FINE ARTS COMMITTEE

The Fine Arts Committee of The Peoples Church (TPC) is dedicated to making The Peoples Church one of the leading supporters of the arts within our community.  Its work has grown out of  the great traditions of the Christian church as a patron of the arts. It reflects the church's belief that the arts exist at the heart of faith and contain within them the power and capacity to lift the human spirit. This belief inspires and infuses the committee's efforts.  

The committee is made up of members of the congregation who wish to beautify and enrich TPC through art.  While it was originally formed to include all elements of the arts including drama and poetry, the committee currently focuses on the visual arts: prints, oil painting, water colors, photography, sculpture, textiles and other crafts, architecture and interior design.  These areas, linked to with a well-established music program, form the broad spectrum of the arts celebrated in The Peoples Church.

HISTORY

The Fine Arts Committee was formed in 1967 as the Fine Arts Council with the charge of promoting a coordinated and creative use of the arts to enrich the programs of Peoples Church. 

At its beginning, the committee was chaired by Dr. William Gamble, Professor of Art at Michigan State University. He served in that role for several decades.  Marilyn Down and then Jan Reed succeeded Dr. Gamble as chair. The current Committee Chair is Susan Nowicki. Serving with Susan on the committee are Sue Mills, Mary Liechty, Sue Patterson, Jan Reed, Jann Angel, Marcia Stockmeyer, and Nancy Wilson.  Kelton Reedy assists with exhibition installation.

Currently,  the committee's primary focus is on developing and installing four major art exhibits in the church each year. Each exhibit is usually on display for 90 days. The art is displayed in several locations throughout the church, including the Northwest Hallway  adjacent to the Sanctuary, the Thomson Case in the South Hall and the Kiosk, located in the East Hall.  As a point of history, the Kiosk was commissioned by the Fine Arts Council in 1982, to honor Linda Bauer Thomson. It was built by Charles Finkel and paid for with memorial funds donated in Linda’s honor.

The committee is also responsible for setting policy regarding acceptance of donated artwork and conservation of artwork in the Church's permanent collection.

In addition, the committee sponsors select music events, such as the annual MSU Holiday Brass Concert, organized in partnership with the MSU College of Music.

If you are interested in joining The Peoples Church Fine Arts Committee, you can learn more about the committee and its duties here.

RECENT ART EXHIBITS

“My intentions are to have a humorous show about religion, and how we see passages in the Bible and how they are interpreted and understood. My goal is to inspire, contemplate, and strengthen faith through good Christian humor and folly.”

Chance was born in Richmond, Virginia and grew up in the Shenandoah Valley. His parents, both artists, influenced and inspired him as a child. In 1990, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in speech communications from George Mason University. Shortly thereafter, he joined the United States Peace Corps serving in Mali, West Africa, from 1991-1993.

After completion of his service, he returned to George Mason and earned a Master of Arts in Education. In 1996, he went abroad for three years to teach art at the America School of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain. Upon returning stateside, Chance taught high school art education while furthering his education at Virginia Commonwealth University. There he earned a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies, specializing in sculpture and painting. Post-graduation, he served as an adjunct professor in art education at Lord Fairfax Community College. Chance has exhibited his sculptures and paintings throughout the U.S. and abroad. He has created many commissioned pieces and works independently with galleries, collectors, organizations, and communities throughout Michigan and Virginia.

This imaginative, fun exhibit, which is offered free of charge, will be on display through December 7. Pick up a catalog for the exhibit inside the NW entrance of the church. Hours for viewing are Monday through Friday, 10:00 am through 4:30 pm, Saturday 10:00 am through 3:00 pm and Sunday 8:00 am through 4:30 pm. Visitors may enter from the church parking lot and pick up a catalog for the exhibit inside the Northwest entrance of the church.

“Where ART Thou?? −Playful Reflections on Religion and Scripture” is offered through an ongoing arts program organized by The Peoples Church in support of the belief that the arts exist at the heart of faith and contain within them the power and capacity to lift the human spirit.

Founded on December 8, 1907, The Peoples Church is an inter-denominational Protestant congregation of approximately 900 members. With its close proximity to Michigan State University, The Peoples Church offers an active Campus Ministry for undergraduate and graduate students and other young adults. It also is home to a Nationally Accredited Preschool, which embraces a nature-based philosophy that seeks to connect children with the natural world.

