, watercolor, mixed media collages along with ceramics made in our clay studios. The majority of the art is for sale and this is an excellent way to add to your collection. Members of Studio 23 receive a 10% discount on art purchases. Participating artists in this exhibit include:

Diane Arendt, Nicole Bell, Bill Brinker, D J Carmody, Sylvia Coon, Misty Coss, Sean Gallagher, Amy Gibas, C Joanne Grabinski, Beth Henderson Walker, Elli Hennessy, Ruth Howell, Kaylyn Inda, Connie Jane, Wanda Juhl, Debra LaRocque, Alan Maciag, Armin Mersmann, Sheri Moore, Jean Preston, Angela Radlinski, Autumn Reyes, Dennis Rosenblum, Fran Santoro, Charlie Schwartz, Julie Tyslicky, Janice Wegner, Nancy Weiss

The Painters & Potters 2020 will be on display thru Saturday, August 29, 2020. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.

                         

Studio 23 The 100 Day Project

For the past three years we have been gathering as an artist community for the annual The 100 Day Project.The seed of The 100 Day Project began within the PIA Art Collective, a small band of visual artists, in Marquette, Michigan. Since 2008, PIA members have done 100 day projects as a way to keep their creative edge honed. Studio 23 joined as a community arts center in 2018 after our curator heard about the project from the Gaylord Arts Council while she was jurying an exhibit. Our artists who participated in the 100 days from January 22 – April 30, 2020 are invited to display work in the Painters and Potters 2020.  There are many projects on display in the exhibit and you can view them thru August 29, 2020.

                            

This 100 Day Project titled Portraits is by artist and Studio 23 Faculty member, Sylvia Coon. Sylvia teaches Intro to Acrylics.

MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition

We are currently accepting entries into the 2020 MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition. Artists living and working in Michigan over the age of eighteen are eligible to enter the jury process now until the deadline of Saturday, August 8, 2020.

Meet our juror:

Timothy Norris

Timothy Norris’ artwork has appeared in over 100 exhibitions throughout Michigan and the Midwest since 1988. He has won many awards. Tim was Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at the Art Center of Battle Creek, 1992-1996. He is a current instructor at Muskegon Community College in Studio Art and has served as a curator throughout the state.

His interests include Celtic art, Civil War period history, and music. He and his artist wife, Patricia Opel  collaborated on a series of large format paintings titled Through a Crack in the Lake, inspired by Great Lakes shipwreck  narratives and history.

There will be a $1000 best of show award chosen by the juror, Timothy Norris as well as awards of merit.

  Click here for entry link. 

#collectartbuylocal

Painters & Potters 2020 is a great exhibit to purchase a new piece of artwork for your collection. We also have a fully stocked “Off The Wall” Gallery Boutique with affordable art by Studio 23 Artist Collective Members. Buying art locally not only creates revenue for regional artists, the purchase also helps maintain the vibrant and positive art center in your neighborhood- Studio 23!

Here are a few of the artworks marked with the sold GREEN DOT! CONGRATULATIONS ARTISTS!

         

CONGRATULATIONS TO  CLAY ARTIST CHARLIE SCHWARTZ, FIBER ARTIST C JOANNE GRABINSKI, CLAY ARTIST NANCY WEISS, AND WATERCOLOR                      ARTIST ANGELA RADLINSKI!

VISIT US FOR DOWNTOWN BAY CITY SIDEWALK DAYS, JULY 23–25!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION!

July 23 is Throwback Thursday! We will be wearing 1959 clothing inspired by the year Studio 23 was founded!

July 24 is Food Truck Friday on Washington Street!

All three days we will feature Ann Vincenti-Michelman’s Story Blocks. A perfect way to tell your story with these unique collectible works of art. Hundreds to choose from!

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.

 

 

 

READ MORE
Posted 15 June 2020 | art, art gallery, exhibits

Curator’s Clipboard: Summer Solstice Art-A-Thon and Painters and Potters 2020

Summer Solstice Art-A-Thon

Here is the PayPal donation link for a  Summer Solstice Art-A-Thon Pledge. Suggested donation $20. You can add a note in honor of your favorite artist!

Welcome summer to the Great Lakes Bay Region by joining us on Facebook Live, Saturday, June 20, 2020 from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Amy Gibas, chair of our Studio 23 Artists Collective and I will co-host this virtual event by toasting all of our artists of the region starting at 5:00pm.

We will then feature an artists panel on Zoom via Facebook Live. Artists will describe their process and materials. Toward the magic light hour of sunset, we will venture out to Wenonah Park to film plein air artists set up with safe distancing as they capture the river’s banks and bridges on canvas. We will interview them as they are painting. Along the way, we will stop by some of the Art Around the City art stations, particularly Waterfall Park on Third Street.  Third Street will be closed that evening under the Star Bridge, so I’m sure we will do a Facebook Live from that location of chalk artists working there. Armin Mersmann will be set in the windows of Studio 23 for pedestrians and window shoppers who can peek at his progress on his detailed cat drawing that he has been featuring with demos on his Facebook page. Amy and I will also do artist demos that evening that we will post on Facebook.

