Tag Archives: Leep Art Gallery

Dennis O’Mara exhibit opening at Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery

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“Searching Door” by Dennis O’Mara

By Colleen Cullison
Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery

A new exhibit titled, “How I See Things,” by local artist Dennis O’Mara, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on July 2 at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

O’Mara, a retired art teacher, creates art from a variety of mediums. Each medium is selected to fit how he sees the piece representing his idea in the best way says the artist. He does oil and pastel paintings, sculptures, relief prints, saltwater etchings and wood door etchings. Two of the pieces in the show were previously at Art Prize.

“I create art from events and places that inspire me,” says O’Mara. “Some of my work tells a story and other work lets the viewer fill in the story. The doors in this show were created because of what I saw when visiting an older patient when she had a bout of depression. The steel etchings were a result of watching people bring their children and their parents to see the doors when they were on exhibit at Art Prize. The other pieces are a result of places I have visited.” 

O’Mara grew up on a West Michigan farm. He attended Olivet College where he studied sculpture and print making. He also received his masters from Olivet with a focus on print making. He was an art teacher at Hastings High School for 30 years, and taught an art appreciation class at Kellogg Community College. He returned to creating art in a more serious fashion in 2000.

He is a member of the Great Lakes Pastel Society and Grand Valley Artists.

The Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery exhibit will be on display at the Postma Center located at 300 68th Street, SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., from July 2 to October 1, 2019. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616.222.4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/leep-art-gallery .

Colleen Kole exhibit opening at Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery April 4

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Colleen Kole: “Pockets of Time” (Supplied)

By Colleen Cullison
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services

A new exhibit titled, “Stitched Lines,” by local artist and quilter Colleen Kole, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on April 4 at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

Kole, a physical therapist for 20 years, used her hands constantly and her observational skills as well. She now uses the same hands and observational skills as a fiber artist whose medium is quiltmaking. She dyes her own fabrics and cuts freehand into the fabric using a rotary cutter. She then uses a design wall to compose her quilt. The final step is adding machine stitching to three layers which adds another level of texture and design to the piece.

“With this exhibit, ‘A Stich In Time,’ over the past few years, I have become fascinated with lines. A line can be divisive separating one thing from another. A line can make a shape. It can connect one point to another. It can be subtle or distinct. Changing the color of the line can make it strong or weak. 

“In the works chosen for this exhibit, the line becomes an abstract representation of many things we hold close to our hearts. In the series Time Fragments, it represents memory and memory loss; Rooflines, the home and Transitions a sharp demarcation in the different transitions we encounter as we age. Finally, Do the Dance is representative of the perseverance we need in the midst of crisis. Quite simply I love a line. And all it may represents in our lives. May it not divide but connect.”

Kole is a member of the West Michigan Quilt Guild and the American Quilter’s Society, has many won awards and been in numerous exhibits. She also has been featured in several quilting magazines.

The Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery exhibit will be on display at the Postma Center located at 300 68th Street, SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., from April 3 to June 28, 2019. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616.222.4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/leep-art-gallery .

Carole Hunnes-Nielsen Exhibit opening at Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery Jan. 3

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Stars of Heaven by Carole Hunnes-Nielsen

By Colleen Cullison

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services

 

A new exhibit titled, “Changing Seasons,” by local artist Carole Hunnes-Nielsen, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on Jan. 3 at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

 

Hunnes-Nielsen graduated from Western Michigan University with a master’s and bachelor’s degrees in art education. Her work in watercolor and watercolor batik has won awards with the Michigan Watercolor Society, Celebration of the Arts, and Festival of the Arts.

 

“The seasons of our lives bring many changes as do the change of seasons in nature. My work embraces a love of life and a love of nature,” says Carole Hunnes-Nielsen. “I am inspired by the change of seasons in our beautiful state of Michigan and the changes in life that we celebrate. I hope to express that love of life and nature in my work through the use of expressive color and experimentation with technique. The influence of Vincent VanGogh’s use of bright color can be seen in my work.”

