Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Krasl staff!

From the Krasl Art Center staff, please accept our good wishes for a wonderful holiday with your families and friends.

There are still some openings in the kid’s holiday classes, the gift shop is still open for last minute shopping (and 75% off on Christmas items), and the Krasl Art Fair on the Bluf Patron Program gift certificates are still available. Please call for information—269-983-0271.

We will see you next for the Friday, January 18th opening reception for the Member's Show, from 5:30-7:30 pm (entries are due Jan 11).

Our January hours: Monday–Thursday & Saturday, 10–4 pm; Friday 10–1 pm; Sunday 1–4 pm. The Krasl’s galleries will be closed from Jan. 2–Jan. 17, 2008 but the office will remain open.

Ta-ta!

Harbor Works Art Project Reception--Tonight!

Friday, December 14, 6:00–9:00 p.m.
Funded by Connect Up! this program offers intensive artmaking opportunities to children involved in the after school programs at YMCA’s LOFT, and Salvation Army’s Turning Point. The community is invited to a reception at Chartreuse: A Local Arts Co-op to meet the artists and to shop for works of art made by these entrepreneur young artists. Proceeds from the sale of each work of art go toward art supplies and into a savings account created for each artist. Art objects available include wood turned pens, silver jewelry, mosaic mirrors, beaded bracelets, and silver chains.

Artwork made by Harbor Works Art Project students is available for purchase at Chartreuse, December 14–16, and at the Krasl Art Center gift shop.

The reception is open to the public. See you there!

Chartreuse is located at 304 State Street, St. Joseph, MI 49085

Visit to New Territory Art Association in Benton Harbor!

The Friday after Thanksgiving I went on a little field trip with my elderly parents and my brother Tom, who was in town from DC for the holiday. I took them to the Art Hop in the Benton Harbor Arts District, and that turned out to be a very good choice of things to do.

We visited the Water Street Glassworks, a public access school for the study of glass arts owned by Kathy and Jerry Catania, and it is just amazing. Not only do they have a really wonderful shop in the front, and the attached Vesuvius Gallery, but they have a catwalk where you can actually stand and watch glass artists blow and work with glass in the four or five furnaces. My father said "What are we doing here again"?

There were so many things I wanted to buy! They sell work that their students have done, and have vases, bowls, paperweights and all kinds of other things for sale. I think I'm going back for this stunning clear glass bowl with yellow ribbons of color throughout. The Krasl is in cohoots with the Water Street Glassworks and offers a discount to all Krasl members.

We visited the Benton Harbor Gallery of Fine Art owned by Carl Brecht, and that is a really wonderful place, too. I did not make it to the Richard Vance Gallery, nor the Richard Hunt Studio Center, which displays the work of famous sculptor Richard Hunt. Next time! And then I may hit "the Livery" too, a popular microbrewery-restaurant nearby.

Tomorrow I visit the Detroit Institute of Arts—very exciting!

Something always happening in St. Joseph!

The last few weeks have slipped by and I've barely had time to think. The Krasl is gearing up for its holiday classes, and is anticipating the Member Show on January 18. Don't forget to enter that one. No admission charge, just membership to enter.

On November 10, I attended a wonderful open house at the Brookview Montessori School in Benton Harbor. Krasl art teacher Christina Worthington was in charge of the decor and it was stunning. Little clear mini-lights, luminaries; the place looked like a fairy tale! What a great school that is. It almost makes me wish my sons were still little (not). And the food was great. Don't miss this one next year.

On Friday, Nov 16, I toddled to downtown St. Joe to witness my first Luminary Festival. What fun! People singing in small groups, stores open late, people crowding the streets talking to friends (and it was like 35 degrees!), and free food! I real small-town atmosphere. I was able to see two of the new carousel animals for the park below the bluff--one a baby giraffe, and the other an Indian pony. They were really gorgeous.

And tonight is the big Box Factory Bearclaw cafe opening reception. Does it sound like all I talk about is food?

