ZDG Visiting Artist Series
Erika Potila | April 2022 Visiting Artist
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Artist Statement
My love of spoons started 19 years ago, when my mom bought a spoon for each my sister. It became our new favorite! Unfortunately, we didn't know how to take care of them and they soon split. A couple years later, needing a new gift idea for my sister, I asked my husband (who's a remarkable woodworker) if I'd be able to make a spoon. He set me up and very patiently taught me how. It became my love and passion! I work with cherry, maple, lilac, plum, apple, walnut, birch, and sometimes ash, a lot of which comes from our yard and woodpile. The beauty in the different grains that pop out when I get them wet between sandings enhances my love for what I'm doing every single time, not to mention how they feel and smell so different. My favorite by far is lilac. The buttery feel when finished far surpasses any other wood. I am meticulous when it comes to the end product.. Always being in the kitchen myself, I need spoons to hold up, even in boiling water. It was a long process of trial and error before I was truly satisfied. I sand to 1000 grit, then hand buff with a paper bag. I then rub in a combination of walnut oil, coconut oil and beeswax and put above my wood stove to soak in. Feeling such joy and connection when using my spoons, they've opened up my love for all handmade crafts. And I know they will for you, too. My spoons, if taken care of, will be something you'll love and will have to pass down from generation to generation. -- Erika Potila |
Bernie Park | March 2022 Visiting Artist
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Artist Statement
Although the formative years of my art making were firmly grounded in the abstract genre, I have spent the last several years exploring regional landscape painting. After moving to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, I gradually became seduced by the beauty and power of the woodlands, water and variety of moods one experiences living above the forty-fifth parallel. I try to capture the light and the atmosphere, the strength and subtlety that, for me, convey a sense of tranquility and spirituality that emanates from this very special place. I purposefully omit fauna, human configuration, manmade structures or elements as well as spectacle. No crashing waterfalls, rainbows or "wow" moments, only the mundane or everyday need apply. My preferred medium is oil paint thinly applied in layers and glazes on solid supports or canvas. Most of the work is comprised of modest to medium size dimensions that serve to draw the viewer in for a more intimate experience. --Bernie Park |
Artist reception for Bernie Park Saturday, March 12, 1-4pm
Deb Laurie | January 2022 Visiting Artist
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Artist Statement
Fall and winter are my favorite seasons with Lake Superior and its mercurial weather. I attempt to capture the feelings nature inspires in me, through a language of paint, ink, and textures. I hope to inspire others to appreciate what an incredible place we live in. Watercolor is my medium of choice, either paper or rice paper; using the batik method of resist with melted wax. Inktense sticks (or ink pen), gesso, and palette knives are also used to create textures. |
I have evolved into exploring with oil paint and cold wax recently, finding my way with this new medium and technique.
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Carolyn Snyder | December 2021 Visiting Artist
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Artist Statement
Color and the challenge of describing the 3-dimensional world in a 2-dimensional image have fascinated me since childhood. While in college, I was too busy pursuing a degree in biology and graduate work in pharmacology to take art classes. Years later, as a stay-at-home mother of two toddlers, I did take some evening classes and began to paint in oils. A chance conversation at a community art fair led to employment as a medical illustrator at the Medical College of Wisconsin, creating black and while line drawings for teaching and research publications. I loved the work, but quit making my own art. After retiring to Marquette (in ’02), I began painting again. I have learned and benefited from classes in the art department at Northern Michigan University. My media is oil painting while exploring a variety of subject matter. I love painting the beauty of nature; often it is the challenge of painting water with its colorless, yet colorful surface and eerie depths. Another visual fascination of mine began in college. While studying cell structures and functions in a histology class, I kept finding myself distracted by the patterns, visual designs and amusing personas I often saw in many of the electron micrographs (black and white photographs of cells viewed with an electron microscope). I use these for inspiration; because the electron micrographs are black and while, the color choices are purely my own. I also come back again and again to the challenge of portraits and capturing likenesses on paper or canvas. --Carolyn K. Snyder |
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Join us!
Artist Reception Saturday December 11 1-4pm
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Martin Zehnder | November 2021 Visiting Artist
Biographical Narrative of Marvin Zehnder
In 1951, I enrolled in the Art Department of Michigan State University
and took my first ceramics class that year. This class, taught by Lou
Raynor, was to be a building block that shaped the rest of my life.
After a 2 year hiatus during which I served in the US Army, I graduated
from Michigan State University in 1957 with a degree in Art Education. I
remained to earn a Master of Arts degree in painting and ceramics.
After a brief period teaching in the secondary school system of
Menominee, Michigan, I enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts ceramic
design program at Alfred University in Alfred, New York. Alfred
University has the reputation of being the international center for
ceramic artists and educators. This is where I met and married another
ceramic student, Monica Bellew. During the first year of study I was
to be taught by some internationally recognized personalities of the
ceramic world, such as Val Cushing, Robert Turner and Ted Randall. After
one year of study I was awarded a scholarship to intern as an
artist/designer for Haeger Potteries of Dundee, Illinois. This program
was copied from a similar one that was being used at the Arabia ceramic
factory in Finland. After the project length of a year, I remained at
Haeger as artist/craftsman/designer.
