|
Young artists' replicas of famous works are on display in Mohawk
MOHAWK -- "Mona Lisa," can now be seen in Mohawk. A replica of Leonardo DaVinci's "lady with the mystic smile," by artist-mentor Clyde Mikkola of Calumet, will
welcome visitors to the Rural Arts Conference July 6-9. She is one of 30 large replicas
of master art works now on display on the streets of Mohawk and in Allouez Township
Park. The paintings are a result of The Masters, a month-long project of Keweenaw
Krayons, Ramblin' Rose's Budding Artists, who have been learning art history and trying
out techniques of famous painters under the guidance of local artist-mentors.
The project has a dual purpose according to Karen Bell-Hanson, coordinator. It
provides education for the young participants and produces a high-visibility arts project for Mohawk during the Rural Arts Conference.
"The Masters combines learning and fun," she said. "Youth investigate famous painters
and their works, write short informational sketches and replicate the techniques of the masters."
Bell-Hanson said the idea for the exhibit came from two sources - a discussion at a
Keweenaw Arts and Cultural Association meeting last summer and a visit to the Liberty
Children's Arts Center in Negaunee. That visit was part of Keweenaw Krayons advisory
committee members' October tour of Western Upper Peninsula Art Centers. In
Negaunee the committee found that young people were doing replicas of antique
Christmas cards on display boards, which they set in the park in the middle of winter.
"We wrote a mini-grant (for The Masters project) and got it funded," she said. "The first
week (in early June) we had 25-30 kids here every day ... It was wild."
During that week the young people looked at books about art and artists and divided
into groups of two or three to work on a four-by-four-foot panel. Bell-Hanson and
several coordinating assistants helped each group choose a masterpiece to replicate.
Tess Steube, 12, of Laurium, worked on a detail of Claude Monet's "Woman with
Parasol." She said she liked doing a detail because she could concentrate on the part of the painting she liked best.
"I like all of Monet's works, but I think he does best with people," Steube said.
Jenny Isaacson, 8, of Mohawk, chose Edgar Degas' "Dancer with Bouquet."
"When I was looking at the book it caught my eye because I'm a ballet dancer,"
Isaacson said. "I do tap and jazz, too."
Isaacson noted the hardest part was "doing the little people in the background and
enlarging them." She had help from Elizabeth Gundlach, 7, of Mohawk, on a rainy June
afternoon when it was too wet for Gundlach to put polyurethane on her own painting, a
replica of Rembrandt's "Portrait of a Woman." The two girls looked in several reference
books until they found the dates for Rembrandt: 1606-1669.
Said Carol Rose, Ramblin' Rose Garden Gallery owner and director of Keweenaw
Krayons, "That's part of it--learning about the arts, not just painting."
The artist-mentors gave the students tips on drawing and painting techniques while
replicating paintings of their own. Mikkola said he chose Leonardo DaVinci's "Mona Lisa" in order to attract attention to the exhibit.
"I dare say everyone in the country knows this painting, and that's the only reason I picked it," he said.
Added Rose, "We had fun talking about naming her the 'Mohawk Lisa.' We tried to talk
Clyde into putting a pasty in her hand -- without success."
Raised in Calumet, Mikkola said he moved back to the area about 20 years ago and has
been a substitute teacher in the schools. He added he enjoys working at Ramblin' Rose because the Keweenaw Krayons kids are so enthusiastic.
"They come here because they want to," he said. "That becomes evident with the amount
of enthusiasm and energy they put into their work."
Since the Ramblin' Rose Garden Gallery is small, kids often work outside. Rose said
now that Keweenaw Krayons has a nonprofit status, she is working on a grant to expand the gallery and make it a children's art center.
"We would join the house and shop together. It would be a marvelous art center for the Keweenaw," Rose noted.
Like Rose, Mikkola said he would like to see an expansion of the gallery.
"I have no doubts that it's all going to happen," Mikkola said. "When the weather is
conducive (the kids) are everywhere. When you have to work inside, there's limited space."
Mikkola said the adult volunteers have a little more work when a large number of kids
work outside, but "it's a labor of love." Working with house paint was another challenge, he added.
Said Bell-Hanson, "When we mixed red and yellow to get orange, we got pink."
Using oil paint would have been "cost-prohibitive for this size project," she explained.
In addition to Mikkola and Bell-Hanson, artist-mentors included Ed Andrzewski and
Susan Sampson. Local artists Shirley Lamppa, Kay Smith and Cornelia Carlton also
participated in the project. Adult volunteers, some of whom painted along with the kids,
were Kermit's Kids Director Kathy Harri-McEvers, Kathryn Wyeth-Wakeman, Della Petaja and Catherine Isaacson.
A mini-grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Copper
Country Community Arts Council funded the project. The Barbara Kettle Gundlach
Shelter Home paid for supplies and one teacher. Ace Hardware of Calumet contributed discounts and donations.
After the conference the panels will be permanently displayed on the exterior of the Ramblin' Rose Garden Gallery and offered to other public buildings in the Mohawk area,
Bell-Hanson said. Any business interested in obtaining a panel may contact Carol Rose at (906) 337-4706 or at carol@RamblinRoseArt.com.
- Michele Anderson
July 13, 2000
|
