Art in the Capitol Program
PCAC Artists first to Exhibit in Lansing's Art In The Capitol program
The Plymouth Community Arts Council was delighted to lead off the exhibit schedule for Speaker Pro-Tempore John Walsh's exciting Art In The Capitol program.
The program involves a series of rotating art exhibits inside the Capitol building in Lansing that showcase artists from Western Wayne County. The chosen arts organizations send original pieces from their own local artists to represent their group. The art is exhibited for about 12 weeks throughout State Representative Walsh's Capitol office, which is open to tourists and special visitors. Signage in the common area recognizes the artists and the organization they represent.
Three talented artists were chosen to represent the PCAC in Lansing: Kay Masini, Plymouth artist and member of The Plymouth Community Arts Council Board of Directors; Pam Grossmann, local artist, and instructor for both the children's and adult drop in art classes at The Plymouth Community Arts Council; and Plymouth resident Denise Cassidy who also serves on PCAC's exhibit committee.
"The Art In The Capitol program was implemented at no cost to the taxpayer, but with many goals in mind," according to Valerie Knol, Legislative Aide to Rep. Walsh.
Ms. Knol was instrumental in coordinating the program from Lansing, and worked on the Plymouth exhibit details together with PCAC program liaison Pat Adams.
"The most important aspect of the program is to bring public recognition to southeast Michigan's art councils, foundations and committees," said Knol. "These non-profit organizations operate with limited resources and dedicated volunteers who manage to provide the communities they serve with amazing variety of quality art programming. From classes and seminars, to exhibits and outreach programs, Representative Walsh feels they are an inspirational example of what can be done on a shoestring budget."
The trio from Plymouth all agreed that having their artwork exhibited in Lansing was truly a privilege.
Regarding the group's experience, Pam Grossmann related, "Speaker Pro Tempore John Walsh was very gracious and posed for pictures with us. We got to meet some of the other representatives who joined us for a lovely Awrey Bakery Reception held for us in Rep. Walsh's offices."
"I was speechless when I saw my mixed media piece 'Neighborhood Watch' hanging over Rep. Walsh's desk," said Mrs. Grossmann. "It's a pen-and-ink drawing of Livonia City Hall with all the American flags flying in front of it, just after 9/11. I superimposed the American flag and eagle over this image in watercolor. Speaker Pro Tempore Walsh is from Livonia, and I was happy I submitted that painting for the show."
PCAC Board Member and accomplished artist Kay Masini was unable to make the trip to Lansing for the reception, but said she was honored to be one of the artists chosen to lead off this important program.
"As Speaker Pro Tem, Rep. Walsh is one of the few to have an office in the Capitol, so this was a perfect opportunity to both showcase the talents of his constituency, and get some beautiful art up on our walls," said Knol.
The 18-month-long Art in the Capitol program was designed to last through the end of Representative Walsh's current term.
The Artists and their Work
Kay Masini
Also a published, award-winning poet, Kay Masini holds Bachelor's degrees in both Art and Philosophy from Dominican University in Illinois. She is a signature member of the International Society of Experimental Artists, and a member of both the Three Cities Art Club and the Internationale Vriendenkring in Belgium. She also serves on the Board at the Plymouth Community Arts Council. Her paintings feature recurring images of water, faces and figures, often abstracted. She has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally, with pieces in numerous U.S. and European collections.
Her exhibited works for Art in The Capitol included:
Family Odyssey, oil on canvas; A Universal Family, oil on canvas; Where We Live, acrylic on canvas; Aftermath of a Soldier, watercolor on paper; The Complex Woman, acrylic on paper; Game Plan, acrylic on paper; and Wizard in Ice, mixed water-media.
Pam Grossmann
"As an artist, my mission is to preserve a special memory or moment in time; as a teacher, to inspire others to do the same."
Pam Grossman has been a resident of Livonia for over forty years with twenty-three of those spent as the art instructor at Steppingstone School for gifted children. In addition, she has taught a variety of community art classes including drawing and painting classes for both children and adults at the Plymouth Community Arts Council.
A member of The Village Artists Watercolor Group, her preferred media include watercolor, colored pencil and pen and ink. She illustrated the book King Gemba by Jeanne Swanson, and has done pen and ink drawings of many homes and businesses in the Plymouth area.
Art In the Capitol pieces shown by Pam Grossmann include:
Neighborhood Watch, ink and watercolor; Me Time, watercolor; Of Cabbages and Kings, ink and watercolor; and Glory, watercolor.
Denise Cassidy
Denise grew up in Wyandotte, Michigan and currently resides in Plymouth.
For many years she experimented in various forms of art, such as drawing, painting and photography. In 2008, she took an acrylics painting class at Schoolcraft College, rediscovering her affection for that medium. Ms. Cassidy states, "I have found great passion in painting bold, vibrant flowers. For me, flowers have always induced feelings of joy, peace and warmth. These feelings are what I try to convey in my paintings. In painting these flowers, I feel as though I have bloomed internally as a person, a mother, a friend and an artist." Some of her recent exhibits include: Featured Artist, February 2010 PCAC; Pure Art of Michigan, 2011 PCAC; Village of Westland Art Gallery 2011; Featured Artist in Artisan’s Well magazine, May 2011; and Art in the Capitol, April-August 2011.
Art In The Capitol paintings exhibited by Denise Cassidy include:
Vibrance, Hyacinth, Pink Daisy, and Plumerias.
