April 2008
Reed Zitting
Reed Zitting has been dabbling in photography for the past 35 years, first with a black and white darkroom and a Russian made Zenit SLR camera and more recently with a digital camera and Photoshop. Over the years Zitting has exhibited photography at the Traverse City Arts Council and taught photography to high school students at the Pathfinder School. He purchased his first digital camera about ten years ago and his darkroom and SLR have been in storage since. He recently acquired an Epson Stylus Pro7600 large format printer and a Nikon 8mp Coolpix 8700 camera, which inspired him to do this exhibit.
Zitting has held many positions in the educational and Arts community over the years including Head of the Division of Art, Dance and Drama at the Interlochen Arts Academy, President of the Traverse City Civic Players, Vice President of the Traverse City Arts Council, Director of the Pathfinder School, and Manager of the Traverse City Opera House.
He is presently retired and very active at the Children's House teaching theater to upper school students both in the summer and during the academic year and will be team teaching a photography class for upper elementary students this coming summer at the Children's House.
The photographs in this show will be sold in the silent auction at the annual Gala event and all proceeds will go to benefit the Children's House.
March 2008
Friends and family from The Children's House
Art as well as artists come in many shapes and sizes. Whether the art is drawn, painted, knit, cast, fired, assembled or photographed it all holds meaning for the artist and the viewer. This show covers the fine arts and crafts.
We have gotten to see a hooked rug done in the old style technique that may disappear from our fast paced lives. We want to touch the products of knitting skills handed down from generation to generation. Traditional styles of painting and drawing juxtaposed with contemporary spray paint. Lush photographs bring a richness of texture, color, shape, form and contrast to the eye. We see the products of the artistic eye that searches for the small bits and pieces of every day life and creates a new sculptural form with humor and delight. This show has a special gift for each viewer... I would like to give my great thanks to each and every artist that participated in this exhibit.
February 2008
Paul Leon 
Paul Leon is a Native American of the Cherokee Nation, Turtle Clan, who was given the spirit name of Koma-Doot Mushka-Dah Pezshe-Kah (Walking Buffalo Spirit) in a sweat lodge naming ceremony on the First Nation Reservation in Garden River, Canada.
Paul is an artist who makes traditional Native American regalia, Native crafts including cedar flutes, jewelry, beadwork, pottery, snowshoes, fishing flies, and other sacred ceremonial items passed down to him by elders in the traditional way.
He is a published writer of poetry and a collection of personal journal writings along with several other pieces of spiritual material. Paul currently writes a column for the White Pine Press. He is a self-taught flutist, and avid outdoorsman, who enjoys camping, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, back packing, cliff climbing, and horseback riding. He camps in his full size, eighteen foot Tipi and lived in it year round during 1993 and 1994.
Mr. Leon has served as President, Vice President, and member of the Board of Directors of the Grand Rapids Inter-Tribal Council. He has worked and volunteered in many capacities to help people with substance abuse problems by facilitating or implementing supportive programs. He has the honor of being a ceremonial pipe carrier. More information can be found in his posted bio.
His pursuit of art began with private classes in the 4th grade. He has attended Kent Skills Center, Ferris State University, Calvary Chapel Bible College and NMC. He has owned a chain of Native American Arts and Crafts Stores, and a high end gallery. He has taught Native American Arts at Grand Valley State University, Kent County Correctional Facility. He actively supports Native Culture through Ojibwe/Odawa language classes and radio programs such as Tribal Voices. His current goal is to combine his love of music with graphic arts to increase the awareness of Native American culture, language, spirituality, and traditional ways.
January 2008
Student Art
This is an exhibit of art created by the upper elementary students during the Artist Workshop Series offered this past fall. Each piece is labeled with the name of the student and the name of the artist whose work influenced the creation of this work.
The artists that shared their work with us this fall:
- September Barbara Kent - Acrylic Paintings/Scenes from Italy
- October Paul Welch - Watercolors/Playful Paint
- November Ken and Joan Richmond - Paint plus/Home, Pets and Allegory
- December Leif Spörck - Ceramic Tile/Nature in Clay - Art & Environment
Also art workshops are also offered on Mondays to all elementary students. Some of these pieces came from a watercolor techniques workshop.