 

“My work captures a moment in life that has brought me joy. It brings me pleasure to be able to share my work with others. My hope is that through viewing my work, you will feel the same happiness as I did in creating it.”

 

Hunnes-Nielsen spent 30 years teaching high school art. As a retired art teacher, she enjoys sharing her love of art through teaching watercolor batik workshops. She is a member of the American Watercolor Society, Michigan Watercolor Society and the Franciscan Painters. She has had numerous solo exhibitions and has been in many juried shows.

 

Hunnes-Nielsen is a lifelong Michigan resident and currently lives in Rockford.

 

The Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery exhibit will be on display at the Postma Center located at 300 68th Street, SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., from January 3 until April 3, 2019. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616.222.4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/leep-art-gallery .

Snapshots: Wyoming, Kentwood news you need to know

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Quote of the Day

"Art is not a cleverness contest. It is an honesty contest to hone the capacity to truly be that which you are."

        ~ Ran Ortner, ArtPrize's first public vote winner

 

Take a ‘leep’ into art

 

“Pink House” by Kendra Postma

The Leep Art Gallery, in the Postma Center at the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, will be featuring the work of Kendra Postma in the exhibit titled “These Are A Few of My Favorite Things.”

 

“My paintings often take on a dreamlike or spiritual aura to me. Inspiration often comes from walks on the beach with the water lapping at my feet and fills me with a sense of peace, or sometimes it’s my chickens which influence what I create. I always have an intense desire or need to create something that nourishes my soul,” Postma said.

 

The exhibit runs Oct. 3 – Jan. 2. Find out more here.

 

 

Better Homes

 

The Frey Foundation is currently seeking innovative ideas to accelerate access to sustainable, quality housing opportunities in Kent County. The foundation is specifically focused on addressing housing access for people who are employed yet may be struggling to make ends meet.

 

The foundation will award a grant of up to $150,000 to an agency or partnership that submits an innovative, actionable plan, concept or collaboration that effectively reduces the number of ALICE families paying more than 30 percent of monthly income for housing. Submissions will be evaluated, and an idea selected, by an external, multi-sector advisory committee coordinated by the Grand Valley Metro Council.

 

Ideas are currently being accepted online. The deadline for submission is Oct. 29. More information is available at freyfdn.org/housinginnovation. Go here to learn more.

 

But Some Swing In It

 

Glenn Bulthuis with the Hark Up horns

The Van Singel Fine Arts Center has announced its upcoming season which kicks off with Swing Night at the Van Singel featuring Glenn Bulthuis and the Hark Up Big Band. The event is Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. with tickets $18 for adults and $12 for students (high school and younger. Click here, for more information.

 

 

Fun Fact:

Nov. 22, 1963

It was not only the day that American President John F. Kennedy died but also the day that "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" author C.S. Lewis died. On Oct. 6, Chicago-based Ballet 5:8 will perform a re-imagining of C.S. Lewis's "The Great Divorce." The performance is set for 7 p.m. at the DeVos Center for Performing Arts, 2300 Plymouth Ave. SE.

Kendra Postma exhibit opening at Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery Oct. 3

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“Pink House” by Kendra Postma

By Colleen Cullison

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services

 

A new exhibit titled, “These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things,” by local artist Kendra Postma, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on October 3 at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

 

Postma is a multimedia, collage, and ceramic artist. She was a long-time student of Loretta Sailors and has studied with numerous other artists over the years. She belongs to the International Society of Experimental Artists and is president for a co-op gallery called Flat River Gallery & Framing in Lowell, Michigan.

 

“My paintings often take on a dreamlike or spiritual aura to me. Inspiration often comes from walks on the beach with the water lapping at my feet and fills me with a sense of peace, or sometimes it’s my chickens which influence what I create. I always have an intense desire or need to create something that nourishes my soul,” says Kendra Postma.

