- [Narrator] On this episode of "Kalamazoo Lively Arts," the Kalamazoo Institute of Art hosts the High School Area Show, where many of the young artists are awarded college scholarships.

We visit the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Fair and speak to many wonderful artists.

- Well, today I'm talking with Kimberly Earnshaw, who's the former director of Advancement and Marketing for the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.

Thank you so much for talking with me here today.

- It's my pleasure, hi.

- Well, I know it's, you know, you're all red because I know you're coming off the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Fair, right?

Tell me all about that.

- Yeah, two, 90 degree days, yes.

- What was it like?

- Oh, it was so much fun.

72nd year of the Arts Fair.

It started so long ago, it was called the Clothesline Arts Fair.

And so they would hang clotheslines between those great trees in Bronson Park and like clip all their artwork on.

So it's a little more advanced than that now.

Over 125 artists and food trucks and thousands of visitors.

And it sort of comes together with all the other activities like the Do-Dah and Art on the Mall and Pride Festival and all those things that have happened.

So such a cool event for the city, but really great for the artists and the really eclectic mix of media that they do and take on, and from ceramics to glass, to metal sculpture, to fiber, to painting and photography.

It was just amazing and so it was a great weekend, hot, but it was not rainy and it was not muggy.

So we went.

(indistinct) - And you have at Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, I think it just wrapped, it was a high school show.

That was what caused me to call you because I thought it was so intriguing, because you look at this art and you like never know who's gonna take off.

- The High School Area show has been around now easily decades, 40 years of doing the High School Area Show.

Yeah, it's amazing.

And we, it's a juried show.

So artists, these high school students submit their artwork and then they're juried in by a professional artist.

But it's anywhere from 9th to 12th grade so it can be up to about 100 art students that can make it, maybe even 85.

- Wow.

- This year we had almost $2.8 million in scholarship offered to these art students.

- Oh, my God.

- I know, right?

Amazing.

And even so, students can win in certain categories and if they don't win, in this year if they didn't win in a category, we actually had scholarships for all the students.

So every student got some kind of scholarship to either carry them through a summer program or university to go to art school full-time, whatever they're pursuing.

It's really amazing, it was absolutely phenomenal.

- [Kim] And when you're talking about young people, like they don't even know how good they are yet, right?

- Yeah, a lot of times we hear that a lot.

We hear people that will say, 'cause we have the art school as well here.

And we will always hear people say, "Oh, I'm not an artist."

And you're like, "Uh, yeah, you are."

And I think that's the amazing thing of things like the Young Artist Show or the High School Area Show is it starts to instill this, oh my gosh, I'm hanging on the walls of a museum.

- Yes.

- That's where they go, maybe I'm an artist.

Or you're going to hear it enough from people around you or other artists who say you are an artist, look at what you're doing.

And even if it's not hanging on our walls, if you're creating art, you're an artist.

- Yes, right, exactly.

Why do you think, like, what is it that that makes art so important to a community especially like Kalamazoo?

- You know, okay, so I have a theory on this, right?

So I think that art, as we all always say, art's very interpretive, right?

Like, you see what you see.

I can look at something and go, "I see this."

And someone else will look at it and go, "I don't see that at all."

Right?

- Yeah, right.

- So it's very different.

And because art is very eclectic, there are so many variations of media that you are working in.

So whether that's, as we said before, whether that's photography or drawing or sculpture, but I think the most important thing that brings art to people is when in some form they see themselves reflected in that artwork, or in the artist that created it, right?

So I think you might look at a piece of artwork and go, "I'm really, that's what I remember growing up.

That looks like my backyard growing up."

Or they relate to the artist because the artist looks like them, talks like them, sounds like, whatever that is, I kind of feel like that's what it is, that there's something for everybody no matter what.

- Now did you mention that there was one that had like a farm scene?

There was this farm scene that you really liked.

What was that all about?

- Yeah, yeah, there's a great piece and I won't be able to tell you what the name of the piece is, but recently the director of education did a tour, a school tour.

And that was the piece that she landed on at the very end of this school tour with these students who had come in.

And one of the students said, "I really wanna thank you.

I love this piece of artwork.

It's because that's what my day looks like.

I get up every day and I'm on the farm before I go to school and I'm doing my chores and I'm working, and I'm doing the things I need to do.

And I see myself in that artwork.

And I did not think I would see what my life looks like in the museum."

And that was cool.

- I didn't know this until recently.

You offer classes, right?

Ceramics, creative writing, drawing and that's for the community?

- Yes, we have a Kirk Newman art school is under the great umbrella of the KIA, and we probably an average about a thousand students a semester.

And so, and it is children through to adults.

So we do have kids day classes like on a Saturday when it's the school year, and during the summer we have kids' camps.

And it doesn't matter your skill level, there's beginning classes and like you said, ceramics or painting, drawing, jewelry making, glass making, weaving, right?

- Yeah.

- And even we do yoga, we did sign language.

And so there's just such a great mixture and we even have scholarship applications that individuals can apply for to help aid them in coming to a class.

And yeah, so it's pretty cool.

- Kimberly, thank you so much for talking with me here today.

I know it was rough coming off that heavy weekend 'cause I know it was crazy busy.

- It's crazy.

- But I appreciate you taking the time here with me.

- Thank you so much for inviting us.

(upbeat funky music) - Hi everyone, I'm Kylie Ambu and we're here at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Fair in Bronson Park.

There are dozens of unique artists out today.

We're talking with a few about what makes their craft so special, let's go.

(upbeat music) I'm here with Mike from Stuffed Brain Studio and I have to say I feel like I'm inside a comic book right now.

- Oh, that's awesome.

- With all this great stuff.

Talk to me about what you got going on.

- So I do a lot of illustration, screen printed posters.

I like to pop up at events like this and just kinda share my art with everybody.

- Wonderful, and what are you especially proud of in here?

- Oh boy, so screen printing is a very hands-on tactile process.

So posters like this, each color serves as a screen.

Lining them up is kinda burdensome sometimes.

- I bet.

- So anytime I get that final color and things are lined up the way they should, it's really awesome.

- Wonderful.

And everything kinda fits a color scheme in here, it's very nice the way you've laid it all out.

Did you do that on purpose?

- Yeah, so in screen printing and in art in general, having constraint has been helpful for me.

So limiting my color palette really allows me to focus less on which colors to use and just more of what art to make and to keep making more art.

- [Kylie] How did you get into screen printing?

- [Mike] So screen printing kinda fell backwards into it through first job I had outta college.

I did sales for a T-shirt printing company, learned about the ins and outs of screen printing on apparel.

And then I learned it was a lot cheaper and more affordable and more creatively fulfilling for me to print on paper.

So I just kind of went down that rabbit hole and haven't stopped since.

- When you go around to all of the different fairs, do you ever meet, you know, fellow artists along the way that you get inspiration from, or maybe just make a friendship out of?

- Absolutely, so a lot of the stuff in my booth was inspired or encouraged by other artists as far as logistical setup things.

You know, hey these certain type of weights or this certain type of netting.

I've had friends helping me all along the way and I met 'em through screen printing.

- Wonderful, what would you say to future artists who might see screen printing and say, "Oh, I wanna get involved?"

- There's definitely a lot of resources around, like the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, I took a class there years ago.

Other people like myself have studios, the equipment can be a little cost prohibitive to jump into fully on your own, but reach out to somebody that's screen printing in your area and just see if they're willing to show you.

It's a medium that not enough people know about and so we wanna spread that knowledge as much as we can.

- Absolutely, well, thanks so much for educating us on it.

- Of course, thank you so much.

- Yeah.

I'm here with Christine Zinn from Zinn Fire Pottery and you are a ceramics artist with a lot of great stuff to share with here today.

- Thank you.

- Absolutely, talk with me about, you know, what you make and how you do it.

- Well, my stuff is mostly wheel thrown.

So I have a pottery studio in my basement and it's stoneware clay.

And I sit at my pottery wheel and throw it, and then it's a process of firing it in a kiln in my garage and then playing around with some glazes.

My glazes are commercial so I don't mix my own for a couple reasons, space.

And I do have another full-time job, so I just play around with glazes till I get something I really like.

- Wonderful, and these all look like they've taken, you know, hours to create, they're gorgeous.

