Ann Arbor Art Center

copper embossed zentangle in a black frame

REVIEW: Copper Embossing with the Ann Arbor Art Center

September 21, 2020September 21, 2020 Abigail Fox Leave a comment

This weekend I took some time to create with the copper embossing ArtBox from the Ann Arbor Art Center (this ArtBox is free to all U of M students with a Passport to the Arts)! This was my first experience working with copper, and I had never done any sort of embossing before. My only exposure to copper embossing was an awareness that it existed from old copper embossing pieces that used to hang at my grandparents’ house. Back then it seemed fantastically complex and difficult, but this project turned out to be simple and fun to complete!

Everything I needed to complete the project was included in the ArtBox, including the sheet of copper, a piece of foam to work on top of (to avoid embossing whatever is underneath :), the wooden embossing tool, sticky tape to attach the frame, and the frame itself (which I thought was a nice touch). There was also a piece of paper the same size as the copper square for a practice sketch, and a detailed set of instructions. I found the instructions to be very detailed, clear, and easy to follow. About half of the instructions were dedicated to the technical details of how to emboss copper, and the other half were dedicated to developing the “zentangle” art form suggested with the kit. The zentangle instructions are really nice if you’re also suffering a persistent case of artblock, or if you’re just not sure how to get started.

The first step was developing my paper sketch. Originally, I got pretty detailed on the paper version since I knew the paper was scaled exactly to the size of the copper sheet, and I assumed I could simply overlay it on top of the copper and trace along the pencil lines. I did this to trace my original long, winding, pattern divider lines but realized quickly it wasn’t going to work out well for the rest of the piece. Firstly, the instructions advise (and I concur) alternating the sides you’re embossing on to create different raised and recessed designs. However, to do this, you need to flip over the sheet of copper…and you won’t be able to see your paper that you taped to the other side. The second problem was that tracing over the paper made it harder to apply the force I needed to properly emboss the copper. You need to press harder than you think you do to get a good line (the foam allows you to apply some serious pressure without fear). The takeaway here is not to overdo your sketch. Sketching out the dividing lines and tracing those can be useful, but after that I started using my sketch as just a very loose guidelines for the types of patterns I wanted to put in different areas—and I ended up straying from the sketch a decent amount.

In the end, I had a lot of fun and I would definitely recommend it as a relaxing way to try a new art form. It’s something I haven’t seen opportunities to learn about very many times in my life, so I would take advantage of this one to try it out in a low stakes way! If you end up loving it, I did a bit of researching and found out that it’s not as expensive a hobby as I might have thought!

REVIEW: Copper Plate Embossing – Ann Arbor Art Center ArtBox

September 14, 2020September 15, 2020 Nellie Shih Leave a comment

The Ann Arbor Art Center is a nonprofit arts center that hosts rotating exhibits in its gallery, various classes for children and adults, as well as an art shop. Located on W Liberty Street, the art center is one of the oldest community arts organizations in Michigan as it was established in 1909. Upcoming classes include sketching, comics, calligraphy, and perspective drawing. However, this weekend, my friend and I stopped by the art center to pick up some ArtBoxes.

The art center’s ArtBoxes are effectively art supplies in a box for the purpose of at-home art projects. The box this time around was designed for at-home copper plate embossing. An embossed pattern is raised against the background of the plate, whereas a debossed pattern is sunken into the surface. This project encouraged both methods. This was a perfect socially-distanced activity for me and my friend, who has a balcony. The box comes with a copper plate, a frame, stickers to stick the plate to the frame, a wooden stick for embossing, a piece of paper for you to sketch your design on, protective packaging, and instructions.

