Northern Michigan Art

Jordan Valley Glass Headlines Show at Charlevoix Circle

2010-05-14T11:29:00.008-05:00

This month one of our favorite local glass studios and a very special local art gallery combine to put on a spectacular show in our neighboring town of Charlevoix.

Jordan Valley Glassworks of East Jordan is the creation of third generation glass blower Jay Bavers. He discovered the wonder and some of the secrets of glassblowing as a young boy living above his grandfather's glassblowing shop in Brooklyn, New York. Glenna Haney added her talents to the studio part time fifteen years ago and became a full partner about four years later. Jay's son Bill brought the family tradition to a fourth generation when he joined the Glassworks last year after earning his BFA from Bowling Green. Together they produce beautiful glass pieces for the home and garden from ornaments to lighting fixtures to free form sculptures.

The Charlevoix Circle of Arts is a non-profit cultural arts organization that, in addition to its gallery. provides classes, concerts and other activities to support the arts and provide cultural enrichment to the region. Their latest presentation, Translucent Show, includes large and small glass creations by Jordan Valley Glassworks and other artists as well as watercolors and other translucent mediums.

The show is well worth seeing and continues through July 4th. The Circle of Arts gallery is located at 109 Clinton Street in Charlevoix. Hours are 1-5 Tuesday through Saturday.

The Northern Michigan Artists Market has a large selection of works by Jordan Valley Glassworks available at our gallery in Petoskey and our online store.

Spring Brings Major Waterfront and Park Improvements to Petoskey

2010-04-28T10:23:00.012-05:00

Spring is in full flower [like this watercolor by Bruce Love] at the Northern Michigan Artists Market and in our home town of Petoskey, Michigan. At the Market, that means new artists and lots of new artwork. In town, spring means that a slew of new boating, recreation and downtown enhancement projects are about to start. Whether you live here or are planning to visit us sometime this summer or even if you just love Petoskey and like to keep in touch, we thought you might like an update.

On the waterfront, the big news is a whole raft of improvements at the City's marina. The biggest change will be a fourth pier that will be built in the gap between the leftmost dock and the two on the right. This new pier will add forty-four additional boat slips. The plans for this summer also include renovation and expansion of the marina's service building. The shelter house will be relocated to allow for the expansion.

The Army Corps of Engineers has resumed its reconstruction of Petoskey's breakwall. [Watercolor by Karen Kubovchick] The outer portion was completely rebuilt last year and is a vast improvement. Rebuilding will continue moving down the breakwall all the way to the shore. This project will not only repair the damage caused a couple of years ago when ice and waves broke through the wall and created a huge gap but will rebuild the wall to correct years of wear and deterioration. It will also widen the wall and make it safer for all of the people who love to walk out on the breakwall and dive off into the harbor.

You probably know that the Bear River flows under the big bridge on US-31 just west of Downtown Petoskey, then under a bridge on Lake street and through a rocky channel next to City Hall, then empties into Lake Michigan in the Petoskey harbor. What you may not know is that before all this, the Bear flows through a beautiful wooded valley right in the middle of town. This scenic walking path is a local favorite and is actually a segment of the North Country Trail that runs all the way from Upstate New York to Central North Dakota. In mid-May, Petoskey will begin a major improvement project that will include the construction of walking trails, restrooms, picnic shelters, and improvements to the Bear River that will create a Class III whitewater rapids along the Bear River from Sherridan St. to Lake Michigan. Actually, preparatory work has been going on for a while but the major, visible enhancements will take place through this summer. I personally walk this trail frequently and I strongly recommend a visit to this tranquil oasis. The improvements should make this walk even more pleasant and will make more people aware of its existence and beauty.

As I discuss in the latest issue of the Artists Market's email newsletter, Art Up North, there was a major breakthrough this winter in the efforts of the City to develop Pennsylvania Park. The railroad track and its right-of-way that makes up much of this park in the center of Downtown has been untouchable because it is owned by the State of Michigan. After about twenty-five years of discussion and negotiations with the State, Petoskey has made a deal buy this property. Plans include a long anticipated historic rail trolley and walking path that will run from the Zipp building, a former railroad station south of Downtown, through the middle of the Gaslight District and on to Bay View east of Downtown. When completed this project will be a beautiful and functional attraction and reminder of Petoskey's railroading history.

There will be a lot going on this summer here in Petoskey. We hope you will come and enjoy it with us.

Artists Market Featured in The Graphic

2010-01-10T14:48:00.004-05:00

This week, The Graphic, Petoskey's local free entertainment and events weekly, takes a break from its series of outstanding features on local artists to review the Northern Michigan Artists Market.

I am a big fan of Maggie Peterson and her Art Scene feature in the Graphic. I have commented here on her previous columns profiling Artists Market artists such as extraordinary Harbor Springs wood turner Tom Jacobson. This week, I was delighted to read her insights into my own favorite creative work, our art gallery.

The article features a great picture of my two partners, Vivi Woodcock and Susan Lange, and me inside the Market. It does a great job of capturing the spirit and mission of our little store. In addition to visiting the gallery and talking with the three of us, Maggie spoke with a couple of the very special local artists who exhibit here, nature photographer Kris Busk and potter Christine Rowe.

Sometime this week, take the time to pick up a copy of The Graphic or check out the article on their website. If you have any comments, be sure to post them here.

First Responder, a Ghost Story

2009-10-31T00:24:00.008-05:00

In my previous post, I wrote about Downtown Petoskey's Ghost Walk. That event took place last night and a great, ghoulish time was had by all. It did rain but that did not seem to dampen the spirits of the participants who turned out in large numbers (over 100 people) to tour Downtown Petoskey and hear stories about the local ghosts who inhabit our town.

Now that the event is over, I can reveal the tale of the Artists Markets very own ghost, one of the spectral biographies presented on the tour:

First Responder

For the last six years residents and visitors have been coming to 445 East Mitchell to buy the creations of local Northern Michigan artists but that was not always so. This address has been important to Downtown Petoskey residents for many many years. Long before it was an art gallery it was a Montgomery Wards Department store and even longer ago it was a car dealership selling Studebakers from South Bend Indiana.

Many happy and tragic things have happened between these walls over all those years but one of the most dramatic took place on a chilly evening in October back in 1961. Late that afternoon, a customer in the Women's Clothing Department of Montgomery Wards told a young sales clerk that she smelled smoke. The clerk called the fire department and an older, red-headed fireman came to the store and searched all the nooks and crannies of the building and the A&P Grocery that was then next door in the attached building at 441 East Mitchell. He carried a lantern in his left hand and a fire axe in his right. Despite looking for about two hours, he was unable to find the source of the smoky smell and left.

Early the next morning, about 3:00 a.m., a truck driver delivering groceries to the A&P noticed a fire in the loading dock area in the back of the building. Soon there was heavy smoke and and flames shooting out the side of the building on all floors. Fire fighters fought the blaze for several hours but were unable to prevent over $100,000 damage to the A&P. They were able to keep the blaze itself from spreading to the Montgomery Wards but in the process the future home of the Northern Michigan Artists Market was filled with smoke and water reached a foot deep in the basement.

Accounts of the fire in the News Review the next day do not report the deaths of any firefighters in the incident. There is no mention of the red-headed fireman who had searched the building in vain earlier in the day. In fact, people say that they cannot recall there being any red-headed Petoskey firefighters at all at that time but several people reported seeing a man in a firefighter uniform carrying a lantern and a fire axe running into the building as the flames raged, saying that the blaze was all his fault. No one saw him come out of the building that night.

Now every year on chilly evenings in late October, just after dusk when the sky is dark and the Artist Market lights are dimmed, people walking by the Artists Market have reported a slight but distinct smell of smoke and some have said that they thought they saw in the window what looked like an older, red-headed fireman holding a lantern high in his left hand and a fire axe in his right searching the nooks and crannies of the building trying to find the source of the smoke smell and still trying to prevent the A&P fire of 1961.

*******

The First Responder himself did appear last night during the Ghost Walk as one of the guides and raconteurs and is expected to materialize again today at the Artists Market where he is scheduled to distribute candy to the young trick-or-treaters who will be going from store to store. (Any slight resemblance between myself and the First Responder is, of course, entirely coincidental.)

The Ghost Walk, by the way, was a brand new event for Downtown Petoskey. Due to the fantastic turnout and enthusiastic response, the tour will likely reappear in the future on the Downtown schedule.

Downtown Petoskey Hosts Spooktacular Halloween Festivities

2009-10-23T14:21:00.003-05:00

This is the time of the year when ghosts and other strange and creepy characters wander the streets, including the byways in our favorite downtown. The Northern Michigan Artists Market will be doing its part to welcome the ghosts and goblins of all ages to Downtown Petoskey and, in cooperation with Downtown Petoskey, provide a little spooky fun.

First, on Friday night, October 30, starting at 7:30pm, Downtown Petoskey presents our very first Ghost Tour, a guided stroll through Downtown featuring ghostly tales of the supernatural spirits known to inhabit the historic buildings. We have collected tales of Petoskey's own macabre and weird spectral creatures and assembled a crew of spooky characters to tell those tales as they guide you through the dark streets and dimly lit haunted shops of our town on the eve of Halloween.

There is a ghost that haunts the Artists Market on certain cool evenings in late October. I could tell you the story now but that would spoil the fun. [Perhaps I will post it here after the event.] Our ghost is featured in the tour and I personally will lead a couple of groups around Ghost Town Petoskey Friday night.

Tours are $5 per person. Reservations can be made at the Petoskey Downtown Offices, 216 Park Avenue. The walks will run approximately 30 minutes. Walk-ins will be accepted if space allows.

Hopefully the ghost stories Friday evening will not keep you up all night because early Saturday morning it will be time to get all the kids in costume and bring them to Central Elementary School (corner of Howard and State Streets) at 10:00 am for the Children's Costume Parade. As soon as the parade is over, the begging begins. The Northern Michigan Artists Market and other Downtown merchants will be handing out goodies to children trick-or-treating throughout Downtown Petoskey until 12:00 noon. Signs will be posted at stores participating in this event.

The fun continues on into the afternoon as the Petoskey Public Library presents additional Halloween frivolity for children.

Come join the Northern Michigan Artists Market and the rest of Downtown Petoskey this Halloween. By the way we do have some great Halloween items in the gallery along with our usual assortment of art in all media by more than eighty-five of Northern Michigan's most talented and creative artists.

Petoskey UM and MSU Alumni Groups to Host Joint Crying Towel Before Big Game!

2009-09-17T22:11:00.005-05:00

As I have mentioned here before, I am the President of the University of Michigan Little Traverse Bay Spirit Group and occasionally take advantage of this venue to point out significant upcoming events.

The annual MICHIGAN v michigan state football battle is rapidly approaching. As the recent WOLVERINE triumph over the leprechauns of notre dame and sparty's recent humiliation at the hands of Central Michigan demonstrate, this is likely to be a very interesting match-up.

[Switching to non-partisan mode for a moment. . .]

The local alumni of the University of Michigan and Michigan State University will gather together jointly for their annual Crying Towel pregame funfest and jousting session at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 30, at Knot Just a Bar, in Bay Harbor.

Please join us. Wear your loyalty colors. There will be door prizes, a 50/50 raffle and the opportunity to stand and make pointed observations about the other school and the quality of its football team (and alums).

The cost is just $15 per person for light snacks. Buy your own beverages. Proceeds will go to the respective clubs' scholarship funds, proving that some good may come from just about anything. You do not need to be an alumnus to attend.

Please RSVP by September 23 to: (U-M) Maureen Whitehead, 547-2728 or (MSU) Jeff Wellman, 582-2400.

[Switching back to my True Blue colors. . .]

On game day, Saturday, October 2, loyal MICHIGAN fans will gather in the Education Center at Camp Michigania, located at the corner of Camp Sherwood and Zenith Heights Roads, to watch the big game together on a big screen TV, enjoy some pizza and cheer on our conquering heroes to victory.

Game time is 12:00p.m., so we’ll gather beginning at 11:30a.m. We’ll order out pizza, but BYO Beverage. Follow the signs and balloons to the Ed. Center.

