Arts at KNC

Glen Vista Gallery

 

art Art Drawn From Nature
August 31 – November 17, 2024
Art Drawn From Nature is a semiannual exhibit that echoes themes addressed in KNC’s temporary rotating exhibit hall. This year, coinciding with the traveling exhibit Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge, Shared Science, this exhibit celebrates artwork solely by Native American artists. Above: Jiman, oil painting by Annalee Bennett, Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe)

Join us for an Artist Reception September 14 from 2-4 pm! Read more >

Nature’s Way Preschool Art Show
Opens November 23, 2024
Inspired by Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge, Shared Science, this exhibit will feature art by the little ones of KNC’s Nature’s Way Preschool. Experience the whimsy of children’s artwork through December!

Buy Local Art & Gift Fair

Buy Local Art & Gift Fair

Saturday, December 7, 2024 9 am – 4 pm  Free admission to the Fair and trails all day!

KNC’s Buy Local Art & Gift Fair is a celebration of local artists featuring unique booths from top local artisans. The quality and variety of work, friendly artists, and festive atmosphere have made this an annual tradition you don’t want to miss! KNC Members also get invited to the popular Jingle Mingle the evening prior to the art fair.

Read more >

Art Drawn From Nature:
Kirk Newman Art School at the Kalamazoo Nature Center

As muse and motivation for new art making experiences, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts’ Kirk Newman Art School and KNC are thrilled to announce an expanded partnership that brings the talented School faculty to the landscapes of the Nature Center. Explore the beauty of the trails, prairie blossoms, trees, animals, and scenery through a range of nature-inspired art courses. Pre-arrival information will be shared with enrollees before each course starts.

Learn more about the classes at KNC below.

Attention, KNC Members: KNC is collaborating with the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts through the Kirk Newman Art School to offer nature-based art classes at a discount for all KNC members. Give us a call at (269) 381-1574 x 0 and we’ll verify your membership is active with us and provide you with the discount code to register with the KIA. Please note, registration for these programs is through the KIA, not KNC.

Register at the KIA

Watercolor and More in the Outdoors
Mondays, September 9 & 16, 11 am-3 pm (2 weeks)
Fee: $115/KNC & KIA Members, $135/Non-Members
Audience: Adults | Meet: KNC Visitor Center
Work en plein-air (outdoors!) in watercolor and a variety of drawing media on the beautiful Nature Center grounds. Create loose and expressive studies, learning to focus our composition and yet freely interpret our subjects with supportive guidance. Instructor: Susan Badger

Pit Fired Pinch Pots
Thursdays, September 19 & 26, 6-8:30 pm (2 weeks)
Fee: $100/KNC & KIA Members, $120/Non-Members
Audience: Adults | Meet: KNC Barn
Engage your sense of awareness and presence as you learn the simple art of forming pinch pots, one of the oldest methods of shaping clay. Using wild clay from Northern Michigan, participants will make pots during the first class. They will be finished by pit firing during the second class. One unfired pot will be returned to the earth as we walk the KNC trails and select a special spot to leave an offering. No prior clay experience or special tools are required. Instructor: Courtney Nelson

Printmaking at KNC’s Carver House
Saturday, October 5, 9 am – 4 pm
Fee: $100/KNC & KIA Members, $120/Non-Members
Audience: Adults | Meet: KNC Carver House
Explore printmaking projects at KNC’s Carver House! Forage onsite for materials to make nature prints and collagraphs, as well as drypoint prints. See what amazing materials and subject matter can be found out-of-doors in Michigan’s natural areas, and how prints can be made from your discoveries. Instructor: Deborah Mattson

Drawing Michigan Wildlife: Owls & Snakes
Saturday, October 26, 9 am – 4 pm
Fee: $100/KNC & KIA Members, $120/Non-Members
Audience: Adults | Meet: KNC Visitor Center Classroom
Learn to draw some Halloween-themed creatures at the beautiful KNC. Drawing from both live and preserved specimens, acquire skills for field sketching to fully-rendered animal studies. Instructor: Taylor Scamehorn