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Posted 7 January 2022 | 2022, art, art center, art gallery, book club, community, word of the year

Building Momentum for 2022!

Momentum

Our word of the year for 2022.

In 2020 we picked the word ENGAGE. In hindsight it was the perfect word. I am still so proud of the staff of Studio 23 for pivoting so quickly to provide virtual engagement during the shutdown. We didn’t skip a beat and made sure that art was still accessible to our community.

In 2021 we choose the word ELEVATE. We felt that we could continue to elevate the visual arts within our community. One of my favorite projects was the Summer Solstice program. Michigan Sugar partnered with us to provide business development and artist opportunities. It was such a fabulous event we can’t wait to share what we have in store for this year.

Not only did we have great success with that program, we also created Sails Away, a progressive painting. This project was a great collaboration between six talented artists; Alan Maciag, Misty Coss, Debra LaRocque, Ruth Howell, Sheri Moore and C. Joanne Grabinski. This piece turned out amazing and was a wonderful community outreach project for us.

As we navigate through this year, our community needs art. We want to continue to provide the momentum to create, to view, to discuss, and to connect with other artists. The energy can be felt as soon as you walk through our doors or log in to a virtual session. Let’s keep that momentum together and have a creative year ahead.

Thank you for being a part of Studio 23. I feel so lucky to be a part of this artistic community. This past year I have seen amazing artwork be created, on display and collaborations. With the support of Amy G., Misty, Randy and Amy W. we are going to have a great year.

Let’s have a creative year! I hope to see you in the gallery soon.

Sincerely,

Tara Welch

Executive Director

twelch23@studio23baycity.org

Upcoming Events and Workshops

Weekly classes for adults and children begin on January 17th. Check out the education tab on our website to view all the options. Children classes begin at age 7 and adult classes begin at age 18. From pottery to drawing, and watercolor to poetry, we feel we have something for everyone!

Beyond Photography, a stunning collection of cemetery photos by Michael Joseph Murphy. You are invited to a public reception on Friday, January 14, 2022 from 5pm-7pm. This exhibit will be on display from January 12th to January 29th.

The 100 Day project is back for the fourth year!! This year we are using our word of the year MOMENTUM to inspire us. If you can commit to 5-10 minutes a day to create, this is the project for you. Are you trying to work on a new process or have some projects you want to finish? Join other like minded individuals and challenge yourself to 100 days of work.

We will be holding an information session about the 100 Day project virtually on Tuesday, January 11th at 3 pm via Zoom. You are invited to join that session for questions and answers by following the link here on the 11th.

Our first day kick-off session will be on January 25th from 4 – 5:30 pm. This will be a hybrid style check-in with options to join us in the classroom or virtually over Zoom. We will have meetings at the 30, 60, and 90 day marks with a final celebration after the 100 Days on May 10th.

Our guiding word for 2022 is momentum. You may use this as a theme throughout the 100 days or choose your own, but I hope we will all find the momentum we need to have a successful 100 days and more!

To register for the 100 Day Project, please visit our jotform link by clicking here. Registration and membership to Studio 23 is required to participate, and there is a registration fee of $10.

Books on Art: February 16, 2022, 4pm on zoom

Announcing our first book for 2022 Books on Art Club! We will be reading The Flowering, An Autobiography of Judy Chicago. Artist Nancy Philo will be leading our discussion. Nancy has been an artist collective member at Studio 23 for a few years and she is now teaching two classes for Studio 23. Make sure to check out our class schedule for some options!

If you would like to be notified about book club activities, please send us an email. We will update your interests in our database.

Don’t forget to start at smile.amazon.com when you shop! Select Studio 23 as your charity and we receive of portion of your purchase. This helps support our exhibits, programs and public art initiatives. Thank you for your support!

by Megan Koch

Posted 9 April 2021 | art, art center, classes, collaboration, community, gallery, membership, studio 23

Our members made an impact!

Collaboration within our community is really important to us at Studio 23. Beginning in January this year, our membership committee created a Membership Drive that would give back to two nonprofits in our region. As I hope you know, Studio 23 has been a registered nonprofit for over 60 years. We were founded in 1959 by a group of artists and community members who wanted a space for artists to display their work.

Studio 23 is a part of the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and a local Rotary Club. It is a great way for us to network and to know what others are working on. With our connections we reached out to the Bay Area Women’s Center and Big Brothers Big Sisters to collaborate with us for our Membership Drive. Happily they both accepted and we got to work!

With each new member and renewing member we donated a Craft Bar packet to a child in their care. What is a Craft Bar packet? It is an art project that has step by step instructions with all of the art supplies in one convenient packet for you to use. We sell our Craft Bar packets during open gallery hours and they make a perfect project for you to gift or to create on your own!

We set a lofty goal of 100 members in three months. Well, we came really close at 87 members and we are proud to say we still donated 100 Craft Bar packets to children through Bay Area Women’s Center and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Last Friday, we dropped off the donations and here is how they impacted the organizations:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Great Lakes Bay Region has a mission of creating and supporting one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. Their vision to help all youth achieve their full potential. Last week I got to sit down with Rachel Sprunger who is one of two Bay County Match Coordinators, and discussed the impact of the Craft Bar Packets.

