Holiday Trunk Show No. 1

Trunk Show featuring Motawi Tile Works, Elroy Grandy, Maralena Howard, and lino-cut demonstration by John Benson.
November 20, 2009
6:00-9:00PM

Kicking off the Holiday Season with Trunk Shows and Demonstations! Nawal Motawi of Motawi Tile Works will be in the gallery with new tile designs, jewelry and ornaments; Lino-cut demonstration and sale featuring John Benson's greeting cards; jewelry and ceramic trunk show by Elroy Grandy; tiny abstract art by Maralena Howard - original mixed media on paper.

Since 1992, the artisans at Motawi Tileworks have hand crafted art tile in their Ann Arbor, Michigan studio. These distinctive tiles are known for their rich glazes and uniquely American designs, inspired by nature, art and architecture.

Motawi Tile uses locally produced clay and glazes mixed on site to their own recipes. Motawi's aesthetic influences include early 20th Century decorative artists such as Mary Chase Stratton, Adelaide Robineau, Louis Sullivan, C.F. Voysey,

A self-taught artist, John Benson finds inspiration from the ancient manuscripts of Western Europe and Ethiopia. From these and other sources he has developed his own vocabulary of meaningful designs - endless line of Celtic crosses, Ethiopian protective images, and Norse narrative figures. John also creates work in a more naturalistic manner in other seasonal and general images. John's cards sell for a mere 2.00 and are suitable for framing.

Wyandotte artist Elroy Grandy will demonstrate the art of making clay necklaces and tiles by pressing items such as shells, sticks or stones into the clay. Kids and adults alike are fascinated to learn how a little ball of clay turns into a beautiful necklace or tile that will be used and treasured for a lifetime. Elroy will have his ShareWare available, which are fired clay necklaces in matching sets, ranging from two to eight, and are great gifts for family or friends.

Also highlighted will be Elroy's fired clay tiles in various sizes and shapes, each with a beautiful original drawing impressed into the clay. These are perfect gifts for those who love ceramic items on the wall or for trivets and coasters.

Maralena Howard is a Michigan Fine Arts Artist. She paints with acrylic paints and adds special effects and depth to her work by incorporating small design images within her pieces - utilizing her own hand carved images and India ink. Oil pastels and watercolor also find their way into her beautiful and varied abstract paintings.

For the holiday gift show, Maralena has created a "Tiny Abstract" series - with pieces starting at $10 and up. Paintings range in size, 3x5, 4x6, 5x7 - each housed in an enclosed acrylic frame with magnet back to be affixed in home or office. Beautiful when matted and framed! Tiny - exquisite - one of a kind original works of art from an award winning Downriver artist.

Visit our web site www.biddlegallery.com for info on upcoming events.

Biddle Gallery

2840 Biddle Avenue

Wyandotte, MI 48192

734.281.4779

Halloweird Hallowbaloo

Biddle Gallery

2840 Biddle Avenue

Wyandottte, MI 48192

734.281.4779

www.biddlegallery.com

Hours: call for times

Contact: Karen Thomas

Halloweird Hallowbaloo

October 16 - November 1, 2009

Mixed media show featuring robots, aliens, monsters, and scary TV's by Brent Harris, Davin Brainard, Rick McQuaid, Dave Moroski, John Benson, Lisa Ackley, Ryan Weiss, Topher Crowder, and more.

Live theramin performance and lino-cut demonstration during artist reception October 16, 6:00-9:00PM

The theremin is associated with an eerie sound, which has led to its use in movie soundtracks. The theremin is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Leon Theremin who patented the device in 1928. The controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas which sense the position of the player's hands and control oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude with the other. The electric signal from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. Keeping with the spirit of the season, theremin master, Dr. Zin-Zin Electro, will perform a short recital. This rare U.S. appearance will center around musical compositions by michigan poet-composer, Glen Armstrong.

Lino-cut demonstration by John Benson. John Benson will create halloween cards right before your very eyes.

Lisa Ackley's Loteria Jewelry now available in new Halloween designs.

Oh yeah, Ruth Galko - creator of Scary TV's is in this show. She also came up with the title!

Event Photos and video courtesy of Rich Cieslowski:

http://everythingwyandotte.smugmug.com/Videos-Random/Biddle-Gallery-Halloweird/10022214_2vwn6#P-1-16

Grand Rapids Art Prize

Biddle Gallery artist Ryan Weiss is competing for the Grand Rapids Art Prize. Of course, I'll be voting for Ryan and The GR8 and think you should too! Here is info on The GR8.

The Gr8

Artist bio: Ben Pozniak, George Eberhardt, Ryan Weiss, Zac Gorman, Reuben Gracia, Tom Peterson, Matt Geerling, and Scott Wygmans make up the GR8(the Grand Rapids 8). We all met and were educated here in Grand Rapids at Kendall college of art and design. We are trained in a wide range of disciplines from illustration, to sculpture, to motion graphics. We are here to show why the Grand Rapids is worthy of a world class art competition.

