What is an arts council without visual arts?

That's the question we asked outselves as we discussed expansion of cultural offerings in the Bleuwater area. Our musical events such as Music in the Park and the Bach Festival had already taken hold. The events were expanding in popularity and community participation. It was time to add a visual arts program.

Timing was everything as we started searching for a location and local artists. The Lalla Rouke Gallery on Boynton Street was becoming available in June and the new owner of the Shops on Main, the building in which the gallery was located, was willing to "lend" us the space as long as it was available. Great luck for us! Now what about artists? We knew we wanted to showcase local talent. The goal was to expose the community and our patrons to the variety and quality of the artists in our neighborhood. Contact with a local artist and owner of a working artists' studio began the flow of art that we were looking for. In July, our first show, Purely Visual, was born. The warm reception and feedback we received from visitors to the show was overwhelmingly positive. We decided to continue. The next two shows, Art After Dark in August and Cool Nights in October, were also successes.

The visual arts committee was formed with Robin Gamache as chairman. Judy Macksey, Lee Jones, and Kevin Kucken rounded out the grouping with their varied backgrounds and knowledge of art. Juried fine art shows were part of the plan, so we contacted Gene Galley and Roy Hankis, both working designers with fine art degrees and well versed in judging fine art. Our committee was complete.

The final show of the season, Cool Nights, was juried for best of show. The selection of art and artists was impressive. Joe Bulone of Port Sanilac, Stephanie Hanson of Deckerville, Alfred Gay of Lexington, and Kevin Kucken of Croswell were just some of the entrants. The President's Award for Best of Show was awarded to Julienne Jaworski of Lexington for her watercolor portrait of "Erick." The same portrait won in November at the International Fine Art Show in Port Huron. An awards night was held at the Gamache residence in honor of the artists.

The 2006 visual arts show season was kicked off in February featuring Joe Bulone in a one-man show. Joe has won numerous awards and recognition for his acrylic paintings. The season continued on a monthly basis with shows falling on the second weekend in the month until August. A final show was held in October with the best of the artists from the season featured for a juried show.

Mailings and newspaper advertisement go out near the first of each month alerting everyone to the date and times, theme of the show, and location. Look for information in the free paper, Blue Root, released at the beginning of each month, the Port Huron Times Herald Spin, available on Fridays, and the Jeffersonian.

We would like to thank everyone who has already visited our fine art shows and encourage you to watch for coming events. We know you will enjoy the experience!

For more information, contact Robin Gamache at (810) 622-0200.