WRITER | CANDIE CONAT
PHOTOS | THREE PINES STUDIO
Three Pines Studio in Cross Village is more than an artist’s studio and gallery. If you are looking for a fun day trip for the whole family…this is it!
Through its large windows, the studio’s unique location offers inspirational woodland views. Featured works from exclusively Northern Michigan artists span all the visual arts. Even better, guests can watch artists at work and are encouraged to join in.
Delicate glass pieces, ceramics, jewelry, and fiber art are displayed along with metal work, painting, photography, quillwork, and woodworking and carving. Northern Michigan artists are creating some of the most spectacular, collectible, and functional pieces you will find anywhere.
Two of the artists using the studio at Three Pines are Gene Reck and Joann Condino.
Reck is a ceramics artist and thrives on creating pieces that are purposeful, eye-catching, and ready for daily use. Many of his larger decorative pieces are on display in gardens around the property.
Condino works with several different mediums. She creates fiber art pieces with wool purchased from a nearby sheep farmer and spun into yarn by a mill in East Jordan. She then dyes the yarns in a 21-color custom palette. Included for 2018 is the Pantone Color of the Year – UltraViolet. Condino also works with woodblock printing on linen. This intriguing work is steeped in history dating back four centuries to the silk and spice trade routes in India. For 35 years, she has honed her unique style using her collection of antique blocks to produce linen and cotton pieces. Her table runners and napkins glow with colors inspired by the pine trees, flowers, and birds just outside her studio.
The 2018 theme at Three Pines is Polka Dots and Spiders, Oh My! Visitors are invited to explore their creative side with interactive sculptures on the grounds, where you can place a polka dot design of your creation. This community installation pays tribute to the vision of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who stated, “Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos. Polka dots are a way to infinity.” The spider portion of the theme pays tribute to French-American artist Louise Bourgeois, who is known mostly for her spider sculptures, one of which is located at Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. Visitors will find spider sculptures hidden in the gardens around the gallery.
From May through October, Reck and Condino, along with other artists at Three Pines Studio, host workshops and special events. The workshops vary from Kid’s Thursdays and Fairy Fridays to fiber and quillwork. There is sure to be something for young and old alike. Three Pines also offers open drop-in workshops, where artists and nonartists come together in a social act of collaboration to foster creativity and encourage experimentation.
Be sure to visit the Three Pines Studio website for details about upcoming events and workshops as well as information on the Cross Village Community Parade and studio hours.
Three Pines Studio 5959 W. Levering Road, Cross Village, MI 49723 l (231) 838-9921 l ThreePinesStudio.com