Traverse City Record-Eagle

Arts & Entertainment

WORKSHOPS

-- Found Object Flower Arranging, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April 12, at the Backdoor Floral Studio, 112 Spring St., East Jordan.

Florist Judy Wagner-Worgress will demonstrate basic flower arranging skills for assembling fresh flowers in a found object. Students should bring a found object in which to make a fresh floral arrangement to take home. Cost: $30.

-- Ice Dyes and Eco Bundles with Flowers, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 28, on the lower level at the Jordan River Art Center, 301 Main St., East Jordan.

North Central Michigan College art professor Shanna Robinson will show how to make color on cloth using materials from the natural environment, including leaves, petals and frozen flowers. Supplies furnished, but students must bring rubber gloves, an apron and scissors. Cost: $50.

-- Silk Ribbon Flower Embroidery, 1-4 p.m. Sunday, April 29, on the lower level at Jordan River Art Center, 301 Main St., East Jordan.

Kathleen Glynn will demonstrate using free-hand techniques and silk ribbon to create large-scale embroidery stitches and floral designs. Students should bring embroidery scissors and a notebook and pencil. Cost: $30, plus $5 optional at class for kit.

Class sizes are limited. For more information or to register, visit jordanriverarts.com.

Related Photos

  • "Tulips and Blizzard," an oil painting by Margie Guyot, of Eastport. Special to the Record-Eagle

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  • A hand-built porcelain "Petal Pot Vessel" by Rosita Gendernalik, of Indian River and Southfield. Special to the Record-Eagle

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March 30, 2012

East Jordan show focuses on flora

East Jordan art exhibit focuses on flora

By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS mdrahos@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Margie Guyot paints every day — rain, shine or blizzard.

So when a March storm dumped 16 inches of snow on Eastport and cut power to her studio, Guyot bundled up and painted anyway, incorporating what she saw on both sides of the window..

The result is the canvas "Tulips and Blizzard," part of a new show at the Jordan River Art Center that celebrates flowers.

"Florescence" opens Sunday, April 1, with a reception for artists and patrons. It features the work of nearly 60 artists in paintings, sculptures, ceramics, fibers, prints, photographs and drawings.

Some of the works will be for sale, along with one of Guyot's images on tote bags.

"Margie was one of our favorites," said Babs Young, who co-curated the show with Kathleen Glynn. "I love her work and have for a long time. Her color palette and take on all of her still-life paintings have a special quality."

Among the show's more unusual works are contemporary sculptures by Elk Rapids artists Jim and Gera Witte. Gera Witte's giant flowers made from ceiling fan parts are outside the gallery, while Jim Witte's even bigger flowers created from white work glove "petals" illuminated with compact-fluorescent-light bulb "centers" will set the tone for the show inside.

"I think they're going to be at the top of the steps and they're going to be the first thing you see when you come in," Young said.

Other notable works include porcelain vases by ceramic artist Rosita Gendernalik, of Indian River and Southfield, and reverse glass paintings in window frames by Amy Perrier, of Bellaire.

For Guyot, who specializes in oil landscapes and still lifes, painting flowers is a special challenge.

"I think I like painting them because of the colors. If you want to paint screaming reds and purples you can do that," said the retired Ford plant worker, who learned to paint by saving up her salary and personal time to take workshops with some of the country's top painters. "But they're always a lot harder than you think. If you want to drive yourself crazy, paint a white rose. I tell people that learning how to paint flowers is learning how to control your panic."

The show runs through May 4 at the center in East Jordan, 301 Main St. Hours are 1-4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. For more information, visit www.jordanriverarts.com.

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