Tag Archives: Pine Rest

Pine Rest, Spectrum South to be added to bus route

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By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Starting Aug. 29, the Clyde Park south route 10 will change. (Supplied)

With Byron Township’s decision to not renew its contact with The Rapid, the transportation agency took the opportunity to realign its south Clyde Park Avenue route (Route 10) to serve some of the area’s critical destinations.

Starting Aug. 29, the route will include new stops at the Special Olympics and Disability Advocates of Kent County facility on 68th Street, Cutlerville’s Pine Rest location, and the Spectrum Health South Pavilion.

“We are proud to work with The Rapid to create a new bus stop and turnaround on Pine Rest’s Cutlerville campus,” said Pine Rest President Mark Eastburg. “Access to transportation is essential for our community and this service will greatly benefit our friends and neighbors who are seeking care at Pine Rest, as well as our employees who can now choose public transpiration as an option. Providing more access to our campus gives more opportunity to receive mental health and emergency care at Pine Rest’s psychiatric urgent care center.”

At its June board meeting, Byron Township did not vote in favor of renewing its contract with The Rapid, which previously funded a portion of Route 10 south of 54th Street. This provided an opportunity to evaluate and change route patterns to serve critical destinations.

Beginning on Aug. 29, Route 10 will have stops at:

  • Special Olympics Michigan (SOMI) campus and Disability Advocates of Kent County
  • Pine Rest
  • Spectrum Health South Pavilion

The reroute impacts some of the existing stops along Route 10. Several stops along Division Avenue and 68th Street will be eliminated. The stops along 54th street will remain to serve Route 1 – Division but will no longer be used as stops for Route 10. Northbound stops along Clyde Park will remain in service south of 54th Street.The Rapid also operates the Go!Bus paratransit services that provide rides to ADA-eligible customers within its service area. With transit agencies being required to provide services within three-fourth of a mile of their fixed-transit routes, the areas served by Go!Bus will shift around the new route configuration.

“It’s great working with the Rapid staff to provide a workable solution for the new Special Olympics campus,” said Disability Advocates of Kent County Executive Director Dave Bulkowski. “The new routing will provide a mainline bus stop in front of our facilities on 68th Street. This makes it safer for transit customers by eliminating the need to cross five lanes of traffic to access Disability Advocates and the Special Olympics campus. With these stops, we also maintain Go!Bus paratransit service which is absolutely critical for our staff, volunteers, and participants.”

The updates to Route 10 will ultimately help drive The Rapid’s efforts in cultivating a more equitable community in all six-plus cities by providing access to these essential services.

“This realignment will provide safer access to the Special Olympics of Michigan campus and co- located services provided by Disability Advocates of Kent County. It will also allow for greater access to employment opportunities for our six-cities residents,” said Deb Prato, CEO of The Rapid. “We work hard to build partnerships and innovative services to meet the needs of the community we serve.”

To review the changes to Route 10 (Clyde Park), visit ridetherapid.org.

Pine Rest’s new 12-bed residential unit designed to help with growing substance abuse disorder

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Dr. Cameron Risma, medical director, outpatient addiction services, talks about the new Birch Lodge Substance Use Disorder Residential Unit. (WKTV)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

The gray building tucked neatly on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services does not appear to be anything unique, but what it offers to those with a substance use disorder is a bridge from addiction to normal life.

This week, Pine Rest officials celebrated the opening of its first independent substance use disorder residential unit, Birch Lodge, located on its main campus just off of 68th Street.

The 12-bedroom facility original served as Pine Rest’s detox center, which had been moved to be with its substance use disorder residential program.

“What was happening is people who were coming in for detox were not really ready to hear about resources such as AAA or exercising,” said Dr. Talal Khan, the medical director, outpatient and recovery services, for Pine Rest. “What this does is provide a bridge between acute care and life, offering a smoother transition into life and its activities.’

