As an artist-built and run school and residency, OX-BOW SCHOOL OF ART & ARTISTS’ RESIDENCY is dedicated to the creation and preservation of time and space for arts education, research, practice, and community-building for artists at all stages of their artistic journey. Founded in 1910, Ox-Bow’s egalitarian and intimate environment encourages all artists, regardless of experience, to find, amplify, rediscover, and share their impulse to create. Faculty, Visiting Artists, Residents, staff, and students live together in community on our campus in Saugatuck, Michigan, where they share meals, social time, and the exchange of ideas. We actively encourage our participants to engage across differences in age, regional location, race, and gender identity, learning what it means to be a community by participating in one. Ox-Bow is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization.
WHERE TO FIND US
SAUGATUCK CAMPUS
3435 Rupprecht Way PO BOX 216 Saugatuck, MI 49453
OX-BOW HOUSE 137 Center Street PO BOX 758 Douglas, MI 49406
HOW TO CONTACT & STAY CONNECTED
E-MAIL :: PHONE :: WEBSITE :: SOCIAL MEDIA :: oxbow@ox-bow.org 269-857-5811 www.ox-bow.org @oxbowschoolofart
OUR SUPPORTERS
LENORE G. TAWNEY FOUNDATION: Ox-Bow is happy to announce new program support from the Lenore G. Tawney Foundation. Established in honor of artist Leonore G. Tawney, three fellowships have been created for the Longform residency program that celebrate her legacy by supporting mature artists who have dedicated years to their craft. Inspired by Tawney’s commitment to championing women in the arts, this fund provides financial assistance to those seeking to further their artistic journey.
HOLLY PALMER FOUNDATION: The Holly Palmer Foundation has committed lead support for 2025 in support of the Art on the Meadow program. Art on the Meadow offerings invite our West Michigan neighbors and visitors to participate in affordable, multilevel, and intergenerational creative experiences. Holly believed that by engaging in the creative process we learn about ourselves, connect with others, expand our thinking, and become better people all around.
OX-BOW TEAM
EXECUTIVE
Shannon R. Stratton Executive Director
DEVELOPMENT
Steven Berry Consulting Development Director
Molly Markow Grants & Relationships Manager
Kate Nguyen Community Engagement & Events Manager
FINANCE
Chris Kubik
Consulting Business Manager
Sally Moeller Bookkeeper
Karen Wentworth Bookkeeper
COMMUNICATIONS
Ashley Freeby Communications Director
Hannah Bugg Digital Communications Assistant
Shanley Poole Engagement Liaison & Storyteller
PROGRAMMING
Maddie Reyna Education Director
Bobby Gonzales Programs Manager
RETAIL
Maggie Bandstra Manager of Ox-Bow House
Candice Whitfield Retail Assistant
CULINARY
Gary Strong Senior Culinary Manager
Sabrina Allen Culinary Manager
CAMPUS ADMIN
Claire Arctander Deputy Director of Campus Life & Operations
Rowan Leek Campus Manager
FACILITIES & GROUNDS
John Rossi Facilities Manager
Aaron Whitfield Housekeeping Manager Please
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ox-Bow’s Board of Directors contribute their time, expertise, and resources to ensure that future generations of artists will benefit from Ox-Bow’s rich tradition and outstanding programming. We are grateful for their dedication and support.
Steven C. Meier, President
Scott Alfree
Evan Boris
Delinda Collier
Christopher Craft
Chris Deam
Dawn Gavin Keith Goad
Loring Randolph
jina valentine
Keith P. Walker
Shauna Wilson
NOTE: All images are courtesy of faculty unless otherwise noted. CATALOG DESIGN BY: ASHLEY M. FREEBY
A NOTE FROM OUR DIRECTOR . . .
To Our Dear Community,
I’m always writing these letters as winter is setting in, ready to hibernate for a bit, but thinking fondly of the sunny summer days by the lakeshore. By the time we see these words in print, the tulips will be up, dotting spring lawns, and bringing the optimism that the season always holds. What will you be looking forward to? I’m hoping that we have tucked between these pages a few things to mark on your calendars: workshops, dinners, parties, and art openings, to keep you busy and creative all summer long.
For 2025 we have a revamped Art on the Meadow season planned, with lots of new faces on board to share their creative practices with you. Have you wanted to take a class with our very own Maggie Bandstra (Manager of Ox-Bow House)? Maggie will lead two classes in Nature Abstracted ! Been itching to make something practical for the garden? Mark Schentzel has you covered in the metals studio teaching MIG Welding for Artists ! But don’t worry, you can also count on old favorites like Flower Arranging with Maddie Reyna, followed by painting with James Brandess in the afternoon or writing with Jack Ridl and watercolor with David Baker.
This summer we celebrate the 40th anniversary of glass education—a place many community members are fond of. Join us on July 19 for Field of Vision where we will honor artist Corey Pemberton, a rising star we are lucky enough to see shine in our glass studio every summer. There will be lots of surprises that night, many of them made of glass, so stay tuned and get your tickets! And as far as parties go, Taste of Ox-Bow is also back—alongside our free monthly Friday Night Open Studios —buy your tickets now, because they always go fast!
Lastly, don’t forget to visit us at Ox-Bow House . Each month we host a new feature exhibition alongside our rotating artworks, Ox-Bow merch, and art supplies. This summer, our main exhibition will tell the story of vernacular architecture on campus, situating it within the history of cabin culture on the lakeshore! Come visit Ox-Bow House and learn more about local and regional history, shop the gallery, and chat with us over an espresso.
Looking forward to seeing you all again, whether on campus, at Ox-Bow House, or out and about in our beautiful community.
Yours in creativity, Shannon
R. Stratton, Executive Director
P.S. Stay up to date on additional programming, such as lectures at Ox-Bow House, by following our website, signing up for our monthly e-newsletter, and/or following us on social media.
PHOTO BY JAMIE DAVIS KELTER; COVER PHOTO BY DOMINIQUE MUÑOZ, SUMMER FELLOW
DID YOU KNOW?
Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency was established in 1910 and has been an artist-run community for more than 100 years. Our main campus, located in Saugatuck, is an active summer art school nestled between the 100acre Tallmadge Woods, which overlook the Kalamazoo River, just a short canoe trip from Lake Michigan. Our historic campus is situated on a rare freshwater interdunal coastal wetland, a habitat of great biodiversity that helps maintain the health of Lake Michigan.
In 2022, we expanded our footprint to Douglas, Michigan, creating our first public facing location, which invites visitors to experience Ox-Bow at any time. New to Ox-Bow House in the last year are public programs such as figure drawing and punch needle embroidery. These communal workshops allow folks to experience the heart of Ox-Bow from the buzzing atmosphere of Center Street.
Per our organization’s 100+ year-old tradition, we still offer educational learning opportunities. Our core courses and community-based Art on the Meadow Workshops range from our original bread and butter—plein air painting— to woodfired ceramics, glassblowing, and more. While our campus is closed during our academic sessions for the privacy and safety of our students, we love inviting our neighbors onto our grounds and have a number of opportunities for you to join us spring through fall.
Check out the calendar on the next page and save our event dates.
2 CREDITS PHOTO BY JAMIE KELTER DAVIS
»
»
»
VISIT US!
OX-BOW HOUSE: 137 CENTER STREET, DOUGLAS, MI
11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
PHOTOS BY JAMIE KELTER DAVIS AND IAN SOLOMON, SUMMER FELLOW
2025 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
APRIL
OX-BOW HOUSE
Synthesis
Featured Artist: Mark Schentzel
Exhibition Dates: April 12–May 4
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 12, 4:00–5:00 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS Tea & Trails Saturday, April 26
10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
MAY
OX-BOW HOUSE
Two Handed Fingers
Featured Artist: Tom Balbo Exhibition Dates: May 10–June 8
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 10, 4:00–5:00 p.m.
JUNE
OX-BOW HOUSE
Summer Exhibition: The Local Vernacular: Lakeshore Architecture at Ox-Bow June 14 – October 12
Opening Reception Saturday, June 14 4:00–5:00 p.m.
OX-BOW HOUSE Briquette
Featured Artist: Bobby Gonzales Exhibition Dates: June 14– July 6
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 14, 4:00–5:00 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS
Sunday Sojourns Sunday, June 15
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS
Taste of Ox-Bow with John Brown IV Friday, June 27
5:30–8:30 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS
Friday Night Open Studios Friday, June 27
7:00–10:00 p.m.
JULY
OX-BOW HOUSE
Handle With Care
Featured Artists: Bradley Marshall and Yashu Reddy
Exhibition Dates: July 12–August 3
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 12, 4:00–5:00 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS Sunday Sojourns Sunday, July 13 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS Field of Vision:
Through the Looking Glass Saturday, July 19 5:00–10:00 p.m.
AUGUST
OX-BOW CAMPUS
Taste of Ox-Bow with Sarah K. Williams Friday, August 1 5:30–8:30 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS Friday Night Open Studios Friday, August 1 7:00–10:00 p.m.
OX-BOW HOUSE Ghost Cameo
Featured Artist: Amy Sacksteder Exhibition Dates: August 9–September 7
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 9, 4:00–5:00 p.m.
OX-BOW HOUSE Fellows Exhibition Featured Artists: 2025 Summer Fellows Exhibition Dates: August 9–September 7
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 9, 3:00–4:00 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS
Sunday Sojourns
Sunday, August 10
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS
Friday Night Open Studios Friday, August 22 7:00–10:00 p.m.
SEPTEMBER
OX-BOW HOUSE
Ox-Bow Staff Exhibition
Featured Artists: Ox-Bow Staff Exhibition Dates: September 12–October 5
Opening Reception: September 12, 4:00–5:00 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS
Sunday Sojourns Sunday, September 14 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
OCTOBER
OX-BOW CAMPUS
Harvest Dinner
Saturday, October 4
OX-BOW HOUSE
Fall Special Exhibition
Featured Artist: Nathan Margoni Exhibition Dates: October 11–25
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 11, 4:00–5:00 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS
Bloody Brunch
Saturday, October 18 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
OX-BOW CAMPUS
Ox-Bow Goes to Heck (Family Day)
Saturday, October 18 1:00–5:00 p.m.
OX-BOW HOUSE
Cavern Tavern
Saturday, October 25 6:00–10:00 p.m.
NOVEMBER
OX-BOW HOUSE
Small Works Group Show
Featured Artists: TBD
Exhibition Dates: November 8, 2025–January 4, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 8, 4:00–5:00 p.m.
OX-BOW HOUSE
Artists Market November – May
NEW EVENT
CREATING (IN) COMMUNITY
August 17 from 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Research shows all sorts of beautiful benefits to making art in community: combating loneliness, building trust and empathy, and supporting healthy aging. With that in mind, we are excited to launch a community making day where we invite our neighbors to join us on the meadow for a group activity. This year’s event will be led by artist and Longform Mentor, kg gnatowski.
Participants will create a large collective weaving along the lagoon and are encouraged to bring materials from home to contribute. The day will provide opportunities for rich conversations and the kindling of new friendships across generations and experiences. Registration is free but required. Lunch is included for all participants. The final weaving will be on display through to the fall, weather permitting.
This program is inspired by the book Project Unlonely by Jeremy Noble. Ox-Bow House will have copies of the book available for purchase.
Funded in part by The Wellness Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in partnership with the Foundation for Art and Healing
IN GRAND RAPIDS!
OX-BOW AT THE GRAM
The Grand Rapids Art Museum and Ox-Bow presents the 2025 Summer Artist Lecture Series at the GRAM. Every summer, Ox-Bow hosts a series of distinguished visiting artists, art historians, and critics as part of our summer program. In this partnership with GRAM, you can hear from some of these extraordinary artists while they are working in West Michigan.
Lectures are June 28, August 2 & 23 and are free for GRAM members or with the price of admission and begin at 11:00 a.m. ET in the Cook Auditorium at the GRAM. Learn more at www. artmuseumgr.org/events
OX
T he (Under) Story of the Tallmadge Woods
Tending to our forest’s bright future through plantings and conservation wisdom.
A stay at Ox-Bow is never quite complete without a trip to the Crow’s Nest. The picturesque overlook is situated halfway through the mile loop trail in the Tallmadge Woods. The quiet route offers space for rest, contemplation, and the company of nature. One can encounter all sorts of wildlife: the jurassic pileated woodpecker, a family of raccoons (notorious for sneaking into OxBow’s kitchen), a humble deer mouse nestled in a tree’s hollow, and countless white-tailed deer.
Year after year, these deer have nibbled away at the smallest trees in the woods. “Isn’t that what they’re supposed to eat?” one might ask. Yes, and no. While each spring’s sets of doe and fawns manage to steal the hearts of artists, any West Michigander can tell you the population has surged beyond control. The problem isn’t that the deer are eating something that they’re not supposed to. The problem is there are too many mouths for the forest to feed. When such high grazing levels go on for too long, the forest pays the price, with the saplings and understory layers taking the brunt of the damage. Over time, this causes a generational gap between trees. Those walking
A look into the Talmadge Wood. The photo features mature trees with a barren understory.
through the Tallmadge Woods can see aged cherries and hemlocks, as well as some saplings, but they won’t see an abundance of trees in their strong, middling years. One can see the impending dilemma. Eventually the wisened trees will die, and they’ll have no one to replace them. Not to mention, the more immediate threat and reality of lost habitats for creatures that call the understory home.
While many have cited the Tallamadge Woods as an essential source of inspiration, it’s clear that its provisional nature requires reciprocity. Just a few centuries ago, this land would’ve likely been nurtured through intentional burns* facilitated by Indigenous communities and the deer population would’ve remained in safer balance with the presence of wolves. Nowadays the deer roam without fear of predators and the woods haven’t known an intentional burn for some time. With the understory facing an increasingly populous threat, the West Michigan Land Conservancy stepped in to help.
Since 2008, Ox-Bow has partnered in an Easement with the West Michigan Land Conservancy to take care of the Tallamadge Woods.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Tea & Trails
Conservation Easement Stewardship Specialist Chris Long, remarked that a particularly special connection exists between the artist of Ox-Bow and the trails, which remain open to the public. Of course, trails with such intensive traffic—both human and deer—require specific strategies to nurture some of the wood’s most young and vulnerable species. Efforts include planting saplings in enclosed fence structures to protect from grazing deer and selecting trees that will remain particularly climate resistant in the years to come.
This longterm project is one best viewed through forest time. He cited that the Tallmadge Woods is home to perhaps the largest cherry tree he’s ever seen. Such patient creatures take time to grow to such impressive heights. “Old growth forests have a lot of dying and regrowth to continue that cycle,” said Long. The plantings will include trees of varying ages, though Long did specify that more youthful trees prove most adaptable when transplanted. With the recent designation of Ox-Bow as an Future Old Growth Forest, it’s important to keep in mind the environment’s next hundreds of years. In order to maintain biodiversity, Long plans to plant species such as oaks, which can host over 1,000 invertebrates, 800
Help write the next chapter in the (under)story of the great Tallmadge Woods. Join us for this community event on Saturday, April 26, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Stroll the Crow’s Nest trail, learn about the forest, sip on a Tallmadge Woods Chai from a handcrafted mug, and even make a lasting impact by helping us prepare to rejuvenate our forest! Thanks to the generous support of Eenhorn, LLC, we invite our community to help plant trees in our beloved forest and on campus. Afterwards, representatives from zakti will join us again to guide us in a tea gratitude ceremony. Thanks to the generous supportof Eenhorn, LLC, we invite our communityto help plant trees in our beloved forest andon campus. Special gratitude to all our event partnersEenhoorn, LLC, The Land Conservancy of WestMichigan, and zakti, who are just as excitedas we are to welcome you onto the trail.
Saturday, April 26, 2025, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Tickets are $10 per person, or $40 for a family. Limited edition mugs can be purchased with a ticket for $30.
lichens and fungi, and 150 birds and mammals. Alongside these mighty trees, there are also plans to plant shrubs such as witchhazel and dogwood, which provide excellent understory habitats. Long is particularly optimistic about the efforts that will take place. “There’s a great group of students and staff and artists,” who have historically been eager to help with the plantings, Long emphasized, and unafraid about getting some dirt under their nails.
