Artists Showcase Their Work in Downtown Ferndale Art Walk and Roll
(Crystal A. Proxmire, May 7, 2016)
Ferndale, MI – Thursday evening guests to Downtown Ferndale saw more than the sunny weather, eclectic shops and unique restaurants.  Thanks to the Ferndale Arts and Cultural Commission there was a bonus amount of art, including live demonstrations.
The evening began with people picking up wristbands at Blumz by JR Designs and it ended there with an after party.  In front of the artsy flower shop and event space painter Luke MacGilvray created a special painting just for the event.
Inside artist Sanda Cook worked on a painting of flowers as well.  She created a series of flower paintings for the show, and the designers at Blumz made arrangements that were inspired by the paintings she did.
Cook grew up in Romania where she had her first exhibit at the age of 13 and later went to college for a degree in art.  “I had a teacher that really believed in me,” she said.  “He helped me by encouraging me and helping me get my work in shows.”
If there were a 13 year old in front of her today asking for advice about being an artist, Cook would “tell her to paint her heart out.  Be original and be true to yourself.  Use the colors that are yours.  The most freedom you have is to express yourself.  Don’t paint what you think other people will like.  You have to express yourself.”
Up the street at Candlewick Shop Louis Wildfong displayed ink-drawn pictures of birds. With quirky expressions and a slightly comic spin, the birds are Wildfong’s homage to John James Audubon and Ernst Hackel. He said he’d also always admired botanical drawing because of the way they are “naturalist but stylized.”
For Atom Kaiser art is not just an expression of “a thought that is the foundation of an idea,” but therapy for people recovering from brain injuries.  Kaiser recently opened the Atom Art Studio on E. 9 Mile with a mix of purposes including art classes, gallery space, and art therapy.
“It helps people express a thought in a visual way.  Some people are naturally visual, some people are auditory, some people respond to music, some to art.  And when you have a closed head injury you might change. Doing art helps work through that,” Kaiser said.
Kaiser had been going to school for neuroscience when he personally received a closed head injury.  After a year on medicines that gave him side effects, he gave up pills and picked up the paintbrush.  The theme of pills remains in his work.  And his experience of connecting with his own mind helps him to help others who are recovering.  He considers the injury serendipitous.  “I have traveled and done art for five years living in Barcelona Spain, then Mexico and now here in Ferndale.  I would not have done any of that if I had stayed on the path of being a doctor.”
In The Pittman-Puckett Gallery at Affirmations, an exhibit of works by transgender and ally artists was being displayed. The art covered a range of subjects, like a Western style deer skull weaving by Em Hein, an Oni Mask and Shinigami Rose take on a Japaneese tattoo design by Jen Carlson, and a portrait of a little girl named Linsday by Jules Eliason.
There were also images representing the transitioning process and other expressions of gender and self-identity.  Describing “Myself in Love,” artist Audrey Barratt-McCartney wrote in their artist statement “This abstracted self-portrait depicts the way I view myself, as well as the way I feel when in love.  I incorporated hearts bursting from the eyes and beating in my throat, evoking images of wolves and other comical or sinister creatures from classical cartoons.  To counteract that, I created abstract angel wing-like shapes to convey a feeling of innocence and need to be perceived as good.  I took inspiration from neo-primative art in my use of colors and shapes, and also the way I depicted myself as a cave-person, drawing attention to my features such as a squared off jaw, large shoulders and flushed cheeks, which are a signature in my art.”
Other venues for the Art Walk and Roll included Western Market, Lawrence Street Gallery, Modern Natural Baby and Arcade Underground. Level One was the presenting sponsor.
To learn more about the Ferndale Arts and Cultural Commission go to https://www.facebook.com/Ferndaleartsculturalcommission/.
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