Those in the Pine Rest substance use disorder program may move to the step-down program at the Birch Lodge Residential Unit after completing detox. Residents may stay up to 30 days but the facility’s short-term stay is expected to be seven to 10 nights. The facility includes a living room, dining room and kitchen, double occupancy bedrooms, a class room, exercise area, and offices.

“We will be having dinner together which for some will be a challenge in having dinner without having a drink,” said the Clinic Manager Lisa Zwerk, RN.

The patients at the Birch Lodge residential facility will participate in group therapy, spiritual reflection, case management sessions, technology time, fitness time, and recover support meetings. Patients also will be attending outings to Griffins and Whitecap games along with visiting local restaurants to learn about their triggers and how to plan for them, Zwerk said, adding the group also will visit community-peer led sober support programs as well to learn about resources that are available to them.

 

Khan said it takes time for medications to stabilize and relearn daily activities which is something that the facility offers versus residents going straight from acute care right back into daily life.

“When you have a substance use disorder, you burn a lot of bridges in the process,” Khan said. “Mending those bridges takes time.”

The new unit will expand Pine Rest’s use disorder services from 14 to 26 beds with Pine Rest officials estimating the organization will be able to treat up to 400 additional patients each year through the Birch Lodge Resident Unit.

The Birch Lodge Residential Unit includes double occupancy bedrooms, a living area and an exercise room. (WKTV)

Substance use disorder is a broad term that covers what used to be called substance abuse and substance dependence. The term can be applied to most additions, drug and alcohol as well as gambling, internet addiction, sex and others. According to Zwerk, the residential program has handled about 70 percent alcohol-related dependencies and about 30 percent have been drug related. The need for substance use disorder support has continued to grow with it being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Khan, there has been 30 percent increase in substance use disorder since the start of the pandemic. The number of people who seek treatment remains at about 10 percent, he said.

Zwerk noted that patients who move on from the Birch Lodge will be able to work with the same professional providers and clinicians as they move on through each level of care.

 

“So a person who has been discharged from the residential program may continue to meet with the same doctors and clinicians they worked with here in outpatient care,” she said, adding that the program is designed for people of all income levels.

 

The Birch Lodge Resident Unit officially opened on Tuesday accepting its first patients that day.

For more about the Birch Lodge residential program or the services available at Pine Rest, visit the organization’s website. 

Paulette Carr exhibit opening at Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery April 9

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By Colleen Cullison
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services

A new exhibit titled, “Springtime,” by local artist Paulette Carr, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on April 9, 2020 at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

Paulette Carr is self-trained artist who has attended many art workshops and conferences around the United States, Europe and Caribbean.

Springtime is a time of renewal and rebirth. A time to grow after a dark, cold and bitter time. This show represents that time of growth after that period of darkness. The colors seem brighter, the emotions fresher and the peace and serenity more cherished.

This show has a strong influence of the impressionists, Monet, Pissaro, Manet and many more who went through a dark time for the arts and yet came out with such beautiful colors and light. “I hope the viewer will find themselves in a peaceful, serene place emotionally when viewing this exhibit,” says Carr.

Her work can be seen all around Michigan in such places as West Michigan Chamber of Commerce; Great Legs Winery, Brewery, Distillery; Start Up to Success Agency; Community Choice Credit Union; and Red Cedar Spirits. She has exhibited at First United Methodist Church, Holland Area Arts Council, Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts, Red Lotus Gallery in Muskegon and many others.

Carr is a member of Holland Friends of Art, Holland Area Arts Council, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Chicago Institute of Art, Philadelphia Art Museums, and Minneapolis Museum of Art. In addition to creating art, Carr has been active in promoting arts in the community through presentations for artists on “The Art of Selling Art Shamelessly” and promoting the arts through “Artists Sharing Sunshine.” She is also an instructor of unique classes offered for the beginning and non-artists to help them face the blank canvas. 

The Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery exhibit will be on display at the Postma Center located at 300 68th St., SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., from April 9 to July 7. 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.

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 .

Pine Rest to participate in National Institute On Aging study

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Eric Achtyes, M.D., M.S., D.F.A.P.A.
(photo supplied)

By Colleen Cullison, Pine Rest


Pine Rest has been chosen as one of five organizations to participate in a National Institute on Aging study.


