Allie Heide | October/November 2024
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Artist Statement
"I’ve been an artist all my life and currently am an art and design student at NMU. I love hiking, hanging out and adventuring to new places. I take a lot of inspiration from nature, my surroundings and my experiences. I love to try new things and expand my view of the world. I also like to try many different forms of art, including charcoal, marker and clay, however watercolor is definitely my favorite medium. I like working with the water to create the art, being detailed and precise but still having fun and letting everything just go with the flow. I like to get out and do my art, a lot of times I work on my pieces outside or in different coffee shops and other public buildings in the winter. I think art is a thing that can be and should be done anywhere that calls to the artist. I think the strong art community within Marquette has really shown me there is no boundary to what kind of art you can make and how you choose to do it. A lot of the time I make my art for friends and family, they inspire both me and the pieces I make. I try to specialize the work to the person it's for, I really enjoy thinking out the perfect design. I love making unique, silly and beautiful works that make people smile. I hope you find something in my art that makes you smile as well!" |
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Leo Barch, Anna Rayhorn & Belle LaGrou | July/August 2024
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This reunion is comprised of three student artists who were previously mentored here at Zero Degrees Gallery. These three have been working alongside each other for years now, collaborating on work, encouraging one another, and participating in their artistic community. All three are attending Northern Michigan University studying Studio Art or Art Education.
Leo Barch is currently majoring in Art Education at NMU. His art is inspired by nature and displaying the sense |
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Please join us for their group art reception on Saturday, August 10, 1-4PM
Jocilyn Voakes | May/June 2024
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Artist Statement
My name is Josilyn Voakes, and I'm a sophomore at Marquette Senior High School. I really enjoy painting, and trying to replicate life in a way that's not quite realistic but instead colorful and expressive. Most of my paintings lean toward my favorite color, blue, because things like the UP's lakes and skies are things that really inspire me. I've been drawing since I was young and started painting around middle school, but most of my skills are self-taught, through trial and error, and with observations of other artwork, like the ones in the Peter White Public Library and online exhibits. I still have lots to learn about and put into practice, but I hope you enjoy my works of self-expression. |
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Anakin Harvala | March-April 2024
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Artist Statement
I’ve been creating art for several years. I’ve taken art classes throughout my school career, but I’ve done art in my free time since I was young.. Only in the last few years have I pursued art more intently. The subjects and intent of my art vary. As an artist, I create a lot of sentimental art. Primarily, I make art centered around people, the human condition, memories, experiences, strong feelings, and emotions. Most of my art is either doodles on my homework, quick sketches in a sketchbook, assignments for class, or personal projects. I’ve explored various mediums. As for illustrative drawings, my main form of art, I use graphite. I’ve done paintings with acrylic, gouache, oil, and watercolor, but painting is not my favorite. I’ve done work with pens, pencils, ink, oil pastels, and chalk, but my favorite physical mediums are markers and colored pencils. I also do quite a bit of digital artwork, but I draw digitally more for myself than for school. One of my favorite elements to experiment with is color. I like to communicate emotion through my use of color. I enjoy exploring color by adding hues or levels of saturation that don’t show up in our sight or a photograph. With color, I like to make things glow, even if they don’t in real life. With compositions, I mentioned previously that my art is human-centric, but I love to combine the realistic aspect of the human condition with fantasy elements (fantasy worlds, creatures, and aesthetics). I draw myself and people I know, but I also love to draw characters, both from my favorite shows and media, but also characters I’ve created. I like to tell stories with my illustrative art. I do write in my free time. I write fictional stories and poetry. I don’t write music, but I love music, and I try to incorporate that into my art as well. I will often use a set of |
lyrics, songs, or an album to inspire me for my compositions. I’m also passionate about politics and social issues. I like to make political art and show activism through my art.
I am an artist at heart. Art and expression are the center of my life, and I’m excited to be pursuing art more seriously. The thought of living off of an art career is a little intimidating, and art can be difficult to make, but I love art. I have a lot of strong feelings and thoughts, and communicating those feelings through art is imperative to me. Our experiences cannot be defined or limited to just words or just speaking, and art is a beautiful outlet to connect with people. |
Izabel Barber | January-February 2024
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My name is Izabel Barber, but most people call me Izzy. I graduated from Superior Central last year, where I had the best art teacher, Tim Bliss. He helped me grow my knowledge and love for art.
