art

SCCCMH Hosts Traveling Art Show

When people think of ways mental health is treated, most would think prescription drugs or other forms of conventional medicine. There are many ways to treat mental health, and many ways that those suffering with mental illness can express themselves. 

Beginning January 6th – 27th, St. Clair County Community Mental Health (SCCCMH) will be hosting the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan’s Traveling Art Show. The goal of  “Traveling Art Show VII” is to promote the recovery potential of art and to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness.

Art work provided by individuals who access CMH services statewide, will be on display at the main office located at 3111 Electric Ave. in Port Huron. The art work will consist of photography, two dimensional art such as drawings and paintings, as well as other mediums. 

For more information, contact Heather Hayes at: hhayes@scccmh.org/(810) 966-7875 

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

Grand Opening Of Indigenous Art Show

If you’re a fan of art this event is for you. If you’re a fan of Indigenous art, then you’ll definitely want to attend the grand opening of the Indigenous Art Show in Lapeer, MI. 

The Lapeer Sketchbook and Stone’s Throw Theater are inviting the community out to the free event taking place on Friday, November 4th. The art show will focus on Indigenous artists from the Great Lakes Area. There will be pieces that include beadwork, paintings and more. There will also be hoop dancing, hand drumming, and singing.

Some of the featured artists that will be displaying their work include names such as Dawn Silk, Jessica Rummel, and Jill Joseph.  

For more information, visit their Facebook page: Indegenous Art Show Grand Opening

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

Public Murals an Example of Thriving Art Community

The proliferation of public art in the form of murals in the Blue Water area is an example of how the pandemic-inspired social distancing inspired creative ways to make and display artwork.

Local artist and art community organizer Jody Parmann was asked how things are going in the creative community. Parmann said, “As for the local art scene, it’s on fire right now!”

Parmann helps connect artists to mural opportunities. She said, “It’s like planting seeds, that others water and harvest. It’s beautiful to see my fellow artist’s projects come to fruition.”

Parmann said, “Friends of St. Clair River’s drain murals are being painted by local artists of all ages from Marine City to Port Huron. The new mural by April Cutler on the side of Classic Nails & Spa on 716 Lapeer Ave in Port Huron is absolutely beautiful! Carol Dalrymple over at Foundry is doing amazing out-of-the-box things. I think our community is really starting to embrace the local talent and it’s very exciting to be a part of that.”

There are also murals on the MI Mutual building and in the Military Street tunnel.

If you can’t make it out to view all of the murals, you can go to Parmann’s website, bluewatercreativity.com, to check out the work of local talent.

 Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Selah Butterfield & Kara Kaercher Young Artists in Michigans Thumbcoast

Young Artists Making Their Mark wsg. Kara Kaercher & Selah Butterfield

 

How do young artists share their work and build community? Kara Kaercher and Selah Butterfield join us this week to talk about how they are building their businesses and sharing their art with the community.

Kara Kaercher, Kara’s Arts & Crafts, specializes in acrylic pour and painting along with teaching classes and creating jewelry. She shares how leading classes at Foundry and working on the public mural downtown Port Huron help her connect with her community.

Find Kara here: https://m.facebook.com/KarasArtandCrafts/?_rdr

As a digital artist, Selah Butterfield has built a 50,000+ person following on social media platforms where she shares and demonstrates her digital drawing skills.

Find Selah’s work here: https://selahsketches.carrd.co/

Listen to the WGRT Local NEWS podcast on your favorite podcast app every Friday for in-depth interviews with people from around Michigan’s Thumbcoast!

Find the podcast on Spotify, Apple, or Facebook!

 

The WGRT Local News Podcast is part of the WGRT 102.3 FM Podcast Network. For the latest episodes of all of our featured podcasts, visit our website here:

https://wgrt-1023-fm-podcast-network.captivate.fm

The WGRT Local News Podcast is produced by the following team members:

Executive Producer: Jessie Wiegand

Audio Engineer: George James

Administrator: Jessie Wiegand

Marketing: Jessie Wiegand

Follow WGRT Local News on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/WGRTlocalnews

Pottery for Everyone at Foundry

If you’ve ever wanted to take a pottery class, now is your chance. Foundry, Port Huron’s home for creators, has several pottery options in October for beginners on up.

Denny Snyder and Mark “Pappy” Brandt have been working hard to get the pottery studio at the former Studio 1219 rebooted to fit Foundry’s mission to connect local artists in a comfortable and inspiring atmosphere.

October’s classes mix traditional weekly beginning classes where students learn to use the wheel with “Just for Fun” nights and ceramic pumpkin carving classes. On Saturday, October 16th, there is an outdoor pottery experience where participants make RAKU Jack-o-Lanterns.

“This is a really cool process like the one we did last November on our big opening,” said Snyder.

They will have a bunch of pre-made Jack-o-Lanterns, skulls, ghosts, and maybe even a few Christmas trees that participants can pick out and paint. The RAKU process involves popping the piece into an open fire and then cooling it in a trash can. The whole process takes about an hour.

“It’s a really cool unique thing that you can’t really do anywhere else around here in the area,” said Snyder. “It’s instant gratification because you can do it and take it home that night.”

Classes are available for all ages, and booking is online at Foundry’s website <HERE>.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

“Live Look” Brings Working Artists to Downtown Port Huron

Port Huron, MI — Downtown Port Huron already has a growing arts scene, but it is taking another step into getting the community even more involved in creative expression. The Live Look series will give a glimpse into the creative process as artists work on their pieces in plain view.

Downtown Development Authority Director Cynthia Cutright said that the Live Look will be held in conjunction with the Shop, Rock ‘n Stroll which takes place every Friday from June 4th through September 3rd from 6-8 p.m. in Downtown Port Huron.

Cutright said, “The goal is the highlight artists, makers, and creators that we have right here in the Blue Water Area.”

Cutright said that artists are being compensated for their contributions by a grant from the Arts Committee of the Community Foundation of St. Clair County. This type of art initiative is the first of its kind in the area and was inspired by local artist and business owner, Jody Parmann.

The first artist will be Shannon Wheeler, who will be demonstrating her woodburning art at Quay Street Park on June 4th. The June schedule is filled, but the DDA is looking for more artists to round out the rest of the summer.

Interested artists can go to the Downtown Port Huron Facebook page for more information.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland