Charlevoix Circle of Arts Spring Newsletter2018

Charlevoix Circle of Arts News

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January–April 2018

THREE EXHIBITIONS

Chasing the Running Stitch, Spotlight on Innovation and Margie Guyot: A Not So Still Life. Each reveals something new— from a textile journey, to a focus on high school talent and a solo show by a very colorful regional artist.

Hear MUSIC EVERYWHERE

Children are learning new musical skills through the Dorothy Gerber Strings Program. Listen to them perform along with the newly formed, The Cummings Quartet, whose expertise and knowledge mentors strings students.

Learn JOIN IN

Take a class in fine arts to learn drawing, painting, textile techniques and more. Attend an Inner Circle Gallery Talk with topics ranging from artist profiles, stargazing, or a poetry performance. Drop in and paint at the Art in the Afternoon open studio Thursdays.

Explore DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL

Join with others in our community supporting the arts for the first ever Dragon Boat Festival on August 4. Witness the Awakening of the Dragon.

Create a team or sign up to volunteer and be a part of the fun!

THE MISSION of the Charlevoix Circle of Arts is to cultivate a more inspired and educated community through the arts.

Looking

Back

Looking

Forward

Gail DeMeyere, Executive Director

2017 was certainly an exceptional year at the Charlevoix Circle of Arts!

Our exhibition schedule was robust and brought in record numbers to the gallery. We moved from an organization of one full-time staff member to three and counting.

We hosted successful fundraising initiatives, increased our grant revenue and offered new programming.

Our Summer Camp experience was active and joyous.

IN FEBRUARY, Kris Jones from the Kendall College of Art and Design gave portfolio reviews to area students and awarded $54,000 in scholarships to attend KCAD after graduation. IN JUNE, The Cummings Foundation asked if we would be the permanent administrator of the Dorothy Gerber Strings Program, bringing string music education to northern Michigan youth at no cost for classroom instruction.

IN JULY, we hired Kendall Hayes as my Executive Assistant and IN AUGUST, Dr. David Reimer was hired to head up the Dorothy Gerber Strings Program.

IN SEPTEMBER, the Dorothy Gerber Strings Program began anew and IN 2 CHARLEVOIX CIRCLE OF ARTS

NOVEMBER, The Cummings Quartet was established, joining some of the finest musicians in the region to act as a catalyst of educational opportunity for the program.

NOW, LOOKING FORWARD! The programming for 2018 is positioned to be outstanding with new initiatives and new relationships.

It started as a whisper, but BY AUGUST 4 we hope to have everyone talking about The Dragon Boat Festival. To learn more about the inaugural season for this event, please read the introduction in this newsletter and visit our Dragon Boat Festival website, www.CharlevoixDragonFestival.org.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a great way for us to build community, involve people on all levels, learn about a different culture, and support the work that we are doing— all while having a great deal of fun!

We hope you will get on board!

We have a host of amazing exhibitions to roll out over the next 12 months, three of which are profiled within these pages. In the summer months we will be welcoming some of Michigan’s finest portrait artists,

and in late summer we will host a Juried Fine Arts exhibition with Naples, Florida artist Phil Fisher as our juror. The summer months will also be filled with masterclasses, new summer camp offerings, workshops and our annual Paint-Out ON JUNE 9.

As I look backward and forward, I see that we could not do what we do without the tremendous community support we receive. I am humbled as we welcome new sponsors to our exhibitions, special events, programming and educational series.

It takes a community with vision and commitment to build a vibrant art center and we are focused as a staff and board of directors to do our part to make that happen.

We are on the path to making the Charlevoix Circle of Arts a beacon of first class programming with integrity and heart that will serve the region for years to come. We hope that you will consider becoming a part of the family, be it by offering a sponsorship, becoming a member, or participating as a volunteer.

We are looking forward to— A GREAT YEAR!

Hear MISSION STATEMENT: The Dorothy Gerber Strings Program, part of the Charlevoix Circle of Arts, serves northern Michigan students providing exceptional locally based string music education.

IN THE SUMMER OF 2017 the Charlevoix Circle of Arts was approached

by The Cummings Foundation to become the permanent residence of the Dorothy Gerber Strings Program (DGSP). The program promises to continue the legacy of providing in-class strings education for students at no charge. With the hire of Dr. David Reimer as the music director, there is a new focus on excellence of education and new opportunities for students. Classes began in the fall in Boyne City, Charlevoix and East Jordan schools with each program offering a holiday performance in December.

In November, classes resumed at the Beaver Island Community Schools and other locations are being added in the new year.

New to the DGSP is the individual lesson option with a staff of exceptional teachers. In addition, a thriving Suzuki program has begun in the Charlevoix Round Lake Education Facility, taught by a Suzuki-accredited instructor. The combination of individual and group lessons in the Suzuki Method opens the program to students as young as five years of age.