*WHAT ARE INTENTIONAL BURNS?
You might also know this term by its other names: prescribed burns or controlled burns. Simply put, it’s an intentional use of fire that renews the land and reduces the chance of larger wildfires breaking out. For thousands of years, similar practices were conducted by Indigenous groups throughout Michigan, such as the Peoria and Bodwéwadmi, who resided in the area that Ox-Bow now stands. For more info you can check out the University of Michigan’s SEAS’s “Prescribed Burn Program Best Practices For Southern Michigan: From Indigenous Partnerships to Communication & Burn Plans.”
(clockwise from top) Ox-Bow Staff and Board gather to celebrate the Community Forest designation at the 2024 Tea & Trails event.; The Kalamazoo River Watershed is showcased on the banner on the Talmadge Woods’ trail.; A sign designates the Talmadge Woods’ appointment as a Community Forest.
Friday Night Open Studios
This fan-favorite event of the summer welcomes local community members and tourists to see an insider’s glimpse of Ox-Bow. Join us for this campus-wide event featuring studio visits, demos, student work, and the historic clothesline sale, all alongside great food and beverages, entertainment, and our live auction. This event is free to the public but donations are always welcome!
SUMMER 2025 DATES: June 27, August 1, and August 22, 7:00–10:00 p.m.
Ox-Bow Goes to Heck (Family Day)
Come to Ox-Bow for our annual daytime Halloween event. Kids of all ages (and the young-at-heart) are encouraged to come in costume to trick-or-treat, explore haunted Ox-Bow, play carnival games, and engage in guided arts and crafts activities.
FALL 2025 DATE: Saturday, October 18, 2025, 1:00–5:00 p.m.
Tickets will be available online or at the door. Don’t forget your costumes!
Sunday Sojourns
Take an inside look at the history, land, and culture of Ox-Bow at one of our Sunday Sojourns. Deputy Director of Campus Life & Operations, Claire Arctander, will introduce you to Ox-Bow’s facilities, including some historic cabins that are seldom open to the public. And before you leave, you’ll be able to enjoy Ox-Bow’s favorite Sunday tradition: brunch! This season, we will offer four Sunday Sojourn sessions. In honor of Pride month, the Sojourn on June 15 will specially focus on Ox-Bow’s rich history of queer artists and community members.
2025 DATES: June 15, July 13, August 10, and September 14, 2025, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Your sojourn will begin with an hour-long guided tour of Ox-Bow’s hallowed grounds, and conclude with a community brunch prepared by our culinary team. Spots are limited. Tickets are available for $45 per person.
PHOTO BY DOMINIQUE MUÑOZ & NATIA SER, SUMMER FELLOWS AND KATE NGUYEN, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & EVENTS MANAGER
Elizabeth Bandle: Founder of Founders
The mysterious figure behind the origin of The Summer School of Painting, now known as Ox-Bow
Some stories don’t exist much beyond the mouths of locals. They were never written, instead passed from ear to ear over generations. And, as history would have it, the reality becomes all the more true when considering the stories of women. “I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman,” said Virginia Woolf, a saying which was spun into the infamous phrase: anonymous was a woman.
Ox-Bow’s own history fell prey to this adage. While Walter Clute and Frederick Fursmaan—professors at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago—officially founded Ox-Bow, it was their student Elizabeth (Bessie) Viola Bandle who first invited them to paint in Saugatuck. Her parents were the owners of Bandle farm and the Riverside Rest (one of Saugatuck’s first Bed and Breakfasts), a property that hosted similar magical qualities of fresh air and abundant summer light that would later be attributed to Ox-Bow’s meadow on the lagoon. Throughout their stay on the Bandle’s property, the artists—Bandle, Clute, Fursmaan, and a handful of other students—enjoyed the landscape while painting en plein air. According to auction records, her father James H. Bandle even built a loft for the artists to take up residence in during those summer months. As local story goes, the tradition continued on property until Clute and Fursmaan eventually moved the tradition to the Shriver Inn on the Ox-Bow Lagoon.
And what of Elizabeth Bandle? The details are shadowed at best. Iowa teachers’ records show she made her way beyond Michigan, where she taught art at the Iowa School for the Deaf before moving to Phoenix, Arizona. By that time, she had taken the last name Johnson, likely meaning she married. In an era where sticking to one’s roots was the norm, the few details we have of Bandle’s life paint an exciting picture that stretched across the continental United States.
The thing about passing stories from ear to ear is that if we don’t listen, they become lost. One could look at the traces of Bandle’s legacy and mistake her merely as a host to Ox-Bow’s founders. Is it too far-fetched to consider Bandle a founder of Ox-Bow in her own right, as someone who truly laid the foundation for the artists that would gather in West Michigan season after season? She sensed the profound impact the light and land in Saugatuck could have on artists, and she extended an invitation. It’s that very invitation that fostered our school and residency that now boasts a 115-year history. And it’s that same spirit of welcome that now leads us to open up the meadow to artists of all ages and stages in our community-based Art on the Meadow programming. So what does your summer hold? Will you join in Bandle’s legacy and come learn on the meadow with us?
RENTALS AT OX-BOW
Customize your Ox-Bow experience with our rental programs! On a limited basis, we are pleased to offer private rentals of our inn spaces, historic cabins, and studios for small groups and individual artists. Host a retreat, complete with guided making activities, delicious meals, and resplendent forest baths. Get away for some solo, focused creative time in an idyllic cabin in the woods. You can even hone your craft or learn a new technique in one of our classroom studios.
See our website www.ox-bow.org/ rentals for full details on Group Rentals, Cabin Rentals, and Private Classes & Studio Rentals, and to submit a form to express your rental interest!
Please note that we typically cannot accommodate private rentals during the summer months of June, July, and August.
The original Bandle homestead. Image courtesy of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center.
Meet John Rossi
Ox-Bow’s Facilities Manager John Rossi shares early memories of Ox, go-to records for Friday Nights, and his favorite campus traditions.
What originally brought you to Ox-Bow and what were your first impressions of the place? In July of 1994 I received a call from Jim Brandess who was a part-time maintenance [employee] at Ox-Bow. His art career was really taking off and he was thinking about resigning from Ox-Bow so he could devote himself totally to painting. He was given my name and number by Mary Heuvelhorst (a previous board member) who I did some work for. She recommended me for the position and thought I would be a perfect fit for this community. I was hired for the position that summer. My first impression was one of awe and excitement. The old historic buildings, the Tallamadge woods, the beautiful unspoiled wetland. Last but not least, the magic of this place. And the life changing effect it had had on so many who were touched by its energy and beauty.
You’re a torch bearer of many campus traditions. Do you have any particular favorites? If you look around, you will see many burial stones with years on them. After having been a part of this tradition of participating in this yearly ritual, the ceremony, gathering, and installation of these items, I have grown to love the look of them and consider it an important tradition worthy of carrying on. Also the yearly Fourth of July float, is another fun tradition. The community really likes our floats and we keep them light hearted and whimsical. Also the Friday night costume-themed dance parties.
In addition to Ox-Bow, you’ve seen Saugatuck-Douglas grow and change over the years. Can you speak to some of the ways the area has evolved? The area has grown, however the community gauges its growth, and considers carefully every aspect of it. They seem to err on the side of charm, which is good in my opinion. They also try to be good stewards of the environment. Let’s not kill the goose that laid the golden egg. It is a charming and magical place, and welcoming to diversity too. Definitely a cool city.
With over 30 years at Ox, do you have any guesses to the source of the magic. It is in the air, the buildings, the energy, and the people who come here. When one enters here it seems like one is on sacred ground. It is a haven for personal transformation. Also its rich history of creativity plays an important part of that process.
THE ROSSI : Originally dubbed the Tuckshop, the Rossi was renamed during the summer of 2024 in honor of John Rossi—Ox-Bow’s light wizard, lore keeper, and Facilities Manager. This on-campus shop has the essentials when you’re on Ox-Bow’s campus for workshops and campus events.
BURIAL STONES:
Art in the Landscape
Throughout our historic campus one can find art built into the landscape. It’s part of what makes for such a unique environment. In some cases, the installations have literally become a part of the soils of Ox-Bow as they’ve degraded due to the elements. One of the most infamous traditions of building art into the landscape is the “burial stone,” like the ones pictured above. At the close of each summer—for nearly 100 years now—a burial service is held to say goodbye to the summer season. To commemorate, a unique headstone is created and a capsule of memorabilia from staff and fellows is buried underneath it. Capsule contributions over the years have ranged from hotdogs to sculptures to love notes. The earliest burial stones on site date back to the 1930s!
As times change so do traditions and while Ox-Bow continues to honor this long standing tradition, it has been altered to ensure that the items buried reflect our care of Ox-Bow and the land it finds itself on.
PHOTO BY DEECY SMITH
HONORING VISIONARY AWARDEE
Join us for Ox-Bow’s annual summer benefit SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2025
5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Step through the looking glass and into a world of wonder as we celebrate 40 fantastical years of glass education at Ox-Bow ! On July 19, 2025, the Warnock Meadow will transform into a shimmering realm where past, present, and future collide. Together, we’ll chase memories down the rabbit hole, toast to four decades of dazzling creations, and imagine a future as bright and brilliant as a freshly blown glass orb. Don’t be late for this very important date—it’s going to be a curious and curiouser adventure.
Corey Pemberton
Art & Environment Honoree
LEARN MORE AT www.ox-bow.org/field-of-vision
EVENT CHAIR + HOST COMMITTEE
Linda Salisbury
Event Chair
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Jessica Bohus
Keith Goad
JoAnne Laudolff
Andrew Milauckas
Bill Underdown
Shauna Wilson
Art on the Meadow participants and their work from workshops in 2023 and 2024.
ART ON THE MEADOW
S ummer Workshops
4 -Day Workshops
F all Workshops
S pecial Fall Intensiv es
LIFE LONG LEARNING
C ore AcademicNon-Credit Courses
EXPAND YOUR PRACTICE
S ummer Residency
Lo ngform
H oldspace Grant
M ichigan Artists Retreat
C ulinary Artists Residency
Ox-Bow is a unique and versatile organization that blends the roles of a school and an artist residency, offering opportunities for growth and learning. It serves as a dynamic space where artists at all stages of their careers can engage in both structured education and independent practice.
At Ox-Bow, there are several ways to immerse yourself in our community. The Art on the Meadow workshops are designed for individuals seeking short-term, hands-on learning experiences, ranging from one-day sessions to more immersive multi-day workshops, offering a variety of options based on your interests and goals. These intergenerational creative experiences are a perfect fit for the whole family.
In addition to these workshops, Ox-Bow offers a non-credit option for those wishing to dive deeper into their artistic development and are committed to lifelong learning. These courses, which span one to two weeks, allow participants to explore specific techniques or concepts in a focused, pedagogical setting.
For those looking to expand their practice, Ox-Bow offers a variety of residency programs, catering to different needs—from traditional residencies to unique opportunities like the intersection of food and art, as well as programs for BIPOC and Michigan-based artists.
Whether you’re just starting out or are an experienced artist looking to push your boundaries, Ox-Bow is committed to fostering your sense of play and experimentation. The combination of educational opportunities and residency programs makes it a supportive environment for anyone eager to explore, experiment, and expand their artistic horizons.
ART ON THE MEADOW WORKSHOPS
JUNE 7–OCTOBER 11, 2025
Join the Ox-Bow community to make something new in an ART ON THE MEADOW WORKSHOP. These offerings invite our West Michigan neighbors and visitors to participate in affordable, multi-level, and intergenerational creative experiences from plein air painting to candlestick making, fabric marbling, and more.
Saturday workshops meet in the morning from 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., in the afternoon from 3:00–6:00 p.m., or all-day 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Four-day workshops are sprinkled throughout the summer and allow participants to dive deeper into a specific topic. Family workshops offer opportunities for kin to make together, and are suitable for participants ages 5 and up (plus their adult counterparts).
A meal at Ox-Bow is included with every Art on the Meadow registration and all workshops are open to artists of any experience level, ages 13 and up. On-site housing is not available for Art on the Meadow students (with the exception of the Wicked Woodfire Intensive in October).
Registration for Art on the Meadow workshops is now open!
TUITION & MATERIALS
Tuition covers the cost of instruction and learning. Materials fees are decided by faculty given the supplies needed to complete the workshop. There may also be materials required to be provided by the student, check the workshop description for more details.
All Art on the Meadow enrollments include a meal provided by Ox-Bow’s culinary team. Dietary restrictions will be accommodated.
SUMMER WORKSHOPS
COOKING
The Communal Art of Thai Salads
INSTRUCTOR: Daniel Pravit Fethke
DATE: August 2, 4:00–7:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $20
In this culinary workshop, students explore the communal process of making Thai salads, from fresh and fiery “som tum” to delicious grilled meat “larb.” Students will learn to balance fresh Thai produce with key ingredients and techniques, creating a colorful dinner spread that harmonizes sweet, salty, sour, and spicy. We will prep, cook, and dine en plein air next to the lagoon, emphasizing the traditionally collaborative process of crafting Thai meals together. All ingredients and equipment will be provided.
PLAN TO BRING: An apron, your favorite all-purpose kitchen knife, and a notebook for recipe notes.
DRAWING & PAINTING
Floral Still Life Painting
INSTRUCTOR: James Brandess
DATES: June 7, 3:00–6:00 p.m. or August 23, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
Learn to paint a floral still life in oils from a local master. Turn your focus to painting from observation, using a demo floral arrangement made that morning as the subject. Luxuriate in the colorful playness and compositional inspiration that only flowers can provide. Students will be required to bring their own materials. For a fullday making experience, during which you will make your own floral arrangement, sign up for the first part of this workshop, Flowering: History and Arrangement led by Maddie Reyna.
PLAN TO BRING: Gessoed canvases, flat bristle brushes, oil paints, 1 pint
Art on the meadow is generously supported by the Holly Palmer Foundation.
of odorless paint thinner, drawing supplies (vine charcoal, pencil, white eraser, sketchbook), 3 empty tin cans, empty glass jar with lid, blue shop towels, 18 x 24 inch plexi glass palette, vinyl gloves, sunscreen, bug spray.
Landscape Painting
INSTRUCTOR: James Brandess
DATES: June 21, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. or July 26, 10:00 a.m.–1;00p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
In these multi-level oil painting workshops, students will paint outdoors in the historic Ox-Bow landscape in the painting medium of their choice. Instruction will focus on recognizing and then painting what we actually see. Through this process of learning to see, we will create paintings that have veracity and strength. The workshop will include discussion of the tools and materials needed to set-up and paint in any landscape you choose. Sign up for one or both of these three-hour morning painting workshops on the meadow alongside the lagoon.
PLAN TO BRING: Small gessoed canvases, flat bristle brushes, oil paints, 1 pint of odorless paint thinner, travel easel, drawing supplies (vine charcoal, pencil, white eraser, sketchbook), at least 3 empty tin cans, empty glass jar with lid, blue shop towels, 18 x 24 inch plexi glass palette, vinyl gloves, sunscreen, bug spray, hat with a visor.
Nature Abstracted in Oil on Canvas
INSTRUCTOR: Maggie Bandstra
DATES: June 28, 3:00–6:00 p.m. or August 16, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
Working in oils outside, students will use shapes found in nature as a jumping-off point for a color study. Drawing, color mixing, and painting demonstrations will be conducted throughout the workshop. The workshop will include introductions, a demonstration of finding inspiration in the landscape at Ox-Bow, a discussion/demonstration of color mixing, and time to complete your painting in the studio.
PLAN TO BRING: 1-2 canvas substrates (16 x 20 inch or larger), a variety of oil paint colors and Gamsol, a variety of brush sizes, at least one smaller brush for drawing shapes, and a palette to mix paints on.
Stretching & Preparing Canvas for Painting
INSTRUCTOR: Maggie Bandstra
DATE: July 26, 3:00–6:00p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $100
Students will learn to create and take home one small and one medium canvas for oil or acrylic paintings. We will briefly discuss the history of substrates and understand how to choose the right surface for the media of your choice. Demonstrations in stretching various-sized canvases using different methods will be the focus of this class. Students will discuss a variety of substrates and the pros and cons of different materials used in creating them. Then, the students will each make two stretched canvases of their own.
