Carl Wozniak of Marquette presents Playing with Pottery on Thursday afternoon at MooseWood Nature Center in Marquette. The demonstration was one of many Art Week 2022 events held that day, with Presque Isle Park being the theme. (Journal photo by Christie Mastric)

MARQUETTE — Presque Isle was a great setting — and the daily theme — for many of Art Week 2022’s events that took place on Thursday.

Art, jewelry, food and music filled many venues at the park, which holding true to the week’s overall theme — What Does Water Mean to You? — is surrounded by Lake Superior.

Although it’s closer to Shiras Pond than Lake Superior, MooseWood Nature Center was the site of the Playing with Pottery demonstration, put on by Marquette’s Carl Wozniak, nature center board treasurer and former education professor at Northern Michigan University.

“Actually, this is a retirement gig for me,” said Wozniak, who has been working with pottery for three years. “It’s a lot of fun, extremely relaxing, very zen. It’s nice to not have to do it for a living. So, I don’t need to make 50 of the same mugs or 100 plates that look alike.”

Instead, Wozniak said he just “goes with the flow,” selling some items but giving many away, too.

For instance, he lined up small plates and other pieces at the Art Week event, asking for only $1 each for some items and a little more for others.

All sales, Wozniak said, were to go to MooseWood.

Also planned for the day’s agenda were activities such as plein air painting, concerts, a youth pop art activity with stencils and the Presque Isle Art Fair, among others.

One of the artists at the fair, which was sponsored by the Island Beach Road ceramic studio Niik Creative Co., was Amanda Reou of Sands Township, who uses acrylic paint to decorate drinking glasses, ornaments and other items.

Reou, of MI Woodland Art Studio, said the fair marked only the second time she had ever taken part in an outdoors art fair.

“So far, so good,” she said of Thursday’s event. “Beautiful weather and a lot of great talent out here.”

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.