A native of Kentucky, Michelle currently serves as the Director of Education at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. She came to the MSU Broad in 2014 after serving as outreach/programming coordinator and a faculty member in MSU’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design for nine years. There she regularly taught lecture and studio courses on the creative process, drawing, painting, and the collaged aesthetic. She holds a BA in studio art and art history from DePauw University and an MFA in painting from MSU. 

Michelle took a unique approach to creating this exhibit, in that some installed pieces were completed works, while other items in the Thompson Case and Kiosk, were all created on site.   

Interestingly, she did not assign names to individual pieces, rather she named them as groupings. For example, the three large pieces in the northwest hall are collectively called “With Love, from the Plantsman.” The pieces displayed in the Thomson Case are named ”Ghost Garden,” and the collection displayed in the Kiosk is called “Glass House of Floribunda.”

To learn more about Michelle’s work visit her website at: https://www.michelleword.com

 Bobbi notes, "For me painting is a joyful, fulfilling process in which a strong connection with nature is evident. I find it stimulating to work with new materials and techniques, experimenting and exploring possibilities, carefully selecting which visual elements to include and which to leave out.”

Bobbi is developing large works in two series using unconventional materials including house paint, spackle, diazo paper, cheese cloth, comic book imagery and pigmented inks.  The Red Fox Series celebrates the cyclic return of life to the ecosystem. She is layering digital transfers of original photographs combined with a variety of natural materials such as lichen in an encaustic collage format.  The Succulent and Sea Creature Series are being developed in soft sculpture to coordinate with two dimensional paintings. Examples from both sculpture series are included in this exhibit. Learn more about Bobbi’s work at https://bobbikilty.com

“Meditations” – (August 18 – September 8, 2022)

“Meditations" featured the work of Ross Lucas, an Okemos- based photographer.  The exhibit included 29 pieces from his collection that featured images of Hawaiian landscapes, the Grand Canyon, Arizona flora and fauna, Midwestern waterscapes and more.

A native of Evansviile, Indiana, Ross has lived a wide-ranging life.  He was educated and trained as a pastor and served congregations in four Indiana churches and two Kiowa Indian churches in Oklahoma.  He also has worked as a pastoral counselor,  transitional pastor and consultant to churches around conflict issues. He is a published author whose articles have appeared in several professional journals.  These skills and experiences, combined to make him a photographer of note.

Ross developed an interest in photography as a child when his parents gave him a Brownie box camera.  Their interest in photography inspired him to pursue his own path, which focused on landscapes and flowers. "Early on I discovered that my photographic interests were non-human subjects,” he notes.  “In particular, I was drawn to old barns — especially those that were on the verge of falling down, and also dead trees. Both present interesting textures.”

"When considering a landscape, I let my mind construct a story about what happen in that particular scene, even if it is an historical site,” he explains.  “If a landscape prompts feelings of reflection and meditation, I can't help but photograph it. That is what this exhibit is about —conjuring images that inspire further contemplation by the viewer."

“Your Art’s Desire” - (May 19 - August 18, 2022)

This multi-media exhibit features the work of Susan Smith, a Michigan artist with an enthusiasm for color, watercolor and experimental media. It includes 46 pieces from her collection including watercolors, acrylics, reverse acrylic painting on glass, mixed-media collage, alcohol inks on Yupo paper and ceramic tiles, mosaic glass and a phun phone.

Susan’s work is sparked by a creative process that embraces a sense of fun, robust color and beauty found in nature. She discovered her artistic talents later in life when challenged by her husband Doug to decoratively paint one of his hand-built tables. She responded, “I can’t do that, I can’t even do stick figures!” His response: “So don’t do stick figures.” Susan found that applying vibrant colors to Doug's table was exciting, even exhilarating.  Along the way, Doug has become her artistic partner, hand-crafting many of the frames for her art pieces.

