Cindy Lyons teaching an acrylic painting class
We are grateful for the support of our instructors who share their time and talents with the Les Cheneaux Arts Council. Thanks to them, we are able to provide a variety of classes and workshops to enrich the summer experience within our community.
Many are local artisans in the Les Cheneaux area and sell their work in local shops, or through their websites. We hope you will consider taking a class with one of these talented artists!
Many are local artisans in the Les Cheneaux area and sell their work in local shops, or through their websites. We hope you will consider taking a class with one of these talented artists!
Michelle Colangelo spends her time between Les Cheneaux and Metro Detroit and has been a summer resident of Cedarville since childhood when she fell in love with the rugged natural beauty of northern Michigan. That beauty has inspired her creative work, including a long career in professional event planning and instructing workshops. She started with teaching scrapbooking workshops in the early 2000s, then added other elements to her work, such as card design, sign making, home furnishings, and other wood projects through Rustic Workshops, which she launched in 2016. Michelle specializes in working with wood, and often collects and repurposes wood from Les Cheneaux and the city of Detroit to integrate into her projects. In addition to sign making classes, she instructs in making home decor such as bottle openers, leash holders, and more. https://www.facebook.com/RusticWorkshops
Susan Hallums
“I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.”― Vincent van Gogh
On a recent trip to see Vincent van Gogh's exhibit, this quote spoke to me. I think this describes my approach to art. I often take a backward approach by buying something I like then trying to figure out how to do it. I consider myself more of a crafter than an artist, but I love making things in many different mediums. A few years ago, I spent the summer taking some art classes in Cedarville that looked like fun. I was immediately smitten by fused glass. I have a kiln in Florida where I use our garage as a craft studio. In the summer, our family lives on Island Eight in Cedarville where we just remodeled our home to include a craft room with space for two kilns. I feel very fortunate to have found the enclave of artists in the Les Cheneaux Islands who inspire me to learn new things.
Carol Hubbard Carol's love of art began at a very young age when the smell of a new box of crayons on the first day of school was an inspiration. She says although my pastime often included drawing, it was my high school art teacher who was my protégé. Her class was the first time I was introduced to the element of painting, architectural design, and composition. Her encouragement and specific critiques ultimately improved my paintings and added an important understanding and knowledge I would need as I continued my art.
My love of art continued into my freshman year of college when I had to commit to my major course of study. My final decision was Elementary Education due to the wide range of opportunities it offered.
Summers were spent at my grandparent's cottage on Marquette island in Les Cheneaux. Woods and water became my playground. The summer days fostered my love of nature. It has been woven through many of my paintings. My nature journals contain many sketches I have made over the years when finding "treasures" along wooded nature trails and stony beaches.
I have taken classes through the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, Schoolcraft College as well as several other workshops in Oakland County and Mackinac County. I have experimented with various mediums and enjoy the challenges of each. My love of detail has always been part of who I am and is woven through my work.
I look forward to learning more about the mediums I am using and the opportunity for the next inspiration, appearing when you least expect it!
Diane Keighley has been a knitter since childhood. Over the years she has expanded the scope of her work to include many types of needlework, Hardanger embroidery, spinning yarn and needle felting, rug braiding, making soap and body butter, and most recently dyeing and botanical printing.
Diane has had several of her Hardanger designs published and has won awards for her knitting.
Many of her colorful braided rugs are displayed in her Cedarville home. Her botanical print pieces are sold in several shops in Michigan including Cedarville’s Applecore General Store.
Cindy Lyons says "I love playing with paint and color. It’s fun to layer acrylic paint with a palette knife and watch the magic of the medium take form. Shades of blue and green are my favorite! After graduating from Ferris State with a degree in Commercial Art, I gained experience as a graphic designer while interfacing with business promotion and the print industry. I have enjoyed the freedom of breaking away from the world of registration and exact measurements to bringing design elements to life on canvas. Creativity comes from my soul. A piece of my soul is left in each composition."
Deborah Pysh I have been a jeweler since the late 1960s, yet never quite figured out what I wanted to do when I grew up. Taught high school jewelry, was an Arts Enhancer integrating the arts into the curriculum at the elementary level, taught 4H and headed a local chapter of the United States Pony Club. Showed jewelry 15 years at the Ann Arbor Art Show, wearable art in the Ann Arbor Guild’s juried fashion show and competed with my purses in the national Adorn the Form show. Spend my summers boating and gardening; work in my studio the rest of the year. Currently working on small boxes and whimsical sculptures. Life is good!
