Hillsdale’s creative and business communities will unite from 5-7 p.m. this evening in downtown Hillsdale for the city’s first stand-alone Art Around Town, an event sponsored by the Hillsdale Business Association and intended to acquaint more residents with the work of community artists.
The event will feature the works of a plethora of local creatives on display at many downtown shops, from Alternaprint to Broad Street Market to Toasted Mud.
Among the collaborating artists are Jim Foster, who specializes in oil painting landscapes; Rhonda Peters, who works in polymer clay and serves as president of Gallery 49 in Reading, Michigan; Rich Katuzin, a pen and ink artist; and Anthony Frudakis, a sculptor who is also associate professor of art at Hillsdale College.
“Not only does an event like this promote good culture, which is really good for a city,” Foster said, “it also facilitates brotherhood, in a way.”
Many of the artists who will show their work for Art Around Town have lived in Hillsdale County for many years, a fact reflected in their art. Katuzin, for example, makes his living drawing Michigan landmarks: in particular, lighthouses, ships, and mills.
“There’s 128 lighthouses in Michigan, and I’ve got about 50 done,” Katuzin said. “I’m doing an alternate series on Michigan mills. I moved out to Hillsdale County in 2006, and I realized there’s no lighthouses out here. So I’ve got about four mills done and I’m working on two more.”
Despite this, these artists still appreciate the opportunity to bring more of their work to their neighbors.
“In a small community it’s good that people know who you are and what you do,” said Peters, who will be signing copies of her children’s book “What Does the Monkey Know?” at Broad Street Market. “The cons of it being small is that you don’t have the amount of people to see your artwork that it takes to really do well as an artist. So this is another way of getting your name out there to the public — it keeps you strong in the public eye.”
Art Around Town has also provided local creatives an opportunity for collaboration.
“I’ll be participating in the Blossom Shop,” said Ryan Taylor, owner of RT Ceramics.
“She’s got a flower shop and I’m a potter, so we’re going to be bringing lots of custom-made flower pots and dinnerware from my production line, and we’ll be sampling custom planters that will be featured around the city hopefully next month.”
Frudakis said that they are particularly thankful to Economic Development Coordinator Mary Wolfram and the Hillsdale Business Association for sponsoring the event in the first place.
“My wife and I have been residents of Hillsdale since 1991, when I came to teach for the college,” Frudakis said. “And it’s a place that we call home now, Hillsdale; we think of ourselves as Michiganders. And it means a lot to me that I have a chance to share my work with my neighbors.”