The 5-year study will investigate the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to treat severe agitation and aggression in people with Alzheimer’s disease. The study was made possible by a 5-year award which is expected to total $11.8 million from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). 


Researchers at McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School Affiliate, will lead the study. Pine Rest will receive a $1.3 million sub-award for the study from McLean. The NIA, part of the National Institutes of Health, leads scientific efforts to study aging and Alzheimer’s disease.


The study will be the first randomized, double-blind, controlled study of ECT for agitation and aggression in Alzheimer’s dementia. It will compare how ECT treatment plus standard treatments, such as antipsychotic medications and behavioral therapies, compares with standard therapies alone for individuals with Alzheimer’s dementia with severe aggression and anxiety.


For the study, 200 patients will be enrolled across the five sites. The study will be open to older adults or individuals who have been admitted to the inpatient geriatric psychiatry units of any of the five participating sites and who have moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease, are experiencing agitation and aggression, and who have not been responsive to other forms of treatment. Enrollment is expected to begin in spring 2019.


“We have been interested in the use of ECT for the treatment of advanced dementia for many years and have been offering this treatment to patients and families for a long time,” said Eric Achtyes, M.D., M.S., D.F.A.P.A., staff psychiatrist, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, and Michigan State University – College of Human Medicine, associate professor and chair, department of psychiatry west.


“Several years ago, we conducted a pilot study of ECT in this patient population which showed promising results for reducing agitation associated with dementia,” Achtyes said. “Now, thanks to this grant, we will be able to conduct a definitive study to assess the benefits and risks of using ECT for these individuals and the families who care for them.”

Dr. Louis Nykamp
(photo supplied)

“Agitation and even aggression are unfortunately common in the context of the brain changes which occur in the late stages of Alzheimer’s dementia,” said Dr. Louis Nykamp, Pine Rest’s geriatric fellowship director and electroconvulsive therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation clinic director.


“Many people can think of a family member or friend to whom this has occurred,” Nykamp said. “There are currently no approved treatments and the medications typically used for these complications of the illness can come with troublesome side effects and often they don’t work as well as we’d hope.”


A $20,000 grant from the Pine Rest Foundation will fund preliminary work to prepare Pine Rest’s ECT Clinic to participate in the NIA grant.


When the study begins this spring, the teams from the five hospitals will interact regularly with a data safety monitoring board composed of experts in geriatric psychiatry, biostatistics, and ECT who will review every piece of data as well as the overall conduct of the study to provide an independent objective review of safety. The researchers will also provide a yearly progress report to the NIA.

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 .

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.

Caledonia resident receives 55-year service award from Pine Rest

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Caledonia resident Ruth Helmholdt-Davis recently received her 55-year service award at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services. Helping her celebrate is her daughter Sallie Nyenhuis, right, who received her 5-year service award and her niece Joan Hibma who received her 25-year service award. (Photo courtesy Pine Rest)

By Colleen Cullison

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services

 

Ruth Helmholdt-Davis recently received her 55-year service award from Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services. Helmholdt-Davis came to Pine Rest right after her graduation from high school in 1959; she had just turned 17. She came from Lucas, a small farming community near McBain, Michigan. Helmholdt-Davis really actually has 57 years of service, but 55 years consecutively.

 

She entered the nursing program and began work at the Retreat Center with children. It was a natural fit for her since she was the oldest of six kids and had done a lot of babysitting.

 

Helmholdt-Davis graduated the nursing program in 1961. She was in a group of nurses grandfathered in as licensed practical nurses by the State of Michigan. In her years of service she held many positions; she has been a nurse in literally all areas of Pine Rest, both past and present. On completion of her nursing bachelor’s degree, she became a unit manager in Child & Adolescent. In the late 1990s, she left full time employment until 2004 when she returned full time as clinical service manager of the Child & Adolescent Unit.