The process is very straightforward. You sketch a design on the piece of paper provided (it fits to the size of the copper plate) and trace it onto the plate with the wooden stick provided. My friend very carefully traced out the symbols for the four nations from Avatar: The Last Airbender onto hers, complete with very straight lines to divide the square into four. I started tracing a celestial design, but just ended up freehanding it directly onto the plate. I thought it was cool that by both embossing and debossing, you can end up with really interesting textures, from small Braille-like dots to angular spirals. Another enticing aspect is that due to the nature of embossing and debossing, if you flip your plate over, the design is still there, but the raised surfaces are now sunken and vice versa. So, if you don’t like one side, just flip it over. Furthermore, what’s nice is that any mistakes can be incorporated into the design or they can create new textures.

The overall process is very quick – my friend took more care with her design whereas I was just improvising as I went along, but neither of us took more than an hour. That being said, you can take as much time as you want, but being less meticulous doesn’t detract from the quality of the final product at all.

The ArtBox is available for free with a Passport to the Arts voucher, which can be found at the Union, the League, or Pierpont Commons!

PREVIEW: Copper Embossing with the Ann Arbor Art Center

September 13, 2020September 13, 2020 Abigail Fox Leave a comment

The Ann Arbor Art Center has been offering virtual programs and hands-on activities you can do from home this year, in lieu of the in-person art classes that would be offered in a more normal time. This month, the Art Center is offering a copper embossing kit, no prior experience required, with all materials needed included in the kit. Copper embossing is a very tactile form of visual art that involves using tools to imprint shapes and grooves in a sheet of copper. It’s a great opportunity to try out a less common visual art form and to have something engaging and creative to do while we’re unable to attend as many arts events in person.

U of M students can get a free kit with the current Passport to the Arts! You do need a physical copy of the Passport voucher to redeem the free kit. Due to COVID precautions, Passport vouchers are available in less locations on campus this fall, but you can find them at Info Desks in the Michigan Union, League or Pierpont Commons (I picked mine up in the Union)! Once you’ve gotten your voucher, head over to the Ann Arbor Art Center 10am-6pm Tuesday-Saturday to exchange your voucher for a kit and get embossing!

REVIEW: ART NOW: Drawing

March 11, 2018March 11, 2018 fragolina Leave a comment

On a sunny Sunday, I ventured down Liberty — past Main — to the Ann Arbor Art Center. Despite being my first time venturing upstairs, it was my second-ever visit. Both times, natural light and kind staff have made the space feel open and inviting. The first floor was comprised mainly of their shop behind a small gallery space of artworks for sale, but stairs in the middle of the room invited me to see the exhibition space in their 117 Gallery. This juried exhibition was media-focused, displaying drawings from multiple different styles and perceptions.

I never really know the best direction in which to roam around a gallery, but there were only two other visitors there that afternoon, so I had some freedom. The first artwork I saw was a large, colorful piece that had received honorable mention: Scott Teplin’s mixed media piece Big School. I remembered seeing it on the AAAC website, but in person, the colors were much more vibrant and the large piece encapsulated much detail.

There were some more traditional pieces, such as John McKaig’s Blind Crown, a large-scale colored pencil piece full of exquisite drapery. Often enamored by drapery studies from both a viewer and artist perspective, it became one of my favorites.

Beside it, a 3D-drawing pen and plant-based resin sculpture by Lavinia Hanachiuc named Silkie3 hung with its shadow close by on the wall. It didn’t take very long to notice the depths of the variety in style from piece to piece, and I quickly began to realize that I was getting an indirect lesson in the possibilities of drawing as a media. While there wasn’t an every-other order from the traditional to “experimental” styles (for lack of a more accurate descriptor), there was a nice shift from framed pieces to installation-types every so often.

The gallery space flows from windowless to brightly sunlit-spaces, though I enjoyed all of the shadows created of the three-dimensional pieces no matter the light source. I never thought about the corners of galleries until I noticed Larry Cressman’s Drawing (Into a Corner 10) installation drawing, composed of teasel, graphite, matte, medium, and pinsi — seemingly created to be shown in a corner. It sticks out, drawing attention to itself, though somehow also seemed reserved…an element that I enjoyed.

