MACKINAC ISLAND, MI - Painters, poets and photographers are among the group of seven people who won a coveted Artist-in-Residence spot on the island for the 2021 summer and fall seasons.
The winners, announced recently by Mackinac State Historic Parks, were selected by a juried group of island representatives and will each give one public presentation of their work during their two- or three-week stays there. The program, now in its third year, is meant to inspire all types of artists by placing them in a spot they can use the history and beauty of the island as a muse for their creativity.
“Mackinac State Historic Parks is very pleased with the artists selected for the 2021 artist-in-residence season on Mackinac Island,” Parks Director Steve Brisson said. “We have a diverse group of talented artists who look forward to being inspired by Mackinac and sharing their creativity through interactive workshops.”
While there were 45 qualified applicants, only a handful were selected. As part of the program, each artist will host a public workshop or demonstration of their art on the second Wednesday of their residency at 7 p.m. The artist also must agree to contribute one piece of their island-inspired work to the parks group within a year of completing the program.
Here are the artists-in-residence for 2021, as described by the parks group:
- Owen Wittekindt, June 7 – June 20. Workshop to be held June 16. “Wittekindt is an emerging, self-taught artist, focusing on animal and natural imagery, with painstaking patience and attention to detail. He specializes in micro-dot stippling. He plans to spend his time on the island taking a great deal of photographs for reference and making sketches of anything that inspires him. He will study both the natural beauty of the island as well as the many historic landmarks. Using his reference material, he will compose a scene through his drawing that best represents his vision of Mackinac Island.”
- Kurt Anderson, June 21 – July 11. Workshop June 30. “Anderson is a painter, who, in the midst of a full-time career as a surgical PA in 1995, decided to rekindle his creative spirit through painting and has never looked back. A lover of the outdoors, he gravitated to plein air painting. He’s looking forward to spending several days on the island exploring out-of-the-way scenes and the everyday life of full-time islanders. He’s looking forward to painting ‘for himself,’ and not necessarily what any gallery is looking for.”
- Elizabeth Klein, July 12 – July 25. Workshop July 21: “Klein is a writer who holds a BA in Professional Communications and has a decade of combined experience as a writer, poet, and editor. Her collection, Upon a Shoreline Exile, was set on Mackinac Island, and she plans on writing and editing several additional poems during her residency. The art she’ll create and contribute during her residency will utilize the island’s history, natural wonders, and beauty to not only entertain, but surprise and challenge.”
- Elizabeth Spitz, July 26 – Aug. 8. workshop Aug. 4: “Spitz calls her technique constructed watercolor. She starts with painting full sheets of the colors needed for a piece, then cuts and glues the shapes to create layered images. Spitz is a lifelong Michigander with a deep love for Mackinac Island. A theme for a new piece that’s been dancing in her thoughts for a while has been historic buildings, which ties into her career as an architect. She’ll also spend time on the island studying plants and gardens.”
- Benjamin Bohnsack, Aug. 9 – Aug. 29. Workshop Aug. 18. “Bohnsack is a woodcut artist and printmaker from the Upper Peninsula. He makes multi-color relief prints with representational designs, usually by reduction using soy based and environmentally friendly materials. He makes his woodcuts inspired by landscapes, creatures, and human enterprise in the world. As he works, he enjoys interacting with people, inviting them to ‘look over his shoulder’ and visit about what he is doing. He’s a huge fan of Mackinac Island, and is excited for the opportunity to live, do art, and meet people while there.”
- Raymond Gaynor, Aug. 30 – Sept. 12. Workshop Sept. 8. “Gaynor has been working in photography most of his adult life. What started as a hobby turned into a passion and a business after his retirement from an international software business career. During visits to the island, he has often desired an extended period of time to be immersed in the natural beauty of the island. He’s excited to search out and capture ideal locations during golden and twilight hours. His images capture the way nature conserves itself through a process of growth and rebirth, through creative and unique perspectives of the vistas and preserves.”
- Nicholas Hill, Sept. 13 – Oct. 3. Workshop Sept. 22. “Hill is a printmaker who was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2017. His residency brings him full circle in his professional career – while as an undergraduate student, he worked on Mackinac Island and exhibited his drawings at a small gallery. His studio work is embedded in ‘place, history and memory.’ How one experiences and comes to know a place over time is of central importance to Hill. He is eager to learn more of Mackinac’s rich history and imagines many visits to the fort and other historic settings as a means to deepening his understanding of the island’s history and culture.”
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Photographer, painter among Mackinac Island’s artist-in-residence winners - MLive.com
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