Artists Helping Artists: community rallies to support Beth Bricker
From staff reports
The Glen Arbor artist community will hold a reception at Lake Street Studios on Saturday, June 1, from 3-6 pm for an exhibition that runs until June 26 with proceeds from all works sold benefiting Beth Bricker, co-owner of Forest Gallery and a pillar of the local artist community who is battling cancer. Beth’s parents, the late Ananda and Ben Bricker, were founding members of the Glen Arbor Art Association 40 years ago.
“Beth has always been a champion of the artists in her community, and it is our hope that we, as artists and friends, can send love and support back to Beth and her family in this emotionally and financially difficult time,” the Lake Street Studios friends wrote in a statement.
Fellow artist Margo Burian conceived of the pop-up show while lying in bed one night, thinking about how she could support Bricker, whom she credits with helping Burian hold her first show at Lake Street Studios and later become the Manitou Music Festival poster artist in 2008.
“When I learned of her diagnosis, I wanted to offer something because she has done so much for the arts and artists community; she’s been instrumental in so many creative lives in Glen Arbor,” said Burian. “I wanted her to feel surrounded by love and support from all the people she has supported and championed throughout the years.”
This spring, Burian reached out to local artists and asked them to donate a piece of their work to be exhibited at Center Gallery during the month of June. She has received commitments from nearly 50 artists and community members who have also offered to help with food and wine for the June 1 event.
“People have been more than generous,” said Burian. “The heart and generosity of this community have brought me to tears. This is the epitome of excellence of living in a small town.”
Nori Obata, daughter of the late Midge Obata—another founder of the Art Association and Lake Street Studios—who runs North Gallery, remembers her mom buying artwork from people who were just starting out as artists. Now established, they are donating art to help Beth.
“Beth is such a beautiful fixture here in this building,” Nori said. “When I’m in North Gallery and I hear her laughing over in Forest Gallery, it’s indescribable to me. I think of her parents and my mom always being there and helping other artists.”
Beth and other artists at Lake Street Studios have long “paid it forward,” said horticulturist, artist and designer Cre Woodard. Woodard and her husband Mark Ringlever run Rinco Coffee on the south side of the building
“If you think of all the artists Beth has helped by selling their work and talking about them in her gallery, she’s been a real champion of artists,” said Woodard.
Helping turn Lake Street Studios into a hub for Glen Arbor as an artists’ destination has been central to Beth’s life for 30 years, she said. “We call it the mothership. We’re definitely a chosen family.”
Bricker has done everything from teaching after-school art classes at Glen Lake School, to serving on the board of the Glen Arbor Arts Center, to hosting Manitou Music Festival concerts on the Lake Street Studio stage, to working seven days a week at Forest Gallery during the season for the last 17 years.
Beth’s youngest child, Ab Clark, has moved back to Glen Arbor and is running Forest Gallery, the third generation taking up the mantle.
Knowing that her time ahead is finite, Bricker wants to focus on what’s important: spending time with her children, Hannah and Ab, as well as painting, writing, poetry, talking with loved ones, and putting her life in order. “I’ve gotten so much attention, so much love from the community, that I feel it’s helping. I feel less burdened by the disease,” Beth said.
“I understand this is about people giving back to me, and I want to give back to them, too. It means everything. It’s validating.”
Roots in the arts scene
The Arts Center reflects on its website that: “The first Studio Tour was in 1984—five ‘studios’ opened with several artists exhibiting at each location. The Glen Lake Artists Cooperative also grew out of this group of artists. The artists initially operated a gallery at The Homestead Resort during the summer and fall months and then moved to a more permanent location in the Arbor Light building. This was the first art gallery in Glen Arbor.”
In 1987, Obata got a call from a local realtor about the Wescott property located on Lake Street that was about to go on the market. It included an old, run-down garage. She called Ananda and Suzanne, who purchased the garage and two lots, while Obata purchased the adjacent property, which included a small frame home and a dilapidated shack. Lake Street wasn’t what it is today: no Cherry Republic, no restroom facility, no tennis and pickleball courts. Longtime board member Sarah Taggart wrote in her richly textured essay on the origins of the Art Association, “Only Art’s Tavern, the then un-steepled Lutheran Church, and the Arbor Light gift shop kept lifelessness at bay.” The trio of Ananda Bricker, Midge Obata, and Suzanne Wilson envisioned reinventing these spaces as studios. The garage is now Lake Street Studios.
How artists can support Beth
Artists who wish to support Bricker and donate a piece of their work to refresh the exhibit after June 1 may contact Burian at 616-450-0771. The work should be presentation ready. Framed or unframed works on panels or canvas should be wired and ready to hang. Works on paper (matted or not) should be submitted in a Poly Bag for protection. Jewelry, ceramics, pottery and textiles will be displayed on shelves and in a case if necessary. Artists are asked to indicate the value of their donation so that it can be priced accordingly. Donations can also be shipped to: Forest Gallery / 6023 S Lake St / Glen Arbor, MI 49636.
The Center Gallery exhibit will be open Wednesday-Sunday from 11 am-5 pm until June 26.