The cost is $15 per person, with children 10 & under $10.00. There is no charge for children 5 and under. There will be door prizes and a 50/50 raffle. All proceeds go to the club’s Scholarship Fund.

Please RSVP to Glen Williams, 231-582-6858, by September 29, so we can order enough pizza.

GO BLUE!

Artists Market Photographer Luanne Schonfeld Points the Way to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics

2009-09-16T21:58:00.012-05:00

Next year the Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver and Northern Michigan Artists Market artist Luanne Schonfeld is pointing the way.

Luanne just brought a boxfull of her black and white photocards to the Market. One of these cards is a black and white film photograph of an inuksuk, shown here. For centuries, the Inuit people of Canada’s Arctic made these piles of rock in human form as guideposts for travelers to show them the way or warn them of danger. In other words, an inuksuk is something like an Inuit version of a lighthouse. Over time, the inukshuk has become a symbol of hope and friendship.

So what does all of this have to do with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver? The Vancouver Olympics mascot, Ilanaaq, is a symbolic representation of an inuksuk. Ilanaaq was designed by Vancouver artist Elena Rivera MacGregor. It stands for friendship and the welcoming of the world. Luanne hopes her photograph will help connect people here in Northern Michigan with the Vancouver Olympics and the cultural significance and message of friendship and welcome represented by the Olympic mascot and the Inuit inuksuk on which it is based.

We agree with Luanne and we thought that for some inspiration you might like to see what an actual Inuit inuksuk looks like so here is one of Olympic mascot Ilanaaq's most well known ancestors that stands at Vancouver's English Bay. Speaking of family ties, Ilanaaq has some American cousins as well. Piles of rocks, or cairns, are frequently used as trail markers in the United States, particularly in areas where there are no trees or structures where trail markers can be placed. Locally, some good examples exist in Wilderness State Park in the extreme Northwest corner of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

Luanne Schonfeld is a very talented photographer. She takes black and white pictures with real film and develops and prints them in a darkroom the traditional way with chemicals and an enlarger. We are privileged to have a wide selection of her prints and photocards at the Northern Michigan Artists Market.

Artists Market Artist Steve Webster Selected to Create Official Downtown Petoskey Collectable Holiday Ornament

2009-09-15T14:25:00.004-05:00

The Downtown Petoskey Events Committee chose Northern Michigan Artists Market artist Steve Webster to create and produce the 2009 Stafford’s Downtown Petoskey Holiday Parade collectible holiday ornament. This year's ornament will be an actual Petoskey stone carved into the shape of a tree.

For several years, the Committee issued manufactured ornaments. This year for the first time, the Committee decided to select a handmade ornament created by a local artist. Webster is a Northern Michigan artist well known for his Petoskey stone creations. The Committee is delighted and proud to be able to provide a collectible ornament made from Michigan's state stone and our town's own indigenous treasure.

The Downtown Petoskey Events Committee presents this year's ornament by Mr. Webster as the first in what it plans to be an annual series of Petoskey stone ornaments cut
into holiday shapes. The 2009 tree ornament will be a limited edition and will sell for $15 each. It will be available at the Northern Michigan Artists Market and at other participating Downtown Petoskey stores.

The ornament will be issued in connection with the 2009 Stafford’s Downtown Petoskey Holiday Parade, to be held on Saturday, November 28 at 10 am. The ten o’clock hour gives time so that the streets can be reopened and shopping and dining can begin.

IT'S BACK! Win a $1000 Downtown Petoskey Gift Certificate and PARK FREE for a Year.

2009-09-15T13:31:00.007-05:00

Downtown Petoskey's Fall Treasure Downtown Contest is on. A similar Spring contest was held in March, April and May of this year and was a fantastic success. The fall contest, like the one last spring, promotes the new Downtown Treasure Certificates that shoppers can redeem in stores all over Downtown Petoskey, including the Northern Michigan Artists Market.

The winner of the contest, which runs from now until December 1, 2009, will receive a $1,000 Downtown Treasure Certificate and a parking pass good all over Downtown Petoskey for one year.

To enter, shoppers must accumulate sales receipts totaling $500 from stores in Downtown Petoskey dated September 1, 2009, to December 1, 2009. Entrants place the receipts in special envelopes available at the Chamber of Commerce, 401 E. Mitchell, and the new Petoskey Downtown Office at 216 Park Avenue. Then turn them in at the Chamber office or Downtown office. The winner will be announced at the Holiday Open House.

The winner will be announced at the Downtown Petoskey Holiday Open House, December 4, 2009. Entrants need not be present to win. Detailed rules and additional information are available on the Downtown Petoskey website.

The spring contest was a lot of fun and the fall version is shaping up to be even better. Kristy Fralich was the winner of the Spring contest. She is still having fun spending her Treasure Certificates. Kristy is a new mother and used the certificates to buy clothing and toys for her baby as well as other shopping and restaurant dining. She was one of 154 entrants last spring and was very surprised to be notified that she was the lucky winner. Kristy said that she saw the contest as a great incentive to support the local businesses she has grown to love and that getting to the $500 entry amount was not that difficult. Other entrants also reported that just saving their lunch receipts added up quickly or that a couple of dinners out and some occasional shopping and maybe a haircut easily tallied up to $500. Several people collected enough receipts to enter several times.

You know you are going to be shopping in Downtown Petoskey over the next few months. You will be buying holiday gifts at the Northern Michigan Artists Market and eating at the Downtown restaurants. Just hold on to the receipts and you may be parking for free for the next year and spending $1,000 in Treasure Certificates. Enjoy winter in Downtown Petoskey as seen in this painting, Petoskey Impressed #5 by local artist Doug Flewelling.

Global Warming a Threat to Northern Michigan?

2009-06-12T10:35:00.007-05:00

When we think about the dangers of global warming, images of shrinking icecaps, starving polar bears (or penguins like this one photographed by Kris Busk), flooded coastlines and other far away perils most often come to mind. But could the next images from Al Gore's video presentation feature our local landmarks? A recent study indicates that our Northern Michigan lifestyle may be in danger.

According to an article in this month's online edition of the University of Michigan publication Michigan Today, climate change is driving Michigan mammals farther north.

Researchers at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Ohio's Miami University, in findings published in the June issue of the journal Global Change Biology, have concluded that some Michigan mammal species are rapidly expanding their ranges northward, apparently in response to climate change. In the process, these historically southern species are replacing their northern counterparts. The researchers analyzed distribution and abundance records of opossums and eight species of small forest rodents.

The Michigan Today article reports that the data shows:

Of the nine mammal species examined, four have established strongholds or increased in abundance, while five have declined. The increasing species—white-footed mice, southern flying squirrels, eastern chipmunks and common opossums—all are southern species, while the declining species—woodland deer mice, southern red-backed voles, northern flying squirrels, woodland jumping mice, and least chipmunks—are all northern species.

While many local Northern Michigan residents and disappointed visitors who have come to the area in the last few weeks expecting to put in some quality beach time and return home with tans scoff at any mention of global warming here in the Frozen North, researchers point to some evidence of a warming climate. (Stained glass sun by Michael Myers.) Michigan Today reports:

The researchers downloaded maximum and minimum daily temperatures from the National Climate Data Center for 16 weather stations in the Upper Peninsula, where changes in the small forest rodent community have been especially pronounced. They then calculated monthly averages for minimum and maximum daily temperatures for each year between 1970 and 2007 for each station and for the region as a whole. Across all 16 sites, average annual minimum daily temperatures increased significantly over the 37-year period.

I have been giving some thought to the dangers that these results may foretell for our way of life here in Northern Michigan, and in particular for our tourism and resort industry. Lets see. Southern rodents migrating to Northern Michigan. Is it possible . . .

Celebrate the Pasty

2009-06-11T09:39:00.006-05:00

One of the best things about Northern Michigan is all of the festivals. Every town with a history or a favorite vegetable, fungus or fish has at least one every year. (And what N Mi berg doesn't have something to brag about?) We occasionally point out some of the more notable of these events here.

This month the historic mining town of Calumet salutes the venerable miner's meal with its annual PastyFest. The pasty is, of course, one of the indigenous hallmarks of Upper Peninsula life and well deserves this honor.

As with all good Northern Michigan festivals, there will be a lot going on at PastyFest. The excitement kicks off Friday night with a community service awards ceremony. Saturday features the Pasty Parade, free horse-drawn wagon tours and a pasty bake-off in the park. There will also be most of the normal Michigan festival standards like vendors, artist, crafters, live music, kids games, food and refreshments of all sorts including the star of the show, pasties. PastyFest will be topped off by a Richie Havens concert in the Calumet Theater.

Calumet is a great town to visit. It was established in 1875 and is filled with the history of the UP's mining boom days when then town had more money for civic projects than it knew what to do with. While you are there, be sure to see the historic Calumet Theater. The Theatre opened on March 20, 1900 with a touring Broadway production of Reginald DeKoven's The Highwaymen. All the great stars of the era performed there including Madame Helena Modjeska, Lillian Russell, John Phillip Sousa, Sarah Bernhardt, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Lon Chaney, Sr., Jason Robards, Sr., James O'Neill, William S. Hart, Frank Morgan, Wallace and Noah Beery, and Madame Schumann-Heink, to name a few. Also don't miss the Coppertown USA Mining Museum and the U.P. Fire Fighters Memorial Museum.

Take this opportunity to travel through the Upper Peninsula and celebrate the UP's famous and humble pie by relishing in its history and eating as many pasties as you can.

TRAVEL TIP: If you are going to Calumet for PastyFest, leave soon. Calumet is a long way from wherever you are and the festival takes place on June 26-27.

Karen Kubovchick Painting on Cover of the Dining Guide

2009-06-10T11:25:00.004-05:00

We love to brag here when one of our fine Artists Market artists receives an honor or some press coverage. Watercolorist Karen Kubovchick just scored big in both of those categories. One of her watercolors was chosen for the cover of the Summer 2009 edition of the Northern Michigan Dining Guide.

The watercolor is a beautiful still life of fruits and flowers. You can pick up a copy of the Dining Guide for free all over Northern Michigan. It was just released and is available now.

Here is another example of Karen's watercolors, River Bridge, showing the Bear River and the US 31 Bridge in Petoskey. See much more of Karen's work at the Northern Michigan Artists Market in Downtown Petoskey or online.

Tom Jacobson Featured in The Graphic

2009-05-31T14:35:00.005-05:00

Northern Michigan Artists Market wood turner Tom Jacobson was featured in the May 28th issue of The Graphic, the local Petoskey weekly.

In the interview, Tom explains how he creates his beautiful turned wood pieces including burl bowls, sculptural pieces like this vase of tulips, wooden pens and pencils and pierced wood marvels. The article includes a photo of Tom hard at work at his craft and shots of many of his excellent creations.

You can read the article online or pick up The Graphic at locations all over Petoskey and the surrounding area. Of course the best thing to do is to come in to the Artists Market and see many of Tom's works in person, touch them and, if you wish, buy one to take home or for a gift.

Thanks and kudos to The Graphic's Maggie Peterson for another revealing article about a local Northern Michigan artist. By the way, Maggie says Tom does not consider himself an artist and feels more comfortable being described as a wood turner. He certainly is an outstanding wood turner but visit us and judge for yourself whether he is also an artist.

Work Begun on Petoskey Breakwall

2009-05-23T21:54:00.005-05:00

As we reported here a couple of months ago, The Army Corps of Engineers is going to repair Petoskey's damaged breakwall this spring and summer.

Well, work has begun. The work barges are in place in the Petoskey harbor and the damage done by the ice storm a couple of years ago and by years of wear and tear is about to be fixed.

The Corp of Engineers will conduct Phase One of reconstruction this spring. The 300-foot outer section of the wall from the lighthouse in to the end of the damaged portion will be replaced first. Construction is expected to last the rest of the year.

You may remember a couple of summers ago when the breakwall looked as it does in this pastel by Artist Market artist Jan Vandenbrink. The gap was temporarily filled in later that year.