Just a reminder, too, that Friday Nov 23, 6 pm, is the Benton Harbor New Territories Hop & Shop. Our kids (from our Krasl outreach programs at LOFT, and Turning Point after school programs) will be selling artwork that they made themselves. Our Director of Education, Julia Gourley, will be on hand in case you want to buy it all! The program is all about teaching kids to be artists, and marketing and selling is all a big part of it. I will be there, too, bringing all my holiday visitors, like it or not. No Hop-No Eat!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Krasl,

'Toon Exhibit Opening

Last Friday evening I attended my first art exhibit "opening" at the Krasl Art Center. The exhibit was "Art in the 'Toon Age," which featured artwork done by more than thirty artists, spanning three generations—from seven countries. All thirty-two artists were clearly imspired by comics graphics. They have used their own style of "comic art" to raise commercial art up to a fine art. This traveling show is owned by the Kresge Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

The place was jammed. The food was great, the work was fabulous, the wine (Tabor Hill) was delish, and my husband hated the exhibit. But then, he is 20 years older than me, and European. His idea of art still don't include comics. And he isn't convinced about graphic novels either. But I have to tell you that this show is fabulous! Do try to see it before it closes on Dec 31.

The next opening will be for the Member Show on January 18 from 5:30-7:30 pm and I hope to see you all here. This is a great time to become a member and submit your work.

Krasl Sculpture Collection Grows to Thirty-six

After sculptors Austin Collins and Bruce White took part in the 2006 Krasl Biennial Sculpture Invitational which highlighted the talents of Chicago Sculpture International, they both decided to generously donate their works to the Krasl art center’s permanent collection. Both Collins and White were very pleased by how well their works were received by the community.

Collins of Notre Dame, Indiana, donated Temple Carousel II made of galvanized steel to the collection. Collins earned his BA from the University of Notre Dame, and his MFA from Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California. He has sculptures in the Crown Hill Heritage Foundation in Indianapolis, Greater Reston Art Center in Reston Virginia, and King’s College in Wilkes-Barre. Pennsylvania. Collins works on themes that “generally tackle issues of social and political consequence, always with the intended aim of foregrounding concerns, which face human beings as individuals, as members of a culture and a society, as participants in the world, and as spiritual souls.”

Bruce White donated Riddle, an aluminum sculpture he created in 2000. White currently resides in DeKalb, Illinois. He obtained his BA from the University of Maryland, and his MA and DEd from Columbia University in New York. He has work in the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, Riverfront Skate Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the city of Sarasota, Florida. “Many of my works are influenced by the unpredictable patterns of natural systems, or “orderly disorder” stated White. “In Riddle, I was fascinated by the irregular flow of bubbles in the production of Swiss cheese and the fascinating variations and random compositions of the ovals which appear in each slice of cheese.”

2007 Holiday Art Class Schedule released!

Are you bored bunkey? Well, sign up for a class at the Krasl Art Center. Be an artist! Really!

The classes that run from Nov 27 to Jan 4 are just amazing! There are more than 25 different classes and the are as varied as you can imagine: cartooning, drawing, sculpture, painting, and ceramics as well as more unusual classes where you can learn metal clay jewelry techniques, silversmithing, mosaic, fused glass, stained glass, wire wrapping, and special holiday activities like making homemade wrapping paper (I used to make mine with an apple and red ink pad!), and exploring holiday traditions around the world.

The classes are designd to give both parents and kids something to do during that time when their regular school routine has been interrupted. They can even make their Christmas presents!

And don’t forget our free noontime videos on a variety of artists and techniques, on Wednesdays (November 28, and December 5 and 12). They are free, you can bring your lunch, we make coffee, and it is warm here :o) Not only that, but you can hang out, look at the exhibits in the galleries, and chat about the videos afterwards. What could be better than that? And if you come, drag me out of my office to watch a video, too. I will thank you for it!

Art in the ’Toon Age Exhibit is hung!