Our upcoming shows will be:
February- Paul Leon - Mixed media/Walking in Spirit
March- Group show - The Art of the Children's House Family
April- Reed Zitting/Photography by Reed Zitting
May- Krys Lieffers - Rug Weaving/Rainbows for Walking
Summer- Student Photography from the Conservancy
December 2007
Leif Sporck
Leif was born in Traverse City (Michigan) and raised in Suttons Bay (Michigan). He is a former Montessori student. He graduated from the Suttons Bay Schools.
Leif is the son of accomplished ceramic artists. Leif has had his hands in clay since he was 2 years old learning the properties of clay, helping, watching, and working alongside his dad, Karl Spörck. Karl Spörck is the owner of Brisling Pottery and a ceramic instructor at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City.
Leif learned how to turn clay into mugs, bowls, and animal figures. He also learned how to paint and glaze. To glaze means to coat or cover the objects he made to give the clay permanent color and a protective coating. Leif watched his dad heat the glazed clay in a kiln, or oven, to temperatures over 2000° F. After a kiln cools, colorful, useful, and durable objects remain. This is what Leif knew at age twelve. Leif did not work with clay for nearly ten years. This was during his years of high school and college.
After receiving his pre-law degree from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, Leif decided to pursue his desire to design and produce a line of artistic ceramic tiles that would reflect his love of the natural environment. He decided to design a line of tiles that represent his perceptions of the colorful wildlife, the blue waters, the verdant farms and the various and beautiful locations that surround him. Not only has he designed these tiles but he has also dug local clays and used them as glazes. This makes his tiles a unique part of northern Michigan. He is the founder and owner of Spörck Tileart.
Spörck Tileart is located in Suttons Bay, Michigan, on the beautiful Leelanau Peninsula, long known as one of the state's significant fruit and wine producing regions. The Leelanau peninsula is a land of trees, hills, water, beaches and all the things that make for picturesque country settings and provide much of the inspiration for the designs you see on these walls.
The creation and use of ceramic tile has a history dating back some 4,000 years. Ceramic tile was extensively utilized by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. And while it is a common material today, ceramic tile was once relegated to royalty, aristocracy, and the wealthy. It's interesting to note that ceramic tile, thousands of years old, still adorns architectural wonders throughout the world.
November 2007
Joan Richmond
My images are a way of expressing my inner joys and fears. The compositions
reveal fleeting moments, fragments of dreams and traces of memories. Animals pose as characters to tell stories; symbols are used to convey emotions.
Color and pattern play an important role in exposing emotions. Bright colors help the characters jump and create movement. More somber tones bring a quite hush to the more inner-reflective images. The illuminated manuscripts of Medieval bestiaries, Greek vase paintings, and Early Christian mosaics are visual references that have influenced the way I create these narratives.
Many of the images dance joyously or swirl capriciously within the whimsical landscapes. Others are more stoic and convey a moment of introspection. None of the pictures tell a complete story-the same way a dream or memory is hard to fully remember.
October 2007
Paul Welch: Always Discovering Watercolors
Throughout his twenty-seven years as
Chairman of the Art department at Northwestern Michigan College, Paul Welch was well-known for his commitment and dedication to fostering the arts. He taught painting, drawing, design, sculpture, printmaking and art history before retiring in 1987. During his time he was a source of inspiration for hundreds of students involved in the arts.
Welch's vision of an arts community led him to become one of the founding members of the Traverse Area Arts Council in 1969. His most recent endeavors have been put toward the development of the Dennos Museum Center.
Graduating from Michigan State University with a Master of Arts degree, Welch was influenced by the bold coloring of the German Expressionists and the facetting form characteristic of Picasso's analytical cubism.
His artistic career included partnership in the Welch-Holdeman Studios, which created stained glass windows and mosaics for churches throughout the midwest including St. Francis Church in Traverse City. He has participated in various group shows and is listed in the American Artists of Renown. He has won a number of awards, been appointed Assistant Chairman, Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters, and his works are held in both public and private collections.
"A painting can be endless created, and I'm always discovering things while I paint," says the artist, "The act of watercolor painting suggests new possibilities that I will never exhaust. I allow myself to fall into my inner visions and to see the light springing up from everywhere."
Paul Welch may be reached at PO Box 219, Rapid City, MI 49676 or by calling (231) 322-6139.
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