People's Path Update

2009-05-23T12:03:00.008-05:00

This week we found out that the Powers That Be had a different plan for the People's Path across Pennsylvania Park. Rather than coopting the will of the people by paving over the natural, foot-worn diagonal, as we suspected in our previous post, they have resorted to repressing the rightful and democratic will of the people by resodding that venerable trail worn by the feet and the perseverance of the masses.

I note that even the mighty Powers-That-Be were unwilling to provoke the public ire further and wisely did not take any additional futile measures like roping off the fresh sod or posting Stay off the Grass signs.

In the end, these misguided tactics will be defeated as the people continue to vote with their feet. Before long, the People's Path will rise again in all its revolutionary and muddy glory!

The People's Path

2009-05-15T11:06:00.006-05:00

One of the many purposes of this blog is to help keep you up to date on the major and trivial goings on in our town, particularly for those of you who only spend a part of the year in Petoskey but still feel a spiritual connection to our special corner of the earth. I'm not sure where this event ranks on on the trivial-to-major scale but it meant something to me so I pass it along for whatever it is worth to you.

This week they have been repaving the pathways through Pennsylvania Park in the middle of Downtown Petoskey. Today I walked by on my way to lunch and saw that, at long last, they are paving the long, diagonal path that cuts across the park from northwest to southeast.

If you don't spend much time walking in Downtown Petoskey, you may not instantly appreciate the significance of this. That diagonal is, without a doubt, the most common route people take across the park. It goes roughly from American Spoon Foods across the park to Meyer Ace Hardware (an then on to the Northern Michigan Artists Market). Until today it has been one of those natural routes that, despite all the plans of the experts, never gets officially established but is the creation of the people literally voting with their feet.

Over the years the grass along this path has been beaten down by thousands of feet in all sizes that refuse to follow the establishment guidelines and instead strike out on their own spontaneous, leaderless people's revolution. It is a meek, humble path, in some places little more than a size double-e flip-flop in width and often deep with mud. Grass seed has not conquered this path. Mud puddles have not kept the people away.

I must say, I have some mixed feelings watching all this spirit paved over. But in the end I will not miss the mud. Thank you to the powers-that-be for giving in to the will of the masses by officially sanctioning, and paving, the people's path!

UM's Lloyd Carr to Speak in Petoskey

2009-05-01T09:56:00.004-05:00

As some of you may know, one of the many hats I wear is as President of the University of Michigan Alumni Little Traverse Bay Spirit Group. I normally don't discuss alumni events here but we are putting on a pretty spectacular luncheon next month and I thought you might like to know.

Join us on Wednesday, June 24, 2009, in the Rose Dining Room, Stafford's Perry Hotel in Petoskey for a luncheon featuring Lloyd Carr, Associate Director of U-M Athletics and former Head Football Coach. There is a no host bar at 12:00 noon, and the luncheon begins at 12:30. The cost is $25 per person, which includes entrée, salad, dessert, beverage, tax and gratuity.

Please send your check payable to "U-M Little Traverse Bay Spirit Group" by Friday, June 12 to Marty Scott (masarts@gmail.com), 406 W. Lake Street, Petoskey, MI 49770. Send your check today, space is limited!

GO BLUE!

Answering the Eternal Question

2009-04-28T23:17:00.007-05:00

What is art?

Morris Shapiro,the Director of the Park West Gallery in Southfield, Michigan, took a stab at this eternal question in an essay Experiencing Rockwell that appeared on April 28th in the gallery's official blog. This post, while well reasoned, expertly informed and fascinating to read, adds to the piles of ink, real and virtual, that have been created searching for the answer to this intellectually interesting but essentially unanswerable question.

At the outset, I must admit that I have myself, in this very blog, made my own contribution to that ink heap with a post titled So What is Northern Michigan Art Anyway? I raised and then knocked down several straw-person explanations before finally, exasperated with the impossibility of the assignment I had given myself, ended up with the lame and unsatisfying conclusion that perhaps the answer really is as simple as:

Northern Michigan Art is art by Northern Michigan artists, in all of its variety of splendor, spirit and wonder.

I suggest that Mr. Shapiro's geographically broader question has a similar answer.

The starting point for Mr. Shapiro's essay is the Detroit Institute of Arts' current exhibition, American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell. Shapiro points out that many experts consider Rockwell a great illustrator but not a fine artist. He then tours the exhibition, discovering evidence to refute this conclusion.

This issue is not unique to Rockwell. Experts have created an extensive lexicon of labels for works that, while they may appear to the uninitiated to be art, should more correctly be called something else. Sometimes that other thing is, as with Rockwell, illustration. At other times the label is commercial or craft work. A few years ago in a controversial letter to the editor of our newspaper here in Petoskey, Michigan, a local expert claimed that the works in a local show were not true art but were all derivative. No doubt other terms of [non] art will occur to you.

Mr. Shapiro's efforts to discredit the illustration label and establish Rockwell as a true artist fall into the trap of accepting that such distinctions may be valid but asserting that, in Rockwell's case, the more complementary term, artist, should apply.

Shapiro argues, based on what he sees as he walks through the Norman Rockwell exhibition and other galleries in the DIA, that Rockwell deserves to be considered an artist for several reasons:

His work contributes to the culture and artistic identity of America.
He displayed a mastery of oil on canvas.
He had the chops to do the French Masters and include their work in his own.
He embodied artistic discipline.
He was highly productive.
He had an unparalleled ability to communicate and to touch people.
His work is enormously popular.
Norman Rockwell's work fits perfectly into the pantheon of the masters.

I do not dispute the truth of any of these statements. However citing them as criteria for being an artist as opposed to an illustrator necessarily accepts the validity of this distinction and implies that it would be appropriate for a properly credentialed expert to affix the illustrator label to some practitioner of lesser merit than Norman Rockwell.

As an expert himself, Shapiro has a personal and professional stake in the existence of the sort of distinctions discussed here and the right and ability of experts to be the arbiter of these distinctions. Mr. Shapiro also candidly discusses his own extensive professional and commercial interest in the works of Norman Rockwell and thus in establishing him in the highest possible echelon of artists.

At the end of his essay, Mr. Shapiro returns to what he considers to be the important question:

How can an artist of such power, possessing spectacular technical genius and an unparalleled ability to communicate and touch so many, be so often dismissed by those who claim to wield the power of judgment as to what is and isn’t “art”?

He answers saying, “The answer is too long and complex to be addressed here.”

The answer appears complicated primarily because the question is too narrowly stated. The true question is whether any artist should be similarly dismissed or degraded by such experts or, more precisely, whether distinctions such as illustrator/artist have any validity or meaning.

Mr. Shapiro speaks to far more artists and art collectors than I do. I would think that from years of working with and listening to them he would realize that, as intellectually unsatisfying as it clearly is, perhaps the only viable answer really is:

Art is what artists do, art museums display, art galleries sell, art collectors, well, collect and art enthusiasts enthuse over.

While such a recursive definition is inherently unsatisfying, it may be as close to the truth as it is possible to get.

What do you think? Please post your comments.

The Ancient Art of Glass Blowing is Alive and Well in Northern Michigan

2009-04-28T13:51:00.009-05:00

Glass is truly ancient. People have been making things out of glass about 3,500 years! In pre-Roman times, glass makers were making vessels, but glass blowing had not yet been invented. These early glass jars were made by wrapping hot glass around a core made of clay and dung (yuck). Glass blowing was invented in the Roman Empire in about 50 BC.

Glassblowing came to America in 1607 with the settlers of the Jamestown colony. Glass was used mostly for bottles and windows. Artists and designers didn't become an important part of the glassblowing scene until early in the 20th Century. In 1960, glassblowing finally moved out of the factory and into the artist's studio. The studio glass movement began in America but almost immediately spread around the world. When the artists took over, innovation and creativity exploded and glass became firmly established as an art medium. (Here Artists Market glassblower Lynn Dinning demonstrates this ancient/modern art.)

Today that experimentation continues. Glass artists are creating new techniques, making imaginative use of color, creating a wide variety of decorative, sculptural works and smashing barriers as quickly as they are created.

In Northern Michigan in general and the Petoskey area in particular, we are blessed with several talented and creative practitioners of the ancient yet modern art of making and shaping glass.

Lynn Dinning's path to becoming an outstanding glassblower is as long and winding as her journey from the big city of Detroit, where she was born, to her current home and studio in Northern Michigan's tiny Good Hart. In Detroit, her art form was theater lighting, sound, and scenic design. When she migrated north, Lynn began designing wearable metal objects and fiber garments. In 1982, she seized the opportunity to try glassblowing in North Carolina. She has been creating beautiful glass ever since. Many Northern Michigan residents know Lynn as a professional ski instructor who has been named one of the 100 Top Instructors by SKI Magazine.

Harry Boyer of Harbor Springs was a science major at Bowling Green State University when he met Dominic Labino, head of the glass blowing department. He had been interested in art primarily as a fun distraction from the rigors and discipline of science but he was immediately struck by the relationship between science and art. He then met a second creative genius, Erie Sauder, an incredibly gifted woodworker and innovative businessman who developed the Sauder Museum and Craft Village in Ohio. Harry worked with Sauder for eight years. In over thirty years as a glassblower, Harry has continued his complete fascination with the mixture of art and science, the chemistry and physics and the history of glass, from the natural formation of volcanic glass to the ancient development of glass blowing, to being able to mold the beauty of Northern Michigan into the properties of glass.

The glassblowing team of Jay Bavers and Glenna Haney live in East Jordan, Michigan, where they create award-winning lighting, wall groupings and vessels as Jordan Valley Glassworks. Unlike Lynn and Harry, Jay was born with a love for glass and a family connection to its history. He is a third generation glassblower. His grandfather was a glassblower in Vilnius, Lithuania. He came to the United States and started blowing glass and he set up his shop in Brooklyn. The family lived above his shop. Jay would go downstairs first thing in the morning before school and help set things up before the men came to work. He enjoyed sitting there, watching the guys work and eventually apprenticed with his grandfather. Jay and Glenna enjoy working together and with Jay's son and daughter, the fourth generation of the glassblowing family.

There is more to making art from glass than just glassblowing. Linda Manier of Wolverine, Michigan, practices the even older art of kiln formed fused glass that dates back over 5000 years to the era of the Phoenicians. The knowledge they gained while working with this unpredictable and exciting material continues to inspire creative work to this day. Linda creates bowls, plates and a variety of beautiful decorative items by shaping and fusing together various colors of glass at high temperatures.

Toni Hansen and Dolly Osborne of Petoskey have been using still another technique to make glass jewelry designs for almost five years. Dolly encountered dichroic glass jewelry at an art fair. She and Toni decided to attend a class to learn how to make their own fused glass jewelry and have been making stunning glass jewelry ever since. Dichroic glass uses thin layers of metal oxides within the glass that allow light to be simultaneously reflected and transmitted, producing vivid color combinations. The artists fire layers of different colors of dichroic glass together in a kiln to create colorful, one-of-a-kind pendants and other items.

We are extremely lucky to have so many talented artists in Northern Michigan producing an incredible variety of beautiful creations using the ancient, modern and constantly evolving art of working with glass.

Source of information on the history of glassblowing: Glassblowing.com

This Fundraiser is a Little Different!

2009-04-28T00:29:00.006-05:00

Getting a little tired of all the standard fundraisers? Been to enough auctions? Tasted enough wine and cheese? Taken enough Walks for whatever? Looking for something totally new?

Then here is a fundraiser in Northern Michigan for you. The Michigan Community Blood Centers offers you HOPE ON A ROPE – Sign Up to Go Over the Edge! Donate at least $1,000 and you can register to go Over the Edge off the 17th floor of the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa Tower. That's right. You rappel down 17 stories of this Northern Michigan landmark.

Appropriately enough, all proceeds from this unique event will go toward the cost of tissue-typing and screening of prospective marrow donors, providing hope of survival for other people in a life threatening situation. Those people, of course, are not volunteering to pass up a perfectly good elevator to slide down a rope on the outside of a very tall building. They are facing very serious (and non-voluntary) life-threatening blood diseases such as aplastic anemia or some kinds of leukemia.

