Went for a walk on Lake Michigan today and this is what I saw.
Went for a walk on Lake Michigan today and this is what I saw. Photo by Ann Teliczan

Usually I like to go to Lake Michigan in the summer, but with all the cold weather and snow we’ve had, I thought that this would be a good time to check out the landscape. Wow! It was spectacular, this icy sculpture is the lighthouse, and the vast ice field beyond it, is the lake. I took this photo in Grand Haven, MI at the lighthouse.

UPDATE: since I posted this 7 days ago, I’ve had over 42,000 page views of this post so I wanted to answer some of the questions I’ve been getting… 1) the dark object to the left of the “ice wave” is a person, not an eagle. There were a lot of people walking around on the frozen lake, I was not one of them, I was walking on the frozen pier, which is where I was when I took this photo. I am too chicken to walk out on frozen lakes, especially big frozen lakes, and strongly recommend staying off the lake, even if it is frozen.   2) the snow and ice surrounding the wave, is Lake Michigan which is now 80% covered in ice.   3) I am happy for you to share my photo, as long as you link it back to this blog post,  if you share it on Facebook, please also tag me (Ann Gundry Teliczan). Thank you everyone for all the positive feedback, it’s great to be appreciated.

UPDATE 2: Even thought there is an icy layer on the lake, it is not safe. Here is an article about people falling through the ice out there this winter, even if other folks are out there on the ice, please, please, please don’t risk it it.

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This sundog in Ada, MI made the subzero drive on icy roads worth it.
This sundog in Ada, MI made the subzero drive on icy roads worth it.

As I was driving along this morning wondering why on earth I was braving the packed icy roads in subzero weather, I looked up and saw this sundog. It was funny because I was listening to the radio and the announcer was talking about what a miserable day it was and seeing this totally changed my perspective of the morning.

This has been the coldest, snowiest winter I can remember in Michigan, but as long as I can keep my house warm (and not go broke doing it), I’m going to snuggle up and enjoy the winter.

If you click on this photo, you can see even more detail.
If you click on this photo, you can see even more detail.

I’m not like most people when it comes to ice storms. Yes, I do hate it when we lose power, but, the resulting photos more than make up for it.

Michigan had an ice storm this week and then, it snowed on top of the ice. Seriously, I had a hard time driving and staying focused with the stunning beauty all around me. I took this photo in the back of a schoolyard in Ada, but it looks like this everywhere right now.

ArtPrize Ann Teliczan 2013
ArtPrize 2013 work by Ann Teliczan, Moonglow 103, made of betona tiles, and located at 50 Monroe (building shares the parking lot with The BOB). Vote Code: 55228

ArtPrize 2013, in Grand Rapids, Michigan looks like it’s going to have some great art in it. That’s me up there with my entry. After taking a couple of years off from ArtPrize, I decided to join back in this year.

My entry features unique art process I developed which does not use a paintbrush or camera. This spring I was approached by betona tile® about printing large scale installations of my art on their unique tiles made of recycled glass and concrete.

I scan botanical materials and combine them on my computer, sometimes in hundreds of layers. After seeing the potential of combining my art with betona’s capabilities we both decided to use ArtPrize 2013 to debut the above signature piece of my work, “Moonglow 103.” This unique piece is 20’ tall x 8’ wide comprising of 84 custom tiles.

Here’s a little movie short that I did about my ArtPrize piece this year.

ArtPrize runs from September 18, 2013 – October 6, 2013 and was named one of Time Magazine’s “Five Festive Events You Won’t Want to Miss in 2013” out of a worldwide list of contenders. The event uses a spectator voting system where anyone who is registered for ArtPrize can vote for the winner. The top prize, $200,000, is decided entirely by public vote.

“Moonglow 103” is located at 50 Monroe Place in Grand Rapids, MI, with the ArtPrize artist vote code: 55228. In the coming days, I will be adding to my ArtPrize coverage and sharing other works of art that I love. If you can make it to Grand Rapids for this, it is are truly fun, one of a kind event.

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Michigan beaches are among the best in the world and are regularly voted as top destinations. In fact, this summer, the Grand Haven beach was named #14 by CNN Travel as a “Must See Beach.”  Here are some of my favorite Michigan beaches:

This is not even close to a complete list of nice Michigan beaches, it’s just ones that I am familiar with and love. Please add your favorite beaches in the comments section.

