Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette Searra Liggett exhibits her art at the 37th annual Art in the Park at Donny Kilpela Memorial Park in Copper Harbor.
COPPER HARBOR – The Copper Harbor Improvement Association hosted its 37th annual Art in the Park event at Donny Kilpela Memorial Park over the weekend.
The fair featured various artists and their crafts, live music, and food served by the Copper Harbor Fire Department. The art fair is the largest fundraiser of the year for CHIA, which supports the businesses and services of the Copper Harbor community.
Event coordinator Johanna Davis ran the fair for the 22nd year in a row, providing about 60 artists from across the country with the opportunity to display and sell their artwork. Davis is the owner of Spirit of the North Massage and Wellness and her family operates another business in town. She knows what it takes for businesses to succeed at the end of the Keweenaw Peninsula, and the art fair serves not only to raise funds, but also to attract tourists for the weekend, which brings revenue to the other businesses, hotels, restaurants and bars.
“It means a lot to Copper Harbor,” said Davis. “We are always grateful for the many people who come to Michigan’s northernmost city. Our community up here is focused on nature and the arts, so we have a lot of local artists in the area.”
The artistic mediums were varied, with plenty of woodwork, painting, photography, copper art and more on display. Among the photographers was Searra Liggett, a south Houghton resident who sold a variety of images she took in Keweenaw and southern Michigan. She tries to capture vibrant colors and unique perspectives of popular landmarks, especially in Keweenaw, in her images.
The unique perspectives she is referring to are shots taken through or around an object. Several images feature blurred leaves, branches, or other things that are adjacent to the main subject of the image or orbit it in perfect focus, such as a lighthouse. This is intended to draw the eye directly to the subject of the image.
“We are very close to nature and have only been living here for three years,” said Davis. “The possibility of connecting with nature is wonderful and I like to show this through my art.”
Davis then said that she was very impressed by the hospitality of the residents of Copper Harbor and the friendliness of the tourists.
Another artist who participated in Art in the Park was Synthia Marsh of Superior Northwoods Studio. She is a jeweler who creates a variety of Michigan-themed jewelry using stones and minerals mostly found in the state. Marsh began the craft when she was looking for something to do to pass the time when her daughter moved out and went to college. She became fascinated with the craft when she realized that extreme tools were needed to create the pieces.
“The whole idea of soldering with a torch and fire just sounded magical to me,” said Marsh. “I just wanted to use fire and that’s how I started.”
And that fire goes into the creation of various pieces, such as Isle Royale-themed jewelry that uses greenstones, a gemstone found on the island. However, Marsh uses greenstones found on the Keweenaw Peninsula because stone mining is prohibited on Isle Royale. Even the greenstone pieces that aren’t Isle Royale-themed are popular with her customers, and she has plenty more UP and Lake Superior-themed pieces to offer, whether necklaces, bracelets or rings.
