Arts Walk: Saugatuck and Douglas
- Photo courtesy Felicia Fairchild
Separated by two miles, the communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Mich., are set amid dunes, water and rolling fields. Located on Lake Michigan’s southeastern coast, the adjoining towns first drew urbanites escaping industrial Chicago for sandy beaches more than a century ago.
Artists accompanied those cottagers. Enamored with the scenery, they started the Ox-Bow school of art, the cornerstone of a then-quiet artistic colony, in 1910. In the 1990s, art-lovers looking for a stimulating small-town getaway discovered the area and inspired a renaissance. Historic buildings became home to today’s bustling boutiques, quaint B&Bs and more than 30 galleries, as the two towns transformed into Michigan’s art coast epicenter.
Begin at Wick’s Park, at the intersection of Mary and Water streets, where a hand-cranked chain ferry crawls across the Kalamazoo River. Cross Water Street to enter De Graaf Fine Art (403 Water St. on Main, 269-857-1882), a gallery representing fine artists from both near and far, including acclaimed Midwestern cast paper artist Tom Balbo and doctor-turned-folk-artist Dewey Blocksma. Head east on Main Street, passing sculptures in a playground and a treed parkette, including Patricia Daggett’s “Girl with Puppet,” a figurative bronze in memory of Burr Tillstrom, a famous puppeteer who summered in Saugatuck. The sculptures were originally part of Art ‘Round Town, an annual exhibit that ran for nearly a decade before ending in 2007; some pieces were donated to the town and permanently installed at various locations.
- John Leben’s digital painting “Upstairs House” depicts a familiar local sight—stairways leading to the beach from a home on the bluff above. His work is carried at Constance Petter Gallery.
At Butler Street, turn right for James Brandess Studios & Gallery (238 Butler St., 269-857-1937), crowded with Impressionist-style canvasses and a large collection of postcard-sized portraits. Since 1993, Brandess has been working on painting each community member. “I’m not doing it in a very organized fashion,” he says. “People will come in and say, ‘I’ve lived here for 20 years, why haven’t you painted me?’” Turn right and walk to the intersection of Butler and Mason. On the southeast corner, an iron fence encloses the Mize Rose Garden where sculptures stand amid benches, flowers and foliage.
Walk west on Mason to the corner of Water Street, and the three-story Good Goods gallery (106 Mason St., 269-857-1557). Built in 1881, this ship captain’s residence now showcases a variety of fine craft.
Cohn-Stone Studios’ glasswork gleams in the windows overlooking the wrap-around porch. Inside, jewelry handcrafted from gold, silver, steel and concrete entices beside a room of wearable art. Furniture showcased upstairs includes work by Michigan artist Floyd Gompf, who incorporates objects like croquet balls and handles into his salvaged wood pieces. “We love American-made pieces,” says manager Janice Gibson, “one-of-a-kind work you can’t find anywhere else.”
Leave Good Goods and walk back to Butler. Turn right and pass Village Hall, built in 1880 but redesigned in 1926 by local artist Carl Hoerman. At Culver Street, walk east to see Cynthia McKean’s figurative steel sculpture “Family of Man IV” in waterfront Coghlin Park. Nearby Amazwi Contemporary Art (249 Culver St., 269-857-5551) carries contemporary African paintings, sculpture and unique craft like telephone wire art, created by night watchmen filling long hours doing traditional Zulu weaving with discarded wire.
To get to Douglas, follow Culver Street (it becomes Lake Street) to the Blue Star Highway (A-2). Cross the bridge and look left for the River Guild Galleries, a large building once owned by Carl Hoerman. “His vision was to have a guild of arts and crafts here, but it didn’t blossom,” says Constance Petter, owner of Constance Petter Gallery (161 Blue Star Highway, 269-857-7861). Hoerman would be happy now. The many rooms are filled with paintings, ceramics and carvings by about 60 artists, half of them regional, with space devoted to etchings and glasswork.
Housed in the same building, the Button Gallery (161 Blue Star Highway, 269-857-2175) features work by some 30 artists, including raku pottery figures by Judy Geerts and metal sculpture by Cynthia McKean.
Head south on nearby Union Street and turn right onto Center Street to arrive at the Water Street Gallery (98 Center St., 269-857-8485). This ocher-colored gallery, relocated from Saugatuck in 2007, now represents some 50 artists working in ceramics, bronze and other mediums, including glass artist Paul Runde and sculptor Kirk Newman.
Back on the Blue Star Highway, drive south to 124th Avenue (M-89) and turn left for the Peachbelt Studio and Gallery (M-89 and 63rd Street, 269-561-5561). In 2005, painter Dawn Stafford turned this 1867 one-room schoolhouse into a studio space and gallery. Her luminous canvasses glow alongside fellow artist Jill Lareaux’s figurative sculptures in bronze and other mediums.
Pull the chord to ring the school bell before heading west on M-89. Turn left onto 66th Street and follow it to 113th Avenue. Turn left to drive to Khnemu Studio (6322 113th Ave., 269-236-9260), where chickens welcome visitors to a working farm, studio and gallery.
Inside, a dozen potters’ wide array of work includes brightly colored raku, sculptural pieces and contemporary vases created by an industrial designer.
Variety is good, says Mary Kuilema, who makes Arts & Crafts-inspired wall tiles. “We borrow from each other, learn from each other, and in the end we all grow.” It’s a fitting testimony to a century-old artistic community that continues to thrive.
More Stops to Make
Saugatuck and Douglas offer art opportunities beyond the galleries mentioned in the story. Here are some more to check out. A complete list of businesses is available through the Saugatuck/Douglas website, www.saugatuck.com. For a list of area artists participating in open studio tours and events, visit www.bluecoastartists.com.
Saugatuck
Bruce Baughman Gallery
242 Butler St., 269-857-1299
www.brucebaughmangallery.com
Czarina’s Treasure
403 Water St., 269-857-7216
Discovery Art Center
347 Water St., 269-857-8225
www.discoveryart.org
Janice Miles Gallery
421 Water St., 269-857-5202
Marcia Perry’s Ark Gallery & Sculpture Studio
6248 Blue Star Highway
269-857-4210
www.marciaperry-ark.com
Saugatuck Center for the Arts
400 Culver St., 269-857-2399
www.sc4a.org
The Timmel Collection
133 Main St., 269-857-7274
www.thetimmelcollection.com
Douglas
Stewartia Studio
2525 Blue Star Highway
269-543-4029
Thistle Gallery
10 W. Center St.
269-857-7500
www.thistlegallery.com
You’nique International Gallery
95 Blue Star Highway
269-857-6022
If You Go
The Saugatuck-Douglas area is a two-hour drive north of Chicago and a three-hour drive from Detroit. It is located off I-196/US 31, between exits 36 and 41. Information about attractions, lodging and more can be found through the Saugatuck and Douglas Convention & Visitors Bureau at www.saugatuck.com or by calling 269-857-1701. Another valuable resource is www.michigan.org. Ox-Bow Friday Night Open Studios, held most Fridays June 20-Aug. 15, showcase work by students and artists-in-residence and host miniauctions and demonstrations in various mediums. Visit www.ox-bow.org for more information. At the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, pick up some artisanal food at the Greenmarket, every Friday from June until October.
