Who: The Thatcher sisters, Becky and Cookie. What: Rescue a lost girl. Where: Alligator Hill in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a.k.a. the Park. When: Summer 2013. Why: It was their job. For now, though, suffice it to say there are a million stories in The Park. This is just one of them.
The difference between an artist and a business person is that the business person makes art in order to make money and the artist makes money in order to keep making art. Becky Thatcher is the latter, a genuine artist. Not only does she have vision and skill, she has guts, an ability to take risks, confidence, courage and absolute indifference to public opinion when it comes to her jewelry.
Check out this great video from Detroit Public Television’s traveling “Under the Radar” series. You can stream the owners of Cherry Republic and Art’s Tavern, the Deputy Superintendent of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and Glen Arbor artists Becky Thatcher and Beth Bricker into your homes, thus satisfying your wanderlust.
Glen Arbor jeweler Becky Thatcher’s Tuesday Tea & Talk series — now in its 17th or 18th year (even Thatcher herself is no longer sure how long it has run) — is a creative enough idea, but its origin is a story all of its own.