PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series Artist Anne Corlett is a descendant of the storied art community of Saugatuck, Michigan. Twice a year, Corlett’s grandmother, a landscape painter, invited her artist friends from Chicago to spend the week painting on the scenic Lake Michigan lakeshore at her family’s
PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series Susan M. Rose remembers vividly the first time she witnessed an artist painting “en plein air.” She was on one of many summer camping trips with her family. Already having developed a passion for art at her young age, she saw a
If you’ve taken a walk at The Highlands recently, you’ve probably noticed that a big chunk of it is looking a little brown. While the view is somewhat bleak, the future of that 25-acre parcel is bright: it’s being prepared to be planted with a
PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series Randi Ford’s unique paintings feature wavy brush strokes and repeating patterns. The patterns add movement to an otherwise representational naturescape. They bring an underlying spirit to the surface, making a static scene come to life. Ford calls her works “flow paintings,” and she
PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series Michael Pfleghaar’s landscape painting process begins in the field, but it is rarely finished there. Instead, Pfleghaar captures what first strikes him—features with abstract or asymmetrical qualities—and then he takes what he’s started back to his studio, where his approach to the
PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series Yolanda Gonzalez frequents natural areas seeking inspiration close to the earth. Rather than landscapes, she prefers to study individual plants and insects for their unique intricacies. “I love to get really up close and personal to whatever plants, flowers, seedlings and things like
PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series During a tour of a Scotland nature preserve in 2018, photographer Thomas Hegewald witnessed first hand the healing effect restoration projects can have on a landscape. The land he was touring had been used for commercial forestry and planted with nonnative trees.
PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series On a warm, sunny morning in late May, Jean Allemeier Boot sat on a bench in Roselle Park. She faced a wetland alive with birdsong and glowing with the vibrant greens of spring. Before her stood an easel and the beginnings of
Shilin Hora grew up in a home surrounded by a peach farm, a pumpkin patch and a vineyard. The granddaughter of a farmer, she spent much of her childhood interacting with nature. “When you’re working with produce, picking at berries, you’re always looking at the minute—looking
West Michigan’s diverse terrain means explorers have an exciting variety of environments to discover. Climb dunes, trek through forests or find peace in the prairie. Hiking the trails at these three nature preserves will give you a taste of just how biodiverse our home is. Flower