Don't believe me? There actually is an organization that puts on these events all over the country. Why not invite them to conduct your next fundraiser? If you still don't believe me, this group of course has a promotional video. Check it out on their website.

It sounds like a great cause to me and I suppose there are some (relatively) sane people out there who will actually pay a lot of money to subject themselves to this ordeal, described by the sponsors as an opportunity to take in the fresh breeze off Lake Michigan and enjoy the scenic beauty of Traverse City while experiencing what they describe as a controlled rappelling descent

The descent takes place in Traverse City on May 16th. If you miss it or if you survive it and want to try your luck again, there is another one on June 6th at the River House Condominiums in Grand Rapids.

At least it is not another pancake breakfast.

For the generous . . . and brave, details and registration are available on the Michigan Community Blood Centers website.

Coolest Small Town Update

2009-04-18T00:25:00.004-05:00

Last month we told you that Budget Travel Magazine was taking a poll to determine America's Coolest Small Towns. Well, the voting is complete and the results were announced on April 15th. Petoskey did not crack the top ten but we did get 1,338 votes and came in 14th, just behind Port Austin, the only other Michigan town to get votes. The winner, America's Coolest Small Town, according to the voters was Owego, New York, with 24,692 of the 101,622 votes cast.

Kudos to Owego (and Port Austin) but we hereby officially invite everyone who voted, yep all hundred thousand or so of you (and all of you who didn't vote), to come to Petoskey this summer (or any other season) and experience America's TRUE coolest small town. And as evidence, we submit this watercolor, Artists Market artist Carol Rossman Brossard's Snowy Evening Downtown Petoskey showing a very cool Lake Street scene.

As for Budget Travel Magazine, you can come visit too. You must not be entirely confident in your results because, according to your website, you are voting again in 2010 and are now accepting nominations. Hint, Hint!

Ten Top Things to Photograph or Paint in Northern Michigan

2009-04-17T13:23:00.016-05:00

Some days I sit here in the Northern Michigan Artists Market looking around at the amazing creations by our approximately eighty wonderful Northern Michigan artists and think that I would like to have more abstract, outsider, edgy pieces. Everyone here seems to want to do landscapes, still life and nature. And I can understand that. After all, it IS beautiful here in Northern Michigan.

The great outdoors is, after all, great. Most artists who live here can't seem to help themselves. The beauty and awesomeness of it all just overwhelms us and we have to paint it or photograph it. So I guess it is not surprising that the art here in our gallery is just going to be different than it would be if this was the Big City Downtown Artists Market.

So, in recognition of the fact that Up North is the beautiful place that it is and that we will all just have to live with that, I offer as a public service to all would be Northern Michigan artists, my list of

THE TOP TEN THINGS TO PAINT OR PHOTOGRAPH
IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN (with examples) . . .

10. Ice and Snow -- While most of the subjects in this list are hot and warm and sunny, it is important to remember that it is cold here most of the year. So we start with this shot of a ship, shot by Jack Keck in the COLD ice.

9. Barns -- Face it, barns are just plain arty, especially if, like this one photographed by Luanne Schonfeld, they are a little past their prime.

8. Flowers -- Nothing says the beautiful outdoors like flowers. This is so true that we have an irresistible urge to cut them and bring them inside with us, as in the case of this Girl with Tulips by Nicki Griffith.

7. Trees -- They are majestic, uplifting and awe inspiring, and surprisingly photogenic, like this poplar Bruce Murray calls Stretch.

6. Trilliums -- Our favorite local wildflower seems to make its way into more than its share of pieces like this Karen Kubovchick watercolor.

5. Birds -- The animal kingdom cannot be ignored. And owls are such dramatic camera hogs like this one by Kris Busk. (And I managed to slip in another winter shot!)

4. Mackinac Bridge -- For man-made attractions, the Mighty Mack is the unchallenged king of obligatory subjects for every Northern Michigan painter and photographer. Fortunately, artists can find an infinite variety of perspectives to give us fresh insights into even the most familiar objects like Gerry Pas did here.

3. Unique Downtown Storefronts -- Almost nothing makes a better subject than the shops in our favorite, friendly, chain store free, Northern Michigan downtowns, like this shop on Pennsylvania Park in Petoskey by Kurt Anderson. (I resisted the temptation to include our own Artists Market storefront here.)

2. Lighthouses -- They are romantic, historic, iconic and all those other ic's that make them such excellent subjects to represent the charm and character of Northern Michigan. There are so many well known, beautifully restored choices for this one but I like this Sam Gibbons painting of the abandoned and deteriorating Waugoshance Lighthouse in Northern Lake Michigan off the coast of Wilderness State Park.

And . . .

THE NUMBER ONE THING TO PHOTOGRAPH
OR PAINT IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN

OK, so it is the same thing I picked for first place on my last top ten list, The Top Ten Reasons to Visit Petoskey, but really, is there any other choice? The absolute most famous, most photgraphed, most painted, most admired, most popular post card subject, most inspiring sight in all of Northern Michigan just has to be the million dollar sunsets over Lake Michigan, like the one captured here from Little Traverse Bay by Geoff Guillaume.

So there you have it, the reason I finally just have to give in and recognize that our gallery of Northern Michigan art is just not going to have as many abstract, outsider edgy pieces as I would sometimes like to see. This is who we are. This is where we are. And I admit that I love it.

Did I leave out your favorite Northern Michigan art subject? To add your thoughts, critiques or (imagine this) plaudits, click on the comment link below and share your thoughts.

artsy Interviews Dolly Osborne and Toni Hansen

2009-04-17T10:43:00.003-05:00

Dichroic glass is a very popular and beautiful jewelry medium and Artists Market artists Dolly Osborne and Toni Hansen team up to make some of the best. In the April 9, 2009 issue of The Graphic they talk about how they got started working together and the process they use for creating this colorful style of glass jewelry.

As usual, the artsy column, written this week by Lindsey Manthei, helps readers get to know this local artist duo and brings us pictures of their smiling faces and their work.

So be sure to pick up the Graphic and stop in the Artists Market to see some of Dolly and Toni's fused glass masterpieces (and maybe pick one up for yourself or for a gift.)

Top 10 Reasons to Visit Petoskey

2009-04-07T22:18:00.014-05:00

Let's face it. Unless you happen to live in Pellston, Petoskey, Michigan is pretty far away. A significant part of the year it is cold and snowy. Petoskey does not have any major airports, skyscrapers, palm trees, cruise ship ports, major league sports teams, zoos or roller coasters. [And, despite the efforts of Artists Market photographer Kris Busk, no penguins!] So why would anyone ever come here? Yet, despite all this, zillions of tourists seem to show up here every year. To help resolve this apparent paradox, I have come up with a list, my

TOP TEN REASONS TO VISIT PETOSKEY.

10. To get away from all of those places that do have "major airports, skyscrapers, palm trees, cruise ship ports, major league sports teams, zoos or roller coasters."

9. To ride bicycles up and down the rolling hills or, if you prefer, along the miles of gorgeous bicycle paths that circle the bay and wander through the woods.

8. To breath ( with deep, cleansing breaths if you wish) the clean Northern Michigan air, far away from mills, factories and other sources of pollution.

7. Fudge.

6. To leisurely shop in the unique, locally owned, friendly stores of Downtown Petoskey's Gaslight District including [brief commercial brag] the Northern Michigan Artists Market.

5. To get away from the bright city lights and actually see a sky full of stars.

4. To look at, walk along, swim in, sit on the beach along and generally enjoy the heck out of Little Traverse Bay, that delightful piece of water that makes Petoskey a harbor town on Lake Michigan.

3. Petoskey stones -- finding, rinsing, polishing and admiring the charming fossils that uniquely inhabit the Lake Michigan shoreline of the Northwest corner of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. {Like Artists Market artist Steve Webster did when he created this petoskey stone Lower Peninsula.]

2. Skiing on the snowy slopes in the Winter and boating (preferably sailing) on the lakes in the summer.

And . . .

THE NUMBER ONE REASON TO VISIT PETOSKEY
Unquestionably and without a doubt, watching, photographing, painting, waiting for the mythical green flash just before, kissing on the dock or the beach during and perfectly ending another beautiful day in Northern Michigan enjoying the million dollar sunsets over Little Traverse Bay. [As represented in this painting by Artist Market artist Rick Kolb.]

Anyone wishing to challenge any of these items or add ones of their own, just click on the comment link at the end of this post.

Update For Wayward Friends of Northern Michigan

2009-04-06T13:17:00.017-05:00

Last Saturday I was at a luncheon in Ann Arbor where I got to talk to a couple of local guys from Petoskey and Harbor Springs who are now freshmen at the University of Michigan. What did they want to know about the goings on in their home town? One of them asked me if that big hole in the ground is still there. Some of you who visit us from time to time but live elsewhere might like to know the answer too, as well as the status of one of our other famous local traumas (yes we do have them even here in God's Country) so, as a public service, here is the update.

THE HOLE IN THE GROUND is of course the site of the Petoskey Pointe redevelopment project. This has been a controversial project since it was approved back in 2004. The idea was to take a scruffy piece of land at the entrance to Petoskey's downtown and turn it into a several story complex of stores, condos, a hotel and some much needed underground parking. Many people opposed the project for a variety of reasons including claims that it was too big, blocked views of the bay, was out of character with the rest of Downtown, etc. The City Council finally approved the project and a city-wide referendum to block it was defeated. Existing buildings were torn down and a large hole was dug. Since then, the developer has been unable to obtain financing and the hole is still there with a big ugly fence around the entire block. Ironically, with the old buildings down, there is now a great view of the bay but there is still that hole. That live webcam shot of the Petoskey Pointe hole up at the top of this paragraph is courtesy of our friends at Gaslight Media. It is live but, other than the cars passing by, don't expect it to change much any time soon.

After giving the developer several extensions, in early March the City sent them a notice that they were in default. The City is now waiting for a response. So, the short answer is: Yes the hole is still there.

THE HOLE IN THE WALL. The other famous hole in town is a large gap in the breakwall that protects the town harbor. A couple of springs ago during a major storm a section of the concrete gave way. The gap lasted for a while and became one of the most photographed and painted sites in Petoskey (as seen in this pastel by Artist Market artist Jan Vandenbrink). The breakwall is the responsibility of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. They gave the breakwall a temporary patch last year so the big gap is no longer there. The current word is that the Corp of Engineers will begin Phase One of reconstruction this spring as soon as weather and ice conditions allow. The 300-foot outer section of the wall from the lighthouse in to the end of the damaged portion will be replaced first. Construction is expected to last the rest of the year. Many local youth are concerned that construction will restrict the popular but illegal practice of jumping off the wall into the bay. Somehow, I have faith that exuberance and hormones will overcome whatever obstacles are created by the Corp and its work and this local ritual of summer will somehow survive. (Although we of course do not OFFICIALLY condone such illegal and irresponsible behavior.)

I know that many of you who do not live here for the whole year still feel a deep and reverend connection to Northern Michigan. You are all a part of the Northern Michigan community as far as I am concerned. In this space we try to do our part to keep you informed of all the really important and culturally significant happenings. Please feel free to comment on this post by clicking the COMMENT link at the end or email me any questions you may have about whatever stuff from up here you are wondering about during the part of the year when you are not fortunate enough to be in Northern Michigan. Then check back here and I will fill you in.

Downtown Petoskey Announces Facade Improvement Plan

2009-03-29T14:32:00.011-05:00

We have one of Michigan's best small town downtowns in Petoskey and we want to keep it that way. Downtown Petoskey is filled with friendly stores run by local merchants delivering a variety of interesting, quality products.

Because we are an old (I suppose we prefer to say "historic") downtown some of our storefronts need remodeling or rebuilding. We want to preserve our charm and character without placing complicated restrictions on our property owners that make it harder for them to maintain their buildings. To help solve these problems, The Downtown Management Board and its Downtown Design Committee have worked hard to develop and adopt design guidelines for building facades.

To encourage compliance with these guidelines and to provide financial support to help local property owners and renters improve their buildings, Downtown Petoskey will provide facade improvement grants to support projects that comply with the facade guidelines.