Inspired to learn more, she set out to build her artistic skills and subsequently spent 20 years taking art lessons and attending workshops, including a stint of study in Italy. Susan became hooked on the creative process and particularly enjoys trying new, innovative media. “I like working with a variety of media, exploring them together and experimenting," she says. "I work in oils, acrylics, alcohol inks, art resins, watercolor and collage. Currently, my favorites are alcohol inks. They are an exciting new medium in the art world. The colors are bright, happy, explosive.” Several of the alcohol ink pieces in the exhibit are coated with art resin, which not only protects the work, but adds a stunning 3-D-like dimension

“An Artist’s Prayer for Ukraine”

For the 2022 Lenten season, Peoples Church member Susan Reedy created a special art display that offered prayers of hope and peace for the beleaguered people of Ukraine.  “Prayers for Ukraine” featured a collection of “pysanky,” a type of highly-decorated-egg that is unique to the Ukrainian people. For many Ukrainians, the making of pysanky is a spiritual experience, particularly during Lent.  The colorful eggs on display were created by Susan over many Lenten seasons.

The eggs are made using the written-wax batik method and feature traditional folk motifs and designs that include prayerful symbols of hope, faith, and peace. The designs are “written” on the eggs with melted beeswax, which resists dye. Detail is added, layer by layer, through successive dye baths until the desired design is achieved. The wax is then melted off. Ancient legend says that as long as pysanky are made, goodness will prevail over evil. 

The exhibit was offered in cooperation with the Fine Arts Committee. 

A local Lansing TV station featured the exhibit in a special segment of their news broadcast. To watch the video about the exhibit, go to https://www.wilx.com/2022/04/11/local-artist-creates-traditional-ukrainian-easter-eggs/

This Re-birthing: Coming Alive Painting with Oils" grew out of personal loss as well as the political, cultural  and environmental crises afflicting our pandemic-burdened world.  Eight months prior to the onset of the Covid pandemic , Sharon's husband, Frank passed away and in the intervening months she found herself seeking hope, renewed vitality and a re-emergence of life. That desire culminated in a creative explosion — she put down her brushes and began painting with her hands and discovered how healing and freeing that process was. 

A palette knife for mixing colors, and paper towels to wipe her fingers became her only tools. In gloved hands—for protection against toxins in the paint—she applies the oil pigments directly onto stretched canvases, her whole self involved in what becomes a very immediate, personal expression. The finished result is amazing in its detail and movement. Many of the paintings in this exhibit are hand-applied oils including the title piece, “This Rebirthing: Coming Alive Painting With Oils.”

The exhibit features 32 pieces from Sharon's collection and includes both brush-applied and hand-applied oil work.

“Stitchery” – (September 9, 2021 through January 20, 2022)

This exhibit is composed largely of stitchery art from the Permanent Collection of The Peoples Church, donated by members and friends over the 54 years of the Fine Arts Committee’s existence.

 “Brass Rubbings by Jane Linnell and Patricia Thorpe” – (April 2019 through August 2021)

This exhibit, which featured work from the permanent collection of The Peoples Church, included 13 hand-rubbings of medieval monumental brasses that are memorials for deceased persons. The rubbings were made by church members Jane Linnel and Patricia Thorpe with gold and black crayon on paper and cloth during their visits to historic churches and cathedrals  throughout England.  The original brasses, which date back to the 1200's through 1400's, provide a rich source for studying the history of armor, costumes, hair styles and use of lettering and language   

An accompanying exhibit in the Kiosk featured a collection of facsimile Medieval Books of Hours and related publications from the library of TPC members Susan and Wes Reedy. These items depict The Little Hours of the Virgin, an abbreviated and highly illustrated version of the Daily Office, the eight daily prayers that were chanted/and or recited by medieval monastics and the clergy. Note:  the extended exhibit time frame for this exhibit resulted from the closing of the Church building during the Covid quarantine.

 “The Rainmakers” – (October 2019 through January 2020)

This unique mixed media exhibit featured the work of artist Guillermo Delgado and a combination of incarcerated artists and Michigan State University (MSU) art students.  Guillermo is an Academic Specialist in Community & Socially Engaged Arts at the MSU Residential College in Arts & Humanities (RCAH). The exhibit grew out of his Poetry & ‘Zine Project through which he teaches poetry and visual arts to students in the RCAH as well as incarcerated men and young people in six-mid Michigan correctional facilities, including the juvenile detention center in Lansing. 