PLAN TO BRING: A sharp pair of scissors, a staple gun with ¼ inch staples, and canvas pliers.
Botanical Illustration
INSTRUCTOR: Olivia Mendoza
DATE: August 9, 3:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
Led by a natural science illustrator, this botanical drawing workshop will teach students to use colored pencil to render lively and vibrant plant
life. There will be a demonstration on how to free hand the composition, establish texture, and layer blended colors of a subject, followed by time to practice these shown methods with personal guidance. This will be a space for nature lovers and illustration enthusiasts alike!
PLAN TO BRING: Smooth Strathmore Bristol paper (9 x 12 inch), Prismacolor Premier pencils, graphite or mechanical pencil for sketching, and erasers (kneaded, block, and narrow, etc.)
Telling Tales Through Collage
INSTRUCTOR: Miriam Vukich
DATE: August 16, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $10
In this workshop students will learn to tell a story through a cut paper collage on a painted canvas support. Demonstrations will guide students through organizing clippings, hand cutting images, and unique methods for assembling and affixing images to create an evocative work of art. Canvases, adhesive, and an archive of magazine clippings will be provided. PLAN TO BRING: Your cutting tool of choice (scissors, X-acto knife, or rotary cutter) and any clippings or ephemera you would like to collage.
FAMILY
Watercolor Painting for Families
INSTRUCTORS: Kim Meyers Baas & Baxter Baas
DATE: June 14, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $125 per family (up to 4, an additional $20 per student for 5 or more)
MATERIALS FEE: $10 per family
Ox-Bow’s campus provides hundreds of beautiful views for painting the landscape. Families will explore views of the lagoon, meadow, and woods while painting en plein air with watercolor. Experiment with techniques such as washes, color mixing, mark making, and creating textures inspired by the natural environment. PLAN TO BRING: All paint and surfaces will be provided but students are encouraged to bring pencils, sketchbooks, and an apron.
Papermaking Play for Families
INSTRUCTOR: Rowan Leek
DATE: July 12, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $125 per family (up to 4, an additional $20 per student for 5 or more)
MATERIALS FEE: $20 per family
Join us for papermaking fun for the whole family. Learn to make your very own gorgeous paper, using different types of fiber, and leave with multiple sheets that can be air dried at home. We will explore various materials for papermaking including recycled paper, cotton, rag, and natural fibers. Family members will also paint together with brightly colored pulps to collaboratively form expressive and lively sheets of paper. After your paper is dry you can use it to craft, draw on it, or simply admire it as an artwork in its own right.
PLAN TO BRING: A notebook or sketchbook, waterproof shoes like rainboots, and any botanical or collage materials you want to play with.
Watercolor Painting for Tweens and Teens
INSTRUCTOR: Kim Meyers Baas
DATE: August 9, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $10
This workshop offers students ages 8-16 the opportunity to explore views of the lagoon, meadow, and woods while painting en plein air with watercolor. Experiment with techniques such as washes, color mixing, mark making, and creating textures
inspired by the natural environment. This is a drop-off workshop for youth ages 8-16 only! Parents are welcome to drop off their young artists or to stay on campus during the course of the workshop.
PLAN TO BRING: All paint and surfaces will be provided but students are encouraged to bring pencils, sketchbooks, and an apron.
GLASS & SCULPTURE
Flowering: Art History & Arrangement
INSTRUCTOR: Maddie Reyna
DATES: June 7, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. or August 23, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $30
Create a living sculpture with florals while considering foundational historical floral styles including Dutch Baroque, Ikebana, and contemporary movements. Participants will experiment with vessel armature techniques such as wire mesh, pin frog, and tape grid. Local flowers from White Barn Flower Farm in Holland, Michigan, will be provided to each participant, and after demonstration, arranging, and group dis -
cussion, they will take their ephemeral arrangement home. For a full-day making experience, during which you will make a painting of your floral arrangement, sign up for the second part of this workshop, Still Life Painting led by James Brandess!
PLAN TO BRING: A vessel, garden shears, garden gloves, a box to transport your arrangement.
Sketching in Steel
INSTRUCTOR: Nick Fagan
DATE: June 14, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: $30
Learn the basics of welding, bending, and cutting metal in Ox-Bow’s metals studio. We will translate a simple drawing of your own design into steel. Technical demonstrations will include hot and cold bending, modular construction, welding, and surface-finishing strategies. You will quickly gain the know-how to safely use equipment in the Metals Studio! This course is suitable for all levels of experience. Leave with a great sculpture and heightened confidence after one day in the shop.
PLAN TO BRING: Wear cotton long sleeves and pants, closed toed shoes or boots, and tie back long hair. Safety gear, steel, and other metals will be provided.
Generations of artists creating together during a papermaking workshop.
Flowering: Art History & Arrangement
INSTRUCTOR: Maddie Reyna
Watercolor Painting for Families
INSTRUCTORS: Kim Meyers Bass & Baxter Baas
Landscape Painting
INSTRUCTOR: James Brandess
Wild Grapevine Baskets
INSTRUCTOR: Laurie Zientek
Japanese Woodblock Printing
INSTRUCTOR: Charles Woodruff Coates
Sashiko Embroidery
INSTRUCTOR: Mary Baggerman
Landscape Painting
INSTRUCTOR: James Brandess
Nature’s Impression: Linocut Printing
INSTRUCTOR: Lee Ann Frame
Watercolor Painting for Tweens & Teens
INSTRUCTOR: Kim Meyers Baas
Telling Tales Through Collage
INSTRUCTOR: Miriam Vikuch
Flowering: Art History & Arrangement
INSTRUCTOR: Maddie Reyna
The Art & History of Jell-O Molds
INSTRUCTOR: Sara Clugage
Autumnal Arrangements
INSTRUCTOR: Maddie Reyna
Floral Still Life Painting
INSTRUCTOR: James Brandess
Turkish Marbling on Paper & Cloth
INSTRUCTOR: Martha Alexander
What Really Matters: Starting a Memoir INSTRUCTOR: Jack Ridl
Sketching in Steel
INSTRUCTOR: Nick Fagan
New Beginnings in Writing
INSTRUCTOR: Jack Ridl
Nature Abstracted in Oil on Canvas
INSTRUCTOR: Maggie Bandstra
Nature Writing & Somatic Practices
INSTRUCTOR: Shanley Poole
Papermaking Play for Families
INSTRUCTOR: Rowan Leek
Stretching and Preparing Canvas for Painting
INSTRUCTOR: Maggie Bansdtra
The Communal Art of Thai Salads
INSTRUCTOR: Dan Fethke
Botanical Illustration
INSTRUCTOR: Olivia Mendoza
Nature Abstracted in Oil on Canvas
INSTRUCTOR: Maggie Bandstra
Floral Still Life Painting
INSTRUCTOR: James Brandess
MIG Welding for Artists
INSTRUCTOR: Mark Schentzel
Glass Paperweights & Terrariums
INSTRUCTOR: Rachel Brace
Natural Ink Making
INSTRUCTOR: Elizabeth Schmuhl
The Felted Bowl
INSTRUCTOR: Kelly D. Brandt
Centrifugal Glass Casting
INSTRUCTOR: Eli Zilke
Eco Printing on Silk & Wool
INSTRUCTOR: Theresa Filarsky
Landscape & Garden Art
INSTRUCTOR: Mark Schentzel
Contemporary Buttercream Piping Techniques
INSTRUCTOR: Edward Cabral
Indigo & Shibori
INSTRUCTOR: Sue Cortese
What Really Matters: Starting a Memoir
INSTRUCTOR: Jack Ridl
Introduction to Basket Weaving
INSTRUCTOR: Dee Clements
The Felted Slipper
INSTRUCTOR: Kelly D. Brandt
MIG Welding for Artists
INSTRUCTOR: Mark Schentzel
DATE: June 28, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: $20
Learn the basics of MIG welding in Ox-Bow’s metals studio to use in creative projects including sculptural and wall based work of small or large scale. We will start with a safety and metals shop orientation and review MIG welding equipment and other tools and materials necessary for processing weldments. No previous experience in welding or metal working is needed. Demonstrations will emphasize making structurally sound welds and understanding different weldment positions and joints. This course is designed to provide you with a valuable new skillset to take to the studio or job force.
PLAN TO BRING: Wear cotton long sleeves and pants, closed toed shoes or boots, and tie back long hair. Safety gear will be provided.
Glass Paperweights and Terrariums
INSTRUCTOR: Rachel Brace
DATE: July 5, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: $30
During this one day class, you’ll learn how to navigate the hot shop and manipulate hot molten glass. The morning will focus on creating a glass paperweight, using different traditional techniques, and exploring color applications. In the afternoon we will build on our new skills and glass adventures by learning to blow bubbles in glass to create terrariums. We will finish out our terrariums with found materials such as driftwood.
PLAN TO BRING: a piece of driftwood and/or other organic materials for your terrarium, close toed shoes, natural material clothes.
Centrifugal Glass Casting
INSTRUCTOR: Eli Zilke
DATE: August 2, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: $30
In this exciting one-day workshop in Ox-Bow’s glass studio, students will use a series of sand molds assisted by a potter’s wheel and embellished by found objects to make bowl shaped sculptural collages out of glass. As a team,
we will ladle molten glass into the molds and use the potter’s wheel to pull the glass up the molds using centrifugal force. Students can expect to make 3-4 glass bowls throughout the day.
PLAN TO BRING: Students are encouraged to bring their own small textural found objects for the impressions but there will also be plenty provided for class use.
Garden & Landscape Art
INSTRUCTOR: Mark Schentzel
DATE: August 9, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: $30
Learn the basics of steel welding and other metal fabrication processes in Ox-Bow’s metals studio in order to design and create a stunning outdoor sculpture. We will talk aesthetics, structure, and consider the function and longevity of your designs. Fabricate your sculpture using the studio’s scrap bin, or bring your own steel. No previous metals experience is required.
PLAN TO BRING: Wear cotton long sleeves and pants, closed toed shoes or boots, and tie back long hair. Safety gear will be provided.
PRINT & INK MAKING
Japanese Woodblock Printing
INSTRUCTOR: Charles Woodruff Coates
DATE: July 5, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $20
In this workshop you will learn the essentials of Japanese Woodblock printing and design and carve a 4 x 6 inch woodblock to make original 6-9 prints using Sumi ink and Japanese Paper. Demonstrations on successful image design, safe carving techniques, and printing on a variety of papers will be presented. Woodblock printing is non-toxic and requires no special equipment, so you can continue using this process in your home. Perfect for beginners, experienced printmakers, and anyone looking to delve into the world of Japanese Woodblock printing.
PLAN TO BRING: All materials are provided but students are encouraged to bring a sketchbook and basic drawing materials.
A woodblock print by Charles Woodruff Coates.
(left and center) Eco prints by Theresa Filarsky.
Sashiko embroidered fabrics by Mary Baggerman.
Natural Ink Making
INSTRUCTOR: Elizabeth Schmuhl
DATES: July 12, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: $10
Create original paintings, book marks, and cards with freshly foraged, handmade inks—and gain some inspiration for future inky experiments! We’ll begin the day outside foraging for plants and other natural materials. You are also encouraged to bring plants or other materials from home; anything can be used to create ink! Next, we will learn the ink-making process using your new found materials. Wrap up the day by experimenting with your fresh inks on different substrates.
PLAN TO BRING: Ink making materials are provided but students should bring a notebook and anything natural from their home/garden they’d like to try to make ink with. It is recommended that students dress for the weather and foraging including wearing tall socks, long sleeves, and a hat.
Nature’s Impression: Linocut Printing
INSTRUCTOR: Lee Ann Frame
DATE: August 2, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $20
In Ox-Bow’s print studio, students will learn how to transfer a drawing to a block, carve a linocut, create effective positive and negative space, ink, add color through various processes, and register their hand pulled print. Demonstrations will guide students through these basics and include adding color with handmade papers and inking and embossing with natural shapes and textures inspired by the Ox-Bow landscape.
PLAN TO BRING: Sketchbook, drawings or photos to transfer, pencil, and apron.
TEXTILE & FIBER
Turkish Marbling on Paper & Cloth
INSTRUCTOR: Martha Alexander
DATE: June 14, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $20
Turkish marbling, also known as Ebru (cloud painting) is a traditional Turkish art form that involves creating colorful patterns on water then transferring them to paper and cloth.
The workshop introduces the craft; familiarizes the student with the necessary chemistry, specialized tools, paper and paint, and includes basic hands-on marbling. Demonstrations in this workshop will focus on Turkish marbling techniques (floating paint on thickened water) to create a variety of beautiful patterns that can be transferred to a variety of surfaces, such as paper, cloth, wood and clay. The workshop will start with a brief history of marbling, a demonstration of tools, materials and techniques and plenty of time for students to create and experiment with making their own beautiful marbled papers and cloths.
PLAN TO BRING: Plenty of treated paper and cloth will be provided, but you are welcome to bring a few of your own quality papers that can be treated and used later. Students should bring an apron and a cake pan or tray, 9.5 x 13.5 inches not exceeding 12 x 18 inches, for their individual workstation.
Wild Grapevine Baskets
INSTRUCTOR: Laurie Zientek
DATE : June 28, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION : $100
MATERIALS FEE: $20
Using freshly gathered wild grapevines and a variety of hand dyed reed and seagrass, students will learn how to form hoops and make the framework of a ribbed style basket. All materials and tools will be available for this class. Students can expect to complete one medium sized basket in class.
PLAN TO BRING: An old towel and an apron to protect your clothing.
Sashiko Embroidery
INSTRUCTOR: Mary Baggerman
DATE: July 12, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $10
Sashiko is a type of hand stitching that originated in Japan. Used for mending and embellishment, it has a rich history of tradition and design. Today many people are discovering it as part of the visible mending movement. Come and learn the basics of stitching, pattern transfer, tools and techniques. We will be making several small pieces suitable to be made into coasters, pin cushions or used as a patch on clothing.
PLAN TO BRING: While all materials are provided, sketchbooks and bits of fabric or thread from home are welcome.
Stone Pattern, marbling technique by Martha Alexander.
The Felted Bowl
INSTRUCTOR: Kelly D. Brandt
DATE: July 26, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: $30
Use traditional wet felting techniques to transform loose fibers into a durable fabric. You will learn how to size the internal resist to achieve the size bowl you wish. In this class you will build two bowls, one small and one larger. We will integrate fabric and yarns to make your piece unique!
PLAN TO BRING: Two or three old towels for soaking up soapy water, a large cellulose sponge, water to drink. Optional: dishwashing gloves if you do not like having your hands in soapy water; any fibers or yarns of your own that you might want to incorporate in your project.
Eco Printing on Silk & Wool
INSTRUCTOR: Theresa Filarsky
DATE: August 16, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: $30
In this beginner friendly workshop participants will learn how to imprint beautiful natural plants on provided silk and wool scarves. Eco printing (also known as botanical printing) is a sustainable printing process which involves collecting leaves, plants, and flowers to imprint their images directly upon protein fibers. Students will learn techniques to transfer beautiful natural designs from OxBow and their surroundings onto silk and wool. At the end of the day, students will take home their silk and wool eco-printed samples and the knowledge to continue eco printing from nature’s resources.
PLAN TO BRING: An empty 1 gallon
water jug, leaves, flowers, and clippings from your yard. Suggested species are maple, sumac, rose, blackberry, eucalyptus, daisies (no thick plants).
Indigo & Shibori
INSTRUCTOR: Sue Cortese
DATE: August 23, 10:00 a.m.–5: 00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: $20
Learn to use indigo dye and shibori, or Japanese manual tie-dyeing, techniques to create stunning textiles. We will learn several tying methods and then use an indigo vat to dye the bound cloth. In Arashi, we will use a pole to help manipulate the fabric. In Itajime, we will fold and bind the fabric between boards or sticks. In Kumo, we will use string to bind the fabric. We will also touch on stitched techniques or nui shibori. Try out all styles or concentrate on one or two! Open to learners of all levels.