“Being able to do arts and crafts is wonderful for our littles. It helps keep them creative and focused. With art they can have a creative outlet and it helps them grow and find their strengths” – Rachel told me how art really makes an impact on the littles. The packets will be porch drop offs that the littles and bigs can do virtually together. We can’t wait to see what they create!

Big Brother Big Sisters is always looking for BIGs. There are currently about 12 littles in Bay County who are waiting for a match. BBBS receives referrals of littles from our school system and has a partnership with the Dow Bay Area Family Y. For more information about becoming a Big or referring a little contact BBBS at 844-4BE-ABIG or visit our website https://bbbsgreatlakesbay.org/.

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The mission of the Bay Area Women’s Center is to eliminate domestic violence and sexual assault. BAWC provides free-of-charge crisis intervention, advocacy and safe haven to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault; and violence prevention education to the community; while actively pursuing social change.

I got to speak with Maggie Pickering who is a Sexual Assualt Therapist and Jeremy Rick who is the Executive Director of the Bay Area Women’s Center. The Craft Bar Packets will be given to their clients who are in their shelter. Maggie said that “art has a therapeutic power and it helps her work with clients”. They provide therapy services in person and virtual.

“Anytime we can expose our kids to something positive and fun, we can help them better”, says Jeremy. Their goals at the shelter are to help empower the children to keep them safe. A lot of times when families come to the shelter, the children feel guilty for their situation. Art can help them erase the guilt as they work with their therapists to better themselves and their family.

It was such a pleasure to donate these art packets to two organizations who will benefit. Art is a wonderful thing and now it can help these children be empowered and get creative. With your support as members, these kids were gifted the joy of art!

Thank you for reading along and sharing art with our community! You can sign up to be a member today by visiting: https://www.studio23baycity.org/membership/

Sincerely,

Tara Welch

Executive Director

twelch23@studio23baycity.org

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Spring is coming!

We were chatting as staff here at Studio 23 and we are shocked with how quickly time is going! April is here and we are prepping for our Summer Art Camps, Summer Solstice event and even the Chalk Walk Art Festival.

Exhibition: Land To River, A collaboration with the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy and sponsored by Waste Management.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 5pm

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood to take a Plein Air Painting Class with Artist/Instructor Ruth Howell.
Ruth will guide you through painting outdoor scenes in plein air. The class will cover supplies, equipment and tips to paint outside. Artists are encouraged to work in a painting medium such as watercolor, oil, acrylic or pen and ink.

This workshop will run rain or shine- shine will get us outside and rain will keep us painting from the stage windows inside Studio 23.

Saturday, April 24th 10am-1pm

The social season is upon us! Grab your friends and join Studio 23 for a Bridgerton inspired paint night. Each attendee will learn how to paint a custom wooden tea-cup holder while enjoying a night out. And because you’re creating it yourself, you’ll be able to personalize your own colors selections.

You bring your beverage of choice and we will provide pizza, breadsticks, and all the supplies you need to complete this beautiful cup holder!

Thursday, April 29th 6-9pm

by Autumn Reyes

Posted 28 November 2020 | art, art center, art gallery, bay city, classes, community, drawing, Healthy, Safety, support, workshops

Art Education with Autumn

As I was sitting at home last night working on homework I was having a terrible time concentrating. It makes sense, right? There’s quite a bit of uncertainty in the world right now and it just has to have an effect on us… it can’t not! I found myself grabbing a sheet of scrap paper and moving between doodling and homework. Next thing I know, I’m getting my work done.

See, as I’ve grown older I’ve realized that doodling/creating/artmaking is not just fun and not just another distraction. It’s a great way to help us relax and refocus.

My homework doodles- clearly I was hungry!

So, how does creating benefit your mental health and how can Studio 23 help?

Well, Malaka Gharib, a journalist for NPR, found that in between daily tasks she was always doodling. To find out why she enjoyed doodling so much and what effects it had upon her brain, Gharib spoke with Girija Kaimal, a professor and researcher in art therapy at Drexel University. Kaimal conducted an experiment where blood flow to the brain of a variety of participants was measured. They found that when subjects created there was an increased amount of blood flow to the reward center of the brain. This would suggests that creating art stimulates the reward center of the brain.

In another experiment, subjects were asked to create art for 45 minutes in a studio with an art therapist. During this time, cortisol levels significantly lowered. Additionally, they found “no differences in health outcomes between people who identify as experienced artists and people who don’t.”

What this information suggests to me is right now, during a pandemic, we need to create more than ever. This is why Studio 23 has been offering art classes and virtual art lessons that you can easily follow. I make it a point to post fun, easy projects that don’t require a bunch of fancy art supplies. Because it doesn’t matter what products you use or what your result is- it’s the act of creating that helps center us.

I hope this inspires you to keep healthy and create something today!

Autumn Reyes, Education Coordinator

If you’d like to read more on that study, here’s the link!

Posted in my office space to inspire me! 🙂

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 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 Megan Koch

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

Meet our member, Amy Gibas

#meetourmembermonday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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