Artist statement: We would like to welcome the world to Grand Rapids. We love this town. Every single member of this team has found love, inspiration, education, and purpose in this city. It is our stated goal to represent the community that has provided us with so much, in the highest caliber. We seek to give back to our community with the gifts we were granted. We believe that competition inspires both creativity and productivity. We welcome this new challenge with open arms. Look for us at Art Prize. Expect no mercy. the GR eight

About the work:
Title: Here you will face Gods
Art form: 2-D, Film / Video, Sound, Internet / Interactive, Performance
Medium: acrylic and latex paint
Year created: 2009
Description of work: This is a video of a Mural done outside Biddle Gallery in Wyandotte, Mi. All members working on the mural belong to the GR8. Click on the Website links to view the time lapse video we created for this project. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpFYAzFoATg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3me_kSbhLk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGmAB8Gkv_Q
Work statement: We feel that video and internet networking is key in the world of art today, and plan to embrace this fact. This is an example of what we plan to present for the final competition. We will be submitting another large mural, combined with interactivity, video, sculpture, and a documentary of the process. The combination of all this content with constitute the final project. See The GR8 @ Tron Productions Hopson Flats 212 Grandville Ave SW Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Venue description: This is a classic Grand Rapids industrial building that has been refurbished, while keeping true to its original design. The space has 14ft ceilings with exposed rafters, hardwood floors, bare brick walls, and large wooden columns. It is also located at ground level with windows on both the west and east end of the space. ArtPrize - Vote - Voting for ArtPrize is open to those who register in person. Help vote for the world's largest Art Prize.

Biddle Gallery
2840 Biddle Avenue
Wyandotte, MI 48192
734.281.4779
www.biddlegallery.com
Hours: Call for hours

Jewelry and Handbag Trunk Show
September 18, 2009
6:00-9:00PM
Featuring one-of-a-kind handbags by The Magic Bag Lady Michele Kramp and Loteria Jewelry by Lisa Ackley.

Lisa Ackley is compelled to make things she can’t find. She's spent most of her life creating art and small treasures for friends and family, usually clever and always with a sense of humor. Lisa earned a BFA in sculpture from the University of Houston and Masters in Art Education at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Lisa's designs are hand-drawn originals, inspired by Loteria (bingo) images from Mexico. Each polystyrene charm is hand crafted (no two are exactly alike), signed and dated, then sealed for protection. Glass beads and jewelry findings complete the look.

The Loteria-Style is all about color and looking at words and objects in new ways; the fun part, of course, is matching them up into pairs/groups that mean something to the wearer and expresses the wearer’s individual personality.

Michele Kramp received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in apparel design and merchandising from Wayne State University. She founded The Magic Bag Lady, LLC in 2003. All MBL handbags are one-of-a-kind creations using recycled and reused fabrics.

Topher Crowder Now at Biddle Gallery

I'm am thrilled to announce Topher Crowder's work is now available at Biddle Gallery. Topher has always loved the concept of storytelling through images. He finds inspiration in animated Saturday morning cartoons, vintage postcards, comic books of the 1960's and 1970's, and roadside billboards where he captures a collection of daily emotions and cryptic memories from his childhood.

The above images are:

Bat Man (ink on wood) 49.5"x 25.5" framed. This drawing is based on Bo Jackson's artificial hip.

Proverb 4:23 (ink on wood) 81.5"x 19.25" framed. This drawing is based on Barney Clark's mechanical heart.

Biddle Gallery

2840 Biddle Avenue

Wyandotte, MI 48192

734.281.4779

www.biddlegallery.com

Trunk Show and Artists Demonstrations

Biddle Gallery
2840 Biddle Avenue
Wyandotte, MI 48192
734.281.4779
www.biddlegallery.com

Trunk Show and Artist Demonstation Featuring Steve Tracy, Juanita Bitonti, Patty Urda, and John Benson.
Friday, August 21, 6:00-9:00PM.

In the Winter semester of 2002, Steve Tracy started his formal art education with Doug Eggleston and John Wittershiem at Siena Heights University. Steve started with fabrication, casting, raising and spinning. He gradually gained the knowledge and skills he needed to create his works of art. Steve is self-taught in the art of Enameling and is still learning this craft. By the end of 2004 Steve was creating complete Faberge style eggs. In late 2006, Steve created a name for his objects of art THE TRACIAK COLLECTION (pronounced Thray-chek). To date THE TRACIAK COLLECTION consists of (22) Twenty-two different theme eggs.

Super fine silver jewelry by Juanita Bitonti of Lookie-Lookie. Juanita Bitonti is the owner/artist of Lookie-Lookie.com. She is an Art Clay Silver Certified Instructor and PMC Certified Artisan working in various media; including Fine Silver and 24/22k Gold & Keum Boo, Sterling Silver, hand-forged wire, polymer clay, resins, fused glass and gemstones.

Patty Urda of Two Rivers Tile will sign her open edition Wyandotte Indian Tile. This 4"x4" tile is based on a relief above the original entrance of Wyandotte Hospital. Patty graduated with a BFA in ceramics from Wayne State University. She worked in the glaze department of historic Pewabic Pottery in Detroit. In 1997, she founded Two Rivers Tile in Mt. Clemens, Michigan.

Printmaker John Benson finds inspiration from the ancient manuscripts of Western Europe and Ethiopia. From these and other sources he has developed his own vocabulary of meaningful designs - endless line of Celtic crosses, Ethiopian protective images, and Norse narrative figures. John also creates work in a more naturalistic manner in other seasonal and general images.

Al Gone!

Al's internship at Biddle Gallery ended today. He sold 4 wee paintings, some pottery, and other fine handmade works of art while he was here. He refused to file, but he's quite the salesman so I overlooked his one act of insubordination.

Al was a joy to have around - greeting customers and rolling around the gallery in his ball marveling at all the talented Michigan artists we carry at Biddle Gallery. He even enjoyed my accordion playing! I'm missing him already.

Thanks Al!