If all this sounds like a great idea, it is! If it all sounds a bit complicated, it is that too so The Downtown Management Board and the Downtown Design Committee
have just announced an informational meeting to introduce the program and help local businesses and property owners find out how they can receive funds for approved renovations to the exterior of their buildings.

The meeting will be held in the Resort Room at Stafford’s Perry Hotel at 5:30 pm on Thursday, April 9, 2009. Building owners and building tenants are invited to attend and should R.S.V.P. prior to April 7, 2009, by calling Downtown Director Becky Goodman at 347-4150 or becky@petoskey.com.

This program grew out of the 2007 Cool Cities Blueprint for Michigan Downtowns study of Downtown Petoskey done by the nationally renowned firm of HyettPalma.

We at the Northern Michigan Artists Market salute these efforts because we love Downtown Petoskey. We urge all who are even remotely interested in making any changes to the facades of their Downtown Petoskey storefronts to attend and find out what they have to do to qualify for a facade improvement grant. And all the rest of you who love downtown Petoskey and enjoy shopping here, please join us in applauding and supporting this effort in any way you can.

By the way, here is a photo by Artist Market artist Bruce Love of our charming Downtown Petoskey facade. We love our facade and we think we have the greatest windows of any storefront in Downtown Petoskey but, who knows?

Help Yourself and Help the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra

2009-03-26T12:57:00.006-05:00

That's right. Help yourself. Dig in. Chow down. Looking for a great place to grab a meal this summer? Try the homes of the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra's Board of Trustees. You get a meal and some first class entertainment and the opportunity to help support the Orchestra.

The Musical Feast, tour started this week at Alice and Robert Pattengale's house. On the menu was a chili dinner, a preview of the orchestra's plans served up by Conducter Matthew Hazelwood and a tasty performance of a selection from Fantastics by orchestra musicians and alto soloist Jamie Platte. Guests also savored unique hand-made collage lapel pins with a musical motif delicately prepared by Northern Michigan Artists Market co-owner and head chef Vivi Woodcock.

While you missed this stop on the gastronomic tour, future helpings of the Musical Feast will continue through the spring and summer. Just call the GLCO at 231-487-0010 or click here for more information.

Exhibition of Northern Michigan Photographer James Galbraith's Irish Collection at National Library of Ireland

2009-03-26T11:21:00.010-05:00

James Galbraith was a close friend of the Northern Michigan Artists Market. He was an amazing photographer. We have displayed and sold his photographs. His wife Susan was a part owner of the Market and still comes by regularly to swap stories and buy Northern Michigan art.

Susie stopped by today and told us about her recent trip to Ireland. The National Library of Ireland recently acquired a large collection of Jim's photographs taken taken during his visits to Ireland in 1970, 1978 and 1997. Susie was there to attend the opening of the library's exhibition, D. James Galbraith's Ireland 1970-1977.

The exhibition displays a selection of these photographs that capture Irish daily life in rural areas and small towns and villages in Cork, Kerry and Clare. The images reveal the flavor of life in the pubs, on the streets and in the traditional Irish music scene.

This collection of photographs may be Irish but Northern Michigan claims Jim as one of its artistic treasures. He was born in 1930. He worked as a photographer for the U.S. Air force and then several Michigan newspapers. He is most famous for his portraits (like the obviously American one on the right) that are almost biographical in the insights they reveal about the character of his subjects, ordinary and famous.

Kudos to Susie. I know you were moved by a sense of a renewed partnership with Jim as you worked hard to help the National Library of Ireland preserve these wonderful photographs and stage this exhibition. I am warmed by the chance to revisit my memories of a great man and an remarkable Northern Michigan artist.

The exhibition is in Dublin and runs through June 2, 2009, so there is still time to make your plans and go see it.

A Michigan Memory: George Kell Dies at 86

2009-03-24T21:00:00.004-05:00

I don't remember George Kell, the Detroit Tiger third baseman. He played in Detroit from 1946 to 1952. I was born in Detroit in 1950. I don't remember George Kell of the Boston Red Sox where he played with Ted Williams. But I do remember well George Kell, the Detroit Tiger radio and television broadcaster.

When I was nine years old and growing up in suburban Detroit George Kell teamed up with another Detroit sports broadcasting legend of my youth, Van Patrick, on TV and radio for the Tigers. I remember him better from my earlier teen years when he worked with legendary Tiger broadcaster Ernie Harwell and then later when as an adult I listened to him work with Tiger legend Al Kaline.

These memories do not belong to me alone. I share them with generations of fans from all over Michigan. We all miss you.

George Kell died in his sleep today at his home in Swifton, Arkansas. He was 86.

Huzzah! A Festival for the Petoskey Stone

2009-03-24T17:15:00.014-05:00

As artists (and art fans) we are deeply indebted to the little pieces of the natural world. They provide us with not only the inspiration for our work but usually the very materials with which we produce our creations.

Bits of glass, clay dust, the little chips of all sorts of things that become paint, flakes of teas and other plants that become dyes and thousands of other little shards of nature transform themselves, sometimes with a little assistance from us, into our artistic creations.

As a Northern Michigan artist and owner of a gallery of Northern Michigan art, I was thinking about one of those particular little bits that we are particularly fond of up here, the petoskey stone. The petoskey is our state stone and is only found here in the shoreline areas of the Northwest corner on Michigan's Lower Peninsula. As illustrated in the photos adorning this post*, the petoskey stone has found its way into a fair amount of our regional artistic product.

And what thanks do we give to this humble fossil for all it has done for us? What recognition? What accolades? What festivals? Roaming around the Internet today I found at least one answer – the Antrim County Petoskey Stone Festival. You may not have heard of this august (May, actually) event. I admit that I had not before today. But that is clearly our loss.

The annual festival takes place this year on Saturday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Antrim County's Barnes Park in Eastport, Michigan, on the eastern shores of Grand Traverse Bay just north of Torch Lake. (You no longer have any excuse to miss it.)

The Petoskey Stone Festival features a stone skipping contest (of course), a myriad of booths provided by vendors of petoskey stones and related paraphernalia (also mandatory), expert presentations on the art of finding, polishing and otherwise transforming petoskey stones, children's games, magic tricks, face painting (indispensable), food, music and, to top it all off, a petoskey stone hunt on the Grand Traverse Bay Beach. (Dedicated Michigan festival followers may be chagrined to learn that I could find no suggestion of a Miss Petoskey Stone Pagent anywhere on the website.)

The Antrim County Petoskey Stone Festival looks like it will be a lot of fun. I have put it on my calendar and hope to be able to attend. After all, it is important to pause every once in a while and hoist an elephant ear to some of those tiny, natural bits and chunks that are so essential to our artistic activity and appreciation, particularly to that little fossil that is so dear to us all, our state stone, the petoskey.

By the way, for the few who do not know, petoskey stones are composed of fossilized skeletons of colony corals that formerly lived in the warm sea waters (a somewhat strange concept as I write this looking over a frozen Little Traverse Bay) that at one time covered all of what is now Michigan during ancient Devonian time, some 350 million years ago.

* The artworks pictured here are the creations of Northern Michigan Artists Market artists Steve Webster, Terry Thoma and Susan and Jeff Lange.

Win a $1000 Downtown Petoskey Gift Certificate and PARK FREE for a Year

2009-03-23T15:13:00.009-05:00

Downtown Petoskey announced today a Treasure Downtown Contest. The contest is designed to promote the organization's new Downtown Treasure Certificates that shoppers will be able to redeem in stores all over Downtown Petoskey, including the Northern Michigan Artists Market.

The winner of the contest, which runs from now until June 1, 2009, will receive a $1,000 Downtown Treasure Certificate and a parking pass good for one year.

To enter, shoppers must accumulate sales receipts totaling $500 from stores in Downtown Petoskey dated March 1, 2009, to June 1, 2009. Entrants place the receipts in special envelopes available at stores in the downtown and at the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce downtown office and then turn them in at the chamber office.

The winner will be announced at the Downtown Petoskey Spring Open House, June 5, 2009. Entrants need not be present to win.

The Downtown Treasure Certificate program will be launched at he Spring Open House.

These new Downtown gift certificates have no connection at all with the former Certificheck program run by the Chamber of Commerce. That program was administered by an out-of-state company that had financial problems this winter and stopped honoring the checks. The Petoskey Chamber, like many other local chambers throughout Michigan that had offered the Certificheck program, has since agreed to honor the checks if redeemed through Chamber member merchants.

The Downtown Treasure Certificate program, unlike the Certifichecks, will be run locally by the Petoskey Downtown Management Board and all the funds will be kept here.

The contest sounds like it will be a lot of fun and the Downtown Treasure Certificates should be a real convenience for all people who shop in our friendly and unique downtown shops.

More good news -- Downtown Petoskey will run a second similar contest later this year from September 1 through December 1 with the winner being announced at the Holiday Open House.

Karrie Knecht Meets the Press!

2009-03-19T21:47:00.006-05:00

Good media fortune continues to smile on our Northern Michigan Artists Market artists. This week again the artsy column in the local weekly, The Graphic, has chosen to feature one of our own. The well deserved honor goes to Northern Michigan Artists Market artist Karrie Knecht
As Lindsey Manthei's artsy interview aptly demonstrates, Karrie is one of those artists who excels in and enjoys several diverse media. Her repertoire includes watercolor, collage, fabric bags (including her recent yoga mat bags), and her famous Karrie Kats, lovable soft feline sculptures with an infinite variety of personalities.
Congratulations Karrie and thank-you artsy.
For our part, the Northern Michigan Artists Market is delighted to have been able to show Karrie's work almost since we first opened our doors five and a half years ago and to continue to make her newest creations available in our Downtown Petoskey store and online.

artsy Strikes Again!

2009-03-12T15:53:00.006-05:00

It seems like I just wrote a post for this blog about artsy, the weekly column about Petoskey area artists in The Graphic, carrying an interview with a Northern Michigan Artists Market artist. Well, Aebra Coe has done it again. This week her artsy offering is Artist Market painter Sandy Selden.

As the interview points out, Sandy paints Northern Michigan art. The precise criteria that define that alleged genre have always been somewhat elusive to me (see my earlier post here on that subject). However, I agree that if there is someone whose art fits that classification, it is Sandy Selden. Her scenery and even her abstract work, just feels like Northern Michigan.

Whatever you choose to call it, we love Sandy's paintings, we love Sandy, we love having her as a part of the Artists Market family and we loved reading her artsy interview.

Read the interview yourself in the March 12, 2009 issue of The Graphic or on The Graphic's website. Then stop by the Northern Michigan Artists Market to see Sandy's artwork in person. Of course, if you are not lucky enough to be in Petoskey in March, you can always check out Sandy's paintings on our website and soak up a little Northern Michigan from wherever you happen to be.

[By the way, thanks Aebra and keep those great interviews of Northern Michigan artists coming!]

Artists Market Announces Support for SEE-North and Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra

2009-03-12T11:47:00.010-05:00

The Northern Michigan Artists Market is joining forces with two outstanding local community organizations -- NorthWings of SEE-North and the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra -- and we are giving you a chance to help them out too.

NorthWings of SEE-North provides safety, care and a home for injured and imprinted raptors (prey birds like owls and hawks) as well as conducting excellent educational programs offering first hand experiences with and information about raptors.

The Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, made up of retired professionals, community leaders, doctors, community college professors, talented amateurs and accomplished student musicians, performs concerts throughout the Northern tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

Both of these organizations make an amazing contribution to Northern Michigan and they deserve support from all of us.

SEE-North had to give up their Downtown Petoskey location on Pennsylvania Park a year or so ago and have been reorganizing their finances and services. They now have a great facility in the woods on the grounds of Boyne Highlands where their very special birds now have a new home and are anxious for you to go visit them. For the last year or so, the Artists Market has helped continue the presence of the birds in Downtown by inviting them to mingle with the public in our store during community events such as the Open house and, recently, Wonder Weekend.

