Tag Archives: wineary

Jan26

On The Michigan Wine Trail: An Artist Statement

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I’ve spent much of my adult life adventuring off to every corner of the earth I can reach.  Each trip is its own adventure–a quest to quench a  thirst to see and to know what’s out there.

Of all the places in the world that have enchanted me on my travels, I was surprised to find one of my favorites right in my own backyard.  Barely a three-hour drive from my home in Grand Rapids lie the peninsulas of Leelanau and Old Mission.

The region is deeply layered in every shade of green you can imagine.  Its hills seem to roll on for forever, before spilling out into the waves of Lake Michigan.  I’ve been captivated by this enchanting place, and I find myself returning again and again.

Each season brings its own something special to this wine country.  Spring always takes her time arriving. And just when you think she might have forgotten this year, the earth starts to stir, driving up from the ground hints of green–little promises of all the new life to come.

Before you know it, the apple and cherry trees are in full bloom, painting the landscape in a beautiful pastel rainbow, as winter melts into a distant memory.  By the time August has come and gone, the vines that course through the valley are so full and wild, dripping with fruit that’s almost ripe for the picking.

Autumn is perhaps the most magical time of year on the wine trail.  Its colors burn–bursting out in their fullest glory, creating a vivid, breathtaking backdrop for the harvest. Soon after the productive time ends, winter sweeps in, covering the land in its still, peaceful white slumber, giving the land and its people a chance to rest before the cycle repeats itself all over again. 

This is the Michigan wine country I’ve fallen in love with. As an artist, I want to know it.  I want to hear the stories of the people who live there and who farm the land and make its wine.  I want to explore their artistic processes from the ground to the vine, from the grape to the glass.

“On the Michigan Wine Trail” is more than just a series of paintings attempting to recreate the beautiful sights of wine country.  It captures the essence of the people there, and what happens to them as they inhabit and grow attached to this enchanting place.

My series, like their wine, tells of their journeys, their art, and the relationships they’ve built with the land.  The stories are all there on canvas, like a bottle of wine, waiting for us to uncork it.

Oct25

Come With Me To Brys Estate

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As seen featured in Grand Rapids Magazine-November 2011

In 1975, when newly weds Walt and Eileen Brys first visited Napa Valley, a then relatively unknown, down-home wine region–they heard the whisper–and the dream to own their own vineyard was born.

Thirty years later, their dream came true.

When you arrive at Brys Estate you feel that this place is a family’s labor of love. From the long line of Adirondack chairs looking out over the vineyards that seem to spill into the blue waters of Grand Traverse East Bay, where I long to set up my easel and translate this beauty…to the outdoor deck, where I fantasize about loosing hours sipping the Estate’s fine wines while writing poetry under the umbrella-capped tables. Then you step inside, where it’s warm like a friend’s home, but with the elegant charm that tells you you’re somewhere special.

Just as I am plotting how to spend the day here lost in creativity, the warm, charming and well-spoken Patrick Brys greets us. He tells us about this beautiful place and the fine wines they produce. They specialize in Reds he says… and with that, he has my full attention. We begin to taste the wines and are very impressed; each one is complex in its own way. These are elegant, high-end wines, like the estate itself. (Several would eventually find their way into our trunk leaving us to wonder where our luggage would go… a question for another day).

Coenraad Strassen, the South African-born, raised, and trained winemaker for the Brys pops his head in. He educates us on his philosophy of wine making and we talk about our roles as artists. Coenraad’s palette is Mother Nature. He lives with the seasons, seeing how they will paint the harvest from year to year. He is more interested in honoring the land than manipulating the wine. Each vintage is a record of that year–the sunshine, temperatures and rain–all revealed in each bottle.

My creative well is full as I reluctantly leave this magical place. I dream of the paintings I will create. I think of how all artistic processes run parallel. Coenraad waits for Mother Nature to do something that his art will be born from. I wait until my movements across the canvas create something in the paint that I haven’t seen before–something where I can say, “Now that is a interesting place to pause.” Wine dances across your pallet while paintings dance across your eyes. I invite you to experience the dance across your own pallet as you taste the wines from Brys Estate, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.  They’re ideal for sipping while lost in contemplation of a great work of art.

Cheers!