Art Walk has a beautiful poster for August. It has a plane flying
overhead, a homage to the airshow part of Summer Celebration. It is
soaring over the Muskegon train show, where I think Bryan Snuffer
showed off his automobile paintings. So am I stupid for not noticing
the hours? Eleven to Six PM on Friday provides seven hours to walk;
however, I rarely leave work before five in the evening, even on
Friday. So I had to put together my own art walk. Fortunately, the Red
Lotus Gallery was just warming up for the evening, putting out fresh
coffee and fielding a solo guitarist in a corner. This man wore a tee
shirt with a lighthouse and a beach scene, jammed like a mad man on
blues, folk and country tunes, and he had no compact disk to buy, no
card to take and no band name for remembering. At least he had a tip
cup on a stool. Saturday, he'll be jamming with his partner at the Red
Lotus. So how long did this talent jam in a garage before the ArtWalk
gave him a corner? I liked how fresh it felt at Red Lotus; most of the paintings leaned
against a wall, paintings on a wall awaiting information cards. I can
recognize Sky Gentle's work any where, except in one exceptional
lovely case. The metalsmith Ron Schaafsma has made metal bend and
curve and connect according to Gentle's vision of the feminine form.
Schaafsma was busily setting out coffee and bringing in coolers of
refreshments at that time, but I bet all of us want to visit his metal
shop, adjacent to Red Lotus Gallery. He also had handfuls of metal
hanging rods, trying to hang the rest of show. As I was leaving for
downtown, by car, I noticed a young mother, who had her eager and very
young son by the hand, walking along Western to pay Red Lotus a visit.
How long until that young man's work sets us on our ears? I was a little stunned to see Jilly's dark and Sun, Wind and Rain
displaying a dim OPEN sign. I started to wonder what kind of error I
had made in schedule? I noticed scaffolding on the Frauenthal, no
fencing around Hackley Park and no music from a Party in the Park
arising above this town square. Two men and a women were wrapping the
cafe barriers of Club Envy with white catina lights, signs of early
dusks to come, and I considered that a performance piece for the
ArtWalk. Not every one knows that Club Envy has an art display for
enjoyment, including four choice images of local rock stars executed
by Missy Morrow: http://bit.ly/9s16u7. I'm not sure if these are
originals or prints, but I'm glad to notice today that she's extended
the series by several locals. The ticket door of the Frauenthal was locked, and I'm such a veteran
of having to practically commit breaking & entering to access arts &
culture in America, I made a point to try the lobby door. A pleasant
couple were just making their way out, so I grabbed the door before it
closed. They expressed surprise that they had made themselves
presentable only to drive downtown with nothing but the Cougar Contest
left to run, and that at night. The Frauenthal lobby doors were unlocked, anyways, so people could
have dinner or drinks at 411 Bistro, which served as a 911 because I
was thirsty. A metal door had been pulled across the portal to the
Hilt Building, which has a monthly show for local artists on its
second floor, and also a set of restrooms for hospitality. At least
the artists had left business cards out of their display tables left
in the lobby, covered in brown cloth, so I could look them up and call
for a studio visit. A hand-written sign on a table showed me my error;
it had all wrapped up at Six. Now, it was too late, really, to drive
and see An Dro at the Grand Rapids Museum of Art, along with all that
great evening programming GRAM offers up on Friday evenings. So I made
my way down to 411, which had a collection of challenging, yet
spirited and colorful paintings on every wall, again not on the
ArtWalk bill. It was like an episode from the Food Channel; an
experienced bar tender coached a new barista on how to mix a mojito,
and somebody had to rule on his results.
overhead, a homage to the airshow part of Summer Celebration. It is
soaring over the Muskegon train show, where I think Bryan Snuffer
showed off his automobile paintings. So am I stupid for not noticing
the hours? Eleven to Six PM on Friday provides seven hours to walk;
however, I rarely leave work before five in the evening, even on
Friday. So I had to put together my own art walk. Fortunately, the Red
Lotus Gallery was just warming up for the evening, putting out fresh
coffee and fielding a solo guitarist in a corner. This man wore a tee
shirt with a lighthouse and a beach scene, jammed like a mad man on
blues, folk and country tunes, and he had no compact disk to buy, no
card to take and no band name for remembering. At least he had a tip
cup on a stool. Saturday, he'll be jamming with his partner at the Red
Lotus. So how long did this talent jam in a garage before the ArtWalk
gave him a corner? I liked how fresh it felt at Red Lotus; most of the paintings leaned
against a wall, paintings on a wall awaiting information cards. I can
recognize Sky Gentle's work any where, except in one exceptional
lovely case. The metalsmith Ron Schaafsma has made metal bend and
curve and connect according to Gentle's vision of the feminine form.
Schaafsma was busily setting out coffee and bringing in coolers of
refreshments at that time, but I bet all of us want to visit his metal
shop, adjacent to Red Lotus Gallery. He also had handfuls of metal
hanging rods, trying to hang the rest of show. As I was leaving for
downtown, by car, I noticed a young mother, who had her eager and very
young son by the hand, walking along Western to pay Red Lotus a visit.
How long until that young man's work sets us on our ears? I was a little stunned to see Jilly's dark and Sun, Wind and Rain
displaying a dim OPEN sign. I started to wonder what kind of error I
had made in schedule? I noticed scaffolding on the Frauenthal, no
fencing around Hackley Park and no music from a Party in the Park
arising above this town square. Two men and a women were wrapping the
cafe barriers of Club Envy with white catina lights, signs of early
dusks to come, and I considered that a performance piece for the
ArtWalk. Not every one knows that Club Envy has an art display for
enjoyment, including four choice images of local rock stars executed
by Missy Morrow: http://bit.ly/9s16u7. I'm not sure if these are
originals or prints, but I'm glad to notice today that she's extended
the series by several locals. The ticket door of the Frauenthal was locked, and I'm such a veteran
of having to practically commit breaking & entering to access arts &
culture in America, I made a point to try the lobby door. A pleasant
couple were just making their way out, so I grabbed the door before it
closed. They expressed surprise that they had made themselves
presentable only to drive downtown with nothing but the Cougar Contest
left to run, and that at night. The Frauenthal lobby doors were unlocked, anyways, so people could
have dinner or drinks at 411 Bistro, which served as a 911 because I
was thirsty. A metal door had been pulled across the portal to the
Hilt Building, which has a monthly show for local artists on its
second floor, and also a set of restrooms for hospitality. At least
the artists had left business cards out of their display tables left
in the lobby, covered in brown cloth, so I could look them up and call
for a studio visit. A hand-written sign on a table showed me my error;
it had all wrapped up at Six. Now, it was too late, really, to drive
and see An Dro at the Grand Rapids Museum of Art, along with all that
great evening programming GRAM offers up on Friday evenings. So I made
my way down to 411, which had a collection of challenging, yet
spirited and colorful paintings on every wall, again not on the
ArtWalk bill. It was like an episode from the Food Channel; an
experienced bar tender coached a new barista on how to mix a mojito,
and somebody had to rule on his results.
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