It is very exciting working in a gallery. Last week the truck arrived with the crates containing the Art in the ’Toon Age Exhibit, and this morning Susan, our curator, is in the gallery unpacking the crates to hang the show. The show will hang from Nov 1-Dec 31, and is an exhibition of cartoon art from more than thirty ’toon artists. Pulled from its own collection, the exhibit first drew national and international attention at the Kresge Art Museum Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. More than thirty 'toon artists, spanning three generations, from seven different countries are represented in this exhibition. These 'toon artists have "transformed commercial art into the finest of fine art." The neatest thing about this exhibit is that there are several other events running in conjunction: One is a talk by the curator of the Kresge Art Museum, April Kingsley, on Nov 1 from 6-7 pm, when she will give a free talk about the emergence of these artists and their influences.

The opening reception for the exhibit on Nov 2 from 5:30-7:30 pm. Come by for a glass of wine and a bite to eat. A perfect time to wear your most fun clothes!

Then, later this month, kids 7-14 can take Cartooning 101 from Keith Stevens from 4-6 pm (Nov 28-Dec 19; $25 members/$40 non-members).

Professional comic book illustrator Scott Rosema will also be in town (he lives in Muskegon). He has worked with DC comics, Marvel, Disney, Dark Horse Comics, and Warner Brothers, and has drawn Spiderman, Scooby-Doo, Superman and many more. Scooby-Doo is a personal favorite of mine because I think he looks like my older brother.

On Sunday, December 2, Scott will show his quick sketch technique in the Krasl Library from 1:30-2:30 pm ($10 members/$25 non-members)--and will give sketches away at the end; and from 3-4 pm, he will hold a comic art workshop for ages 10-adult($15 members/$30 non-members).

There are still reminders of the Holly Market fundraising sale around the gallery, with display cases and crock pots still waiting to be removed. Thanks to all of you who participated in that event. It was a very successful year for Holly Market and Soup's on, the luncheon that runs along side of it. I personally picked up a georgeous bracelet made by lampwork glass artist Dianna Dinka. It made me want to learn lampwork bead making, and so I will start by taking a class in bead making here at the Krasl. See the holiday class schedule for more information about that. Hope to see you there.

More later!

Meeting the Community

Last evening Julia, our Director of Education, invited me to attend the Cornerstone Alliance "After Hours," held this time at the Whitcomb, a hotel built in the 1920s that is now home to hundreds of elderly folks. The place still has its original crystal chandeliers and woodwork--just gorgeous! We got a tour, given by one of the owners, David Krock. He was very nice, and we talked briefly about how he is very interested in what we can do to bring visual arts to the residents there. He said he has been approached personally by some budding artists for information. Proof that it is never too late to learn about art.

Tonight, Friday, is the regular Benton Harbor Art Hop, and I may check it out. There is a really wonderful art area in Benton Harbor that is very active, and I look forward to meeting them!

Hard to believe!

I just finished my 5th week as the new Director of Development and Marketing at the Krasl Art Center in beautiful St. Joseph, Michigan. It is a dream come true to be here--a dream because I am an artist, holding a BFA in printmaking from Indiana University in South Bend, IN, and I love marketing and development--but also because I spent much of my free time in St. Joseph (I live in Niles, MI). Before coming to the Krasl, I was the communications specialist at the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the University of Notre Dame, and was responsible for the marketing of all programs and events, as well as branding. I also worked in development, and when I left, we had just doubled our endowment. So, now, I hope to do the same for the Krasl, a fabulous organization with more than 1,000 members, many of whom are incredibly active, serving in heavy duty roles that have exhausted me just watching them. We just finished a wonderful event called the Hollymarket, where more than 100 artists brought their original work to sell, and while people shopped, they were able to purchase a bowl of homemade soup for lunch. A very colorful, noisy, exciting affair--and boy did it smell like heaven in the kitchen!

This blog is our way of not only getting out the word about exactly what we do here at the Krasl Art Center, but also sharing some of the daily excitement that is generated by all this activity centered around not only seeing visual arts, but doing art, sharing art, and teaching art.

I am happy to be here, and happy to share this all with you.