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This evening after a surprise trip to Spoonlickers with my parents (thank you very much Mom and Dad,) that the sky was looking rather unique. there was a storm off to the northeast and the sky was clear towards the lakeshore. So, I just started driving around until I found this beautiful view. It was truly a spectacular sunset.

Michigan sweet spot michigansweetspot
Shower made from “ann teliczan designs for betona®” tiles. See how the tiles almost have a luminous quality to them?

Several months ago I heard about betona® tile, a gem of a company based in Spring Lake, Michigan. Their graphic designer had seen my MichiganSweetSpot blog and wanted to use one of the photographs to show how vivid and perfect their printing is on their unique tiles. One thing led to another and I now have a tile line with betona, featuring my fine art. The “ann teliczan designs for betona®” line launched this week in New York and Las Vegas.

The tiles are not anything like a typical tile. They are not ceramic, and are cured at room temperature, so the surface looks more like an art surface, not at all like a ceramic tile surface. The printing is amazing, they match colors and shading exactly, even in the areas with subtle details.

This was a tough project to print and was thrilled with the results.
This was a tough project to print and I was thrilled with the results.

This is a USA owned and operated company with everything produced here in West Michigan. 50% of the materials for the tiles are made from recycled glass and even though the tiles are produced as a work of art, they are extremely functional. The tiles are appropriate for multi-surface applications such as floors, walls, counters, showers, backsplash, reception areas, wayfinding systems, donor walls, murals and more. And, are perfect for healthcare, hospitality, residential… virtually any environment. They are lightweight, produce no VOC’s, slip and stain resistant and have a 10 year limited wear warrantee.

This is from my Kaleidoscope collection, I just love how it turned out on tiles.
This is from my Kaleidoscope collection, I just love how it turned out on tiles.

When I call betona, an actual person picks up the phone and answers. A dedicated in-house design team is on staff at betona to customize art to your project needs and specifications, as well as a friendly, helpful, knowledgeable tech support and customer service team.

For more information about my new “ann teliczan designs for betona” tile line, please visit the betona website here. Or call them at 866.248.8832.

 

Michigan Sweet Spot Crabapple tree blooms
Beautiful spring crabapple blooms at Ada Park.

A couple of days ago I saw on facebook that Betsy Ratsch, from Betsy Ratsch Pottery, had commented on the amazing crabapple blooms in Ada Park on Buttrick. I decided to blast on over there and see what all the commotion was about and was sure glad I did. First off, there was this wonderful crabapple perfume permeating the park, topped off by beautiful blooming trees everywhere.

As I was leaving this dude with a guitar walked by and told me that he comes there just before sunset because the light is so pretty and “it beats playing at home.” Well played sir, well played.

ADA FLOODING 2013 UPDATE: 4/19/13, evening… downtown Ada is starting to flood. Ada Drive is now impassable. The river is clearly higher than it was just a few hours ago.

LOWELL FLOODING 2013 UPDATE 4/19/13

GRAND RAPIDS FLOODING 2013 4/18/13

Because of the flooding in Grand Rapids I spent my afternoon and evening exploring the flooding in Grand Rapids, Ada and West Michigan, I’ve not seen anything like it, ever. The worst part is that the flooding won’t peak until this weekend when the Grand River will hit 24.76 ft – the record is 19.5 ft. I made the YouTube movie in this post this afternoon when the river was at 18.89 ft.

WMEAC (the West Michigan Environmental Council) is requesting volunteers on Friday 6/19/13 beginning at 8:00 AM to to sandbag the Grand Rapids Wastewater Treatment Plant at 660 Market Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 please sign up here to help.

For those of you caught up in the flooding, my heart goes out to you. Please be safe.

 

I’m looking forward to ArtPrize this year. I have a great piece to enter, was mesmerized by the Chinese Lantern Launch in 2012 and Time Magazine listed Grand Rapids’ ArtPrize as a top five festive event that people won’t want to miss in 2013. All in all, after two years of sitting on the sidelines, I’m in. I took the YouTube movie featured here during last year’s event.