This was the time when Northern Michigan College was changing from a
primarily education institution and was growing into the University
status. The current Art Department was emphasizing art education. The
new Art and Design department was headed by Mike Gorski. On January of
1967, I was the first hire to develop a studio area in the new Art and
Design department. I was given $1000.00 and an empty room and told to
develop a ceramics studio. For the next 30 some years I exhibited
locally, regionally and nationally while changing and outfitting studios
to accommodate the growth of the department.
I retired from Northern Michigan University in 1997 and continue to
explore my use of the ceramic medium. Another serious interest is in the
horticultural world, and that is reflected clearly in the forms I
produce. Throwing on the potter's wheel and the container form are the
major factors in all of my pieces, but the shapes and forms from the
plant world are obviously reflected in my ceramic objects.
Elizabeth Howe | October 2021 Visiting Artist
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Artist Statement Wind, Water and Wandering I have always painted in the hopes that the viewer can feel the wind in the trees or the wetness of water. Making the connection to nature through the creamy expressive strokes of the brush and colors of the palette. This series of paintings explores wandering the shores of Lake Superior, both its rugged and sandy coast. Included in this are works that capture that wandering, but with a twist, watching the wanders. Pondering not only my rejuvenation of being by the lake, or touching the rocks and earth, but taking it deeper and connecting with others doing the same. Every day is fresh inspiration. Elizabeth Gartner Howe Bio I’m a watcher… if you were to take a hike with me in the woods or on the shore you would find we stop often to look. To see color, light, and forms of things. I was born in 1960 and primarily grew up being outside in Michigan, in the USA. Taking to painting as a young kid started me on a path, of paintings, commissions, design studio work and as a muralist. Teaching art also became a passion. I like to help ignite the journey of exploring the act of creating with students of all ages. Both using skill building as well as creative expression to achieve that goal I live and work on the shores of Lake Superior in Marquette, Mi where it is hard for me to unsee the color and beauty of nature, painting directly and from the memory of places, using a colorful palette and expressive stokes to inspire the viewer to connect to the natural world and maybe a little daydreaming. |
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Kelly Gilligan | August 2021 Visiting Artist
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Kelly Gilligan graduated from the NMU Metals department in 2011 and has been making and selling her Jewelry since then. She is using a technique called Saltwater Etching to create designs and textures on her Jewelry, giving them both an elegant and comfortable feel.
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John Hubbard | June/July 2021 Visiting Artist
Professor Hubbard developed the Drawing and Painting and Printmaking concentrations in the Art and Design program at Northern Michigan University. He taught the lower level cognate offerings, was in charge of the graduate program, developed the paper-making facilities, and was the Exhibits Coordinator for the Lee Hall Gallery for eight years.
As a professional artist, he has been included in over 200 juried exhibitions, 16 one-person exhibitions, and seven two-person exhibitions. He has served as a juror for seven exhibitions in the Midwest, and was awarded two Creative Artists Grants from the Michigan Council for the Arts. In 2005, he was selected Artist in Residence at Isle Royale by the National Park Service. He has conducted numerous workshops, and has work in 20 permanent collections, including Dow Chemical Company, Michigan Bell Telephone, Ford Motor Company, Kansas State University, Neville Public Museum, Austin Peay State University, Brueckner Museum, as well as many private collections.
Since his retirement from teaching at Northern Michigan University in 2014, he has continued to pursue his work as a practicing artist, concentrating his efforts in painting. Professor Hubbard lives and works with his wife, Susan, in his home on Big Shag Lake in Gwinn, Michigan.
Professor Hubbard developed the Drawing and Painting and Printmaking concentrations in the Art and Design program at Northern Michigan University. He taught the lower level cognate offerings, was in charge of the graduate program, developed the paper-making facilities, and was the Exhibits Coordinator for the Lee Hall Gallery for eight years.
As a professional artist, he has been included in over 200 juried exhibitions, 16 one-person exhibitions, and seven two-person exhibitions. He has served as a juror for seven exhibitions in the Midwest, and was awarded two Creative Artists Grants from the Michigan Council for the Arts. In 2005, he was selected Artist in Residence at Isle Royale by the National Park Service. He has conducted numerous workshops, and has work in 20 permanent collections, including Dow Chemical Company, Michigan Bell Telephone, Ford Motor Company, Kansas State University, Neville Public Museum, Austin Peay State University, Brueckner Museum, as well as many private collections.
Since his retirement from teaching at Northern Michigan University in 2014, he has continued to pursue his work as a practicing artist, concentrating his efforts in painting. Professor Hubbard lives and works with his wife, Susan, in his home on Big Shag Lake in Gwinn, Michigan.