PLAN TO BRING: You will be given a yard of cloth on which to practice techniques, but you may also bring your own pre-washed clothing or fabric to use.
WRITING
Here’s What Matters: Starting a Memoir
INSTRUCTOR: Jack Ridl
DATE: June 7, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
Participants will spend the day exploring, through their preferred form of writing, the things that have profoundly impacted their own lives— whether they are funny, traumatic,
serious, sorrowful, or joyous– and turn these stories into the beginnings of a memoir. Using Jack’s suggestions, writers will first talk with one another about what subject they have chosen then, they will have time to explore that choice in writing, after which the group will engage in a delightful debriefing about what showed up as they wrote, culminating in a deeply memorable day.
PLAN TO BRING: Writing utensils and paper or notebook and memorable tokens from your life that may inspire writing.
New Beginnings in Writing
INSTRUCTOR: Jack Ridl
DATE: June 21, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
Jack believes that making art and writing brings about realizations and valuable experiences that can happen no other way. With decades of experience in “de-threatening” the art-making process this workshop offers that for participants. He hopes that you will leave at home any notions of departing Ox-Bow with something completed; instead, he will encourage you to start many things—written pieces, creative notions, seeds of ideas. He strives to create an instant community where conversation throughout the day is stimulating, a joy, and worthwhile.
PLAN TO BRING: Writing utensils and paper or notebook and memorable tokens from your life that may inspire writing and collaboration.
Nature Writing and Somatic Practices
INSTRUCTOR: Shanley Poole
DATE: July 5, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
Students will learn to create nature-inspired poems by tuning into their bodies and the natural world under the instruction of poet and certified master naturalist, Shanley Poole. Techniques demonstrated will include poem scaffolding, “stealing like an artist,” and somatic journaling. The class will flow through guided meditations, writing exercises, and opportunities for participants to share work if desired. We’ll take inspiration from writers such as Ada Limón, George Ella Lyon, Mary Oliver, and Annie Woodford.
PLAN TO BRING: Weather-appropriate clothing and writing materials.
Indigo-dyed fabrics, from a workshop led by Sue Cortese, strung across a clothesline on the meadow.
Workshop participants experiment with natural inks.
Ink Alchemy
Artist Elizabeth Schmuhl on falling in love with new creative forms
Just a few years before folks across the country took to an abundance of crunchy home hobbies ranging from sourdough to papermaking, Elizabeth Schmuhl was trying her hand at natural inkmaking. She wasn’t new to the arts—her prior studies had immersed her in worlds of dance and creative writing, with additional training as a painter. Little did she know as she first stepped into inkmaking, a whole new passion awaited her. The artist swiftly found herself hooked on the earthy nature of inkmaking. Several years later, she was pursuing the form with the same fervor. After a number of exhibitions, metro-Detroit workshops, and the publication of two inkmaking books, she proposed her first Art on the Meadow Workshop in 2023.
While it wasn’t the first place she hosted workshops, she knew Ox-Bow would be an especially hospitable place for the medium. Over a decade prior, Schmuhl had taken a class on campus. Keen to nurture her daughter’s propensity for the art, Schmuhl’s mother had encouraged her to take a watercolor course. While some sensibilities carry over when transitioning from watercolor to inkmaking—both are water based— Schmuhl emphasized that ink holds its own temperament. Where watercolor maintains a consistent coloration, inkmaking is prone to variation. Over time the color tones shift, and even on application, plant matter creates its own discrepancies. “I love that element of surprise that comes with the ink,” Schmuhl relished.
During her early years in the practice, Schmuhl made inks from materials collected from her family farm. This
became the premise of her book The Four Seasons. “It was a way to understand the place, for me,” Schmuhl explained, and by proxy a way to connect with her grandparents who had tended the farm and passed away before she was born. Interacting with the land fostered a sense of connection to the ancestors she hadn’t been able to meet, deepening her sense of place, and self.
WILD GRAPE INK RECIPE
• 1 cup wild grapes
• 2 TBS water (add more as desired) Salt (if desired)
• Filter (coffee or fine sieve)
• Funnel
• Masher or fork
Eventually, her inkmaking stretched beyond the acres of her family’s farm. While traveling, Schmuhl makes ink samples and records tests along the way. “It’s really fun to just experiment and see what happens with the ink on the paper,” said Schmuhl. On a trip to Italy, she even made ink from seawater and flowers. And it’s not just materials for the ink that she forages. Sometimes even her brushes—in the form of sticks and, well, brush—are found in her surroundings. Her color palette has expanded even further, geographically speaking, through trade with other inkmakers who have gifted her samples, allowing her pigments that would’ve otherwise remained out of reach. One of her favorites comes from her friend Jason Logan of The Toronto Ink Company and author of the book Make Ink: A Forager’s Guide to Natural Ink . The ink, made from the residue of a kerosene lamp, is cleverly titled Lamp Black. “It’s such a deep black, it kind of crawls over the other inks. It’s really beautiful,” Schmuhl said, her tone indicating reverence.
Using a masher or tines of a fork, crush the grapes in the water until the grapes have released their color. Prepare a funnel with a coffee filter. Pour grape water mixtures into a funnel and let drip into a small glass container. It may take some time to filter. Add salt if desired for preservation, texture, and vibrancy. Paint.
Recipe courtesy of Elizabeth Schmuhl
The variety of colors available from natural materials continues to spark Schmuhl’s sense of wonder and her propensity to share the craft with others. From the electric pink of pokeberry to the ocean-like blue of copper, Schmuhl is eager to share her admiration for making natural inks and transferring them to paper. For those interested in exploring the alchemic art of inkmaking, join Elizabeth Schmuhl on the meadow this summer in Natural Ink Making on July 12, 2025.
4-DAY
SUMMER
WORKSHOPS
Combining Watercolor & Colored Pencil
INSTRUCTOR: David Baker
DATES: June 16–19, 10:00 a.m.– 1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $300
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
Discover methods for enhancing your watercolors by incorporating colored pencils. Demonstrations will guide students through using wax-based colored pencils (not water-soluble) to establish under drawings, adjust light and dark values, and add rich textures and detail. These are excellent techniques for photorealists and illustrators, beginners and established artists, and will give your watercolor paintings a dynamic pop.
PLAN TO BRING: Watercolor supplies including watercolor paper and a set of Prismacolor pencils.
Paint Like Les Fauves!: Oil Pastel Landscapes
INSTRUCTOR: David Baker
DATES: June 16–19, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $300
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
Inspired by the French painters from the period 1905-1908 known as the Fauves (the wild beasts) this workshop will invite students to work boldly to translate the Ox-Bow landscape in oil pastel. Discussing the work of Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Maurice Vlaminck, Andre Derain, and Georges Braque, we will create small paintings and build our bold strokes with oil pastels in electric colors.
PLAN TO BRING: Heavy drawing paper and a good set of oil pastels.
Drawing As Meditation
INSTRUCTOR: Janet Trierweiler
DATES: July 14–17, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $300
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
This workshop provides students with a chance to practice drawing techniques that slow down the art-making process, resulting in a peaceful and healing experience. Use intuition and inspiration from Ox-Bow’s landscape to connect to natural, creative forces. Through meditative practices, we will engage
all of our senses to enjoy calming, observational, and imaginative drawing. Learn to use tone and color to create serene and joyful moods with water soluble materials on watercolor paper.
PLAN TO BRING: Sketchbook, drawing paper, drawing materials, including vine charcoal, pencils, white erasers, and colored pencils.
Painterly Printing with a Gelli Plate
INSTRUCTOR: Janet Trierweiler
DATES: July 14–17, 2024, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $300
MATERIALS FEE: $30
Experimenting with Gelli Plate monotypes can add a playful and exciting new dimension to any painting practice. Gelli Plates are durable, reusable and store at room temperature, allowing for easy monoprinting without a press! Working in layers, students will experiment with mark-making, stencils, masking, and making creative tools out of common household items. Learn how to use the right paper to get the effects you
Maurice de Vlaminck Sous bois by David Baker.
4-DAY SUMMER WORKSHOP CALENDAR
JUNE 16-19
Combining Watercolor & Colored Pencils
INSTRUCTOR: David Baker
P.M.
P.M.
Paint Like Les Fauves: Oil Pastel Landscapes
INSTRUCTOR: David Baker
JULY 14-17
Drawing as Meditation
INSTRUCTOR: Janet Treirweiler
Painterly Printing with a Gelli Plate
INSTRUCTOR: Janet Treirweiler
Broom Making Basics
P.M.
P.M.
P.M.
INSTRUCTOR: Cate O’Connell-Richards
Sculpting SoundA Ceramic Ocarina and Wind Instrument Workshop
INSTRUCTOR: Melissa Navarre
AUGUST 11-14
Drawing & Painting with Handmade Brushes
INSTRUCTOR: Dawn Stafford
Ice Dyeing & Hawaiian Applique
INSTRUCTOR: Sue Cortese
AUGUST 25-28
Organics & Ceramics
P.M.
INSTRUCTOR: Melissa Navarre
desire. Water-based ink, Golden Open Acrylics or fluid acrylics can be used with Gelli Plates.
PLAN TO BRING: Gelli Plates and paints will be provided for in-class use but students are encouraged to bring a sketchbook and drawing materials.
Broom Making Basics
INSTRUCTOR: Cate O’Connell-Richards
DATES: July 14–July 17, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $300
MATERIALS FEE: $30
Become a broomsquire at Ox-Bow! Learn the foundations of handmaking brooms and whisks. This workshop will feature a presentation on the development of American broom making, including both traditional Appalachian and New England techniques, an introduction to broom making materials, and basic handmaking skills. Included will be demos on a turkey wing whisk, cobwebber, besom, and traditional flat sweeper. Students will be able to learn the basics, as well as have the time to experiment with different handles, weaves, materials, and forms.
PLAN TO BRING: A lighter, sketchbook, pencil, opinel knife, tweezers, and any basketry tools you may already have.
Ocarina & Wind Instrument Workshop
INSTRUCTOR: Melissa Navarre
DATES: July 11–14, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $300
MATERIALS FEE: $30
In this four-day workshop in Ox-Bow’s ceramics studio, students will learn the fundamentals of crafting functional ocarinas and other unique wind instruments. Participants will be guided through techniques in clay modeling, acoustics, and surface design to craft their own playable instrument. A final clear glaze may be applied to the work after the clay is dry and students will pick up their fired pieces from Ox-Bow at a future date.
PLAN TO BRING: All materials will be provided but simple drawing supplies and a sketchbook are encouraged for drafting ideas.
Drawing As Meditation
INSTRUCTOR: Janet Trierweiler
DATES: July 14–17, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $300
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
This workshop provides students with a chance to practice drawing techniques that slow down the art-making process, resulting in a peaceful and healing experience. Use intuition and inspiration from
An artist plays with a ceramic Ocarina.
Ox-Bow’s landscape to connect to natural, creative forces. Through meditative practices, we will engage all of our senses to enjoy calming, observational, and imaginative drawing. Learn to use tone and color to create serene and joyful moods with water soluble materials on watercolor paper.
PLAN TO BRING: Sketchbook, drawing paper, drawing materials, including vine charcoal, pencils, white erasers, and colored pencils.
Drawing for Painters with Handmade Brushes
INSTRUCTOR: Dawn Stafford
DATES: August 11–14, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $300
MATERIALS FEE: $30
Inspired by Ox-Bow’s natural landscape, students in this workshop will explore where the technical aspects of drawing meets painting with attention to line, value, structure, and mark making in charcoal, conté crayon, and watercolor. To further experiment with mark-making, demonstrations will guide students through the project of designing and building their own brushes and tools using organic materials including beeswax, horsehair, and jute.
PLAN TO BRING: Drawing board no smaller than 18 x 24 inches, apron and/or old clothes, masking tape,
sharpie, watercolor brushes (at least 2 sizes), paper towels or soft cotton rags, small watercolor palette, scissors, jar with wide base for water, bugspray, hat, water bottle.
Ice Dyeing & Hawaiian Applique
INSTRUCTOR: Sue Cortese
DATES: August 11–14, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $300
MATERIALS FEE: $30
Using the ice-dyed fabrics, students will create their own unique Hawaiian Appliqué piece. Ice-dyed fabric has a wonderful watercolor effect. The ice can act as a resist but also distributes the MX Fiber Reactive dyes and students can experiment with folding fabric to create patterns or scrunching fabric to create texture. We will discuss the history and impact of Hawaiian Applique and learn to transfer folded paper designs to our dreamy ice-dyed fabrics, recreating striking Hawaiian textiles. Students of all levels are welcome, we will walk through the process alignment, basting, and needle turn appliqué (sewing around curves, point, and crotches), as well as needle and thread choice.
PLAN TO BRING: N95 dust mask, colander (or cooling rack, screen/ mesh with binder clips), bucket or container that fits the colander, applique needle and thread. Optional: cotton t-shirt, scarf, bandana or tea towels to dye. Some yardage of fabric for dyeing will be provided.
Organics & Ceramics
INSTRUCTOR: Melissa Navarre
DATES: August 25–28, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $300
MATERIALS FEE: $30
In this four-day workshop in OxBow’s ceramics studio, students will utilize pinching, slab building, and coiling techniques to design vessels for plants. Students will be guided through the process of adorning their vessels with embossed organic textures foraged from the Ox-Bow landscape and adding underglazing effects. A final clear glaze will be applied to the vessels after the clay is dry and students will pick up their fired vessels from Ox-Bow at a future date.
PLAN TO BRING: All materials will be provided but simple drawing supplies and a sketchbook are encouraged for drafting ideas.
Brushes made of natural materials by Dawn Stafford.
FALL WORKSHOPS
The Art & History of Jell-O Molds
INSTRUCTOR: Sara Clugage
DATE: September 13, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $20
In this practical workshop, participants will create jelly dishes inspired by sculptural gelatin creations from the 18th century to the present. We will learn how to layer ribbon jellies, turn out specialized molds, and carve agar into geometric shapes. Recipes will be staggered through the class to allow for chill times. All molds and materials will be provided.
PLAN TO BRING: If you have molds of your own to experiment with, or small objects you would like to see encased in Jell-O, please bring them with you.
Here’s What Matters: Starting a Memoir
INSTRUCTOR: Jack Ridl
DATE: September 13, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
Participants will spend the day exploring, through their preferred form of writing, the things that have profoundly impacted their own lives— whether they are funny, traumatic, serious, sorrowful, or joyous—and turn these stories into the beginnings of a memoir. Using Jack’s suggestions, writers will first talk with one another about what subject they have chosen then, they will have time to explore that choice in writing, after which the group will engage in a delightful debriefing about what showed up as they wrote, culminating in a deeply memorable day.
PLAN TO BRING: Writing utensils and paper or notebook and memorable tokens from your life that may inspire writing.
Autumnal Arrangements
INSTRUCTOR: Maddie Reyna
DATE: September 27, 10:00–1:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $30
Create a festive centerpiece with autumnal florals and other organic materials while considering foundational historical floral styles including Dutch Baroque, Ikebana, and contemporary movements. Participants will experiment with vessel armature techniques such as wire mesh, pin frog, and tape grid. Local flowers from White Barn
PHOTO BY
A hand places sprouts alongside a jelly “river.” Tablescape designed by Sara Clugage. (below) Participants arranging flowers.
FALL WORKSHOPS
Flower Farm in Holland, Michigan, will be provided to each participant, and after demonstration, arranging, and group discussion, they will take their ephemeral arrangement home.
PLAN TO BRING: A vessel, garden shears, garden gloves, a box to transport your arrangement.
Contemporary Buttercream Piping Techniques
INSTRUCTOR: Edward Cabral
DATE: September 27, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $100
MATERIALS FEE: $20
This workshop will be a crashcourse on using a pastry bag and either a star or round tip to decorate your bakes. Students will practice piping designs in buttercream while discussing further applications in pastry, including professional baking tips and a Q&A with the chef and host. Students will go home with a slice of cake they helped decorate (dairy, gluten).
PLAN TO BRING: An apron and any additional piping tips you’d like to practice.