How do you balance your artwork with like you said, a full-time job and full-time life in general?

- It's tough sometimes, but I usually spend probably three, four hours at night after work working on it and then especially on the weekends, and preparing for a show several hours.

- And like you said, you know, you go out to these different fairs, have you met friends?

Like have you had kind of a community of people when you go to these?

- A few.

I haven't actually been doing this that long, but yes, definitely.

We meet people wherever we go and that's probably the most fun part of this.

- When did you kinda get started into coming to the scene?

- About seven years ago.

I went through a midlife change, I guess you'd call it.

And I decided I wanted to do something for myself.

Something that I'd always had a passion for that I wanted to learn and decided I was gonna do it and that's where it started.

- Yeah, you picked a beautiful hobby.

And when you talk about starting something new, I think it sounds so daunting to a lot of people, especially when you have your life figured out.

You know, you think maybe you know what you like in life.

What would your advice be to like a budding artist who might say, "Oh, I've always wanted to get into that."

- Go for it, just try it, don't be afraid to practice.

For me, it was a four week class at a community studio and then just practicing.

I bought a wheel and watched a lot of YouTube and a lot of online tutorials and practiced.

- Wonderful, well you heard it here, go for it, do it.

Thanks so much, I appreciate your time.

- [Christine] Thank you.

- I'm here right now with Richard Franklin from Richard Franklin Fine Arts.

- Yes ma'am.

- Now I know that you are a painter.

- Yes.

- And I know that you're from Texas.

- Yes ma'am.

- What's a Texan doing here at a Kalamazoo Art Fair?

- Well, I didn't come straight from Texas.

I did several shows en route to here.

One in Indiana, one in Missouri, several in Tennessee.

Several in Florida, so it's kind of like a route, a circuit that I do in order to get here.

But I was here last year, so we did so well we wanted to come back.

- Oh, we're happy to have you back in this area.

- Thank you.

- It sounds like a traveling circus though, going from place to place to place, setting up tents.

Is that the life of an artist?

- Somewhat, yes.

Actually, it literally is that way for us.

We're full-time RV, which means we have an RV and I have an area in the back of my RV that is dedicated specifically to art.

So I basically paint while I'm in the RV and then when we get to different shows, we know, of course we take out all the work and it's kind of like a circus where we go from town to town and display our work and sell our work.

- But I'm seeing like faces, I think there's a Ben & Jerry's pint of ice cream that you painted.

Where do you get the inspiration for what you paint?

- Americana, basically anything that we all can relate to, basically it has a huge sort of southern feel to it as well.

And the reason why I do that is 'cause I wanna give people something to smile about.

I wanna give people something to look at that they can be nostalgic about something that we can all relate to.

We all, everybody loves Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

So basically what I do is, and those are pop art, the rest of it things like this or that is called expressive realism.

And there's a long history of artists painting in that style too.

Thomas Hart Benton, Ernie Barnes, Richard Franklin.

- The greats, right?

- And basically what it does is, is yeah, exactly, I like her.

Basically what it is, is a playful way to look at art.

You know, something that's kinda lighthearted, again, something that we can relate to.

Something that in this sense has like sort of a nostalgic feel to it.

Like if you look at the Jacks up there, you know, that's kinda like an old school kind of thing that people used to play with, kids used to play with back in the day.

The clamp on the skates.

You know, whatever's gonna give you that, that sense of nostalgia, you know, that's gonna make you again, make you smile, make you think of happier times.

That's what I try to do.

I try to make my work give you a reason to sort of think back on better times.

Think back on fun times.

You know, I'm big on things that, you know, could I guide you in the direction that's gonna make you happy.

That's basically what it's about.

- Wonderful, well, you definitely have a proud patron in me and you made me smile today.

- Well, thank you.

- And you've uplifted my time, so thanks so much for chatting with me today.

- [Richard] You're very, very welcome.

- I'm here with Val from Other Curiosities.

Now you are a 3D mixed media artist, but what do you say you work in again?

- Nature, just nature.

- Yes, yes.

And you said it's easier to just paint it with a broad brush on that one so that it covers all of these amazing things in your tent.

- Leafs, bugs, cute little skulls.