 

“For me, the whole process of creating art is fulfilling in a way I don’t completely understand. From pulling out my materials and starting on a blank canvas to signing my name and choosing a frame, I feel rewarded from every part of the journey. Every time I complete a project and finally hang it on the wall or send it away, I’m filled with melancholy that the process is over; at least until I start my next project.”

 

Postma has exhibited in several galleries and competed in numerous juried art shows. She has also won several awards. Postma is married and has two children.

 

The Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery exhibit will be on display at the Postma Center located at 300 68th Street, SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., from Oct. 3 until Jan. 2, 2019. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616.222.4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/leep-art-gallery .

Richard Muller exhibit opening at Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery

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“Ancient Powers” by Richard Muller

By Colleen Cullison

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services

 

A new exhibit titled, “Perceptions of Landscape — Reality and Remembrance,” by local artist Richard Muller, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on July 5 at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

 

Richard Muller has been an artist for much of his life, specializing in landscapes. He studied oil painting for nine years at the Vincent Trotta School of Art in Flushing, New York. His academic degrees are from Queens College, City University of New York, bachelor of arts; Union Theological Seminary, N. Y., master of divinity; and Duke University, postgraduate doctoral degree. Since moving to Lowell in 2006, he has been a member of the Lowell Area Arts Council, serving on the Gallery Committee.

 

“My artistic efforts have been directed, particularly in the last several decades, toward the development of a classical style with a view to the insights of the landscape traditions of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. I learn from the past by painting my own versions of classic works’” says Muller.

 

“My original paintings are typically done on the basis of sketches or impressions of places where I have traveled and been moved either by the natural force of the scene or by a striking feature of the landscape, whether a result of nature or of human activity. My intention is to more evoke a mood or a feeling than simply to represent — to call forth a sense of life and force in the natural order and our human connection with it. I prefer traditional pigments, especially the natural earths. I aim at a feeling of life and depth, a sense of the unity of the whole.”

 

Muller has exhibited works in the West Michigan Regional Competition, Celebration of the Arts, the Mid-Michigan Art Guild Annual Exhibition, ArtPrize, the Grand Rapids Art Peers Festival, the Fallasburg Festival, and in four solo exhibits since 2010. He is a member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painter’s Society.

 

The Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery exhibit will be on display at the Postma Center located at 300 68th Street, SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., from July 5 until October 2, 2018. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616.222.4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/leep-art-gallery .

Ushering in spring is an exhibit featuring Larry Blovits at the Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery

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“Twelve Apostles” by Larry Blovits

A new exhibit titled, “A view of my artistic journey from the past to the present,” by local artist Larry Blovits, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on April 4 at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

 

Blovits’s artistic career has centered around his love for painting in oil and pastel portraits, landscapes, and teaching. Receiving numerous awards and honors in national shows ever since 1962, Blovits has achieved signature status in many prestigious national art organizations around the country.

 

“The primary goal of my artwork has always been to go beyond the important technical and fundamental aspects of painting in my quest to capture the essence of the scene, or the person;” says Blovits. “With homage to the Great Masters, I continue to emulate and carry on the tradition of ‘academic’ painting because that’s what drives me, and what I love to do. “

 

Blovits received his bachelor and master of fine arts degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1961 and 1966 respectively. His artwork is represented in the collections of several local art galleries, museums and many private collections.

 

The Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery exhibit will be on display at the Postma Center located at 300 68th Street, SE, from April 4 until June 29. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616.222.4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/leep-art-gallery .

George Peoples exhibit opening at Pine Rest Keep Art Gallery

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A new exhibit titled, “Celebration,” by local artist George Peebles, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on Jan. 3 at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

 

Grand Rapids artist George Peebles is an international artist within contemporary oil painting. He paints from the compelling force of emotion that continues to inspire his fascination of nature acquired through his devoted walk in faith. His deep and full-hearted feelings are forged from the vivid beauty of nature’s landscape that transcend onto the canvas with vivid colors.