To keep abreast of future events for the DGSP, including a year-end concert in May as well as a Summer Strings program, please visit our website at www.gerberstrings.org or follow us on Facebook.

The Dorothy Gerber Strings Program Introduces The Cummings Quartet NAMED IN HONOR of the program’s benefactors, Gay and Peter Cummings, the quartet aims to provide a greater exposure for students and become an inspiration to what can be accomplished. Dr. Reimer recruited some of the highest caliber musicians in the area to perform in the quartet: Elizabeth Bert, a cellist with Baroque on Beaver Island and a principal cellist for the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and the Traverse Symphony Orchestra, Kim Teachout (violist) and Cheryl Zetterholm (violinist) both from the GLCO and TSO. After playing at strings recruitment events with the DGSP in the fall, the group had so much fun performing Beethoven and Gershwin that they started looking for more opportunities to perform together. Thus, The Cummings Quartet was established.

The Cummings Quartet will perform at the Charlevoix Circle of Arts on March 2.

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THE CHARLEVOIX CIRCLE OF ARTS will ring in the new year with an exceptional exhibition representing some of the finest textile artists from across the state of Michigan. CHASING THE RUNNING STITCH is based upon the concept of integrating hand stitching and its progression into fine art statements. The running stitch is the fundamental building block in hand sewing on which all other forms of sewing are based. Seventeen artists were invited to participate and to share their work at the Charlevoix Circle of Arts.

Jeanne Bieri, one of the represented artists, was a 2017 Kresge Visual Arts Fellow.

Kresge Fellowships are administered by the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and are a comprehensive community development effort to strengthen the social and cultural fabric of the city and surrounding region.

Being awarded a 2017 Kresge Fellowship means that you have been selected as one of 18 out of a pool on 1,200 candidates.

Bieri’s work is one of many in the Chasing the Running Stitch exhibition that reflect the caliber of artist statements on display.

CHASING THE RUNNING STITCH January 19–March 3 4 CHARLEVOIX CIRCLE OF ARTS

ARTISTS Sarah Bearup-Neal – Empire Char Bickel – Northport Jeanne Bieri – Grosse Pointe Farms Barbara Bushey – Hillsdale Sandra Cardew – Royal Oak Mary Fortuna – Traverse City Katie Hafner – Lake Leelanau Judith Ivan – Charlevoix Lester Johnson – Detroit Ann Baddeley Keister – Grand Rapids Betsy Koss – Boyne City Meredith Krell – Charlevoix Valerie Mann – Saline Colleen O’Rourke – Grand Rapids Shanna Robinson – Boyne City Audrey Shapiro – Charlevoix Dawn Swaim – Boyne City

Margie Guyot:

A Not So Still Life April 13–May 26

March 10–April 6

SPOTLIGHTON INNOVATION

S ON SATURDAY, MARCH 10 from 2-4 PM our doors will open to the annual exhibit focusing on the artistic talent of regional high school students. Kristopher Jones, Director of Talent, Acquisition and Recruitment from Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids will again be giving portfolio reviews and awarding scholarships.

We delve into the world of Eastport Artist Margie Guyot in an exhibition brimming with creative inspiration— a range of flamboyant still lifes based on found items of interest. In her studio work, Margie delights in highly patterned, broad-spectrum paintings, challenging herself to represent the textures and colors that draw her eye.

From molded glass objects, plants, shells, feathers, highly patterned tablecloths and more, Margie’s work is of the highest caliber and the springboard for rich conversations.

Last year, the top award winner was Brooklyn Allen (above with Kristopher Jones) from Central Lake High School who received a $16,000 scholarship.

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Learn

art in the afternoon Thursdays, 12–3 PM

On Thursday afternoons, the Art in the Afternoon painters gather for an open studio session.

All are welcome to drop in and work alongside others in a group setting. There is an atmosphere of camaraderie among painters where they share methods, ideas or just enjoy working with interesting individuals. In the late spring an exhibition of their work is planned for the Charlevoix Public Library and an informal video learning series is in the works!

indigo shibori dye with Shanna Robinson

Saturday, February 10

9 AM–3 PM with break for lunch $75 includes supplies Designed especially for beginners—all are welcome!

Shanna will be teaching her indigo shibori dye technique on a variety of projects. Be prepared to make a beautiful mess, and once done – the final product becomes a masterpiece. Fee includes supplies for our intended projects, and other projects can be purchased and completed if there is time.

the poetry of fabric Flower-Making Workshop with Rachel Sytsma-Reed, Ph.D.

Saturday, April 7 9:30 AM–3:30 PM

Fee: $80

Rachel Sytsma Reed creates art that doubles as visual poetry, distilling into flowers textural elements of the Great Lakes. In addition to making flowers, the workshop will incorporate discussions around poetry and environmentally friendly art.