- I, that's the one I wanna talk about is the cute little skulls, those are so unique.

- The cute little skulls.

- [Kylie] How did you get into stuff like this?

- I, funny enough, my grandpa gave me a turtle, turtles.

- Oh my goodness.

- And it went downhill from there.

- Okay or uphill.

- Uphill, downhill.

- I mean we would all say uphill but.

- But it just, it started to grow the collection.

It was antlers, it was bugs, it was, it went from a tin to a drawer to a box.

And then I went to art school and I was like, canvas is boring.

I think it's a reflection of who I am inside too.

I'm a little out there, I'm a little strange but I also like to connect with the outside world.

I actually had a young girl walk by, she goes, "Oh my gosh, the bone person is here."

- That's your identifier, that's a great one to have.

- Yes, the bone person, it's me.

- So the bone person from Other Curiosities.

- Yes, absolutely.

- That's what we'll call you from now.

I know it's a hard question, but do you have a favorite, you know, trinket or art piece in your booth right now you'd like to show us?

- Ooh, right now it's just this one, my big piece.

- [Kylie] Oh, that's gorgeous.

- I jokingly call it leaf, leaf.

This will be "Leaf Leaf III" because it's a leaf mantis, but a gold leaf.

- [Kylie] That is so beautiful.

I love all the intricate details on it too.

- [Val] I usually don't sit and do it all at once.

It's, I take breaks and I'll work on a different project because I like to pace myself and I don't wanna get bored or tired of the piece, I want it to feel good.

- My last question is just, you know, why is art important here in 2023?

- Art is going to be important until the world ends.

Art is what makes us human, art is what brings us together.

Art is what drives people, honestly.

And I think that a lot of us work but we find joy in art, in movies and music, and art is our joy as humans.

- Wonderful, well on that mic drop moment, I'll leave it there.

Miss Bones, thank you for chatting with us today.

- That's wonderful, thank you so much.

- I'm here with Trish from Moonlight Studio.

Thanks so much for chatting with me today.

- Oh, of course, I'm happy to do it, I always love to share.

- Yeah, tell me about what we've got going on.

- Okay, so I've been doing shows about 30 years now.

I've kind of changed my materials I work in and, but I most enjoy the glass, you can see it more whimsical style and very colorful.

And I just love working in the studio and creating new things.

But also I love meeting the people, seeing what everybody enjoys and, yeah.

- Absolutely, and this is the perfect type of event for that, 'cause you got people coming and going and you get to share your craft with everyone.

- That's it, and you know, people are always usually in a pretty good mood.

They come from quite far and they're just, you know, really looking forward to buying some art.

- Yeah, wonderful.

When I was growing up and I took art classes, it was more, you know, sketching or painting.

How do you get into something like glass?

- Oh, I took a class about 25 years ago, just a beginner class and then I just did a lot of experimenting from there, yeah.

- Yeah, and 25 years later we have in Moonlight Studio.

- There it is, yeah, I quit my regular job and was able to stay home and watch my children and then at night work in the studio, and then do art shows on the weekends.

- Wonderful, and that's such a commitment to take up your weekends and really show off everything you've worked so hard for.

Why is that important?

Why is artwork important in our community?

- Oh, man, it's just um, when I don't do it, I feel less fulfilled.

And just to be able to be creative and have that outlet is, it's, I have to have it.

- Wow, spoken like a true artist and we've got lots of artists around this area.

How does it feel to just be in community with one another and see all of the great things?

- Oh, I love it, this is my like water cooler people, you know, you see the same artists or not all the shows, but you know, they're our, we're all friends.

We're a big part of the art community here in Kalamazoo and really all over.

- Wonderful, this might be a hard question, it's like asking to pick your favorite child, but is there something in this booth that you're especially proud of?

- [Trish] I really love doing the stained glass windows.

- [Kylie] Oh, those are gorgeous.

- And I just, I'm able to just make each one different and that's what I like, yeah.

- Perfect, perfect.

Thank you so much for chatting with us today.

- Thanks for stopping, I appreciate the opportunity.

(gentle music) - [Announcer] Support for "Kalamazoo Lively Arts" is provided by the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, helping to build and enrich the cultural life of greater Kalamazoo.