We have a particular affection for SEE-North because one of our best friends, Northern Michigan Artists Market artist Joanne Cromley, (pictured here with one of the SEE-North owls at the Artists Market for last year's Wonder Weekend) who makes the exquisite woven tapestries hanging in our store, has worked for the last year or so guiding them through their reorganization. Congratulations to Joanne and everyone at SEE-North for the beautiful new phoenix (er, raptor) that is arising from the traces of the past.

This week, the Artists Market started selling NorthWings of SEE-North t-shirts (in a full range of sizes for kids and grown ups). The shirt sales raise much needed money to support the birds and the organizations educational activities. While you are at the Market, you can make a contribution or sign up for a NorthWings of SEE-North membership. They are currently revising their website and I will add a link here when they get it done. UPDATE: You can now visit the new (and beautiful) SEE-North website.

The Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra has developed an ambitious concert schedule filled with fine chamber music over the last several years. Bob Pattingale, the orchestra's volunteer administrator, walked into the Artists Market a few days ago with a stack of DVD's of their 2007 concert, A Carnival of Animals. The concert features the well-known piano duo Yuki and Tomoko Mack who are Japanese born Michigan residents. The DVD's are now sitting on our main desk and are available for sale. More info about the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra is available on their website, where they would be happy to let you sign up for a membership.

The Northern Michigan Artists Market has a long tradition (considering the fact that we are now all of five and a half years old, that is) of supporting community cultural and arts organizations. In addition to the Orchestra and SEE-North, we have been working with the Bergmann Center of Charlevoix, Michigan, in its service to individuals with developmental disabilities. For quite a while we have been selling the beautiful Lovelights, glass mosaic candle holders made in their workshop.

Over the last couple of years, we have helped raise money for a number of other community organizations by selling their products. These worthwhile groups include:

Jordan River Arts Council -- They have a delightful gallery in East Jordan, Michigan, where they offer numerous workshops, classes, exhibits and performances. We sell their beautiful cookbook, Flavors and Visions
Odawa Institute -- They work to revitalize Anishnaabemowin, the language of the Odawa Indians, and the Anishnaabe culture. We sell their map of Little Traverse Bay area labeled in Anishnaabemowin.
Univ of Michigan Residential College German Language Program -- We have sold their calendars to help support their annual trip to Germany.

Please join us in supporting these groups and the other wonderful organizations that make the Petoskey area such a great place to live or visit.

Vote for Downtown Petoskey

2009-03-11T11:38:00.003-05:00

We know that Petoskey is one of the coolest downtowns anywhere. We have great people, pedestrian friendly streets, great local shops and amazing sunsets. One of the ways other people discover our coolness is when we make one of those magazine Best lists. Right now, Budget Travel Magazine is running a poll where readers can vote for America's Coolest Small Towns.

Last time I checked, Petoskey was listed as having quite a few votes but had not cracked the top ten. If you are into this sort of thing, why not check out the poll and vote for our favorite downtown. Don't delay -- polls close Friday, April 3, 2009.

Artists Market Artists Jay Bavers and Glenna Haney Featured in The Graphic

2009-02-26T14:56:00.004-05:00

The February 26, 2009 issue of issue of The Graphic features an interview with Artist Market glass blowers extraordinaire, Jay Bavers and Glenna Haney.

The article, written by Aebra Coe, appears in the paper's artsy column that regularly features local Northern Michigan artists. If all the copies have been scooped up already, you can also find it in The Graphic's online edition

The article is a great read. It covers the duo's family history, glass blowing technique and the fun they have producing their famous glass creations together at their studio, Jordan Valley Glassworks in East Jordan. It also includes a great photo of Jay at work.

The Artists Market has an excellent selection of Jay and Glenna's work, including bowls, sculptures, lamps (like the fish lamps pictured here), Christmas ornaments and their popular garden arms, unique sculptures on stakes for bringing enchantment to any garden or living room. We are incredibly fortunate in the Petoskey area to have not only Jay and Glenna but also two other talented practitioners of the ancient art of glass blowing, Harry Boyer of Harbor Springs and Lynn Dinning of Good Hart, both of whom are also well represented at the Market.

Be sure to stop by the Market and take a look at some of marvelous creations of these talented Northern Michigan glass blowers.

Vivi Woodcock Featured in The Graphic

2007-06-11T22:29:00.000-05:00

The new issue of The Graphic has hit the streets in Northern Michigan and as we predicted last month, it features a story on Artist Market founder, collage and watercolor wizard and ardent booster of local art and artists, Vivi Woodcock.

The article, the second in a series by Northern Michigan Artists Market founding partner Nancy Payne, also appears in The Graphic's online edition along with Nancy's video version of the interview.

The article explores Woodcock's humble, spiritual personality and her approach to creating and appreciating art. It also looks at her motivation for helping to create the Artists Market.

Local artists are already well acquainted with Vivi, shown here in a photograph by Nancy Payne, and deeply respect and admire her for her honesty and the advice and support she has given them over many years. Visitors to the Artists Market appreciate her friendly greeting, pleasant conversation and ability to answer their questions about local art and artists as well as provide tips on local restaurants and points of interest. Now, thanks to Nancy, everyone who reads The Graphic will get a chance to meet her too.

Take a moment to stop by the Market, say hello to Vivi and take a look at some of her inspirational collage pins, cards and watercolors.

Thank you Nancy for another great peek inside the life of a local artist. We look forward to next month's profile. (We think we know who it will be but this time we're not tellin'.)

New Public Alley Art Created in Petoskey

2007-05-26T13:36:00.000-05:00

There has been a great deal of official and unofficial discussion around here about the need for more public art in Downtown Petoskey. Recently we saw the creation and installation of an exciting new public art project and it started without the help of any planning board, committee or art patron.

Local student Benjamin Cheney and some of his friends have created an exciting outdoor street art mural on the brick Shoppers Lane wall of Gattles (with the permission of his father who owns the store), located off of Howard Street between Lake and Bay. Benjamin explains that “the mural will never be finished,” and invites everybody to come by and “paint when you want and what you will.” He plans to have paint available during the sidewalk sales to help the public contribute.

As you can see from the photographs here, taken by Petoskey City planner Amy Tweeten [Thanks Amy for your permission to use your shots.], a lot of work has been done so far and it is a dramatic and artful addition to the previously bare wall and to the Gaslight District.

Public reaction has been, well. . . predictable. Several people, myself included, have stopped by to talk with the artists and complement their work and initiative. A few other store owners have expressed concerns that Downtown Petoskey is not the place for this urban art form, that it may offend or threaten older shoppers, that it is not in keeping with the historic nature of the area, etc. For now, the urge to be outraged and propose pages of new censoring regulations has been resisted.

Personally, I like it. With all our new Cool Cities planning carefully and painstakingly working its way through various boards and committees, we now have some spontaneous public art that should appeal to younger and hipper people we supposedly want to attract and keep here. It is in an unobtrusive location. It is on an isolated wall that should help keep any over exuberance from spreading to other locations and turning into vandalism. If it is a little threatening and unusual, then isn't that one of the functions of good art?

As for the historic character of the Gaslight District, I think if Hemingway saw it, he would probably pick up a brush or a spray can and join in!

Speaking of the historic buildings, several Downtown property owners have strong objections to one of the other Cool Cities proposals -- creating an historic district to preserve the character of Downtown. They do not want restrictions on their freedom to do what they want with their property. For them (and for historic district proponents), the Benjamin Cheney and friends mural should be another in a series of recent wake up calls. Whether it is murals on the backs of our stores or revising the fronts for more retail visibility, or tearing down old theaters, property owners will make changes. Each of us will like a few of those modifications and hate others. But each of them will change the look and feel of our Downtown. If we don't like that, we need to reopen the discussion of an historic district.

This is also a reminder that the planning for downtown public art needs to be an open and inclusive process. There are a lot of people in this town with something fresh to contribute to the discussion. If we want, fresh, inspiring, diverse public art, we need a fresh, inspiring, diverse group to work on the project.

Thanks to everyone who has or will contribute to the new mural for bringing some new creativity and excitement to our Downtown and helping it inch towards becoming Cool.

The Graphic Goes Artsy

2007-05-19T12:46:00.001-05:00

There is a great new arts video-column in town. It is called Artsy. It debuted this week and will appear every month in the online edition of the Graphic. The print edition, available for free on the streets all over Northern Michigan, has a text and pictures version.

The Northern Michigan artist behind this new contribution to the local arts community is Nancy Payne, a photographer (and now videographer) and formerly one of the founding partners of the Northern Michigan Artists Market. Nancy's monthly video offering will be a profile interview with a local Northern Michigan artist – one of our favorite subjects.

Nancy says her interviews will not just focus on the artists' creative works. She says she plans to show us who the artists are as people and give us a good look at the life of the talented folks who create our region's artistic treasures.

If the inaugural edition is any indication, we are in for a real treat each month. Nancy's first interview features Northern Michigan Artist Market artist Joanne Cromley.
What an excellent choice to start the series! I am a big fan of Joanne as a person and an artist. At the Market, we feature her spectacular hand-died woven tapestries, like the one pictured here, as well as an assortment of her scarves and sweaters.

I will resist the temptation to ask you to spend your time here reading what I have to say about Joanne when you could be watching the great job Nancy has done of that already. So stop reading this and go to the Graphic home page to see the video for yourself.

Way to go Nancy! Now there is another good reason to pick up the Graphic and visit their website. (Highly credible sources close to Artsy have suggested that June's artist video, already in the works, features Artist Market guiding light Vivi Woodcock.)

Planning Underway for 7th Anual Petoskey Gallery Walk, Thursday, June 21, 2007

2007-04-30T12:05:00.000-05:00

One of our region's most popular events is just over a month away as Petoskey's downtown galleries are getting ready to present the Seventh Annual Gallery Walk and make it another unforgettable evening. At the beginning of every summer, local residents and visitors flood the streets from 5:30 to 9:00 pm to take a walking tour of all of splendor and variety of the art galleries scattered through the historic Gaslight District and view the latest artwork of the new season.

For this special evening all of the galleries host a giant, simultaneous open-house, showing off our artistic treasures and serving delicious food to hundreds of art lovers as we enjoy the beginning of Petoskey's beautiful summer together.

As you visit each gallery, you receive a colored dot to stick on a card available at all of the galleries. If you buy something at any gallery, you get extra dots. At the end of the evening, everyone gathers for a big party outdoors at the Perry Hotel. You listen to live music and enjoy the fine evening with friends and neighbors. Be sure to turn in your stickers for tickets for the drawing at the end of the evening and win art works donated by each of the galleries.

At the Northern Michigan Artists Market on Gallery Walk night, hundreds of people visit, enjoy good food, mix with friends, take advantage of an early season opportunity to buy the latest artworks and make plans to return later for a more leisurely examination of the best selection of Northern Michigan art anywhere!.

This year, we are expecting about eleven galleries to participate. The exciting thing about the Downtown Petoskey art galleries is that we are all so different. Some specialize in art from a particular region of the country or by a particular artist. Some concentrate on a particular medium or style. Of course here at the Artists Market, we present the works of great local artists from Traverse City to Copper Harbor. So plan now to hire a baby sitter and spend a night in June enjoying all that Petoskey's galleries have to offer.

If you have enjoyed Gallery Walk in the past, I know you are looking forward to seeing old friends and discovering all of this year's new artwork. If you have never attended, join us and find out why hundreds of people put it on their calendars of must see events every year.

For more information, feel free to call us at the Artists Market at 231-487-0000 or toll free at 8-777-MI-Arts (877-764-2787)

New Cookbook Features Works by Several Artists Market Artists

2007-04-23T12:42:00.000-05:00

Flipping through the great new cookbook, Flavors and Visions, it is hard to decide whether the stars of the show are the delectable recipes or the stunning artwork by Northern Michigan artists. But then, why burden yourself with such a weighty choice? Just dive in and devour it all.