The Plymouth Community Arts Council was delighted to lead off the exhibit schedule for Speaker Pro-Tempore John Walsh's exciting Art In The Capitol program.
The program involves a series of rotating art exhibits inside the Capitol building in Lansing that showcase artists from Western Wayne County. The chosen arts organizations send original pieces from their own local artists to represent their group. The art is exhibited for about 12 weeks throughout State Representative Walsh's Capitol office, which is open to tourists and special visitors. Signage in the common area recognizes the artists and the organization they represent.
Three talented artists were chosen to represent the PCAC in Lansing: Kay Masini, Plymouth artist and member of The Plymouth Community Arts Council Board of Directors; Pam Grossmann, local artist, and instructor for both the children's and adult drop in art classes at The Plymouth Community Arts Council; and Plymouth resident Denise Cassidy who also serves on PCAC's exhibit committee.
"The Art In The Capitol program was implemented at no cost to the taxpayer, but with many goals in mind," according to Valerie Knol, Legislative Aide to Rep. Walsh.
Ms. Knol was instrumental in coordinating the program from Lansing, and worked on the Plymouth exhibit details together with PCAC program liaison Pat Adams.
"The most important aspect of the program is to bring public recognition to southeast Michigan's art councils, foundations and committees," said Knol. "These non-profit organizations operate with limited resources and dedicated volunteers who manage to provide the communities they serve with amazing variety of quality art programming. From classes and seminars, to exhibits and outreach programs, Representative Walsh feels they are an inspirational example of what can be done on a shoestring budget."
The trio from Plymouth all agreed that having their artwork exhibited in Lansing was truly a privilege.
Regarding the group's experience, Pam Grossmann related, "Speaker Pro Tempore John Walsh was very gracious and posed for pictures with us. We got to meet some of the other representatives who joined us for a lovely Awrey Bakery Reception held for us in Rep. Walsh's offices."
"I was speechless when I saw my mixed media piece 'Neighborhood Watch' hanging over Rep. Walsh's desk," said Mrs. Grossmann. "It's a pen-and-ink drawing of Livonia City Hall with all the American flags flying in front of it, just after 9/11. I superimposed the American flag and eagle over this image in watercolor. Speaker Pro Tempore Walsh is from Livonia, and I was happy I submitted that painting for the show."
PCAC Board Member and accomplished artist Kay Masini was unable to make the trip to Lansing for the reception, but said she was honored to be one of the artists chosen to lead off this important program.
"As Speaker Pro Tem, Rep. Walsh is one of the few to have an office in the Capitol, so this was a perfect opportunity to both showcase the talents of his constituency, and get some beautiful art up on our walls," said Knol.
The 18-month-long Art in the Capitol program was designed to last through the end of Representative Walsh's current term.
The Artists and their Work
Kay Masini
Also a published, award-winning poet, Kay Masini holds Bachelor's degrees in both Art and Philosophy from Dominican University in Illinois. She is a signature member of the International Society of Experimental Artists, and a member of both the Three Cities Art Club and the Internationale Vriendenkring in Belgium. She also serves on the Board at the Plymouth Community Arts Council. Her paintings feature recurring images of water, faces and figures, often abstracted. She has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally, with pieces in numerous U.S. and European collections.
Her exhibited works for Art in The Capitol included:
Family Odyssey, oil on canvas; A Universal Family, oil on canvas; Where We Live, acrylic on canvas; Aftermath of a Soldier, watercolor on paper; The Complex Woman, acrylic on paper; Game Plan, acrylic on paper; and Wizard in Ice, mixed water-media.
Pam Grossmann
"As an artist, my mission is to preserve a special memory or moment in time; as a teacher, to inspire others to do the same."
Pam Grossman has been a resident of Livonia for over forty years with twenty-three of those spent as the art instructor at Steppingstone School for gifted children. In addition, she has taught a variety of community art classes including drawing and painting classes for both children and adults at the Plymouth Community Arts Council.
A member of The Village Artists Watercolor Group, her preferred media include watercolor, colored pencil and pen and ink. She illustrated the book King Gemba by Jeanne Swanson, and has done pen and ink drawings of many homes and businesses in the Plymouth area.
Art In the Capitol pieces shown by Pam Grossmann include:
Neighborhood Watch, ink and watercolor; Me Time, watercolor; Of Cabbages and Kings, ink and watercolor; and Glory, watercolor.
Denise Cassidy
Denise grew up in Wyandotte, Michigan and currently resides in Plymouth.
For many years she experimented in various forms of art, such as drawing, painting and photography. In 2008, she took an acrylics painting class at Schoolcraft College, rediscovering her affection for that medium. Ms. Cassidy states, "I have found great passion in painting bold, vibrant flowers. For me, flowers have always induced feelings of joy, peace and warmth. These feelings are what I try to convey in my paintings. In painting these flowers, I feel as though I have bloomed internally as a person, a mother, a friend and an artist." Some of her recent exhibits include: Featured Artist, February 2010 PCAC; Pure Art of Michigan, 2011 PCAC; Village of Westland Art Gallery 2011; Featured Artist in Artisan’s Well magazine, May 2011; and Art in the Capitol, April-August 2011.
Art In The Capitol paintings exhibited by Denise Cassidy include:
Vibrance, Hyacinth, Pink Daisy, and Plumerias.