Linda "Lin" Schepperly started working with clay after retirement, with her primary focus being ceramics designed for daily use. While living in Florida during the winter, she is a working artist at The Potter’s Studio where she focuses on wheel throwing, hand building and coiling. She is an active member of the Arts & Humanities Council of Charlotte County, Inc. She lives with her husband, Chris, on Marquette Island during the summer months where she has a small studio.
Kathy Thomas is an abstract artist living in Cedarville. She grew up in the U.P. and spent many summers on the waters of the Les Cheneaux Islands. She married a Colorado native and with him and their three children, relocated to Cedarville in 2014. She desires to create thought provoking artwork and is excited to teach unique techniques that will inspire others. https://www.kathygalethomas.com/
Susan Hallums
“I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.”― Vincent van Gogh
On a recent trip to see Vincent van Gogh's exhibit, this quote spoke to me. I think this describes my approach to art. I often take a backward approach by buying something I like then trying to figure out how to do it. I consider myself more of a crafter than an artist, but I love making things in many different mediums. A few years ago, I spent the summer taking some art classes in Cedarville that looked like fun. I was immediately smitten by fused glass. I have a kiln in Florida where I use our garage as a craft studio. In the summer, our family lives on Island Eight in Cedarville where we just remodeled our home to include a craft room with space for two kilns. I feel very fortunate to have found the enclave of artists in the Les Cheneaux Islands who inspire me to learn new things.
Carol Hubbard Carol's love of art began at a very young age when the smell of a new box of crayons on the first day of school was an inspiration. She says although my pastime often included drawing, it was my high school art teacher who was my protégé. Her class was the first time I was introduced to the element of painting, architectural design, and composition. Her encouragement and specific critiques ultimately improved my paintings and added an important understanding and knowledge I would need as I continued my art.
My love of art continued into my freshman year of college when I had to commit to my major course of study. My final decision was Elementary Education due to the wide range of opportunities it offered.
Summers were spent at my grandparent's cottage on Marquette island in Les Cheneaux. Woods and water became my playground. The summer days fostered my love of nature. It has been woven through many of my paintings. My nature journals contain many sketches I have made over the years when finding "treasures" along wooded nature trails and stony beaches.
I have taken classes through the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, Schoolcraft College as well as several other workshops in Oakland County and Mackinac County. I have experimented with various mediums and enjoy the challenges of each. My love of detail has always been part of who I am and is woven through my work.
I look forward to learning more about the mediums I am using and the opportunity for the next inspiration, appearing when you least expect it!
Diane Keighley has been a knitter since childhood. Over the years she has expanded the scope of her work to include many types of needlework, Hardanger embroidery, spinning yarn and needle felting, rug braiding, making soap and body butter, and most recently dyeing and botanical printing.
Diane has had several of her Hardanger designs published and has won awards for her knitting.
Many of her colorful braided rugs are displayed in her Cedarville home. Her botanical print pieces are sold in several shops in Michigan including Cedarville’s Applecore General Store.
Cindy Lyons says "I love playing with paint and color. It’s fun to layer acrylic paint with a palette knife and watch the magic of the medium take form. Shades of blue and green are my favorite! After graduating from Ferris State with a degree in Commercial Art, I gained experience as a graphic designer while interfacing with business promotion and the print industry. I have enjoyed the freedom of breaking away from the world of registration and exact measurements to bringing design elements to life on canvas. Creativity comes from my soul. A piece of my soul is left in each composition."
Deborah Pysh I have been a jeweler since the late 1960s, yet never quite figured out what I wanted to do when I grew up. Taught high school jewelry, was an Arts Enhancer integrating the arts into the curriculum at the elementary level, taught 4H and headed a local chapter of the United States Pony Club. Showed jewelry 15 years at the Ann Arbor Art Show, wearable art in the Ann Arbor Guild’s juried fashion show and competed with my purses in the national Adorn the Form show. Spend my summers boating and gardening; work in my studio the rest of the year. Currently working on small boxes and whimsical sculptures. Life is good!
Linda "Lin" Schepperly started working with clay after retirement, with her primary focus being ceramics designed for daily use. While living in Florida during the winter, she is a working artist at The Potter’s Studio where she focuses on wheel throwing, hand building and coiling. She is an active member of the Arts & Humanities Council of Charlotte County, Inc. She lives with her husband, Chris, on Marquette Island during the summer months where she has a small studio.
Kathy Thomas is an abstract artist living in Cedarville. She grew up in the U.P. and spent many summers on the waters of the Les Cheneaux Islands. She married a Colorado native and with him and their three children, relocated to Cedarville in 2014. She desires to create thought provoking artwork and is excited to teach unique techniques that will inspire others. https://www.kathygalethomas.com/