During the week leading up to the event and during the evening we will feature artists and their images. As this is an Art-A-Thon, we will be asking for pledges of twenty dollars that celebrate our vibrant artists community. This is the chance for Art Fans to show their support of Studio 23 in the name of their favorite artists!

Here is the PayPal donation link for a  Summer Solstice Art-A-Thon Pledge. Suggested donation $20. You can add a note in honor of your favorite artist!

Also, here are the names of many Great Lakes Bay Region and Michigan artists who have been featured in 50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region 2017 and 2019 and MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition 2018. We are gearing up for MI Artists 2020 now! Celebrate these artists and more by making a Summer Solstice Art-A-Thon Pledge of twenty dollars!

50 Artists of Great Lakes Bay Region 2019

Laurie Anderson, James Ardis, Diane Arendt, Gregg Barckholtz, Douglas Barron, Sharon Berkan-Dent, Mark Bleshenski, Larry Butcher, Katrina Canfield, Sara Clark, Margaret Colarelli, Sylvia Coon, Wanda Dziwura, Amy Gibas, Brian Goff, Avram Golden, Jason Graham, Stephen Grewe, Misty Grumbley, Pamela Hart, Ruth Howell, Rosemary Kavanagh, Debra LaRocque, Matt Lewis, Alan Maciag, Edith Marshall, Jim Matherne, Jody McDonald-Rider, Armin Mersmann, Sheri Moore, Alisse Noble, Priscilla Olson, Steven Parkhurst, Larry Peters, Mark Piotrowski, Barbara Plezia, Roger Reichmann, Robert Rokita, Wilma Romatz, Sally Rose, Josh Roupe, D. Joanne Rummel, Laurie Russell-Parrent, Fran Santoro, Carol Speltz, Julie Tyslicky, Silas Warren, Jan Wegner, Rebecca Zeiss, Mike Zureich

MI Artists All-State Juried Exhibition 2018

Gregg Barckholtz, Douglas Barron, Sharon K. Berkan-Dent, Mark Bleshenski, Nancy Brooks-Siebert, Katrina Canfield, D J Carmody, Diane Clise, Julia Close, Margaret Colarelli, Alma Cooke, John Diephouse, Jeanne Dodd, Kelly Frank, Bruce Giffin, Brian Goff, Avram Golden, C. Joanne Grabinski, Jason Graham, Christian K. Harger, Pamela Hart, Emmy Heger, Chandra L. Jewell, Kathy K. Jones, Karen Ann Jonker, Walda Juhl, Rosemary Kavanagh, Debra LaRocque, Heather Love, Alan Maciag, Kathy Maciag, Anthony Macioce, Douglas Malone, Armin Mersmann, Sheri Moore, Jody McDonald Rider, Priscilla Olson, Andrea Ondish, Victoria Parker, Steven Parkhurst, Andrew Rieder, Blaise Rhein, Julia Rohde, Stacie G. Rose,  D. Joanne Rummel, Fran Santoro, Carol Schadd, Carol Speltz, Shelly Newman Stevens, Sherrie Tiderington, Valeri Trombley, Jan Wegner, Rebecca Zeiss, Barbara Zimmerman, Mike Zureich

50 Artists of Great Lakes Bay Region 2017

Brett Alger, Denise Ardis, Kelsey Bailey, Gregg Barckholtz, Sharon Berkan-Dent, Zachary Branigan, Larry Butcher, Sara Clark, Diane Clise, Margaret Colarelli, Misty Coss, Fletcher Dean, Sarah Duncan, Alyssa German, Brian Goff, Avram Golden, C.Joanne Grabinski, Jason Graham, Robert Graham, Stephen Grewe, Pamela Hart, Emmy Heger, Marcia Henne, Bill Horning, Mary Horning, Ruth Howell, Chandra Jewell, Rosemary Kavanagh, Debra LaRocque, Tisch Mikhail Lewis, Alan Maciag, Jim Matherne, Armin Mersmann, Kent Miller, Zi Moreira, Mike Mosher, Priscilla Olson, Steven Parkhurst, Mark Piotrowski, Roger Reichmann, Jody McDonald Rider, Robert Rokita, Paul Rytlewski, Jennifer Schultz, Charlie Schwartz, Carol Speltz, Ellen Visser, Silas Warren, Kathy Wertz, Rebecca Zeiss

 

Call for Artists: Painters and Potters 2020                                                                                                                          Students, The 100 Day Project members and faculty of Studio 23

All students taking classes between June 2019 – June 2020, The 100 Day Project 2020 members and faculty of Studio 23 are invited to submit work for this upcoming exhibit opening July 9, 2020. This exhibit will be online and also all artists who are comfortable bringing work into the gallery will be exhibited in our Rowley gallery. Masks will be required and we will have safe drop-0ff options for the artwork. A virtual Zoom reception will be held on July 9, 2020 at 5:00 pm. The exhibit will run July 9 – August 29, 2020. Please use this application link: Painters and Potters 2020 Entry Form. Jpeg images are required as well as a working email address. We hope you consider entering this popular annual exhibit!

We are very thrilled to being open this week and thankful we have many events and activities to look forward to with our community of artists. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

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.

 

 

 

READ MORE
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!

READ MORE