All necessary materials will be provided, but you are invited to make the workshop more personal by bringing some of your own fabric – vintage and/or antique linens and clothes are ideal.

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the art of drawing with Donna Rey-Taylor

Thursdays, April 5–May 10 9:30–11:30 AM (six weeks)

Fee: $125

Donna Rey-Taylor was born in Germany and after moving to the U.S., she pursued a formal education at Kendall College of Art and Design. Her mission was to develop her work by means of creating precise imagery. She is a recognized artist working in watercolor, oils, colored pencil and graphite.

She will be teaching the fundamentals of drawing, but recognizes the level of her students’ proficiency to best suit the needs of her class.

FEBRUARY 8 VALERIE MANN

Chasing the Running Stitch artist, Valerie Mann, has shown her work professionally in the U.S. and abroad for 26 years.

Mann is inspired by the outdoors, people, materials and pushing the boundaries of possibility. She will be discussing her installation, Fortunes, a clothesline installation of vintage baby garments, each embroidered with a “fortune”— a seemingly random, arbitrary destiny that a child has come into the world with.

FEBRUARY 22 MARY STEWART ADAMS— 2018: THE YEAR OF THE DOG

The Chinese New Year, which is celebrated in February, will throw us a bone in the form of the year animal in their zodiac cycle. 2018 is The Year of the Dog! Join Mary, program director of Headlands International Dark Sky Park, as she discusses all of these terrific stories in the stars! Mary will discuss the Chinese New Year of the Dog, the dog constellations that are visible in the sky at this time, and the lunacy of our lunar rhythms. You won’t want to miss her storytelling magic!

MARCH 1 KATIE HAFNER—

DEEPENING OUR ART PRACTICE THROUGH REFLECTION

Katie Hafner will be in the gallery to discuss textiles, her process of creation and what inspires her. Using process oriented art-making as a pathway of honoring our creativity for personal, cultural and cosmic well-being, Katie discusses creativity as a vital force that can be nurtured and fed, building bridges between the imaginal realm and the material world.

Come prepared to listen, to explore some art and writing, and to do a little writing of you own.

APRIL 26, 12–4 PM

(AT POSSOM HOLLOW STUDIO)

MARGIE GUYOT—OPEN STUDIO TOUR

We are invited to Possum Hollow, the Eastport studio of Margie Guyot, to see firsthand where she creates the magnificent paintings that are represented in her solo exhibition: Margie Guyot, A Not So Still Life. It is a special treat to be able to see inside an artist’s studio. Margie will show us her blue bottle garden, her painting studio and perhaps her kitties Picasso, Miss America, Mr. Wonderful and Bernie Sanders will appear!

VALERIE MANN

MARY STEWART ADAMS

Charlevoix Circle of Arts

Inner Circle Gallery Talks

Thursdays 10–11 AM

These hour-long talks are free and open to the public and provide an opportunity to ask questions of the presenting artist.

Coffee, tea and pastries are served.

APRIL 19 TERRY WOOTEN— PERFORMS FROM HIS COLLECTED WORKS

Terry Wooten has been called, “An everyday Homer writing as a modern Bard for ordinary heroes.” He is an awardwinning poet and creator of the Stone Circle, a talismanic landmark, and focus of an international documentary film.

His recent collected works, The Stone Circle Poems, was selected as a Notable Book by the Michigan State Library for 2016.

KATIE HAFNER

MARGIE GUYOT

TERRY WOOTEN

Open Monday–Saturday, 11 AM–5 PM

109 Clinton Street | Charlevoix, MI 49720 | 231-547-3554 | www.CharlevoixCircle.com

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Please refer to our website for updates to our programming! Stay tuned for an online call for entry for our Juried Fine Arts Exhibition that runs from July 20–September 8, 2018.

CHARLEVOIX CIRCLE OF ARTS 7

109 Clinton Street Charlevoix, MI 49720

WHY Introducing the Charlevoix Circle of Arts Dragon Boat Festival August 4, 2018

DRAGON BOAT RACING? This rapidly growing sport combines rich Chinese traditions, competition, team building and LOTS OF FUN! THE CHARLEVOIX CIRCLE OF ARTS will host its inaugural Dragon Boat Festival to help support its mission to cultivate a more inspired and educated community through the arts. A typical dragon boat is 46’ long and features 20 paddlers, one drummer and one steersman. Our race will be approximately 250 meters long and each team is guaranteed to race at least two times. The boats are truly works of art; colorful crafts with dragon scales and a dragon head and tail. The Opening Ceremony begins with a practice known as “Awakening the Dragon” in which the dragon’s eyes are dotted just prior to the race to symbolize the dragon coming to life. We invite you to get involved in the Dragon Boat Festival and bring your friends and family along!

Explore

To learn more about how to get involved, please visit our Dragon Boat Festival Website at: www.charlevoixdragonfestival.org.