Aside from final results of drawing, an exhibited piece was a drawer itself. The center of the room boasts a robot drawing machine by Ashley Pigford, available for demonstration with the assistance of AAAC staff. I didn’t end up using it, but I’d be interested in seeing its results.

As far as the gallery space itself, I liked that it was on the second floor because it felt like a more personal and unsupervised first experience with the art on show. There was no pressure to react in any specific ways, which I sometimes sense when viewing galleries with a staff member nearby or passersby peering in through a window. The sunlit section was more inviting than the other space flowing into it, but that’s absolutely a personal bias and not related to the exhibition itself. I attended alone on a particularly quiet afternoon, but it would be a fun outing with friends as well. It was also a nice chance to see works done by artists affiliated with the Ann Arbor arts community, outside of the university bubble.

This gallery visit was kind and eye-opening with simple displays of a wide range of works. I highly recommend a visit! It’s free and open to the public, and if you’re an interested art-buyer, many of these works are for sale. On March 16th from 5-7pm, the day before the exhibit ends, AAAC is hosting a happy hour as one of the final chances to see Art Now: Drawing. There will be refreshments and an interactive drawing activity — if it’s with the robot, I want to see results! Otherwise, gallery hours are below.

PREVIEW: ART NOW: Drawing

March 10, 2018March 10, 2018 fragolina Leave a comment

Venturing just slightly beyond the bubble of UM, one can find the Ann Arbor Art Center, a nonprofit organization home to local art and rotating exhibitions. The current exhibition is “ART NOW: Drawing” — one focused on particular media and the fourth annual of its kind, exploring conventional and less traditional types of drawing.

For more information, check out their website.

Or, wander down Liberty and check it out!

Dates: Showing through March 17th, 2018
Location: Ann Arbor Art Center’s 117 Gallery
117 W. Liberty St.
Gallery Hours:

REVIEW: 93rd Annual All Media Exhibition

October 26, 2015October 26, 2015 karafk

I attended the opening reception for the 93rd Annual All Media Exhibition. The event was packed with art-lovers and the walls were decked out with works of art. The live music contributed to the classiness of the atmosphere and the free wine and appetizers satisfied the crowd. A few artists that captured my attention as I made my way through the gallery were Michael Reedy and Cathryn Amidei. All of the exhibited artists are based in the Great Lakes region and these artists in particular are based in Michigan.

Reedy’s piece in the exhibition, entitled The Kiss, is a mixed-media piece. It involves a naked female-figure and a child-figure in an ambiguous space. The naked female-figure sits and embraces the child-figure with closed eyes. Hauntingly, the child-figure is eyeless and skinless; the viewer sees its veins, organs, and skeletal structure. Both figures are vulnerable insofar as the female-figure is naked and the child-figure’s bodily insides are literally exposed. The relationship between the two figures suggests intimacy and the title, The Kiss, reinforces this perceived intimacy. The ambiguous space in the background highlights the all-consuming intensity of their intimacy. Nothing else exists.

Amidei’s piece in the exhibition, entitled Receptor, is a hand-woven fabric piece. Its solitary female figure directly stares at the viewer and her gaze is longs for attention. A familiar-feeling pattern spreads across her face. The greens and purples add to the seductive quality of her gaze. The piece is quite hypnotic in-person because the texture is more perceptible. The title, Receptor, implies receiving and the state of openness. The piece invites its viewers to step into into its seductively-patterned world. The Kiss involves figures engaged with each other rather than with the viewer; Receptor, however, involves a solitary figure that directly and hypnotically engages the viewer.

Several other artists participated in the exhibition and their works are worth experiencing in-person. Importantly, the exhibition included Great Lakes artists that work in a variety of media. Artists tend to concentrate within somewhat limited scopes of expertise. For example, an accomplished painter may know little about photography and likewise an accomplished photographer may know little about painting. The exhibition combines artists with differing scopes of expertise and celebrates their shared characteristics: firstly, their ability to create art and secondly, their ties to the Great Lakes region.

The 93rd Annual All Media Exhibition will run until the end of November.