Introduction to Basket Weaving
INSTRUCTOR: Dee Clements
DATE: September 27, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: $30
In this six-hour session, you’ll learn to create a small, round woven basket from start to finish, including how to begin the base, build the side walls, use two basic weaving techniques, and finish with a border or rim. No prior experience is necessary and each participant will be able to bring their basket and reed home.
PLAN TO BRING: All materials are provided.
Enchanted Metals
INSTRUCTOR: Mark Schentzel
DATES: 4-day, October 3–6, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
TUITION: $350
MATERIALS FEE: $30
In Ox-Bow’s Metals Studio, this workshop will guide students through making their own candlesticks, candelabra, or indoor/outdoor Fall inspired sculpture object. Demonstrations will include steel bending, welding, and other fabrication techniques necessary to complete a custom metal object.
PLAN TO BRING: Wear cotton long sleeves and pants, closed toed shoes or boots, and tie back long hair. Safety gear will be provided.
The Felted Slipper
INSTRUCTOR: Kelly D. Brandt
DATE: October 11, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $200
MATERIALS FEE: $30
Use wet felting techniques to create slippers that will keep your feet nice and warm and make an artistic statement as well! We will introduce the wet inlay technique to decorate your slippers, and add locks or flaps to give your creation a three dimensional effect. You will learn a technique for making a matching pair! These boots would be suitable to have leather applied to the sole afterward.
PLAN TO BRING: Two or three old towels for soaking up soapy water, a large cellulose sponge. Optional: dishwashing gloves if you do not like having your hands in soapy water; any fibers or yarns of your own that you might want to incorporate in your project.
FALL
SEPTEMBER 13
The Art & History of Jell-O Molds
INSTRUCTOR: Sara Clugage
Here’s What Matters: Starting a Memoir
INSTRUCTOR: Jack Ridl
SEPTEMBER 27
Autumnal Arrangements
INSTRUCTOR: Maddie Reyna
Contemporary Buttercream Piping Techniques
INSTRUCTOR: Edward Cabral
Introduction to Basket Weaving
INSTRUCTOR: Dee Clements
OCTOBER 3-6
Enchanted Metals
INSTRUCTOR: Mark Schentzel
OCTOBER 11
The Felted Slipper
INSTRUCTOR: Kelly D. Brandt
(left) A cake by Edward Cabral. (right) Baskets in progress by Dee Clements.
SPECIAL FALL INTENSIVES
INSTRUCTORS: Henry J.H. Crissman & Virginia Rose Torrence
DATES: 10-day, October 22–November 2, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
TUITION : $1000
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
OPTIONAL ROOM & BOARD COST FOR THIS WORKSHOP ONLY: $2080 for solo room; $2990 for shared room.
This intensive workshop will explore the many histories, methods, and potentials of using wood as fuel to heat and transform clay into ceramic. The experience caters to mid-career artists or those with a background in ceramics. Presentations will survey ceramic science, the history and logic of kiln design, and the incredible range of things artists have created with and around wood fired kilns. Demonstrations will include handbuilding and wheel-throwing techniques as well as methods for material experimentation with found ceramic materials and objects, specifically using clay gathered from a nearby beach on Lake Michigan to augment clays and make glazes. Conversations throughout will aim to assist students in finding creative agency with ceramics. The bulk of the class will consist of parallel
working on independent projects and culminate in a nearly two-day long firing of Ox-Bow’s 80 cubic foot catenary-arch, wood kiln; a massive group effort will involve loading the kiln and methodically stoking it with wood for the duration of the firing until our desired temperature is reached throughout. We will once-fire the ceramics we make in the workshop and students are also welcome to bring bisqueware. Once cool, the kiln will be unloaded and cleaned, results will be finished and discussed.
Glass Pumpkins on the Ox Lagoon
INSTRUCTORS: Ekin Aytac & Joshua Davids
DATES: 3-day, September 26–28, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
TUITION: $600
MATERIALS FEE: N/A
Students will be introduced to the basic principles of hot glass and learn how to craft their own glass pumpkin. In this course, students will learn to gather hot glass on a blowpipe and manipulate the material using hand tools and optic molds, developing the skills necessary to create their own unique glass artwork. The class will begin with an introduction to the hot glass
studio and basic tools with special respect to safe conduct while working in the studio; students will begin with practicing basic skills such as gathering and shaping molten glass followed by blowing bubbles and eventually combining those techniques to create hand blown glass pumpkins.
PLAN TO BRING: Closed-toe shoes, 100% cotton or natural fiber clothing, and a great attitude ready for a fun and challenging learning experience.
SEPTEMBER 26–28
INSTRUCTORS: Ekin Aytac & Joshua Davids
OCTOBER 22–NOVEMBER 2
INSTRUCTORS: Henry Crissman & Virginia Rose
Torrence
Wicked Woodfire
Glass Pumpkins on the Ox-Bow Lagoon
Wicked Woodfire
Artists admire woodfired works fresh from the kiln.
MEET THE FACULTY
EKIN DENIZ AYTAC AND JOSHUA DAVIDS are a collective husband and wife team of artists working in glass. Hailing from Edremit, Turkey and Colorado, USA respectively, this dynamic duo draws from a unique combination of culture, heritage, and experience to develop new works of glass art. They have lived, travelled, and created artwork together since 2014.
Ekin began working with glass in Istanbul, Turkey before studying in the Czech Republic and eventually attending the graduate program at West Texas A&M University. Josh discovered glass at the same university while seeking a master’s degree in the fine arts. Both artists fell in love with the glass due to the physical nature and team aspect of creating with the material as well as its capacity to interact with light and space. In 2015 the couple moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan to manage Glass Art Kalamazoo, a nonprofit public access glass studio. There they taught classes, created events and demonstrations, and honed their skills in the hot shop before taking their practice independent in 2020. Their
work is exhibited in internationally renowned galleries, museums, and private collections around the world.
BAXTER BAAS (he/him), born in Chicago raised in West Michigan. Currently an undergrad student at the University of Michigan in the Stamps College studying Art and Design. He has been a part of Ox-Bow since his mother brought him as a little kid. Now he is still engaged in the Ox-Bow community through working on the culinary team.
CATE O’CONNELLRICHARDS (they/them) is an artist and educator, broomsquire and jeweler, currently living in Madison, Wisconsin. O’Connell-Richards has exhibited internationally and shown work at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (North Adams, Massachusetts), The Museum of Glass (Tacoma, Washington), The Trout Museum of Art (Appleton, Wisconsin), Abel Contemporary (Stoughton, WI), Hesse
Flatow (New York), Lillstreet Arts Center (Chicago), and the Gallery im Körnerpark (Berlin). They have been awarded several travel grants for craft research, including funding for fieldwork in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and at the Foxfire Museum and Appalachian Heritage Center in Georgia. In 2024, they received a Craft Research Fund Project Grant from the Center for Craft to study the history of American broom making. Their writing has been published by Surface Design Journal (2024), and Mergoat Magazine (2023). They have been invited to teach workshops at the Kansas City Textile Arts Center, Ox-Bow School of Art, Lawrence Arts Center, and Appalachian Center for Craft. Currently, they are a Lecturer for the UW-Madison Art Department.
CHARLES COATES (he/him) is a printmaking artist and educator who specializes in relief printing. As the founder of Block Paper Print, he teaches both in-person and online courses that make printmaking accessible to all skill levels. His large-format woodcut prints depict gothic cathedrals and relate them to contemporary notions of the self as works-in-process; they are featured in collections across Boston, Tokyo, and Palo Alto. Charles holds an MFA and Gallup StrengthCoaching certification. He currently teaches at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and conducts workshops for individuals and teams.
DANIEL PRAVIT FETHKE (he/him), is a Thai-American interdisciplinary artist born and raised in New York’s Hudson Valley. He is currently a Culinary Artist-in-Residence at Ox-Bow. Teaching is a central part of his practice, and he regularly facilitates workshops, cooking classes, and creative gatherings that center food and recipes as ways to explore identity, narrative, and culture. He co-founded the mutual aid food pop-up Angry Papaya, and has hosted workshops at Dia:Beacon, Socrates Sculpture Park, and the Performing Garage. He has exhibited work internationally in Bangkok, Berlin, Barcelona, and domestically at the Yale School of Art, Recess Art Space, and the Knockdown Center. He recently published an autobiographical Thai-American cookbook through Pratt Institute, where he also received his MFA in Fine Arts in 2023. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn.
DAVID BAKER (he/him) is a visual artist who specializes in poetic landscape painting, much of it done en plein air. His studio pieces are often reinterpretations of paintings done outdoors. His principal media are watercolor, oil, and charcoal. David is a lifelong artist/teacher. He recently retired as art professor Emeritus from Southwestern Michigan College. He earned his MFA from Indiana State University. Over the years he has mounted more than four dozen solo exhibits. David has taught at Ox-Bow School
of Art since 2000 and at Krasl Art Center since 2016. He has served on the board of the South Haven Center for the Arts since 2017. He maintains a studio and chairs the exhibition committee at the Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joseph.
DAWN STAFFORD is a full-time artist working in the Saugatuck/Fennville area. Her oil paintings of West Michigan’s landscape, rural fauna & flora, and everyday human objects explore subtle color palettes, rhythms, and harmonies that seek to reduce the noise of the outer world. Often using color and scale to effect a sense of intimacy, atmosphere, or presence. Painter, artist, teacher, mother, and gardener she creates and exhibits her work in a repurposed historic one-room schoolhouse, The Peachbelt Studio - formerly the Peachbelt Schoolhouse, ca 1867. Open weekends seasonally, May - October. Since 1996 she has participated as both student and staff member at Oxbow, as kitchen staff, teaching assistant, course instructor, and Art on the Meadow facilitator. Originally from New York, she received her BFA from Swain School of Design in Massachusetts before moving to Michigan in 1992. Her work is widely collected.
DEE CLEMENTS (she/her) is a process-based artist with interests in materials, craft, and ethnography. She holds an MFA in 3D Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA in Fiber
and Materials Studies and Sculpture from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago. She has shown her sculptural basketry work in galleries and art fairs internationally, and in 2025, she started The Weaving Workshop in Chicago, an artist-run workshop school that provides quality art education and creative skill development in basketry, off-loom weaving, and fiber crafts.
ELI ZILKE started blowing glass in 2005 at the age of 12 after being accepted into the “Fired Up” afterschool program at Water Street Glassworks. From 2005 until 2013, Zilke studied closely under glass artist/ educator Jerry Catania. In 2013, Zilke co-founded “Hot Shop Valpo” a production design studio in Northwest Indiana. From 2013-2018, Zilke worked for HSV as the head glassblower/designer, during this tenure the studio installed several large scale public installations in hospitals, banks, universities, and public spaces as well as had production lines in several galleries throughout the Midwest. In 2018, Zilke returned to Water Street Glassworks as the core instructor and studio manager and currently holds the “studio lead” position.
EDWARD CABRAL (he/him) is a sculptor and chef living in Brooklyn. He is currently a Culinary Artist-in-Residence at Ox-Bow. His research-based practice encompasses traditional art, edible sculpture, performance, and impermanent
objects. He received his BA in Visual Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011. He has exhibited at Williams College Museum of Art (Massachusetts), Roots and Culture, Heaven Gallery (Illinois), Alexander Gray Associates, The Drawing Center, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, and Superhouse (New York). He has been interviewed in Mold Magazine, Architectural Digest, and CakeZine, and has appeared on the History Channel, Disney+, and The Food Network.
ELIZABETH SCHMUHL is a multidisciplinary artist who creates work that explores nature, movement, and memory. Schmuhl deeply investigates the natural world, its cycles, and entropy, all of which inform her work. Schmuhl is a multidisciplinary artist and the author of Premonitions (Wayne State University Press). Her book of paintings created with natural ink from her centennial fruit farm in Benton Harbor, The Four Seasons, is out from Greying Ghost Press. Fishes of the Great Lakes, a book containing paintings with natural inks made entirely from the Great Lake watershed and materials that surround it, is her newest art book. She has shared her work globally and holds an MFA and a BA (University of Michigan). Schmuhl has taught at University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and elsewhere.
HENRY JAMES HAVER
CRISSMAN earned a BFA in Craft from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI in 2012, and a MFA in Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, NY in 2015. He now lives and works in Hamtramck, MI where he and his wife and fellow artist, Virginia Rose Torrence, founded and co-direct Ceramics School, a community ceramics studio and artist residency. He regards teaching as an integral aspect of his creative practice, and in addition to teaching at Ceramics School, he is currently an adjunct professor in the Studio Art and Craft Department at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI.
JACK RIDL, Poet Laureate of Douglas, Michigan, is the author of All At Once (CavanKerry Press), Saint Peter and the Goldfinch (Wayne State University Press), and several other books. His Practicing to Walk Like a Heron was co-recipient of the National Gold Medal for Best Collection of Poetry by ForeWord Reviews. His collection Broken Symmetry was co-recipient of The Society of Midland Authors best book of poetry award for 2006. Then Poet Laureate Billy Collins selected his Against Elegies for The Center for Book Arts Chapbook Award. Individual poems have been published in The Georgia Review, Poetry, Colorado Review, Rattle, North American Review, Prairie Schooner, Field, Poetry East, and
elsewhere. The students at Hope College named him both their Outstanding Professor and their Favorite Professor, and in 1996 The Carnegie Foundation named him Michigan Professor of the Year. More than 85 of Jack’s students have earned their MFA degree and over 100 are published. Every Thursday Jack hosts and posts on YouTube “The Sentimentalist.” Poetry and Song: A Concert with Carrie Newcomer and Jack Ridl is also available on YouTube. For further information about Jack, his website is www.ridl.com.
JAMES BRANDESS, (he/ him), is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He teaches landscape and still-life painting workshops at Ox-Bow. His painting travels have taken him to Vermont, Hawaii, Colorado, and Texas. He maintains his studio and gallery in downtown Saugatuck in the historic Old Post Office Building.
JANET TRIERWEILER (she/her) earned a BFA at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she then studied interior design at the New York Institute of Interior Design, earning a Certificate in Feng Shui Interior Design. Janet’s work is in collections worldwide. Collectors include: Northwestern University, The Illinois Institute of Art, and Fifield Companies. Janet’s work has been featured in Voyage Chicago, Chicago Tribune, Evanston Magazine, Sheridan Road Magazine, and Northwestern News.
Janet loves the immersive experience of teaching at Ox-Bow. She builds the excitement and interest in students with her encouraging and relaxed approach and understands that each student is unique with their own direction, talent, and potential.
KELLY DUBOIS BRANDT (she/her) started on her wool craft odyssey in 1975 with four heritage horned Dorset sheep who came to her five acre homestead in Lake Odessa “just to keep the pasture down.” As an accomplished seamstress, she first used her wool harvest in wool-filled comforters, but soon taught herself to locker hook, spin, and felt. She first got involved in FiberFest in Hastings, Michigan in the early 1980s and has been teaching since 1985 in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. She is a published author and has won artistic awards for her work using wool and llama fiber from her flocks. Through her fiber based cottage business, Team Effort Artisans, Kelly has shown and sold fine wool craft at shows, galleries, and festivals. She offers private classes at her new studio/ barn outside Lake Odessa as well as through select locations.
(Longform mentor + facilitator for Creating (in) Community Day) kg gnatowski (b.Poland) makes weavings and writes poetry from their home studio by the lake in Chicago. kg values the small the domestic and the everyday, situating those politics in
their studio and curatorial practices. They have exhibited work with Horse and Pony (Berlin), The Brooklyn Academy Of Music,The Bruce High Quality Foundation and The Gowanas Ballroom (New York), Left Field Gallery and Adjunct Positions (Los Angeles), Katherine E. Nash Gallery (Minneapolis), Monique Meloche Gallery, Gallery 400, Julius Caesar and LVL3 (Chicago), The John Michael Kohler Art Center (Wisconsin) and their most recent solo exhibition, Here Comes That Feeling at Hawthorne Contemporary in Milwaukee. Some Kind of Duty, their expansive weaving survey hosted by The DePaul Art Museum is available as a monograph through the museum shop and online. In 2017 kg attended The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and The Vermont Studio Center as a fellow in 2018. Current exhibitions include Intranarratives hosted by the Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal. Upcoming shows include Stitch, Woven, Hooked at The Lubeznik art Center and Beyond: Tapestry Expanded at The Peeler Art Center at DePauw University.