I've used a lot of different art forms, like digital, graphite, charcoal, tempera paint, and more, but my favorite is ink. I love the limitations it has - with just black ink, you can't go lighter once it's dark, which makes every line you draw count. I love drawing things that interest me, like animals and people. Animals are naturally so beautiful, and the human body can be so expressive and convey so many emotions. I love the process of creating, and I enjoy every step of it, even if the final product doesn't always turn out how I envisioned it. I learned a lot from my high school art teacher and from practicing on my own, but I know there's still so much more for me to learn in the art world. I hope that people enjoy my work and maybe feel inspired to pursue their own artistic passions, no matter what artistic medium they choose. If you're interested in keeping up with my future art updates, feel free to check out my Instagram page under the username @izzys_arts_906. Thanks for reading! |
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Jayden Raymond November-December 2023
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Hi! Currently, I'm a senior at Marquette Senior High school and in my free time I love creating art! Although I experiment with a variety of mediums, I especially love making paintings with watercolor and acrylic paint. I am heavily inspired by the outdoors and the beauty that nature has to offer, as well as Michigan itself.
I create things for fun! I strive to add color to life, and highlight views the world has to offer through my passion of being an artist. As a Yooper, born and raised, I have always been amazed by the creative culture in Upper Michigan, and I wanted to contribute to it! |
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Anna Rayhorn | September-October 2023
I am Anna Rayhorn, a recent graduate of Marquette Senior High School. It was during my time at MSHS that I discovered my passion and love for the act of creating. My art classes with Mr. Fether have played a huge role in sculpting my process as an artist. It was in one of his classes that I first discovered linocut printing, which is now my favorite medium to work in. Most of my inspiration comes from the natural world around me. There are so many quirky little critters out there, and I love being able to depict them in my art. Instagram- anna.ellene
Ethann Brown | July-August 2023
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Artist Statement My name is Ethann Brown. I recently graduated from Negaunee High School, and am heading to the University of Michigan to study art. As you look at my artwork, you may notice that I lean towards subjects that some may view as disturbing or taboo, often striving for something slightly provocative. If my artwork seems controversial or depressing, then so be it! My hope is to trigger some type of emotion or response in both myself and those who view my artwork. My only wish is that you walk away, taking with you, something from my work as you conclude your visit today. Meet this promising new artist at his reception on Saturday, August 12, 1-3pm at Zero Degrees Artist Gallery. |
Lily Smentkowski | April-June 2023
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Artist statement My name is Lily Smentkowski, and I'm a Junior at Marquette Senior High School. I have enjoyed arts and crafts since I was a young child, and I've always had lot's of fun exploring new projects with new mediums. My biggest inspirations for my creativity come from my mom, Mavis Farr, and my art teacher, Mr. Fether. My favorite ways to create art are painting and drawing. I love watercolor and acrylic paint especially. |
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Isabella Ehle | January-March 2023
Art to me is about imperfections that separate it from reality. My goal is to create pieces that, while recognizable, differ greatly from what we see on an everyday basis, portraits being my favorite subject because of the uniqueness each one carries. My favorite mediums are oil pastel, acrylic, gouache, and watercolor because of their fluidity and colors. Color is my favorite tool to use. I love manipulating it, mixing it, and trying unconventional color combinations that make it my own.