I will, of course start with the artwork. While some of the pieces are reproduced in black and white, there are sixteen pages of color shots liberally mixed through. The works shown include a flavorful variety of media from paintings to sculptures to pots and more. The works have a strong Northern Michigan flavor with a large helping of Northern Michigan Artists Market artists spicing up the mix. The NMAM artists represented include Carol Ross, Jan Luptowski, Bonnie Staffel, Deanna Hergt, Dick Cunningham, Harry Boyer and Lynn Dinning. The pictures in this post show pieces form the Artists Market by several of these artists (Carol's flowers, Bonnie's casserole, Harry's blown-glass vase) and a photo of Lynn Dinning at work in her Good Hart, Michigan, studio creating a piece of her fantastic glass.

The recipes include a mouthwatering array of tasty treats including appetizers, soups, salads, side dishes, entrees, breads, desserts and beverages. Among the recipes are some formulas for concoctions that are interesting though not edible, such as wool dies, homemade cleaning solutions and dashes of other offbeat necessities seasoned throughout to taste.

This art catalog/recipe collection is presented by the Jordan River Arts Council and is available for sale for $25 from them or at the Northern Michigan Artists Market. It is 250 pages long, deliciously illustrated and spiral bound for easy use in the kitchen.

Kudos to JRAC for putting together this wonderful tribute to the artists and culinary delights of Northern Michigan.

New Artists Market Artist Creates Watercolors from Photographs

2007-04-23T11:52:00.000-05:00

The day after we hung Geary Hoffman's work in the Artists Market last week, a customer told me, "These new watercolors are exciting." I agree, except they are not strictly watercolors.

Geary calls his works Photographic Watercolors. They start out as photographs, drawings or, sometimes, paintings. He then brings them into his computer and uses a process he has developed over several years to manually rework the images to resemble fine watercolor paintings. The results are quite remarkable.

Hoffman's subjects include many facets of the Northern Michigan outdoors from quiet country lanes, birds and flowers to the region's beautiful and historic lighthouses. You can get a general idea of his talent and range from these pictures of some of his works but the best way to truly appreciate his vision of Northern Michigan and the effect of the unique set of techniques he has developed is to view his work in person. The Northern Michigan Artists Market has an excellent selection of Geary Hoffman's Photographic Watercolors in a range of sizes and prices, framed and unframed.

Hoffman, now lives in Suttons Bay, Michigan, just north of Traverse City, where he retired from a career as a professional photographer and graphic designer in Chicago. We are delighted to have Geary's work at The Market and we are looking forward to many more appreciative comments about these colorful expressions of our region's natural and historic heritage from Northern Michigan art lovers this summer and for years to come.

We Celebrate Spring with Three New Artists

2007-04-09T15:17:00.000-05:00

One of the things I like about this time of year, after the skiers leave and before the summer crowd arrives, is that I have the time to sit in the Northern Michigan Artists Market and talk with artists who are interested in showing their work here. We do that all year round, but it seems to be a lot more fun in this season when we can have a more leisurely chat.

The best part is when one of those chats results in a new member of the Artists Market family. That happened three times in the last month so I have three new Artists Market artists to tell you about.

The first one is David Johns of Kalkaska, Michigan. David makes beautiful Nantucket baskets. Obviously, Nantucket is not in Northern Michigan but Kalkaska is and Nantucket and Northern Michigan have a lot in common. For one thing, we both have a lot of shipwrecks. And in both places, that lead to a lot of lighthouses and lightships. In Nantucket, the lightship keepers spent months at a time in small, uncomfortable quarters. As there were no video games in the late 1800's, they filled their days making baskets and they filled their baskets with all kinds of things. David's baskets are the classic Nantucket style with woven cane, wooden bottoms and swinging bale handles. They are extremely well made and very stylish. They come in several sizes and are definitely worth stopping by the Market to look at.

While you are here, be sure to check out the turned wood bowls by new Artist Market artist Dan Kuhn. Dan lives in Boyne City and has worked with wood for most of his life. His bowls show that long time appreciation for the living medium of wood and its many personalities. Each of his creations takes advantage of the various colors and grains of different types of wood and combines them into a highly functional and decorative piece of art.

Our third new artist is a master with wood as well. Vicki Carpenter of Gaylord, Michigan, takes wooden plates, lazy Susans, candle holders, bread boards, animals and other items and transforms them into stunning heirlooms by painting them in a traditional Scandinavian style. Her designs include flowers, horses, hearts and other traditional images. She has also painted her traditional designs on Christmas tree ornaments.

Spring is the time for new things. New grass and flowers, newborn creatures and new Northern Michigan Artists Market artists. So shake off the winter blahs and enjoy spring with a trip to the Market to see the works by our new artists -- and some of the new work of our existing artists as well.

Way to Go, John!

2007-04-09T11:29:00.000-05:00

Northern Michigan Artists Market artist John Wijnberg
recently learned that he has been accepted by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for this coming fall. John already has a B.F.A. from the University of Buffalo.

John paints primarily in watercolor, pastels and charcoal. His subject matter runs from human figures to Northern Michigan landscapes. He is a prolific painter and works very hard to broaden and improve his skills. His talent and dedication is obvious from the wide range of his works available at the Artists Market.

One of my personal favorite examples of John's work is his pen and ink drawing, Conversation with a Fish
pictured here. It shows a friend of the artist engaged in what I imagine to been a deep and riveting conversation about some intricate matter of philosophy.

I greatly enjoy John's frequent visits to the Artists Market to converse about life and art, often between fares in his current job as a taxi driver, a perfect gig for an artist from New York. I will miss these chats when he moves to Chicago this fall to attend SAIC, but we are very excited for him and wish him well. We know he will learn a lot and grow even more as an artist.

John, don't forget to write or visit us. We look forward to continuing to carry your artwork as you explore new directions. Good luck!

Lets Help Our Kids Stay Artists

2007-02-26T14:39:00.000-05:00

I love it when parents bring their children into the Artists Market. I think it is great when they show them around and talk with them about the art, and especially when they ask the kids what they like.

When a young person is walking around in our gallery, I frequently ask them what kind of art they like to make and encourage them to keep doing it. Almost everyone I ask enjoys doing art, especially the young ones. Based on this careful research and years of data, I think most of us start out as artists and then lose it somewhere along the way. At some point someone told us to stay inside the lines or not to color on the table or some other DON'T.

While I was thinking about this today in the Market, a song came on and caught my attention. Doesn't it seem that when you are thinking about something with music playing, a song will come on that is in some way relevant to your musings? Today it was Katy by Tom Paxton. (At least he was singing it and I think he wrote it.) I wrote down some of the words:

Oh you might believe in miracles,
And you might believe in saints.
But you never believe my Katy
When she's playing with her paints.
For there is red upon the window
And there's green upon her face,
In her hair and in her eyes ...
But on the paper, not a trace.

I just smiled, enjoyed the moment and decided I had to share it with you.

Preserving Northern Michigan's Natural Beauty

2007-02-23T12:44:00.000-05:00

There is still about a week left to see some of Northern Michigan's great outdoors from the warmth and comfort of an art gallery. A Sense of Place, is a breathtakingly beautiful juried exhibition featuring photographs taken on location in land conservancies in Northern Michigan.

Land conservancies are an important part of preserving the great, undisturbed woodlands and lakeshores of Northern Michigan. The photographers did an excellent job of capturing the peace, solitude and beauty of these vital preserves and of reminding us of the important work the conservancies do in making sure that Northern Michigan will retain its heritage of natural splendor.

When you visit the exhibit, don't miss the work of Northern Michigan Artist Market artist Dr. Lucien Joubert on the east wall. His entry is a "double" photograph of a stand of trees that has been reflected on a vertical axis through the middle of the piece. It is representative of the excellent vision and creative presentation that characterizes his work.

After you see the show, be sure to walk a few paces down the hill on Mitchell Street to the Northern Michigan Artists Market and view more of Dr. Joubert's photography and the work of other Northern Michigan Artists.

The show, the 26th annual juried photography exhibition, A Sense of Place, runs through March 3rd at the Crooked Tree Art Center.

More Public Art for Petoskey, Michigan's “Cool” Downtown!

2007-01-31T22:29:00.000-05:00

Downtown Petoskey needs more public art, preferably created by local Northern Michigan artists. This recommendation was part of a report presented to the people of Petoskey this past Monday night.

The report was the result of a study conducted by HyettPalma, a national consulting firm specializing in the economic enhancement of downtowns and older business districts. The study was supported by a Blueprints for Michigan’s Downtowns grant from the State of Michigan's Cool Cities program.

An increase in public art was one of many recommendations contained in the report, intended as a five year action plan for improving the already delightful character of Downtown Petoskey. Doyle Hyett of HyettPalma explained in Monday's public presentation of his firm's findings that he expected Mitchell Street to become the new entry route to Downtown Petoskey. He proposed

A grand entrance to Downtown at Mitchell and Highway 31, to include public art, landscaping, lighting, signage, and clear lines of sight down Mitchell Street from Highway 31.

Hyett called for more public art throughout downtown. He illustrated this portion of his presentation with a slide of one of Petoskey's best loved pieces of public art, the statue of Ignatius Petoskey that overlooks Little Traverse Bay from a vantage point near the Perry Hotel. (The statue was donated to the City of Petoskey by Robert Dau of Chicago and Bayview. It was sculpted by Pietro Vinotti of Petoskey. It is pictured here in a photograph by Northern Michigan Artists Market artist Carson Wright. )

The written HyettPalma report details the need for more public art in Downtown Petoskey:

A public art placement plan should be defined for Downtown. Public art in Downtown should be:
High quality and of significance;
By area artists, whenever possible;
Indigenous to Petoskey; and
Located, at a minimum, at the “grand entrance” to be created for Downtown at Mitchell and Highway 31, and on the Downtown Greenway [Pennsylvania and Arlington Parks].

The proposed plan for action includes numerous design, planning and business development recommendations. Northern Michigan Artists Market artists and customers will be interested in the high priority HyettPalma placed on improvements to Mitchell Street.

As was stated earlier, Mitchell Street must become a top priority of the effort to further enhance Downtown Petoskey. This should include:
Creating a boulevard down the middle of Mitchell Street to increase its feeling of intimacy for the pedestrian, as the City has plans to do;
Placing pedestrian-scale streetlights on Mitchell;
Adding landscaping and coordinated street furnishings – benches, trash receptacles, bike racks – to Mitchell Street, in order to make it more pedestrian-oriented and pedestrian-friendly; and
Creating a grand entrance to Downtown . . .

This new Petoskey Downtown Blueprint 2007 is filled with interesting and provocative ideas for improving our town. I particularly endorse its recognition of the importance of the arts to a vibrant, Cool Downtown and of the contribution of local artists in particular. I encourage everyone interested in Petoskey and Northern Michigan arts and artists to become active in the implementation of this plan and in advocating for local arts and artists.

The final written report is a specific five-year plan, which will be implemented by the Downtown Management Board, Downtown Division Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce and City of Petoskey staff, and volunteer committees to ensure the future of an economically viable downtown community. If you want to comment on the plan or become involved in its implementation, a good starting contact point is Becky Goodman, the Downtown Director, Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce, (231)347-4150.

Please click here to see and hear Doyle Hyett's final presentation of the Downtown Petoskey Blueprint Plan, presented January 29 in the H.O. Rose Dining Room of Stafford's Perry Hotel.
To read the entire written report, click here.