KIM MEYERS BAAS (she/ her), is an arts educator with a rich history of fostering youth artists and community workers in Michigan, Chicago, and along the Mexican/ Texas border since 1992. She has served as an artist educator with Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency, Calvin University, Kendall College of Art & Design, Chicago Public Schools, Valley AIDS Council, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and ART21. Currently, Kim is the Fine Arts Director for Kentwood Public Schools. Her teaching practice delves
into family identity, migration, culturally responsive practices, and the intersection of art + technology in marginalized communities. Kim holds a BA from Loyola University Chicago and an MAAE from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
LAURIE ZIENTEK has been weaving baskets and teaching basket weaving for 40 years. Zientek exhibits baskets at juried art fairs throughout Michigan. Zientek loves gathering wild grapevine and making up the framework for the ribbed style baskets. No two are ever alike.
LEE ANN FRAME was born and raised near the shores of Lake Michigan. She earned an MFA in printmaking and taught for 17 years. Currently she leads workshops for local and international groups. She has exhibited in juried exhibitions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art Mezzanine Store Gallery, Boston Printmakers Biennial, Artists Archives of the Western Reserve, Cleveland Museum of Art, and ISEA International, receiving several awards. Frame is a member of the Boston Printmakers; Society of American Graphic Artists (a board member); South West Michigan Printmakers; and California Society of Etchers. Her residencies include Ireland, Spain, and the East Coast. She is published in the Boston Printmakers Members News. Collected by: Newark Public Library Newark; Alma College, Michigan; Muskegon Museum of Art, Michigan; Grand Valley
State University, Allendale, Michigan; Henry Ford Medical Center, Bloomfield, Michigan; Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan; and in many private and corporate institutions.
MADDIE REYNA is an American painter who began arranging flowers as a way to have live subjects for her work. That practice has come to stand alone as she applies considerations of color, form, and composition to three-dimensional organic matter. She has a Masters in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, studied at The Flower School of New York, designs flower arrangements for brides and other party throwers in Chicago, and is the Education Director for Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency.
MAGGIE CLIFFORD-BANDSTRA (she/her) is the Manager of Ox-Bow House at Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency. She maintains an active studio practice and was an Adjunct Professor at Hope College from 2022 to 2023. Bandstra earned her MFA in Painting from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2021. From 1997-2020, Bandstra taught pre-K through 6th grade art classes. In 2014, she began curating pop-up art shows, which led to the establishment of the Lakeshore Visual Arts Collective. She is currently the president of this non-profit and serves as secretary on the executive board of the Douglas
DDA. Maggie’s paintings are nature abstracted, using exaggerated scales, movement, and patterns to explore the themes of nature, healing, and human connection. Her passion is not just about creating art but also about sharing her love of art, living a creative life with others, and inspiring them to do the same.
MARK SCHENTZEL (he/ him) holds a BFA in Sculpture and Functional Art from Kendall College of Art and Design. He received the program’s Sculpture Excellence Award. Mark appreciates the craft school experience and has attended workshops at Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency, Penland School of Craft, and Peters Valley Craft Education Center. He has over 25 years of welding and custom metal fabrication experience and is co-founder of EA-Craftworks in Grand Rapids, Michigan; a custom metal shop providing unique metal works in Michigan and surrounding areas. Mark has taught welding workshops for the past 10 years and is currently diversifying to explore additional instructional opportunities in the areas of sculpture, welding, and metal fabrication. Mark’s large-scale public sculptures in Michigan and the Midwest carry notions of surrealism through process, material identity, sustainability considerations, and infrastructure issues.
MARTHA ALEXANDER is a retired art educator from Grand Haven who taught K-12 art for 30 years. She taught
in Lawton, North Muskegon and for 26 years in the Grand Haven Area Public Schools. In 2013, she was the first art teacher in Grand Haven to ever receive the school district’s Excellence in Service Award. She earned her BFA from Western Michigan University and has taken graduate level art courses at Western Michigan University and Central Michigan University. Her areas of interest include watercolors, acrylic, marbling, book-making, ceramics, and pencil drawing. Her artwork has been displayed and sold at multiple venues in Grand Haven.
MARY BAGGERMAN has lived in West Michigan all of her adult life. She loves living in this beautiful Great Lakes region, drawing inspiration from the natural world around her. She exhibits and teaches in Kalamazoo, Michigan, focusing primarily on fiber arts which includes embroidery and quilting. She is currently in the faculty of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts where she teaches creative embroidery.
MELISSA NAVARRE (she/ her) is a recent graduate of Central Michigan University (CMU), where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a concentration in ceramics, along with a minor in music for percussion. She has assisted in The Ancient Future: Clay and Sound workshop, presented at CMU and Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency. Her work has been exhibited at the University Art Gallery at CMU, and she has received
awards including the 2023 Windgate Fellowship at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and the 2024 Regina Brown Undergraduate Fellowship through the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. Melissa is currently a studio assistant at Grayling Ceramics in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
MIRIAM VUKICH , born and raised in Los Angeles, where she was a celebrity makeup artist for over 30 years, moved to Detroit, Michigan in 2023 to work and produce what is called PunkRockPopArt. This will be her first time teaching an art class. Her work was previously shown at the Gutman Gallery in Ann Arbor, Michigan and in art publications RebelCanvas and Shoutout Michigan. She is currently working on new pieces for shows and galleries.
NICK FAGAN is a multimedia artist based in Cape Cod. He is the Manager of the Metals Studio at Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency. His studios have been based in Virginia and Michigan for the past four years. He has exhibited work in a number of galleries and shows across the United States, most recently the Egg Collective in New York, Massey Klein Gallery in New York, Tops Gallery in Memphis, Tennessee, as well as the Seattle Art Fair with FFT, and Future Art Fair with ADA Gallery. He has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the MASS MoCA Studio Program and
the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. His work has been featured or reviewed in a number of publications, including Burnaway, NPR, Divergents Magazine, New American Paintings, and The Rib. Awards include a Kennedy VSA Artists with Disabilities Award, and Foundation of Contemporary Art Grant. He received his MFA in sculpture from Ohio State University in 2017.
OLIVIA MENDOZA (she/ they) is a natural science illustrator and drawing teacher. She has been working as an illustrator for over a decade and teaching for five years at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. Her work has led to collaborations with natural science publications of newly discovered plant species, an illustrated avian exhibit for Kalamazoo Nature Center, and native species drawing workshops with the Kalamazoo Public Library— as well as creating botanical work for Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Fernwood Botanical Gardens, Kalamazoo Area Wild Ones, and more. Her enthusiasm for creating new work is equal to the joy of being able to share the process and methods with others.
RACHEL BRACE has been blowing glass for over five years and currently works as the glass studio technician at Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists’ Residency. Although she works in many mediums, glass has always fascinated Rachel, and she focuses on blown glass and stained glass. While working and living at Ox-Bow, surrounded by nature and talented artists, Rachel strives to incorporate elements of Ox-Bow into her art.
ROWAN LEEK is a paper and fiber artist originally from Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2020 with a BFA in Sculpture + Expanded Media. While in college, he interned at the Morgan Conservatory for two summers and learned paper and printmaking. He went on to receive a studio management internship at Penland School of Art’s Books + Paper Studios and returned the following winter as a studio assistant. Leek is currently residing in West Michigan and working as Campus Manager at Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency. Leek’s work has been shown at The Reinberger, the Betsy Gallery, Bostwick Design Initiative, and as part of the Queer Hanky Exhibition at Women’s Studio Workshop, Zygote, and The Future.
SARA CLUGAGE’s art practice focuses on economic and political issues in craft and food. She is Editor-in-Chief of Dilettante Army, an online magazine for visual culture and critical theory, and a 2024-2025 culinary resident at Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists’ Residency. Sara has most recently been core faculty for the MA in Critical Craft Studies program at Warren Wilson College, and her most recent publication is the 2021 monograph from the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, “New Recipes: Cooking, Craft, and Performance.” She is currently at work on a book project about Jell-O, animacy, and abstraction.
SHANLEY POOLE , born and raised in West Michigan, is an MFA candidate at UNC-Greensboro. She has taught both writing and nature-based workshops along Lake Michigan’s shorelines. Her work can be found in Burnaway, the Underground Journal, and the Mangrove Journal. She was a 2017 fellow at the Beargrass Writing Retreat, a 2024 writer-in-residence at Azule Residency, and is the current Engagement Liaison & Storyteller at Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency.
SUE CORTESE is a quilter, fabric dyer, teacher, vendor, and NACQJ Certified Quilt Judge. Her current work falls into the art-quilt realm, combining her love of dyeing and surface design into her quilted compositions. Her goal in the beginning was to make a quilt in every style and/or pattern. This quest led Sue to taking a lot of classes and learning many different techniques. She enjoys hand quilting as well as machine quilting, and hand applique as well as machine piecing. Judging is a means for encouraging quilters, as well as promoting excellence in quilting. Judging has helped Sue improve her work, and she hopes to help others through judging. Sue has been fortunate to have her work displayed in places like Muskegon Museum of Art, The View Gallery, and The Diary Barn to the International Quilt Show in Houston and American Quilt Show in Paducah.
M THERESA BROWN is a professional artist whose long art career embraces many areas of the arts. In the fiber arts, she uses natural dyes and low impact synthetic dyes and merges them into unique, beautiful designs on silk, wool, paper, and leather. She turns her transformed work into artisanal clothing, accessories, and art. Her articles and designs in the fiber arts have appeared in international publications and the national art chain, Jerryartarama. She has a line of instructional PDF’s on ecoprinting techniques and is the first instructor to teach Ecoprinting on Leather in the US. She teaches in her studio and online and is a sought after instructor at many events and fiber art shows across the country.
VIRGINIA ROSE TORRENCE (She/her) co-owns, operates and teaches at Ceramics School, a community ceramics studio and artist residency in Hamtramck, Michigan. Virginia’s art practice is sometimes making pottery, and sometimes making sculptures. She received her BFA in Craft/Ceramics from the College for Creative Studies (Detroit, Michigan) in 2013 and her MFA in Ceramics from Alfred University (Alfred, New York) in 2016. Virginia lives and makes art in Hamtramck, Michigan with her partner and co-teacher Henry Crissman, two dogs, two cats, and a parakeet.
Life Long Learning at Ox-Bow
Dive deeper in to your pass ions with a non-credit course
Are you looking to get back into the classroom? Have you been wanting to learn how to blow glass or make books or maybe even make landscape art? Then think about enrolling in a Summer Academic Course at Ox-Bow. These one-of-a-kind courses are not just for college students, they are also for students of life! Those looking to enroll can opt into a reduced-fee, non-credit course. And if you are really looking for the Ox-Bow Experience, you can even book a room on campus and enjoy Ox from sunrise to sunset. Enrollment opens online on Monday, March 31 at 10:00 a.m. EST at ox-bow.org/summer-courses.
Find a Course for You Stop by Ox-Bow House to pick up a Summer Course Catalog or explore course options online.
For the Nature Lover:
Consider Earth in Relation: Embodied Earthworks with Nance Klehm. This somatic sculpture class invites you into the ethical and personal reimagining of making with Earth. Daily awareness practices, area field explorations, readings and discussions of ecological texts, and an introduction to scientific methods and material investigations will culminate in individual and collective earthworks. Earth in Relation runs August 10–16, 2025.
For the Bookworm:
You can never have enough books, especially if it’s one you crafted yourself at Ox-Bow. In Bookbinding with Decorative Paper, taught by Sophia Rauch and Kellie Romany, students will learn classic techniques from marbling to cyanotype. Over the course of just one week, you’ll learn three different bookbinding methods. Bookbinding with Decorative Paper runs August 10–16, 2025.
For the Glass Collector:
You’ve collected glass, but have you experienced the thrill of the hotshop? Now’s your chance to make something of your own! Check out Multi-Level Glass Blowing with Will Hutchinson or G lass Stemware with Yashu Reddy. Multi-Level Glass Blowing runs July 13–19, 2025; Glass Stemware runs August 10–16, 2025.
(left) Klehm and participants at work with the soil. (center) Hold Me, Kellie Romany, paper, book board, book cloth, clay, oil paint, 2023 (above) Glassware by Yashodhar Reddy.
Snapshots of various experiences in Art on the Meadow workshops.
Expand Your Practice
Artists from across the globe come to Ox-Bow each year to experience our residencies. Be part of our next cohort!
Enjoy the slow pace, landscape, and community that Ox-Bow offers as you lean into experimentation, play, and growth in your practice. Rooted in relationship building, our residencies allow artists to create new connections and find inspiration in their practice through exchange with others. Our four different residency programs are offered annually and designed to be accessible and for artists’ at any stage of their career.
SUMMER RESIDENCY
Our summer residency offers 12 artists the time, space, and community to encourage growth and experimentation in their practice for three weeks on campus. The program is held while our core classes and community programs are in session. During this time, a small group of 3-4 residents have access to our community of students, faculty, and visiting artists.
THE DETAILS
February
Fully Funded 3-weeks in June and August
Find a residency opportunity right for you! Scan the QR code to learn more.
Artists of any level/practice Room and board
MICHIGAN ARTISTS RETREAT
This retreat offers Michigan artists an immersive experience on our campus. With its localized focus, the retreat allows artists to connect and commune with each other, all while embracing the Michigan landscape of Ox-Bow. Artists of all stages and disciplines are welcome to join. This retreat fills on a registration-based timeline and does not require an application.
July
$600; Funding not available September 10–14
Michigan Based Artists
Private studio included
HOLDSPACE GRANTS
An opportunity for BIPOC artists and creatives, applicants of the Holdspace Grant are invited to utilize our campus and facilities to support group-based or individual initiatives. People of color across the creative spectrum including artists of any discipline, writers, curators, teachers, and Ox-Bow Alumni are encouraged to apply. The grant supports individuals or groups of up to twenty for any length from one to seven nights.
THE DETAILS
July
Fully Funded September 15–23
BIPOC artists and creatives
CULINARY ARTISTS RESIDENCY
Longform is a studio residency that seeks to provide an intensive, creative development experience, fostering deep connections amongst facilitators, visiting artists, and participants. Inspired by alternative learning models with an emphasis on community, the three week experience includes a robust schedule of lectures, readings, studio visits, workshops, critical discussions, and of course, studio time.
THE DETAILS
25 –October 16 July
Artists of any level/practice
This year-long program intends to bridge artists, food, and community both on Ox-Bow’s campus and beyond. This unique annual residency program is for artists working at the intersection of food and art. Selected artists come to campus in three installments, during which they participate in a winter residency and facilitate workshops and dinners.
THE DETAILS
Winter–Summer 2026
September 2025
Fully Funded
Artists working at the intersection of food and art
Stipends, travel, and room and board
Access to kitchen as studio
Artists-in-Residence immersed at Ox-Bow.
Have a Seat
At Ox-Bow, there is a long tradition of communal eating. The dining room and kitchen has long operated as the center of campus: a space that nourishes guests, instigates conversations, and sparks creativity. This daily act is one way we have continued to stimulate community-building.
WRITTEN
BY
John H. Brown IV, Sara Clugage, and Shanley Poole
Students of Corey Pemberton’s course and guests of their final dinner party raise a glass in toast. (right) The Old Inn Porch, a common destination for enjoying lunch at Ox-Bow.
Photos by Dominique Muñoz and Kristen Norman
The Day I Met Izzy
Bartender and Mixologist
by John H. Brown IV
John Brown on finding renewed belonging at Ox-Bow.
I
I entered Ox-Bow on a sour note, bitter thoughts lingering after an impromptu work meeting and the frustration of getting stuck in traffic. Even the usual excitement sparked by the local speed policewoman’s greeting— “Slow down!”—felt different this time. This was my first time participating in an Ox-Bow event as a guest.
