Story and Photos by Jim Pruitt
Attendance was steady at the Harvest Art Market at Silver Maples of Chelsea on Oct. 3 as lovers of handmade art came to see the creations of some of the top artists in the state.
Attendees perused the conference room and hallways at the retirement community to view and purchase items for sale. Offerings ranged from paintings to ceramics, beads to pins and creative uses for old board games.
A resident of Silver Maples greeted attendees by asking where they came from and giving each guest a tally mark next to their town’s name. Outside of Chelsea and Ann Arbor, many came from the Lansing area and some Detroit suburbs.
Tammy Burke was selling her watercolors of birds, landscapes and old buildings from downtown Chelsea.
A self-taught painter, Burke found the media of watercolor a challenge too great to pass up. The passion to paint still burns bright as she is set to enter her 13th year creating scenes that represent an “artistic reality.”
“Watercolor can really transform a place,” Burke said.
Her approach is to use photographs and her imagination to create a scene that she could put on canvas.
“I paint what pleases me,” Burke said.
Another local artist combines recycling with creativity to come up with interesting pins.
Josephine Page of Gregory, came up with a way to take unused upholstery fabric and turn it into pins and brooches. Her creations are whimsical versions of birds, dogs and sheep, primarily.
She has been making the pins for about five to six years.
“I started with birds and then I went to other animals,” Page said. “I make dogs with socks.”
(If you’d like to contact Jim Pruitt, please email him at [email protected].)