Jason Schneider | April 2021 Visiting Artist
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Jason Schneider is a studio furniture maker who works with traditional woodworking processes in non-traditional materials to create unique three-dimensional objects. He received a BFA in Furniture Design from William Paterson University and an MFA in Furniture Design from San Diego State University. Over the past two decades, his work has been widely exhibited at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass, CO; Aspen Art Museum, CO; Center for Art in Wood, Philadelphia, PA; Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, CA; and the Neuberger Museum, SUNY Purchase, NY; among others. He has given lectures and demonstrations at the Central New England Woodturners, Worcester, MA; Google, Mountain View, CA; and Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC. He is the former Studio Coordinator of the Furniture Design and Woodworking program at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, CO. Currently, Jason is an Assistant Professor of the Woodworking and Furniture Design program at Northern Michigan University. Artist Statement My work explores the beauty and character of corrugated cardboard in functional and sculptural forms. This study of the fine use and function of this low-status, recyclable, and often overlooked material is what drives my curiosity. The inventive process of creating objects with corrugated cardboard is exciting and stimulating, often resulting in a highly textured and elegant surface and form. |
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Tim Trombley | March 2021 Visiting Artist
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Artist's Statement I've always been drawn to the "big picture" landscapes. I’m there to soak in and capture all of the details in every direction. Without exception, there is always more than what can be included in the print. This small collection here is stepping out of my usual approach of presenting the larger scene and taking a more intimate look at the landscape. This technique is not new for me but it is something I seldom work on. Most close-up work tends to be studies in colors, contrasts, textures and forms. Sometimes those combinations can make some interesting abstractions. Sometimes it just simplifies a greater scene into its basic elements. This is just a sampling of some smaller landscapes that I find interesting Artist Bio Tim Trombley’s love of photography began as a hippie hitchhiking across America with an old Brownie camera. After earning a BS in Forestry from Michigan Tech University, Tim enrolled in some photography classes while working in Lansing and later earned a Master of Arts degree in Photography from Purdue University. A five year stint as an interpretive ranger in the National Park Service led him to many beautiful places where he honed his landscape photographic skills, but he always returned to the Upper Peninsula, finally making it his permanent home in 1994. Tim feels the most rewarding part of landscape photography is that of discovery and exploration. Making images to share the experience completes the process and compels him to go back for more. Surrounded by the beauty of the Upper Peninsula and with the Hiawatha National Forest and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in his backyard, Tim finds ample inspiration and opportunity to create his amazing photographs. |
Patty Gagnon | January/February 2021 Visiting Artist
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Patty Gagnon has been a resident of Marquette, Michigan for 20 years. She received a BFA/painting degree from NMU in 2015 and a BA in English Literature with an art minor from UC Santa Barbara in the 1960s. She has also attended innumerable art workshops, including Turkish tile design in Istanbul.
Raised on dam projects around the world, she met her husband, Harvey, in Pakistan. They continued moving to new places with their three sons. In 2005, they served in the Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan. SURPRISED BY JOY ‘Surprised by joy’ is a quote used by author Louise Penny in her Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series. It’s written on a plaque secured to the back of a park bench. Ms. Penny got it from CS Lewis, and he references a poem by Wordsworth. So, not a new idea – joy – but something I had forgotten in 2020. It surprises us even in times of pandemics and uncertainties. Joy isn’t the same as happiness or pleasure. “Joy is never in our power.” It doesn’t deny death, darkness, evil, despair. We and our world are made up of all these parts, yet, look around and every once in a while it smacks you – joy. So here are the surprises of joy that hit me when I looked out, up and around. |
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Barry Bernstein | December 2020 Visiting Artist
I’ve been making vessels and
firing in the Raku process for over 35 years. I use the vessel form
as my canvas and the firing process as my paint brush. Slight adjustments in the firing and cooling create a wide range of colors and textures. I try to create visually strong forms and strong surface treatment. Pieces must have both to be considered successful. I make simple forms with very little embellishment to get at the strength and inner beauty of the vessel form.
My pieces reflect the hues and
the forms of our Upper Peninsula environment. Many of my pieces celebrate the Northern Lights. Others are reminiscent of Lake Superior and the brilliance of the fall colors.
Other influences include 7th to 17th century Asian ceramics and Native American pottery. Another is an artist/instructor named Richard Devore who fired his pieces numerous times. Devore fired his pieces in an electric kiln and I thought I would try the technique with Raku. To my delight, I obtained hues and textures not usually found in Raku. This has led to other experimentation including glaze firing the pieces twice in an electric kiln before I Raku fire. Each piece gets 2-4 Raku firings. Sometimes I over fire the pieces and then under fire them. Each subtle change in the Raku process creates different results. I’m still experimenting.
Joe Graci | November 2020 Visiting Artist
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