artsy Strikes Again!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.)