Painter John Dempsey will give a presentation on Military Field Drawing during the time of the British and American occupation of Fort Mackinac. The discussion would focus on methods of drawing from direct observation and the training that was given military personnel during 18th and 19th centuries in order to communicate important military field information. […]

Photographer Marilyn Murphy-Feather will present “Find Your Art on the Island,” a program about their artist residency experience on the island and a photography walk with the public. This may also include a “Photographing the Landscape” slide program and photography walk on the island. This is a free workshop located in the Station 256 Conference Room, […]

Life By Water: on Mindfulness and Poetic Form with Lauren K. Carlson and Great Lakes Poet Lorine Niedecker Lauren K. Carlson will present an interactive poetry workshop for the public on mindfulness, poetic form and observing the natural world. Using regional poet Lorine Niedecker’s work as an example, participants will 1) receive a presentation on haiku, […]

Perkins is a composer, conductor, and music educator from Fenton, MI. In 1938, a young folk music collector named Alan Lomax came from Washington, DC to record Michigan’s folk music traditions for the Archive of American Folk-Song at the Library of Congress. Lomax was particularly interested in the trove of ballads remembered by aging lumberjacks and […]

During their residency, muralist Dustin Hunt plans to create a series of three to five eleven-by-seventeen-inch graphite portrait studies of residents and seasonal workers.  Incorporating elements of Mackinac Island, Hunt will make the overall body of work people-centric and site-specific. These portrait studies will also contain design elements inspired by conversations with the subjects about […]

What makes a woodcut such a fascinating way to represent the natural world? Gumpper’s work explores the many dynamic connections between landscape and the physical process of carving and printing a wood block in a reductive method or layering different surfaces and colors in a monotype. Gumpper can see direct connections with scientific study as […]

Amy Sacka will provide a workshop that will include an introduction to their work, a discussion on work about the Great Lakes ice with National Geographic, a discussion about their current project, “Love Letter’s to Michigan State Parks,” and time for questions. This workshop will take place at the Station 256 Conference Room, located above […]

Wood plans to build a 3 – 5 inch quill box that is reflective of the natural landscape and life on the island. During the workshop Wood will show their tools and process, as well as speak about how they have learned to quill, through generational knowledge, and the importance of passing down the art […]

Swanson will provide a painting demonstration, utilizing his unique way of working, which has become popular for guests to watch. This workshop will take place at the Station 256 Conference Room, located above the Mackinac Island State Park Visitor’s Center. This is a free event.

Kateri Kaminski’s workshop aims to educate MSHP patrons and art enthusiasts about Trade Silver, how it came into use, where it came from, and the historical impact it had on the Indigenous Peoples and colonies in early North America. Trade silver played an important part in the relationships that were forged between the Indigenous and […]