 

Peebles uses an array of colors, even though he is red-green colorblind. He uses this as a gift to show his vision in a new perspective. Before he was aware of his colorblindness, he had already majored in printmaking, drawing, sculpture, painting and photography from Kendall College in 1986.

 

With every painting as individual as can be, he continues to create his masterpieces from memory.

 

“Every time you go outside and see the sky above the trees, it is different no matter how many times you go to the same place. Each spirited work of art created is as special as the earth itself.”

 

The Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery exhibit will be on display at the Postma Center located at 300 68th Street, SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., from Jan. 3 until April 3, 2018. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616-222-4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/events.

Bill Chardon exhibit opening at Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery

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By Colleen Cullison

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services

 

A new exhibit titled, “50/50: Of Color and Black & White,” by local artist Bill Chardon, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on October 5 at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

 

The exhibit works will reflect a broad range of interests from the artist’s last ten years. In that sense, it is a retrospective, with the earliest photographic works being “Cattle Guard” and “Andrew’s Tree,” and more recent works such as “Enduring” and “Jeckyll #1.”

 

“While reviewing the images I’ve chosen I realized that there are an almost equal number of color and black and white photographs. It wasn’t intentional, but is reflective of my work,” says artist Bill Chardon. “The juxtaposition of colors has always intrigued me; and I find a well-conceived black and white image just as compelling for the juxtaposition of values. For me, there is no judging which is more worthy. There is only recognition that they can both render a compelling story.”

 

Chardon grew up in Northern New Jersey about 20 miles west of Manhattan. In the 1960s, this area was small-town, somewhat rural America, with woods and streams to explore, and he developed a deep connection and appreciation for the natural world. After high school he attended Calvin College where he graduated with a BA in Art, and Kendall College of Art and Design with a BFA in Advertising Design. For almost 40 years, graphic design has been his profession.

 

“A judge’s statement for a show I participated in said that an image should have a ‘hook’; something that pulls the viewer in. This description had an impact on me; and since then I have been more conscious of what that ‘hook’ may be in a particular image,” says Charon. “Whatever the ‘hook’ is in a particular photograph, my ultimate goal as a photographer is to engage you.”

 

Chardon’s work has been exhibited in a number of venues in the Midwest and has received special recognition from B&W Magazine, The Muskegon Museum of Art, and Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts. He has been a participant in ArtPrize for the past five years with this year’s exhibit at the Women’s City Club.

 

The Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery exhibit will be on display at the Postma Center located at 300 68thStreet, SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., from October 5 until December 29, 2017. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616.222.4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/events.

Patti Sevensma exhibit opening at Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery

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By Colleen Cullison

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services

 

A new exhibit titled, “Innovative Artistry,” by local artist Patti Sevensma, ISEA-NF, NCS, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on March27. The mixed media exhibit is at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

 

Having grown up on the shores of Lake Michigan, Sevensma compares her love of creating art to her life-long fascination with the serene, but often turbulent lake. “It’s beautiful, awesome, and terrifying all at the same time. Making art is the same way. Every project is an adventure in and of itself.” As the lake is ever changing, Sevensma, too, continues to change as a multimedia artist. She is learning not only to enhance her creative process but also to make her life more exciting and fulfilling.

 

Early on, Sevensma developed a love of drawing, designing, and even sewing her own clothes. As her sons entered high school, Sevensma focused on becoming a professional photographer and also began taking art classes at Grand Rapids Community College along with local instructor Loretta Sailors, who has been a significant influence on her work. Sevensma also took workshops led by nationally known artists in drawing, watercolor, collage, and mixed media. Her goal has always been to try as many mediums as possible before she dies.

