I woke up. The sun was shining. And, it was deep freeze cold outside, so of course I decided to head to the lakeshore. On the way to Grand Haven, I was admiring the pretty blue sky, the wind whipped snow glittering on the vast fields of nothing and… what’s that in my rear view mirror? Why, it’s a jacked up truck tailgating me with a huge American flag mounted to the truck gate and flapping in the wind. Welcome to Michigan. You never know what to expect.
This is the kind of cloud that gets your attention when it’s blasting toward the shoreline. You never know what you’ll see when you’re at the Manistee shoreline, which is where I took this shot.
I just got back from Spectrum Health, where my ArtPrize entry is now in place. They were so nice to me and pros at installing my work. I’m always a little nervous about transporting and installing a piece this large and heavy.
About my technique: The work, titled LifeFlow, is 3 panels, each being 24″ wide x 36″ high. I used a technique that I taught myself. I combine huge digital captures from a scanner, a few photos, and then redraw the images on my computer, followed by over painting the resulting work, once it’s printed, with mica in a form where it retains translucency. You can’t tell from this photo, but in person, the mica creates a luminous effect that changes when you view the work from different angles. All told, the files used to create the image are HUGE, each file I worked with is over 3 gigabytes when uncompressed. The mica I paint with is a mineral and in powder form. One more thing, I love to garden, and I picked the flowers from my gardens, lotus bog and woods.
What inspired LifeFlow: This piece was created to reflect the beauty and transformations of life. It features a lotus pod, which represents a new beginning as well as an ending. Interestingly, the lotus pod is also a natural mandala. The lily’s represent life and if you look closely in the background, you’ll see upside down buildings, and flowers that look like people. I like to create work with positive energy and that makes people feel good. We all need more of that.
Location: You can see this piece at the Spectrum Health, Butterworth Campus main lobby, it’s right by the fireplace when you walk in the main hospital entrance (where the valet parking is).
Ann’s ArtPrize Voting Codes: vote33051
Buying Work from Ann: Yes, this piece is for sale, it’s $7,500 and I also accept commissioned work. Please call me at 616-560-4570 if interested.
So, there you have it, I hope you’ll get a chance to see this, and, of course I’d appreciate your vote… first place is $250,ooo and the winner is determined by the number of votes they receive from the public. The official voting to determine the top ten finalists is from September 23 – September 30. Here’s a link to ArtPrize voting information. Please see the following post for ArtPrize voter registration sites.
After having some hard times, Shanty Creek Resorts in Bellaire is back and better than ever. The resort is under new ownership and it shows in the facilities as well as the golf courses which include The Legend Golf Course, which was designed by Arnold Palmer; Summit Golf course, Schuss Mountain Golf Course; and Cedar River Golf Course, designed by architect and PGA player Tom Weiskopf (Cedar River was named a Top 100 resort course by Golf Magazine.)
There’s some great golf deals right now. At the time of this writing, they have a September & October package which is valid 7 days a week, that includes:
• One night’s lodging in a guest room
• One day of unlimited golf on any of the four courses
• Golf cart and range balls included
• $10 food & beverage voucher
Here’s a link to their website, if you’d like to learn more.
I just got back from a weekend in Manistee and was amazed at both the beauty and how few people were there. Here’s a link to the area I took this off Lakeshore Beach Drive. The first time I saw Manistee was about three years ago and I was blown away by what a hidden treasure this place is. There’s still time to soak up some summertime beauty, sun and waves up north, why not head to Manistee? It’s only two hours from Grand Rapids, check it oouuuttt!
I’ll tell you what’s going on, someone’s enjoying Pekadills in Whitehall, MI. YUM! I absolutely love this place. First of all, the food is great; second of all they have a garden area out back that is totally relaxing to enjoy that great meal in; and lastly, Whitehall is a nice little lakeshore town with one of the best boat launches around. Here’s a link to Pekadills website. And another link to Whitehall.
Lots of my friends have been asking for more, more, more details about The Rothbury Music Festival this year. So I will give them to you! The best way I can describe Rothbury is “unexpected.” By this I mean, there’s just nothing to compare it to. The whole experience is over the top, maybe that’s why more than 50,000 people attended this year, that’s up about 20,00 from last year.
One example is at the Speak EZ Stage and bar. It’s hidden in Sherwood Forest, in fact, I didn’t even know about it until my son Ryan told me about the stage. The Speak EZ is tucked back in the woods and has a burlesque look and feel to it. Artists perform at this stage with everything from burlesque to experimental art. I took this photo as an impromptu show was being set up for a performing, experimental artist… more on that later, I took photos.
On another note, I wanted to thank everyone who stopped by to see me at the Reed’s Lake Art Fair yesterday, it was a great show!
The Festival of the Arts in Grand Rapids is a great way to spend this weekend and it looks like we’ll have great weather. This celebration features lots of ethnic food, fine art, local bands on multiple stages, a juried film competition, activities for children of all ages and dance performances. All performances are free thanks to generous donations and lots of volunteers. Festival will be on June 5, 6 and 7. Here’s a link to Upstage Crew’s website.
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