 

In 2007, she became the director of clinical practice of Hospital Based Services and terminated full-time employment in 2008, but still maintains part-time work with Pine Rest. She works on-call as an intake co-coordinator. Helmholdt-Davis also works in the nursing program at Detroit Mercy Nursing School.

 

Helmholdt-Davis is married to Ron Davis. She has two sons and a daughter, 16 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Her daughter, Sallie Nyenhuis, just received her 5-year service award and her niece Joan Hibma received her 25-year service award at Pine Rest.

 

Helmholdt-Davis spends her winters in Florida and still has time for her many hobbies. She enjoys interior decorating, flower arranging, reading, golf, gardening and spending time outdoors. She also enjoys spending time with her family especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

 

In Florida, she is currently teaching a Bible study on Nehemiah. She also volunteers at Manasota Care Net which is a pregnancy resource center.

Carole Bradbury is the next featured artist at Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery

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By Colleen Cullison

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services

 

A new exhibit titled, “God’s Handiwork,” by local artist Carole Bradbury opens at the Leep Art Gallery on Jan. 4. The exhibit is at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.

 

Bradbury is inspired by the beautiful landscapes of the Hudson River School artists’ Thomas Hill, Albert Bierdstadt, Edwin Church and Frederic Edwin Church whom left  notable legacy of American landscape art.

 

She attended classes at Scottsdale Art School in Arizona where Bradbury’s instructors were well known floral artist Linda Glover-Gooch and landscape artist Ralph Oberg. While living in Arizona, she also enjoyed the soft hues of the desert and was mentored with six others by California artist Don Newhouse. He encouraged her to switch from acrylics to oils to get richer colors.

 

In her art, Bradbury hopes the viewers can feel the peace of the quiet rivers, the grandeur of our Great Lakes and wonderful waterfalls. Her passion is to capture some of God’s handiwork in the great outdoors and his delicate design in our flowers.

 

She was a member of the Wickenburg Arizona Art Club where members received monthly classes with accomplished artists, and was a member of the Arizona Women’s Plein Aire Group. Two Metropolitan Opera singers have two of her painting in their collection. Her art pieces have been sold in the Caribbean, Arizona, Virginia and in the Michigan cities of St. Joseph, Grand Rapids and Rockford.

 

Bradbury and her husband, who live in Comstock Park, have 16 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

 

The exhibit will be on display at Pine Rest Postma Center located at 300 68th St. SE, from Jan. 4 – Mar. 22. 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, 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.

Pine Rest’s Leep Gallery’s newest exhibit features the work of a local photographer

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One of the collages by Kathryn Armstrong now on display at the Leep Gallery at Pine Rest
One of the collages by Kathryn Armstrong now on display at the Leep Gallery at the Postman Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, 300 68th St. SE.

A new photography exhibit, “From the Rising of the Sun” by local artist Kathryn Armstrong opens at the Leep Art Gallery April 7, 2016. The exhibit is at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services main campus in Grand Rapids.

 

The photography exhibit is in the form of 20 collages with 400 photographs, and is based on Psalm 113:3, “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.” It reflects Armstong’s lifetime of experiencing the wonder and glory of God’s creative genius around the world. The murals share the heartbeat of one family traveling through one year and one lifetime in a modest lake home here in Grand Rapids.

 

“I hope it also transcends that perspective to speak for the universal experiences of humans, not only in our American life and culture, but everywhere, through vistas of the intimate and exotic both at home and throughout our magnificent planet,” Armstrong said. “My prayer is that every person who views these collages will feel their spirits lifted and their hearts drawn toward the eternal creator of our universe, who loves us with an everlasting love.”

 

Armstrong has taught high school, has home schooled her own seven children, and sold photos to the Lighthouse Christian Bookstore in Marquette, Mich. Last fall she had one of her collages on display at Acton Institute, has photographed numerous weddings and has been an avid photographer since receiving a Brownie box camera for her tenth birthday. She has carried a camera with her ever since.

 

Armstrong’s exhibit will be on display at Pine Rest Postma Center located at 300 68th St. SE, through July 1. 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.