Mid-Michigan Art Guild: Seventy-plus years of offering local artists ‘something new’

Founded in 1951, the Mid-Michigan Art Guild works to encourage artistic expression and appreciation through learning and social opportunities for local artists. The guild just wrapped up a monthlong membership drive to drum up interest for its fall-through-spring meeting schedule, which begins Sept. 19 at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center.

Ahead of the first meeting of the season, members Andrea Jeris, Sue Wittick and Lisabeth Curnow discussed their journeys to join the guild and take up leadership positions.   

“A lot of people join and just stay forever,” said Jeris, an oil painter who has belonged to the guild since 2009. “Some people like the social aspect, some people want to show their work and that’s all, some people want to get involved and help run it, and some join to take advantage of the educational programming. I like all of it.”

Jeris joined the guild after living in California for 25 years, where she was a member of a similar association in Palo Alto.

“I was looking to connect with art people and make new friends,” she said.

The guild hosts multiple exhibitions for its members each year, and Jeris has participated in every one since joining 15 years ago.

“If they love my work, I think they’re a brilliant judge. If not, they don’t know what they’re talking about,” she quipped. “Art is very subjective. What everyone loves today, they may not love tomorrow.”

Diane Sanderson, Jill Campbell-Mason, Nanette Mathe and Jules Vander Galien work together on an art piece at a guild picnic at the Neighborhood …

But it’s not the competition that keeps Jeris coming back — it’s the collaboration and community.

“Being around other artists always helps you improve because you learn different tips. We have speakers and workshops that go into all kinds of things, like printmaking, watercolor and acrylics. I’m an oil painter, but it helps inform my work to try something new.”

Curnow, the guild’s president, joined in 2016 after losing her husband and mother-in-law.

“It was a very challenging year, and I had to redefine myself,” she said. “I had been a caregiver and a wife. My son moved away. I had been a preschool teacher for 16 years and left that job to care for my mother-in-law.

“The guild provided what I needed: community. People to help, people to belong to. People who were helpful to me and who were kind and welcoming.”

By 2017, Curnow had become the guild’s vice president, and she’s served on the board in a variety of roles since then.

Curnow is a full-time watercolor artist and instructor who fell in love with her medium after attending a class at Lansing Community College.

“It sounds counterintuitive, but watercolor suits my need to control things,” she said. “People think watercolor is uncontrollable, but it’s not. Water is fluid, and you can use that to your advantage.”

Curnow also seeks out collaborations with art groups outside the guild. She’s helping to organize a tribute show at the Shiawassee Arts Center in Owosso for the late Jim Ferguson, a watercolor artist and mentor who died unexpectedly last year.

Curnow describes herself as a “pro-artist.”

“I’m always encouraging people,” she said. “I just understand the medium by heart now, and I’m always pushing myself to try something new.”

When Sue Wittick joined the guild after retiring from the Michigan Department of Education, she said she was looking for a way to explore her “creative side.” She joined primarily because of the member shows.

“They made me want to complete something,” she said.

When the opportunity arose to be the guild’s treasurer, Wittick thought, “Oh I could do that, and I’ll get to know people because everyone will pay me their dues.”

Wittick said she feels like her personality has two sides. On one hand, she loves “charts and graphs and spreadsheets.” On the other hand, she said, “My art room is always a total mess.”

She credits the guild with helping her expand from photography to mixed media and collage.

“I started being braver once I saw what everyone else was doing. I started dabbling in mixed media, and then somewhere along the line, I got hooked on YouTube. You can learn anything on there, and now I’m following a lot of different art channels. I’m always trying to explore new things,” she said.

Guild meetings are open to the public and typically draw 25 to 30 people. Jeris said, “It changes a little with every ‘administration,’ so to speak. But we’ve been going for more than 70 years. There aren’t many groups that can say that. But we keep going.”