 

Sevensma shares her passion for learning by teaching classes and workshops to inspire others to discover the joy of making art. She teaches photography, with an emphasis on how to capture and design a great photo; critique class for artists seeking to improve their design and composition skills; and watercolor for beginning artists.

 

Sevensma’s artwork is on display at The Flat River Gallery and Framing in Lowell; Mullaly’s 128 Studio and Gallery in Elk Rapids; Museum Contempo in Shelton, Washington; Frames Unlimited Galleries in Grand Rapids, and other locations in the Midwest. She is a member of the National Collage Society and President of the International Society of Experimental Artists.

 

The exhibit will be on display at Pine Rest Postma Center located at 300 68th Street, SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., from March 27 until June 30, 2017. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616.222.4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/events.

Local artist known for her landscapes featured at Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery

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Kathleen Kalinowski's "Michigan Dunes"
Kathleen Kalinowski’s “Michigan Dunes”

A new exhibit titled, “Michigan Impressions,” by local artist Kathleen Kalinowski opens at the Leep Art Gallery Oct. 5. The exhibit is at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

 

Kalinowski is known for her representational landscape paintings with impressionistic color and brushwork. Much of her work consists of plein air painting, directly from nature, a prelude to her larger studio paintings. She has been working as a professional fine artist for more than 25 years using oil and pastel as her mediums.

 

She paints the landscapes of her native Michigan in all seasons and favorite places from her travels. Her home and studio is just north of Grand Rapids, in a rural area close to farms, rolling hills, and plenty of rivers and streams. She often finds water as her inspiration including the shorelines of the Great Lakes, northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

 

“Painting is my passion, it is who I am,” said Kalinowski. “Whether working on location or in my studio, my experience has taught me to trust my intuition when seeking inspiration.

 

“I look to capture the sense of the place, the relationship of elements, and quality of light, atmosphere, and color harmonies to create a visual poetry that I seek to express in my work. My hope is that the viewer will be left with a feeling of being present within the artwork and gain another understanding of how beautiful our world can be.”

 

Kalinowski is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, a member of the Oil Painters of America, American Women Artists, Great Lakes Pastel Society, Plein Air Artists of West Michigan and Grand Valley Artists. Her award winning work has been accepted into prestigious juried regional and national exhibitions and is in numerous private and corporate collections.

 

The exhibit will be on display at Pine Rest Postma Center located at 300 68th St. SE from Oct. 5 until Jan. 3. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616/222-4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/events.

Work by Barbara Bjelland to be featured at Pine Rest’s Leep Art Gallery

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Bjelland_Creation_GroansA new exhibit titled, “Creation, Cross, People and Places: Scenes in Oil and Oil Pastel,” by local artist Barbara Bjelland opens at the Leep Art Gallery July 7. The exhibit is at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

 

Bjelland’s broad theme encompasses many places and things she cares about and finds beautiful. “Creation is a good gift to us from God’s hand,” says Bjelland. “It is beautiful, but broken. Christ came to redeem all, and because of Christ’s work, we can share in God’s delight and care for the world and its people.”

 

Many scenes are from Minnesota, other scenes are from Bjelland’s travels, and from her new home in Michigan. Wherever she is, doing art helps her notice things around her in a new way. She shares this sense of imagination and mystery, of the divine world touching our own. Words and images flow together, and many of her paintings have a narrative sense.

 

Bjelland grew up in Minneapolis, Minn., and Cuernavaca, Mexico – places that gave her a lifelong love of sky-blue waters and richly-colored folk art. She has degrees in Ancient History, Spiritual Formation, and Commercial Art, and has studied at Minneapolis College of Art & Design. Her work can be seen in the collections of Gustavus Adolphus College and First National Bank in Saint Peter, Minn. Barbara also is an author and an adjunct chaplain at Pine Rest.

 

The exhibit will be on display at Pine Rest Postma Center located at 300 68th Street, SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., from July 7 until Oct. 4. There is an opening reception July 8, 6 – 8 p.m. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616/222-4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/events.