In Chicago, I’ve done everything from curating four-course fine dining experiences to pushing pints at sports pubs. No matter the setting, I take pride in using food and beverage to create memorable culinary moments—whether it’s selecting a savory sipper to get guests salivating or explaining why a particular pét-nat pairs perfectly with a dish. My goal has always been to make people feel comfortable in unfamiliar settings, to give them a sense of belonging through the experience of food and drink.
Since summer ‘21, I’ve applied this passion for the pour to Ox-Bow’s Field of Vision benefit, where I have curated drink menus that complement the artistry of the meals
served. Every year, I circle the dates on my calendar in anticipation of my West Michigan work-cation, a chance to mix, serve, and connect. Fast forward to ‘24, and I’ve had the honor of pairing cocktails with the culinary creations of countless resident and visiting chefs. But until now, I had never had the opportunity to sit at the table, to feast alongside the friends and family of Ox-Bow.
Though I considered myself part of the community, today, Rupprecht Way stirred up hints of anxiety. The merry memories of fun and friendships were now overshadowed by my salty attitude, peppered with doubts about whether I truly belonged.
Despite having mixed margaritas and mocktails for nearly every guest, visiting artist, and partner who had passed my bar over the past four years, I found myself fixated on the ways I might not fit in. This was my first time attending the event in this way, and I worried that my unfamiliarity might make my fellow feasters view me as an outsider.
(from top to bottom)
John H. Brown IV and Israel (Izzy) Davis.
Izzy Davis and John H. Brown IV sit side-by-side at the table with other guests.
II
Upon entering the ceramics studio, guests were greeted with a rum cocktail mixed by culinary artist Daniel Pravitt-Fethke. The drink’s sour notes soothed my earlier bitterness.
After exchanging hellos with familiar faces, I quickly surveyed the room. As I suspected, I was easily the youngest and most melanated guest in attendance. I wandered into the ceramics studio—not only to admire the pottery on display but also to avoid, or at least delay, any awkward interactions.
As I perused the exhibition, the emcee and Executive Director, Shannon R. Stratton, announced that it was time to gather. Sheepishly, I reintroduced myself to the crowd, standing in the back—half-listening to her greetings and housekeeping notes, half-reading a pamphlet about Ox-Bow’s past and present.
My ears perked up when she introduced Ox-Bow alum Izzy Davis.
I had never met or even heard of Israel Davis, but the name “Izzy” caught my attention. It was my niece’s nickname, and it also reminded me of the mascot for the ’96 Olympics—an anatomically ambiguous, anthropologically androgynous figure whose name, short for “What is he?” or “Is he a star?”, was plastered across ads and gift shops all over Atlanta.
In a similar way, this Izzy’s presence was pleasantly perplexing. A physically unassuming middle-aged man—maybe a Michigander, but undeniably Midwestern— his understated yet fresh fashion sense (custom frames, Carhartt, and a five-panel cap) exuded “blue-collar chic.” Who is he? I joked to myself.
III
Izzy, a professor and professional in the ceramic arts, attributed much of his success not just to his talent but to the opportunities Ox-Bow had provided him. He spoke about the camaraderie within the ceramics community, recalling the ritual of firing OxBow’s wood kiln.
A meticulous, multi-day endeavor, wood firing requires collaboration and cooperation, with ceramicists working around the clock to manually feed the 600-gallon dirt oven, ensuring it reaches and maintains the necessary temperatures for the clay to mature.
Though innovations in kiln technology have improved temperature control, efficiency, and consistency, the wood-firing process is still cherished for the organic imperfections it produces. Within the kiln, a symphony of chemical entropy unfolds: combustion, reduction, and oxidation create an atmosphere of ashes, embers, and
PHOTO BY KRISTEN NORMAN
minerals. The type of wood, fluctuations in temperature, and movement of the flames interact with the clay, forming unique colors, patterns, and textures—each piece a oneof-a-kind finish with a natural glaze.
But what happened outside the kiln, Izzy recalled, was his favorite part. The process fostered a deep sense of community, bringing together amateur and professional ceramicists who had to trust and rely on one another to complete the task. The extensive time spent together—sharing stories, exchanging ideas—tightened bonds, creating friendships among people from different backgrounds, connected only by their love for ceramics.
Just as the ceramicists relied on each other through the firing process, Culinary Artist-in-Residence Daniel Pravit Fethke worked over a different kind of kiln—roasting chicken over a clay, open-flame oven.
Ox-Bow’s Beverage Partners
Over the years, a number of businesses have partnered with Ox-Bow to keep artists and guests both spirited and hydrated! Spanning from the heart of downtown Saugatuck all the way to Dallas, Texas, these partners include:
• Isabel’s Market + Eatery – Saugatuck, Michigan
• Letherbee Distillery – Chicago, Illinois
• Modales Wines – Fennville, Michigan
• Saugatuck Brewing Company – Saugatuck, Michigan
• Uncommon Coffee Roasters – Saugatuck, Michigan
• Virtue Cider – Fennville, Michigan
• zakti – Dallas, Texas
Local Brews: Saugatuck Brewing Company Near and dear to our heart are the local brewers behind Saugatuck Brewing Company. Since 2005, they’ve been serving up crushable summer classics like the Oval Bleach Blonde and Lake Street Lager, alongside one-of-a-kind flavors like the Neopolitan Stout and Peanut Butter Porter. Saugatuck Brewing was built with community in mind, and those who have visited the bar off Bluestar Highway can affirm it has lived up to the vision. But its impact has spread beyond its mainstay site, fueling many tourists’ beach days and countless Ox-Bow events. Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine Field of Vision without seeing patrons with a SBC brew in hand.
Saugatuck Brewing Company beers from left to right: Rainbow Rodeo IPA, Bonfire Brown Ale, Neapolitan Milk Stout, and Lake Street Lager.
Combustion, reduction, and oxidation: feeding wood to the flames, adjusting temperatures to create an atmosphere where embers interacted with amino acids to produce the Maillard reaction— the same chemical dance that browns bread and sears steak. The grill’s flames left patterns and textures, finishing the dish with a light glaze.
We made our way to the table, where, the collective of ceramicists, the family-style meal required us to come together, to trust and rely on one another, to share in the experience.
IV
Seated beside me at the feast, Izzy unknowingly quieted the lingering doubts that had seasoned my thoughts throughout the evening. Originally from North Carolina, his soft, slow-paced Southern drawl sonically soothed me. But it was his vision that impacted me most.
To Izzy, science shows that all humans belong to the same species, yet these similarities do little to celebrate the variety of cultures, creeds, and colors we see. Instead, he chooses to see us all as members of the Human Family. Through this lens, every social gathering is a kind of family reunion—an opportunity to acknowledge differences, assume empathy, and lead with love.
“The way I see it,” he said, “we can either let our differences divide us or we can let them deepen our understanding of each other.”
Though he is a professor and professional of the ceramic arts, he credits his success not only to his talents but also to the access and opportunity Ox-Bow granted him. Most importantly, he celebrates the experiences shared with his peers and the visiting members of the Human Family that his craft has allowed him to meet.
While with Izzy, I realized that the bitterness I had carried in with me had already begun to mellow. I had entered Ox-Bow on a sour note, my thoughts clouded with frustration, my attitude tinged with salt. But Izzy—through his warmth, his wisdom, and his belief in the Human Family—brought a necessary sweetness to the moment. His perspective softened my edges, balanced the acidity of my doubts, and infused the evening with something richer, something whole.
Like a well-crafted cocktail, the experience was layered—sharp at first, then smoothed by connection, rounded by belonging. I had spent years behind the bar, carefully mixing flavors to bring people comfort, to make them feel at home. That night, for the first time, I found myself on the other side of the glass. And for the first time, I truly felt like I belonged.
The Art of Mixology [Raven Cocktails]
A sample menu created by John Brown for Cavern Tavern 2024 where the theme was centered around ravens.
Ravens are clever, scavenger birds, often found feeding on animal carcasses. Thus, Ravens are depicted as anti-heros, tricksters or harbinger of death, carnage, and murder in mythology and literature…
RANDOM ACTS OF UNKINDNESS
A group of Ravens is an “Unkindness” because their presence is an eerie indicator of bad luck to come, like murder... Malort is an herbal liqueur from Chicago with a polarizing flavor; some love it, some think it tastes like death. THE DRINK : Shot of Malort
ABEL HAS ARISEN! - ZOMBIE PUNCH RIF
In the Quran, a raven helps Cain, or Qabil, dispose of Abel’s, or Habil’s, body. Inspired by the Zombie; a classic “tiki” cocktail once considered so strong that too many can turn someone into the “walking dead”. THE DRINK : Jamaican, Puerto Rican, & 151 rums, Lime Juice, Spiced cordial, falernum, Grenadine, Absinthe, Angostura
HOT, COLD BADB - IRISH COFFEE OR ESPRESSO MARTINI
Pronounced “Bive” or “Bow”, Badb is the Irish mythical goddess of war; when this badb appears, only bloodshed and death is to come. THE DRINK : Hot - Irish Whiskey, coffee-infused amaro, coffee liqueur, chocolate & pecan syrup, topped w/ hot coffee; Cold - Vodka, cold brew, coffee-infused amaro, chocolate & pecan syrup
CORPSE CREATOR #52
The Baltimore Ravens get their name and color scheme from Edgar Allan Poe; Purple and Black, the colors of death, or for one famous Ra(y)ven, Murder... Inspired by the Corpse Reviver #2 cocktails, created to awaken drinkers from the throws of a hangover. THE DRINK : Butterfly Pea Flower Gin, Wine Aperitif, Orange liqueur, Lemon juice, Absinthe
SANZUWU (SAHN-ZOO-WOO)
The Chinese name for the mythical 3-legged Raven, Sanzuwu is a trickster god, considered the creator of life, and appears as a red raven. A pumpkin-spiced Sazurac; the red, 3 ingredient drink considered to be the original American cocktail. THE DRINK : Whiskey, Pumpkin Syrup, Peychauds & Angostura Bitters
PHOTO BY KRISTEN NORMAN
John H. Brown IV demonstrates his mixology mastery while making a cocktail.
Culinary Arts on Campus
Ox-Bow’s Pilot Cohort of Culinary Artist-in-Residence
A glimpse into culinary events from 2024.
Tahini cookies. Massive bowls of guacamole. Sculptural bread loaves. These are just a few of the traditions in Ox-Bow’s kitchen, the place long considered the heart of campus. For years, the kitchen staff have fueled artists with nourishing meals and a never ending supply of coffee. In 2024, Ox-Bow wanted to formalize their long standing recognition that the individual’s standing behind butcher block counters and in front of scorching stovestops, are also artists. Thus, the Culinary Artists-in-Residence program was born, with its pilot cohort featuring Edward Cabral, Sara Cluggage, MAGNET, and Daniel Pravit Fethke, all of whom host uniquely rich practices and a wide range of culinary interests.
Focused on the intersection of art and food, the new residency was staged in three parts: a community meal hosted in 2024, a 10-day group residency conducted this past winter, and a slot in the Art on the Meadow Workshop lineup.
The meals these artists dished out held both the personal flair of each host, as well as a nod to the spirit of Ox-Bow. Each dinner was facilitated in partnership with a place on campus. The activated spaces ranged from the historic inn to the glass studio. These site-specific events infused the spaces with robust flavors and each bite with artistic nuance. In the hotshop, shrimp was cooked over freshly pulled plates of glass alongside cocktails with lime-shaped jello wedges. In the ceramics studio, chicken skewers were fired over excess kiln blocks, while a platter of mai-thai punch spun on a ceramic wheel as guests arrived. Many of the artists brought forward recipes with robust flavors and deep family roots. Both Edward Cabral and Daniel Pravit Fethke used family recipes, which were fittingly served up in family style. Guests were able to connect not only with these storied meals, but also each other as they passed the servings around the table.
Taste of Ox-Bow
Fridays: June 27 and August 1, 5:30–8:30 p.m.
Ready to fall in love with the flavors of campus? At our Taste of Ox-Bow dinner series, we prepare unique menus that showcase areas of our campus emulating our four pillars: Environment, Historic Preservation, Education, and Community. These themed events invite you to see the kitchen as a studio and to taste the beautiful art that emerges from it. Stay for Friday Night Open Studios after dinner.
Harvest Dinner
Saturday, October 4, 2025
Chef and Food Journalist, Amy Thielen will join us at Ox-Bow this fall to craft a true midwestern harvest meal. Amy Thielen is a two-time James Beard award-winning writer and chef. She’s the author of three books: The New Midwestern Table, Give a Girl a Knife (a memoir), and her latest cookbook, Company: The Radical Art of Cooking for Others from W.W. Norton. Tickets include a copy of Company: The Radical Art of Cooking for Other
Bloody Brunch
Saturday, October 18, 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. seatings available
Bloody Brunch begins with brunch prepared by our culinary team, and concludes with an hour-long exclusive tour of Ox-Bow’s hallowed (and perhaps haunted) grounds. Spots are limited and early registration is encouraged. As a (grave)marker of your time with us, you’ll be able to take home your unique hand blown glassware crafted by the Ox-Bow glass team.
Tickets for Culinary Events are required, visit www. ox-bow.org/culinary-events to reserve your seats. MARK YOUR CALENDAR
(top left) Sara Clugage at work in the Ox-Bow kitchen during her Winter Residency. (top right) Guests sit around the table and engage in conversation over a meal created by Sara for a 2024 Taste of Ox-Bow dinner.
Worldbuilding with Blobs: Jelly, Glass, Crystal
2024 Culinary Artist-in-Residence Sara Clugage shares her inspiration behind dinner planning.
In August 2024, I created a Taste of Ox-Bow dinner featuring jelly. Evincing strong reactions from would-be eaters, jelly mixes delight and disgust, mirroring our confusion over what jelly is. Jellies cohere into masses that hold their boundaries— in the loosest sense of the term, they are bodies. They wobble and wiggle like bodies do, and this can give us the charming (or horrifying) idea that they might be just a little bit alive.
Working with these rendered bodies has opened up new conceptual territories for me around blobs and slumping, transparency and rigidity, fragility and permanence. I wanted to extend that research with two similar materials that often appear on dinner tables: glass and crystal.
Our cocktail hour started with blobs. Like jelly, glass starts out as liq-
uid blobs that then solidify in place. We used pooling glass to heat small packets of shrimp; the blobby shrimp solidified as well, turning pink as the red-hot glass seeped into gray tones. A pineapple lime smash sloshed its liquid inside a glass garnished with a solidified cocktail “lime” hung on its rim—a jello shot set into a citrus rind. Like jelly and glass, crystal is transparent but its organizing structures are invisible. Jelly shows up as a metaphor for things that are real-but-unreal, alive-but-not, in an astounding variety of fields: chemistry, evolutionary biology, anthropology, educational reform, and political economy. This array of disciplines has picked up on ideas already theorized and served up by cooks.
In designing a dinner at Ox-Bow, I thought about late 18th century tablescapes that incorporated jelly,
along with sugar and salt crystals, into garden designs. These tablescapes were built from an imperial point of view, featuring focal elements that were, to the European mind, alluring fantasy structures: pagodas and temples and obelisks made out of crystals and jelly. Tablescapes and gardens are worldbuilding exercises; they sort the elements of our world into the places we want them to occupy and make them available for our consumption.
Consider this design by the confectioner Joseph Gilliers, published in 1751, that creates a whole garden world on a mirrored parterre. In the middle there’s an obelisk-like spun sugar fountain (perhaps calling up the Obelisk Fountain at Versailles), and Chinese-style figures are strolling or lounging among sweetmeats
Wedgwood but slanted sharply away from their worldviews. A mushroom dashi jelly river rushes down the table, held in bounds by frilly green banks of radishes and carrots. The outer border is a formal French parterre garden made with strips of parchment spread with butter and stenciled in black salt. The stencil design is inspired by the geometric beds in Versailles’ Orangerie, which themselves call back to earlier French garden style beds that were not planted with greenery but raked with sand.
This landscape could have remained perfectly still and uneaten in the middle of the table, as 18 th-century tablescapes often did, but instead Ox-Bow diners altered and tended it as the meal progressed. For the first course, they swiped carrots and radishes through the butter and
and fruit. The garden is defined by giltwood scrolls that resemble French hedges. The range of references reflects European state and market interests of the time: closer trade ties with Egypt, as Egypt moved toward independence from the Ottoman Empire, and Europe’s increasingly predatory trade with China.
