Blending art with nature
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HARVEY -- A nature preserve on a sunny summer day is scenic by itself, but interspersing paintings and other artwork among the trees just makes it more scenic.
The Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy on Sunday held its third annual Chocolay Art Walk and Sale at its Chocolay Bayou Nature Preserve in Harvey.
Artists shared and sold their work throughout the preserve, said Clare Fastiggi, interim director of the UPLC.
"It's kind of one of our biggest events of the year," Fastiggi said. "It's grown into this bigger thing where we're able to have this collaboration between the arts and culture community and our land protection."
The Chocolay Bayou Nature Preserve encompasses 12.5 acres of ecologically unique habitat near the mouth of the Chocolay River. According to the UPLC website, the preserve once was the site of the first steam-powered sawmill and furnace in the area. It also is a stopover for migrating birds, is home to a variety of wildlife and is accessible by water via Lake Superior, the river and two area trails, the Iron Ore Heritage Trail and the North Country National Scenic Trail.
Fastiggi said the near-shore wetland habitat protects breeding birds.
"We have other breeding wildlife here," she said. "It protects the community resource for everyone to enjoy that's a public park, open during the daylight hours, so you can stroll through and learn about what lives here."
Marquette photographer Colleen Maki was one of the artists who had displayed and sold her work at the Art Walk, even gently putting some of her pictures in a tree.
Maki is a retired French and art teacher from Marquette Senior High School.
"Photography was a passion all my life, but when you're teaching high school, you don't have time for anything else, so after I retired, I got back into it again," Maki said. "I discovered photography on metal, which I really like working with."
Maki said she likes having a presence at the annual Art Walk.
"I just think it's a really unique exhibit," she said. "It's kind of fun."
Also on the schedule for Sunday's Art Walk were the Feltliners; the TaMaMa Dance Company; the U.P. Poet Laureate Foundation and Marquette Poets Circle; the ArtDrop Shop & Studio; Leo Barch, watercolors; Josh Brindle, poetry; Donna Budzenski, painting; Allison Denman, photography; Isabelle Lagrou, print; Ashley LeClare Sheiding, jewelry; Olivia Madison, drawing; Meara McManus, watercolors; Lindsey Naylor, drawing-painting; Amelia Pruiett, drawing; Anna Rayhorn, painting; Sarah May Tule, drawing; and Bill Waters, jewelry and sculpture.
The event was free, Fastiggi said, but donations to UPLC always are appreciated.
Visit uplandconservancy.org for more information.
Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.