Art in Public Places

Calling All Artists

Saginaw Township State of the Arts Exhibition 2024
The Saginaw Charter Township Art In Public Places is proud to present the State of the Arts Exhibition 2024.  This year’s annual event is hosted by the Saginaw Township Art In Public Places Committee.  The show opens Sunday, April 21, 2024, from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., with awards presentation at 3:00 p.m.  This show is open to the public free of charge.  This is a juried exhibition with cash awards.

The Art Juror for this year's Exhibition is Laura Whitesides Host of Birmingham, Michigan.  A lifelong resident of Michigan, Whitesides Host received a BFA from the University of Michigan Architecture and Design School majoring in painting and ceramics.  She has taught art in Ann Arbor and Birmingham for students from 3 years to High School.   After moving to Birmingham, she discovered the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center and found her art family.   After taking watercolor classes for 13 years, she began to teach experimental water color classes in 1993 and has continued for 30+ years adding monoprints to her teaching schedule.  The excitement of playing with water colors led to fluid acrylic paint and then a class in monotypes enlarged her focus to creating monotypes along with her water media paintings.   In 1987, after a friend decided to change her art gallery to a cooperative gallery, Host joined the gallery roster.   She is the last of the 12 original members still in Lawrence Street Gallery and is currently the president.   Active in the Michigan Water Color Society and the Birmingham Society of Women Painters since 1989, Host has served on their Executive boards for many years.   Host has had numerous solo shows and has been juried into many exhibits both locally and state-wide.

All interested Michigan artists, please click here to fill out an entry form.  All entry forms must be postmarked April 5, 2024. 

The art exhibit will be shown at the Saginaw Charter Township Hall, 4980 Shattuck Road, Saginaw, Michigan, during business hours Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 p.m.,    April 21 through May 31, 2024.

If you have additional questions, please call 989-791-9800.


Artist of the Month - March
Julie R. Tyslicky


Julie Tyslicky

Saginaw Township Art in Public Places is pleased to present Julie R. Tyslick of Coleman, Michigan, as the Artist of the Month for March.

Artist Biography
Julie was born in Historic Marshall Michigan and has lived and created art of one kind or another in Michigan the majority of her life.  In 1981, during the last half of her junior year of high school, Julie spent 6 months in Tlacotepec, Michoacan, Mexico as an exchange student.


Julie has demonstrated her various skills over the years at living history events, county fairs, Michigan Week activities in Marshall, for schools and individuals, and the Art Fairs  for Midland Center for the Arts. She has taught art for over 30 years for private schools, some special drawing classes for public schools, homeschool students, 4-H groups, and adults, and serving as an assistant to Armin Mersmann in his Masters of Drawing classes at Midland Center for the Arts, Studio 23 in Bay City and Art Reach in Mt. Pleasant.

Julie has taught colored pencil, beginning drawing, and wood burning classes at Art Reach in Mt Pleasant, The Interem Drawing class at Midland Center for the Arts, as well as Fundamentals of Drawing I, II. She presently teaches Beginning Colored Pencils, Intermediate Colored Pencil, Advanced Colored Pencil and Fundamentals of Drawing 1,2,3,and 4 at Studio 23 in Bay City and Art Reach in Mt. Pleasant as well as teaching private lessons.

She has served as a juror for various art competitions for private schools and 4H competition's.  Julie competes in various juried art shows and over the years has earned awards, and recognition for her pieces.

She attended Kellogg Community College with a concentration in CAD drawing, general studies, and Art, completing 90+ credit hours but had to leave because of health reasons.

In the fall of 2012, she moved to Coleman, Michigan with her husband, Jon, and registered for classes at Midland Center for the Arts, to strengthen her art skills and to meet other area artists. She studied with internationally recognized graphic artist Armin Mersmann, who is her mentor, guide, and friend. She has studied with other working artists at the Center, including Ruth Howell and Kathy Jones.

After taking a colored pencil class with Ruth Howell, her interest and skill in colored pencil drawing grew and resulted in drawing one of her favorite subjects - the rocks she collects.

Julie has many interests and skills besides drawing and painting. She enjoys nature, reading, wood burning, finding edible wild plants, living history re-enacting, hand sewing many historical garments, moccasins, and  special outfits for her new grandchildren, shearing sheep, processing, spinning, dyeing and weaving the wool, horses, gardening, and of course collecting rocks. 

Julie has a good work ethic and is constantly seeking to do better with the next piece. She feels that one can not be afraid to experiment and make mistakes and the more work you put into learning and doing,  the more you learn and do. The interest that ties all of that together is her love of learning to do new things, experimenting with those new things and the act of creating something, just because she can.

ARTIST STATEMENT
I tend to draw organic subjects and feel especially drawn to rocks. They are fascinating subjects to collect and draw. Each one I pick up has an energy of some kind that seems to draw me to it. Each one seems to be its own special abstract collaboration and have a calming effect on my soul just holding something that has been around for eons, and most likely created in turmoil. The colors and layers of each rock are amazing in how they are put together and a challenge to reproduce in colored pencil or graphite drawing.

My process of creating my pieces is to choose a rock from my collection and then choose a place on my paper to draw it. I choose another rock, figure out where I want that one and draw it and continue doing this until I feel the piece is finished.  This is an accidental process of sorts since I don’t always know how the piece will look until it’s done. I also need to decide and then remember where I want my light coming from to keep visual continuity in my piece. The final touches or adjustments can take longer to figure out than the actual drawing. I enjoy the journey of creating my drawings bit by bit as I go along. Working from real life rocks I’ve collected but without setting up a still life.

Julie's exhibit will be on display at Saginaw Township Hall, located at 4980 Shattuck Road, Saginaw, Michigan, Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm, thru April 11, 2024.   Township Offices will be closing at 12 noon on Friday, March 29th.


2023 State of the Arts Exhibition Award Winners

2023 Award Winners
2023 Award Winners


Brief History of Saginaw Township Art in Public Places
On September 12, 1986, by joint resolution of the Township Board an Art in Public Places Committee was established. The Committee functions primarily to: Advise the Township Board on art and culture-related issues, promotes the display of art in public buildings, organizes the Annual State of the Arts Exhibition and selects works of art to be permanently or temporarily displayed in facilities owned by Saginaw Township.

Former Saginaw Township Manager Robert C. Homan first investigated ways in which to promote art appreciation in Saginaw Township. The Township Board appointed a committee of seven individuals with various art backgrounds to organize activities and schedule displays. The original members; Bonnie Bellinger, Patricia Shaheen, Patricia Koucky, Luther Hale, Walter Nagel Jr., Rev. David Bracklein and Marian Tincknell held their first meeting on November 13, 1986. At that first meeting they discussed the possibility of showcasing a monthly art display at the Saginaw Township Hall. During the remainder of the year and the year following, the Committee organized an art show featuring Michigan artists and their works. This annual show is now referred to as the "Annual State of the Arts Exhibition".

The Committee appointed Bonnie Bellinger as Chairperson and through her and the Committee's hard work a successful arts appreciation program was established for Saginaw Township residents. Bonnie Bellinger retired as Chairperson in 1990, but her projects live on. In 2004 the Annual State of the Arts Exhibition dedicated the exhibition to Patricia Koucky who unexpectedly passed away earlier that year.

The Committee is now Chaired by Saginaw Township Manager Brian Rombalski.

Committee members include:

  • Karen Gerhardt
  • Bob Lewis
  • Marion Tincknell
  • Barbara Walworth
  • Jim Kelly --Board of Trustees