2023 Event Photos
In order from December to March
Willow Star Workshop
Carol Madison taught us how to create 2 types of willow stars at this workshop. Some of us left with materials to create more beautiful stars at home.
Indigenous Arts and Culture
Indigenous Arts & Culture
Opening: October 1, 1:00 to 4:00 PM
We are honored to host this exhibit to showcase contemporary Indigenous artistic traditions and culture. The opening reception on October 1 between 1:00 - 4:00 will feature Drum Voices of Greensky and Hadassah Greensky singing traditional songs and performing a Jingle Dress Dance. Come an experience a taste of Indigenous foods from the Great Lakes Region.
More events for this exhibit:
Saturday, October 7, 1:00 - 4:00
There will be performances by Drum Voices of Greensky, Matt Koontz playing the flute and Wren Zhawenim Gotts performing a Hoop Dance.
Sunday, October 15. 1:00 - 4:00
An afternoon with Beatrice Manase Kwe Jackson who will involve the audience in her telling of the Creation Story.
Sorry, the afternoon with Historian Minnie Wabanimke telling the history of the Quill Box, has been cancelled.
Saturday, October 28 from 1:00 - 4:00
A beading workshop will be offered by Yvonne Moore. Sign up for this workshop.
Member Show
JRAC is happy to announce the Annual Member Show for 2023. This Member Show includes all media and has a diverse number of pieces by over 40 of our artists.
It is open every day from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, except for Tuesday, August 29th, when it will be closed for a luncheon, celebrating the members who have volunteered as docents and for many other commitments.
Come and see all the amazing work our members have completed!
Community Events
Jordan Art Walk - Star
Fall Festival
Friday, Sept. 29 & Saturday, Sept. 30
East Jordan’s Fall Festival features events around town and creative scarecrows! Thanks Judy for making JRAC’s scarecrow so special!
Rock Decorating at Freedom Festival
During Freedom Festival, Jordan River Arts Council provided an area in the park to design and color smooth rocks. Babs Young, Ginny Hawkins, and Dawn Swaim prepared (by sealing) over 80 rocks for everyone to have an opportunity to participate. It was a fun way to meet young artists and their families.
Teen Zone
Tuesday, July 11th, 9 teens and 3 adults at the Zone, participated in a drawing lesson learning about division of space. Dawn Swaim led the drawing exercise. It was a great opportunity to get to know our neighbors. We all drew a simple object, then divided it with lines and filled each space with color, textures, and values. JRAC is planning on partnering with the Zone for more lessons in the late summer and into the fall.
Farmer, Farmhers & Farms
Local farms are a delicious and essential ingredient in the quality of life we enjoy in Northwest Michigan. The area surrounding the Jordan River Arts Council (JRAC) is abundant with farms, orchards, vineyards, forests and farm markets that endlessly enrich and nourish our lives. With this upcoming exhibition, JRAC seeks to celebrate the people, passion, hard work, beauty, and bounty of our local agricultural community.
From the Archives: Featured Member Artists Retrospectives
This three-week exhibit will spotlight works from the collections of three artists familiar to many who frequent the Jordan River Art Center: Margie Guyot, Karen Kimmell and Meredith Krell. Each in their own voice and style, bring a fresh perspective to the beauty and unique character of Northern Michigan. It's an honor to provide a space for such a variety of styles, mediums and talents of these local artists. Many of these works will be for sale.
Karen Kimmell
Meredith Krell
Margie Guyot
JRAC Scholarship Show
The Scholarship Exhibit opened on May 7th and ran through May 19th. The following scholarships and awards were presented on Sunday, May 14th. We congratulate students on their awards and wish all the students well, as they go on to their next endeavor.
Betty Osborne Scholarship - Emily Dong
Betty Beeby Scholarship - Luis Cheves
Pat & Gary Schleif Scholarship - Mabel Louiselle
John R & Rachel Alberts Scholarship - Darienne Cronover
JRAC Award - Kandance Miller
Three honorable mentions - Chloe Curtis, Delaney Boehm, Mallory Michanowicz
Painting Watercolor Birds
Dani Knopf Davis used John James Audubon’s illustrations of birds to get participants studying the details of our backyard birds. It was then shown how to take the illustrations and break them down into basic hand drawn shapes, in a pleasing composition. Finally, Dani demonstrated mixing a watercolor palette and techniques for blocking in and layering color. Everyone created their own rendition of these backyard birds.
Collaboration Take Two
Collaborations Take 2
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African proverb
Artists joined together to work on projects that are being presented in Collaboration Take Two. When two or more artists join in a creative endeavor, a certain magic takes over and incredible synergies are formed.
We are revisiting this theme, as our Collaboration 2020 exhibit was shut down by the pandemic. We are showing works that were entered into the 2020 show as well as newly created collaborative pieces.
Opening on Sunday, March 26, from 1:00-4:00PM.
Collaborative Mural
Many of our community members created tiles for the Collaborative Mural that is being assembled during this exhibit. Completed tiles will be added as they are received. Come and see this work in progress!