Winter on the Installment Plan

2007-01-17T14:29:00.000-05:00

Some Northern Michigan Winter Notes:

Here in Northern Michigan, we seem to be getting our winter this year on the installment plan – a little bit each month. Today is a beautiful, bright, sunny winter day with snow on the ground. Tomorrow, who knows?
I guess it depends on where you are in Northern Michigan. Last week, Northern Michigan Artists Market artist Mark Klemp stopped by with some more of his incredible wooden spoons. They come in all shapes and sizes from right and left handed spatulas to long paddles (He said he developed the first paddle for a friend who needed something to stir the large vats of salsa he prepares for wholesale distribution.) and a variety of beautiful woods including cherry, birds-eye maple and curly sugar maple. Anyway, he lives in Laurium, way up in the Keweenaw Peninsula at the top of the Upper Peninsula. He reminded me that they measure the snow depth up there in feet (and yards), rather than inches, and that they already have quite a bit. Mark lives on Pewabic Street, which I thought was interesting for an artist, because of Detroit's famous Pewabic Pottery. He explained that Pewabic is a Native American word for copper colored and that therefore there are a lot of Pewabic Streets in the UP's Copper Country. Pewabic Pottery gets its name from the fact that its glazes are the green and blue colors of copper ores.
Of course snow is no laughing matter in the Petoskey, Michigan area either. It is a major driver of the economy here in the winter. So for those of you who don't live here, I assure you that the ski areas have plenty of snow. No matter what the weather is like where you live, get up here and ski and experience the joy and beauty of winter in the North. If you need any reassurance, feel free to check the snow conditions at our major ski areas, Boyne Mountain and Boyne Highlands and Nubs Nob.
Most of you are familiar with the great paintings, photographs and other works by Northern Michigan artists depicting the bay, sunsets and other Northern vistas in the summer. But we love it up here in the winter too and have the artwork to prove it. Check out the examples in this post, Northern Michigan Artists Market artists Kris Busk's breathtaking winter birds and Sandy Selden's oil painting capturing a view of Little Traverse Bay in winter.
Bet you Didn't know that in the Northern Michigan town of Charlevoix, they actually take the parking meters off the posts in the winter!
And let's not forget Northern Michigan's zany winter festivals, as distinguished from our zany summer festivals. Every town worth its name has one or more. For example, you will never forgive yourself if you miss this weekend's Annual Winterfest in Mackinaw City, featuring the memorable Outhouse Race, shown is this photograph from the event's website.

Don't miss winter in Northern Michigan!

Stop Cleaning Your Brushes !

2007-01-12T02:17:00.000-05:00

I came across a great artist story the other day and I want to pass it along to you for a couple of reasons. One is that it gives me an excuse to tell you about the great art email newsletter I got it from but more on that later. First the story.

The artist telling the story admits to being somewhat lax with respect to all the rules one learns about cleaning brushes. From our first art experience we are generally taught to clean up after ourselves and particularly to carefully clean the paint brushes. My dad was not an artist but he frequently told me that the job is not done until the tools are properly put away.

However, I must say that many of the artists I know are not particularly fastidious. Looking at the messy condition of their studios, I sometimes wonder how such beautiful work can emerge from such a god awful mess. This little story gave me some insights into this apparent contradiction:

My bad habit goes back to an experience I had in art school. There was this chap--I won't mention his name--who spent all of his time cleaning and getting ready. He'd even clean stuff before he was going to paint--and then he wouldn't paint. He never really did. After a semester or two he got kicked out and went into dentistry.

After telling his story, the artist observed, “Brush cleaning can be just another avoidance activity. ... I feel I'm a painter, not a cleaner. I failed cleaning.”

I remember as a child getting a beautiful diary with block prints by the delightful Northern Michigan nature artist Gwen Frostic on every page but never using it because I couldn't think of anything important enough to say to write on those beautiful pages. A friend who knew me well once told me that often it is important to stop worrying about whether you will obtain perfection and just do something.

All of us need to remember, artists and those who have not yet discovered their inner artist, to stop cleaning our brushes and just PAINT!

The Artist who wrote the story is Robert Glenn. I read it in his inspiring and informative Twice Weekly Letter, which you can receive in your email inbox for free. Sign up at his website, The Painter's Keys Community.

Two NMAM Artists "Horsin' Around" in East Jordan

2007-01-10T02:14:00.000-05:00

East Jordan is a wonderful little town on Lake Charlevoix in Northern Michigan. One of its treasures is the Jordan River Arts Council. JRAC runs a number of excellent programs out of East Jordan's former library building. It is a strong supporter of local artists and holds frequent art exhibits featuring local artists.

Its next show, Equine Devine or Horsin' Around opens Sunday, January 14th. The show includes images of horses in a variety of media. Among the participating artists are Northern Michigan Artists Market artists Joanne Cromley and Meredith Krell.

Cromley is a very accomplished and well known tapestry weaver. A true Northern Michigan artist, she moved here from Chicago ten years ago to live a more intentional life. She and her husband Micheal purchased 240 acres of abused land near Afton Michigan that had been logged off and over-grazed. They placed the land in a conservation easement, forever protecting it from development and allowing the land to begin to heal. They build a beautify energy efficient home, complete with a functoning windmill that generates electricity. Her tapestries are bold and colorful.

Krell lives in Charlevoix, across the lake from East Jordan. She is an outstanding painter and printer. Colorado Horse, one of her oil paintings appears in the show. She is well known for her linoleum block prints, many of which are available at the Northern Michigan Artists Market, including Truth Destiny Courage pictured here.

The exhibit runs through February 18 and is open daily 1-4 pm, at the Jordan River Art Center, 301 Main St., East Jordan. For more information contact curator, Sylvia Walworth, 231-599-3065.

So what is Northern Michigan Art Anyway?

2007-01-09T17:11:00.000-05:00

When you run an art gallery called the Northern Michigan Artists Market, people are bound to ask you the question you see in the title of this post. In fact, a reasonable person in my position may be inclined to ask himself that once in a while. As I spend many of my waking hours surrounded by thousands of pieces of Northern Michigan art, it is only fair that I take a stab at answering that question.

The easy answer is that Northern Michigan art is art done by Northern Michigan artists or art done in or about Northern Michigan, but that, while true, is hardly satisfying.

A great deal of NMA (How many times in one post do you expect me to write it all out?) expresses, presents or otherwise deals with the beautiful lakes, woods, hills, sunsets, etc. that attract so many of us to this place or keep us here despite the call of family, fortune and reason. [The photo on the left is Sunset Bench by Northern Michigan Artist Market artist Carson Wright.] On the other hand, many outstanding and well known artists in NM utterly refuse do paint, draw, photograph, carve or even imagine anything that even obliquely suggests a bay or (egad!) any solar presence approaching its surface. “Trite!” “Done that! “ Or, dare I say, “Derivative!” they disdainfully exclaim. Yet they are certainly all NM Artists and their creations entitled to inclusion as NMA.

Perhaps it is not the subject matter but the inspiration that defines NMA. I have often wondered whether there are so many artists per capita in NM because the beauty of the area attracts those who already have a well developed artistic sensibility or whether it ensnares otherwise sane people who have come her for other reasons and forces (inspires) them to become artists. Either way, does NM constitute a calling muse that is the unifying and categorizing force that defines NMA? [This painting is Out of the Void by NMAM artist Will Espey.] Surely the ubiquitous sand dunes or, in season, snow drifts do not bar the entry of other muses not of NM origin into the region and into the hearts and minds of its inhabitants. Are all NM artists somehow immune to the songs of these foreign muses and susceptible only to the tunes played by their cousins of more domestic origin? Of course not. NM Artists and hence NMA is not nearly so parochial.

To be fully inclusive, perhaps we should consider the argument of some that NMA is not a standard of subject or inspiration but one of quality. Such people might suggest that the local product is just not as good as that originating in other regions south of the 45th parallel or outside the embrace of the Great Lakes. To them I would say that a belief that the exotic is uniformly superior defies logic and experience. As for logic, such a belief would argue that pasta consumed in Italy is of lesser quality than that enjoyed in the US because it is generally made with domestic (i.e. Italian) ingredients. As for experience, a simple tour of the Northern Michigan Artists Market and the many examples of NMA contained therein will convince any honest observer of the quality of NMA.

So after all that, we return to the definition we started with. Perhaps it is not so unsatisfying after all. There is great variety in NMA. It cannot be defined by subject or inspiration or quality. Perhaps the answer really is as simple as Northern Michigan Art is art by Northern Michigan artists, in all of its variety of splendor, spirit and wonder.

A Little About the Northern Michigan Artists Market

2007-01-09T16:43:00.000-05:00

On October 1, 2003, five other local artists and I opened the Northern Michigan Artists Market. We had been discussing the fact that with all of the art galleries in Petoskey, none handled only Northern Michigan art. Many of our friends who were local artists were bemoaning the fact that there was no suitable place to exhibit their work. The six of us decided to do something about it.

The time was right. The local art center had just completed a major remodeling project. While they were remodeling, they used this wonderful storefront with lots of large windows on East Mitchell, Petoskey's main street, as a gallery. Now that their building was ready, they were moving out. So there was an interesting space that people were used to thinking of as an art gallery and there was a group of artists looking for a place to show their work. After much gnashing of teeth, we pooled the minuscule amount of money we had available and bravely launched the Market. [Thanks to Artist Market artist Bruce Love for the photo.]

What we lacked in funds we made up for with ideals. Our first founding principal was that the Market would be “artist friendly.” We all had horror stories about galleries loosing our work, not paying us promptly (or at all without begging or threats) and being primarily about something other than the art. To minimize the chance of this happening to us, we decided that our new Market would forever (gosh, that sounded nice though perhaps overly optimistic) be owned, run and staffed entirely by Northern Michigan artists.

Next, we wanted our Market to be welcoming and friendly to customers, not in any way intimidating or pretentious. To symbolize this and proclaim it to the world, we decided to not call it “The [Something Clever] Gallery” but rather the Artists Market. Our plan was to include the broadest conceivable spectrum of creative works and artists and thus represent Northern Michigan art in as much of its diversity and variety as possible.

Anyway, here we are, three years and some months later and it all seems to have worked out rather well. Our artists do seem to find us friendly. Our initial group of about thirty local artists has grown to a rather healthy ensemble of about one hundred. We keep attracting new customers and our existing customers keep coming back and bringing their friends. (Thank you!) Along the way a few of our partners have pursued other interests. There are now three of us -- Vivi Woodcock, Susan Lange and myself, Marty Scott. Vivi paints watercolors and makes mixed-media collages. Susan is a jeweler. I make mobiles.

Most of our artists are year round residents of Northern Michigan, although some spend only their summers here. The majority live within about fifty miles of the Market -- Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Charlevoix, Walloon Lake, Boyne City, East Jordan and the surrounding countryside. Some live as far south as Traverse City, as far east as Alpena or as far north as the tip of the Upper Peninsula.

The artwork in the Market includes many media including oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings, various types of prints, photographs, sculpture, pottery, blown and fused glass, weaving, knitwear, jewelry and a wide assortment of art and greeting cards. Prices range from a few dollars to a few thousand. We have works for the casual shopper, gift giving and casual and serious collectors of Northern Michigan art. In short, the Northern Michigan Artists Market has the best selection of Northern Michigan Art anywhere!

The next time you are in Petoskey, stop in and say hello!

Welcome to This Blog -- Northern Michigan Art

2007-01-09T13:28:00.000-05:00

In this blog, we will be discussing Northern Michigan. While anything that happens up here is fair game, we will pay particular attention to the art and artists of Northern Michigan. We will focus to a degree on the art, artists and activities of the Northern Michigan Artists Market, an art gallery that two of my friends and I own in Petoskey, Michigan. [My next post is a brief introduction to The Market.]

This blog welcomes comments from all of you. Please feel free to join in the discussion at any time and to introduce new topics. I will gently moderate the submissions and include as many as possible.

Candidly, this blog has a partially commercial purpose. I hope it will lead you to take some interest in our gallery and to visit it in person in Petoskey, Michigan, or through our website. The launch of this blog is timed to precede [hopefully by not too much time] a major revision of The Market's website. This substantial upgrade will add online shopping, a general improvement of the graphic design and overall appearance and many of those invisible technical enhancements we hear so much about in connection with the release of any software upgrade.

Those of you who know me or who have been to our Market any time in the last eight months or so know that I have been promising this upgrade for quite a while. I have learned from this experience that there are many uncertainties and delays inherent in the website improvement process and that consequently it is better and more honest to be somewhat vague about expected completion dates so I have stopped making promises.

In the meantime, our current site is pretty darn good. Of course, it gives you lots of information about the Northern Michigan artists Market [like location, hours, contact info, etc]. It also contains a complete list of our current artists and our inventory of the thousands of pieces of their works that we have for sale. Increasingly it includes descriptions and photographs of those works. It also includes our toll free telephone number so you can call us to discuss any of these works or make arrangements for purchase and shipping.

So lets get to know each other and swap tales, news, rumors and the like about life and art in God's country!