Leo Barch | November/December 2022
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Artist Statement
I have been doing art all my life and have had so many amazing teachers. My first art class was at the Art Academy with Barb Knox. I am currently a senior at Marquette Senior High School and have taken many art classes with Mr. Fether and Ms. Hinch including design, painting, ceramics and sculpture, and design two. Last year I dual enrolled at Northern Michigan University and took graphic design foundations with professor Keith Ellis and Illustration foundation with professor Steven Hughes. This year I am taking intro to process and design with professor Alex Fekete. I am so thankful that I have had the opportunity to meet and work with all of these amazing teachers and I'm so excited to meet more next fall when I attend NMU full-time as a freshman. This summer, my work was featured at the Chocolay Bayou Art Walk, where I put together a show of small 10cm x 10cm gouache paintings. Also, I was commissioned to paint murals at Peter White Public Library for their themed summer reading program “Oceans of Possibilities.” This year I will be a part of the inaugural year of Artists in Excellence, a program put together by the art teachers at Marquette, Ishpeming, and Negaunee high schools, along with members of the City of Marquette Office of Arts and Culture. I am super excited to collaborate with other students and get some experience in art education. I have been super into gouache painting recently, primarily painting landscapes, but also experimenting with animal portraits; ocean dwellers, and cats for the most part. I also do a lot of work with colored pencils and graphite. I have been working on developing my own style of illustration and have been dabbling in digital painting. Additionally, I have been working on my acrylic painting, taking inspiration from Bob Ross's oil on canvas landscapes. I am looking forward to my life in art this year, after high school pursuing degrees in art education and illustration, growing my creative voice, and cultivating my skills. I hope you enjoy my art and all of the other amazing work here in the Zero Degrees Gallery. Leo will be mentored by ZDG artist Chris Wetton. |
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Joe Rosten
For more about Joe Rosten's work, visit
https://www.facebook.com/joerostenwoodworking 
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Zero Degrees Mentored Artist Program begins with Joe Rosten. Joe is a 16 year old junior at Negaunee High School who has been interested in woodworking for several years. He started working with the lathe in 2019 and has been doing some very complex work, including segmented vases and bowls, basket illusion techniques and adding resin to his pieces, and has also created end tables using resin. These are very advanced techniques and he has dove right in and is doing very well.
Please stop by and see the amazing work this young man has produced! --Jon Marc Himes, Artist/Mentor 
Artist Statement
I’m Joe Rosten and I’m 16 years old. I am from Negaunee, Michigan and am a junior at Negaunee High School. In my spare time I like to make things out of wood. I started woodturning on my lathe in 2019. Woodturning is the art of using a lathe, which is a machine that spins wood at high speeds so you can form the wood with sharp tools. I like to think of a lathe as a “pottery wheel” for wood. I’m a completely self-taught woodturner, learning on my own by reading books, watching videos, and attending live demonstrations. During the lockdowns of 2020 I spent many hours in my shop experimenting and trying new things. My work is decorated with either paints, dyes, wood burning, India ink markers, or simply the natural beauty of the wood itself. I mainly create decorative wood turned pieces, but I also do other woodworking projects such as cutting boards and fine furniture. Although some of my work is functional, my favorite things to make are the artistic pieces. I focus most of my time on making vases, platters, and bowls. Some of them are segmented, where I cut out each individual segment of wood, and glue them together to form the piece. I also like to do the “basket illusion” technique where I use beading tools and an indexing system to create many squares which I then color in to create amazing patterns. Making something amazing with my hands is very rewarding to me. My favorite part is when a project is complete and I can take a step back and admire my work. I think back to all the hours cutting, gluing, or sanding involved. All of my pieces are one of a kind and take several hours to create. My work will last many generations to come. As I sell items, I expand my woodshop and upgrade my tools. When you support me, not only are you getting a one of a kind piece, but you are also helping me grow as an artist. I hope you enjoy my creations! |
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Tristin Larson
Tristin Larson is our Spring 2022 student artist in the Mentored Artist Program. She is a senior at the Northstar Alternative High School and has been accepted into the Art and Design Program at Bay College in Escanaba. 
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Tristin Larson will be Zero Degrees Gallery's Mentored Artist through June 2022.
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Simon Barrett
Hey There, I’m Simon… I create original oil paintings, sketches, pen and ink, and most recently, sculpture. All of my ideas are completely original. Usually I have so many images lodged in the minefield of my brain, that sometimes it takes a while before a project really solidifies and an image appears. I enjoy the process of giving each art piece its own unique story line. Often, I’ll leave just a bit of my work “incomplete”. This gives people the opportunity to piece together their own story and view my art in a unique and personal way. I’ve done art ever since I can remember - starting with paper tubes, lots of tape, and a stapler to create cars, rockets, and helicopters. Eventually I moved on to pencil, slowly added color (with the encouragement of Elizabeth, my art mentor for many years), and then quickly moved from acrylics to oil painting. In addition, I try to challenge myself and work in mediums that push me out of my comfort zone. Currently I am working with clay to give my designs more dimension and push my understanding of shape. |
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