Roughly contemporary with Gilliers’s design, Wedgwood first made this obelisk-style “pyramid mold” in 1780. Like the other elements in Gillers’s tablescape design, these pyramid jellies solidified the reach of the empire into new territories in Africa and Asia by making them present in the dining room. I find the use of jelly here particularly evocative because its movement brings the shape to life.
For Ox-Bow, I built a tablescape that was informed by Gilliers and
Le Cannameliste Français, Ou Nouvelle Instruction Pour Ceux Qui Desirent D’Apprendre L’Office, Rédigé en Forme de Dictionnaire, 1768 Engravings.
Yellow Jell-O: Pearlware enameled ceramic core from a “pyramid” or “core” mold (Wedgwood, c. 1780), painted in Japan Pattern 8, covered in lemon Jell-O.
salt. Once the riverbeds had been admirably pruned, an algae bloom threatened: we spilled charred peas mixed with coffee oil and chili oil over the mushroom jelly river, then asked diners to clean up the “algae” by removing it to their pasta bowls (now filled with a butter shoyu pasta and the reserved dashi-soaked mushrooms). When the murk had been cleared, we ended the meal with a halo-halo style dessert: peaches and candied peanuts over peach ice cream, topped with carved lapsang-souchong jelly crystals in the Japanese kohakutou style. Finally cooled, a strict lattice had snapped into place in every jelly, aligning its protein molecules forever.
The tablescape now uprooted, a question still drifted through the after-dinner conversation: do you think this might be alive?
In the House....
Catching up with Charlie
An inside look at Charlie Vinz’s three year Architecture Residency at Ox-Bow House.
Can you give us a snapshot of what the past three years has been like as Ox-Bow’s first Architect-in-Residence? It’s been pretty wonderful. A typical architectural project is very oriented around a fixed set of deliverables, phases, and timelines. With Ox-Bow House, we intentionally waited to think about any specific design planning. This has allowed me to kind of meander through a more research oriented process, while Ox-Bow as an organization adapted and expanded new programming into the space, and Douglas as a community got to welcome this new presence downtown.
How did your approach evolve as time passed?
Getting to observe and learn from that process of Ox-Bow growing into the space and Douglas getting to know Ox-Bow a little better has definitely shaped my approach. From how we think about spatial programming, to how Ox-Bow thinks about more public programming, things have shifted from how we initially imagined it. For example, the retail footprint has shown a lot more impact, so that will inevitably be more forward in the redesign, while public programming is probably more focused on exhibitions and
less on events. In general, my approach now is more confident in making decisions around potentially radical alterations to the existing building because of my growing familiarity with all the moving (and static) parts.
What values and philosophies guided the residency process? I’ve tried to prioritize observing and listening. In general, I think my residency has been far less “public” than we originally planned in terms of explicit programming, but I’ve maintained a working studio space there where I keep research and working process plans and ideas out for people to see. Along with the physical interventions I made to the building earlier on, this has invited a lot of different types of conversations and interactions and has been enlightening in its own way.
Are there any especially exciting discoveries that you unearthed?
Earlier this year, Eric Gollannek over at the Saugatuck Douglas History
Center gave me an updated chunk of fun tidbits that were published in The Commercial Record that have references to the early formation, construction, and alterations to the building. This has helped connect a few dots, though I’ve also come across some significant conflicting accounts of the years and dates for the uses of the building. Its use as a library is very well documented and remembered, but everything before that (1980) gets very hazy.
I was able to source the gymnasium hardwood flooring as coming from a mill in Grand Rapids that specialized in maple flooring. While digging around looking for that lumber stamp, I found a set of fingerprints on the underside of the original subflooring. Their location and positioning is such that I’m 99% sure they’re from when the building was built. Was it rainy/ muddy that day? Did the builder have a particularly greasy lunch and that board was a napkin? We can’t know for sure, but it helps take you back in time 150 years to try to imagine.
What potential alterations to the space most excite you?
We still haven’t finalized what the program will be, so an actual design is still pretty unrefined, but I think I’m still excited by the challenge of “reorienting” the space both physically in how people enter and move through the space, and in how it’s interpreted by the public. One of the big undertakings earlier on was doing a rough calculation of the embodied carbon of the building. In that process and in researching the history of logging in the area, I’ve been in awe of the lumber and timbers used in the original construction; that they were likely milled just down the street and harvested within a very small radius. I’m hoping that this embodiment of the history of this site can be revealed and celebrated more in whatever we do.
Beer Stein by Rachel Brace $100
Summer 2024 T-shirt $20
Moon Child Paints $24
Paint-by-Number Apron
$30
Gamblin Oil Paint Set
$135
Collages and archive finds curated by Charlie Vinz with help from the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Cavern Tavern at Ox-Bow House
Saturday, October 25, 6:00–10:00 p.m.
Attend the hottest pre-party in town before getting your freak on at the Douglas Halloween Parade for Adults! Enjoy drinks for sale and frighteningly alluring art spectacles by Nathan Margoni on display at Ox-Bow House. Our friends from the Great Lakes Brass Band will once again entertain the crowd before leading a group of OxBow friends and staff as they march in the parade! Join the Ox-Bow crew for the costume party of the year!
A collection of photos from Cavern Tavern 2024.
PHOTOS BY KRISTEN NORMAN
Diving into the Archives
A Q&A with Summer Archivist Fellow Morisha Moodley.
Shanley Poole: For starters, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Morisha Moodley: I [was] the Archive and Historic Preservation Fellow for the summer. I came to Ox-Bow right after completing my MFA in Art, Theory and Practice at Northwestern University.
I’m a moving image artist who works across video, text, and installation. In my art practice, I’ve worked with digital archives before to source videos and research material. So my interest in the archive and the stories it has to offer has grown steadily.
I was drawn to this position at OxBow because I wanted to learn more about archive and preservation processes. This [was] the first time I’ve physically handled materials from an archive and been involved in the digitisation process.
SP: What did your work in the archives look like [last] summer?
MM: As Ox-Bow doesn’t have an Archive department (yet!) I [did] some foundational work in terms of organizing and digitizing. My focus [was] on the collection of catalogs Ox-Bow has, dating from its early days in the 1910s until now. The
first part of my summer was going through the many, many banker boxes that house all of the archival material. These are currently in Ox-Bow House, Ox-Bow’s satellite location in downtown Douglas.
I went through everything that was available, collating the catalogs and picking up any memorabilia that I thought could help me piece together an idea of the faculty and educational offerings that Ox-Bow has provided in its 100+ years of history.
After that initial organization, I began the slow process of digitizing, setting up new systems of grouping information, and transcribing information in the catalog to our database.
SP: Were you able to glean any perspectives on Ox-Bow from the content that was in the catalogs?
MM: It’s one thing to know that women have long since been students at Ox-Bow, but to know, as was highlighted in the Summer 2023 exhibition, that they also had a hand in shaping the atmosphere, the education opportunities, and the overall direction of the School was also incredible. In a time when women were fighting for their
rights and voices to be heard, to see them have real, ongoing effect on an organization like Ox-Bow, is a really powerful example of their capabilities and potential.
I’ve also been interested in the appearance of BIPOC artists at Ox-Bow that started around the 40s. BIPOC artists have been involved in the school from that time in different capacities from teaching classes, acting as Visiting Artists, and being residents. Whilst the artists in the 40s seem to be rarities and were really exciting finds, from the 80s onwards there are usually one or two POC artists appearing every year. This feels reflective of the way the Art World in that period was also starting to encourage underrepresented voices. I think it’s especially interesting to see this welcome of diversity at Ox-Bow because it is, and definitely was at that time, a very small organization in a very rural area. When I think of diversity, I usually think of it existing in more metropolitan regions. To know that Ox-Bow had opened its arms to more diverse groups has made me intrigued about other spaces in small towns that could have also been accepting of different cultures, and I am curious to know what the artists’
A collection of photos from the 2023 Summer Exhibition She Started It, curated by Shannon Stratton.
experiences were like at the time.
SP: What were some of the names you found?
MM: Leroy Neiman, Carlos Lopez, Arthur Okamura, Fay Arrieh Frick, Takeshi Takahara, Johnnie Johnson and Martin Puryear. Puryear’s work was especially exciting to find. I love how you can really see his background in traditional craft techniques like weaving and furniture-making in the pieces. With his sculptures that look like armatures rather than ‘finished’ works, the process of making and that hint of tradition is really brought to the fore.
SP: Are there any mysteries or loose ends that you wish you could get to the bottom of?
MM: As I mentioned, the experiences of BIPOC at Ox-Bow would be fascinating to know, especially in earlier decades.
Having never been to Saugatuck before, I was really surprised to find out that it is a renowned queer-friendly destination, and especially is seen as the gay, summer hub of the Midwest. I would love to know more about how Ox-Bow has contributed to this scene or grew to be a part of it. In an article I’ve read, it suggests that when the “artsy” types at OxBow started to move in, it also helped for more queer artists and art lovers to feel comfortable in this small Midwest town.*
When I came to Ox-Bow, on the very first day, I realized that this was a queer space and a safe space. So, I’d love to know more about that history and how it came to be. When I’ve done research into some of the faculty and visiting artists, it has been really difficult to glean whether they were part of this Queer migration or community. There’s sometimes so little info about artists and creatives who came—some seem to only exist in our catalog materials!—that [it was] difficult in the short span of time I [was] here to dig deeper and find those connecting threads.
So, that is one loose end, and one that I hope someone will have the time to weave with.
*Michigan Public NPR, ”How the largest gay resort in the Midwest is in Michigan’s “Bible belt,” January 11, 2016.
MORISHA MOODLEY (b. 1998, Durban, ZA) is a London and Chicago-based moving image artist who works across video, installation, and text, examining the entanglement of race, queerness, disability, and theology through these forms. Their practice is rooted in research of the moving image. To this, they interject queer and crip methodologies that challenge traditional film structures. Their work has been screened and exhibited internationally, including at London Short Film Festival, Kasseler Dokfest, Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, Global Citizen, and Camden Art Centre. Morisha is a recipient of a Develop Your Creative Practice grant from Arts Council England, AfA’s micro-grant, and was awarded the Northwestern University Fellowship to attend the 2023 Flaherty Film Seminar. They graduated from Central Saint Martins with a First in BA (Hons) Fine Art and from Northwestern with an MFA in Art, Theory and Practice.
The Local Vernacular: Lakeshore Architecture at Ox-Bow
Exhibition Dates: June 14–October 12, 2025
Ox-Bow’s campus was established in 1910 on the site of the defunct Riverside Inn, a hotel that was built to serve riverboat travellers, often connected to the historic lumber trade. The artists who eventually purchased the property in 1921 began to build their own cabins, owning the property in common. The campus evolved into a patchwork of creative reuse and artist-built structures, including two designed by the Chicago architect Thomas Tallmadge.
The 2025 Summer Exhibition Local Vernacular will look at the history of these spaces, the people who designed and built them, and their relationship to the larger history of vernacular architecture in the region. Come visit, settle in, and look back on an era when “summer homes” were little more than a cozy spot with a fireplace.
A plaque on the Norton Cabin showcases some of its history. (below) The Norton, one of Ox-Bow’s many historic cabins.
POLICIES TO NOTE
ACCOMMODATIONS POLICY
Ox-Bow is committed to providing participants with disabilities equal access to the classroom and other events on campus. Because of the unique nature of learning at Ox-Bow, participants are asked to communicate their needs related to living and learning to the OxBow staff when asked during registration so that preparations can be made with the campus team and their faculty/ instructor. If at any time a student needs to make a confidential accommodation request, they can do so by emailing oxbow@ox-bow.org.
ADMISSION POLICY
Ox-Bow reserves the right to deny admission/participation to any individual who has demonstrated a history of behavior that, in the judgment of OxBow, might contribute in any way to the disruption of the educational processes or residential life on campus.
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
Ox-Bow does not discriminate on the basis of demographic information in regards to recruitment and admission, financial aid programs, student employment service, educational programs and activities, or in employment practices.
COMPANION ANIMAL POLICY
Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals (with proper documentation) are permitted at Ox–Bow. Approved animals are expected to be under their handler’s control at all times at Ox-Bow and abide by our campus rules, including being leashed at all times when in public and current on vaccinations. The animal should not wander, approach others, block busy walkways, make loud noises repeatedly, and the handler must immediately pick up the waste from campus grounds. Failure to abide by this policy can result in a request to leave Ox-Bow.
GUEST POLICY
No companions, children, guests, or visitors are permitted during your time on campus. All residential housing and studio facilities are limited to participants enrolled in programs. We may be able to assist participants in finding accommodations for specific circumstances, but these arrangements will be made on a case-by-case basis and must be determined in advance of your time on campus. There is no guarantee that alternate accommodations can be established.
STUDIO POLICIES
Each studio has specific policies in place to ensure the safety of students and equipment. Additionally, these policies ensure that all participants receive a quality education with equal access to faculty and equipment. All studio-specific policies will be explained on the first day of programs. Any participant found in violation of these policies will be asked to leave the course/workshop without refund. These same policies are applied to any work conducted in the Ox-Bow landscape or on the Ox-Bow grounds. Because Ox-Bow is a community, we ask that all participants respect the rights of their classmates and fellow community members by following our policies.
COVID-19 MITIGATION COMMUNITY GUIDELINES
As we are all in community together, it is everyone’s responsibility to assist in ensuring our community remains free of COVID-19. See https://www.ox-bow.org/ covid-community-guidelines for OxBow’s full, up-to-date COVID policy.
REFUND & CREDIT POLICY
At Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency and Ox-Bow House, we strive to provide memorable experiences and quality services for our community of artists and supporters. Our refund and credit policy is designed to ensure clarity and fairness while supporting our purpose. Please read the following details regarding refunds, credits, and transfers for various Ox-Bow offerings, including events, courses, workshops, and retail items. We appreciate your understanding and continued support of our organization!
RETAIL
All retail purchases, including art supplies, merchandise, and other goods, are final sale and non-refundable. If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, please contact our Ox-Bow House Manager by email or return to Ox-Bow House within 14 days of purchase for assistance. We may offer exchanges or store credit, depending on the nature of the item and condition. Please keep your receipt and the item in its original condition for any potential exchanges or credits. Note: this excludes any artwork obtained through an Ox-Bow auction.
EVENTS
Due to the nature of our events and reservations, we cannot offer monetary re -
funds if a guest is unable to attend. Tickets may be transferred to another guest, but please notify our Events Manager by email at least 24 hours in advance with the name change. Alternatively, ticket purchases may be converted to tax-deductible gifts.
If an event is canceled due to circumstances beyond Ox-Bow’s control, the event will be rescheduled, and your ticket will be transferred to the new date. If rescheduling is not possible, guests will have the option to: receive a 100% refund, receive a credit, or transfer your payment to a tax-deductible gift.
WORKSHOP & NON-CREDIT STUDY
Participants who drop a non-credit course or workshop between registration and two weeks before the start date will receive a credit to be used within the same calendar year. No credits will be issued for cancellations made within two weeks of the non-credit course or workshop start date. To drop a non-credit course or workshop, please email oxbow@ox-bow.org.
In the rare event that a faculty member is unable to instruct their class due to an emergency, a replacement instructor with similar expertise will be provided. The faculty replacement does not qualify participants for a refund.
CREDITS
All credits can be applied to any non-credit course and workshop registrations, events, rentals, or retail items at Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency and Ox-Bow House.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Every purchase supports Ox-Bow and our historic, artist-driven community. We deeply appreciate your support and participation, which allows us to continue offering exceptional educational experiences and creative opportunities for artists at all stages of their careers.
3435 Rupprecht Way, P.O. Box 216
Saugatuck, MI 49453
FOLLOW @OXBOWSCHOOLOFART
Join us this year as we make Ox-Bow House, our downtown Douglas location a permanent part of the community! Stay up to date on all the news by following us or signing up for our e-newsletter at www.ox-bow.org.