The work displayed in "The Rainmakers" exhibit grew out of a regular mandala drawing practice Guillermo established to decompress from teaching in the physically and psychologically taxing environment of correctional facilities. Traditionally organized around a unifying center, mandalas are circular, symmetrical, sacred diagrams from the Hindu and Buddhist artistic traditions. "The paintings are mediations, a kind of map, that allows me to re-center and begin to create order out of chaos," he says. 

The exhibit included 5 mandala creations by Guillermo as well as a collection of illustrated paper booklets, or 'Zines, rendered by incarcerated youth and men along with students from RCAH.  

“BookWorks” – (August through October 2019)

This unique exhibit, which was displayed in the Kiosk featured the work of book artist, Eric Alstrom.  The display included 7 pieces from his collection and presented the book form in a very unique and powerful way.  

Eric's artwork is focused on the medium of the book, which presents a 3-dimensional canvas upon which to render his designs. He creates both “fine bindings,” where an interpretive cover is placed on an already-printed book, as well as “artists books,” where he creates the whole book —from designing the pages to the binding itself.  

A Michigan native, Eric began his training in conservation at the University of Michigan under James Craven and then at the Bessenberg Bindery. He received his Masters of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from U of M. Eric previously served as the book conservator at both Ohio University and Dartmouth College. He  currently holds the position of Head of Conservation and Preservation at Michigan State University (MSU) Libraries.  

“Water, Wildlife, Sky and Earth,”  –  ( August through October 2019)

This exhibit featured the work of Western Michigan photographer, Jim Carney. It included 33 pieces from his collection of waterfowl, flowers, lakescapes and skyscapes of Michigan and Florida. Featured were a wide variety of images rendered on metal, canvas, and paper. They included striking shots of owls, hummingbird, Red-Shouldered Hawk, an eagle attack and a Snowy Egret tending its nest. Colorful images of tropical flowers, butterflies and Michigan water scenes also highlighted the display.

 “Painting Outside the Lines” – (May through July 2019)

This exhibit featured the work of renowned water color artist, Maxine MacLeod, and included 22 pieces from her collection of landscapes, lakescapes and flowers of the Midwest.  Of her work,  she says, "The challenge of watercolor is that it is so difficult to control. The beauty of watercolor is that it is so difficult to control!  For me, when I pick up a brush loaded with watercolor and touch it to paper, the conversation begins between the painting and me. And, as the painting progresses new challenges, new twists and turns reveal what the painting will become.  My hope is that the finished painting will, in turn, engage the viewer in a conversation."  Her work can be found in the permanent collections of WMU, the University of Michigan and West Shore Community College. She was commissioned by the Holland Tulip Time Festival to design their 1989, 1990 and 2009 posters. 

 “Inspirations” – (February through April 2019)

This display featured the work of two Williamston-based artists, Cindy Evans and Marge Clay.  It included 29 pieces from the artists' joint collections.   “Inspirations,” reflected how the artists use their experiences of the world around them to bring attention to the beauty in nature, scripture and the art of story-telling.  They infuse their work with a shared sense of the importance of art to daily life. They work in a variety of media and techniques, including stained glass, fused glass, watercolor, acrylic, as well as ink and collage. 

“Travels with Camera” – (November 2018 through January 2019) 

This exhibit featured work by photographer Nancy Wilson, a long-time resident of Mason, Michigan and member of The Peoples Church. It included 28 pieces from her collection and captured her travels throughout the U.S. and internationally. Inspired by the splendor and variety of what she was seeing, Nancy turned to photography to capture images of wildlife, dazzling vistas, historic architecture and botanical displays. An accompanying kiosk display featured a selection of antique cameras, accessories and related photographic materials.

“Candid Moments” (July 15, 2018 to October 15, 2018)

An exhibit of works by Michigan artist Kerri Goodman.  It included 23 pieces from her collection, and depicted life moments  of sudden realization, inspiration or insight.  The artist, a resident and native of Portland, Michigan, has always embraced life’s candid moments in simple, yet natural ways, whether it be children at play, animals in their habitat or light rays that beam down from the heavens onto a beautiful garden.  She strives to bring forward those stolen moments that make people laugh, smile or just say "aww" to life by taking brush to canvas.