Artist Workshops Artists who need slides or digital images for Northern Exposure XV or other exhibits may take advantage of a professional slide shoot with Woerpel Images hosted by the Bonifas Arts Center on September 3. All artwork must be received at the Center by September 3, and must be clearly identified. All glass and Plexiglas must be removed. Artists need not be present during the shoot. Please pick up artwork by September 6, or make shipping arrangements by September 6 by calling the Bonifas at (906) 786-3833. Fees: Bonifas members: $12 per artwork, 3 for $30, 6 for $55 or $25 per 3-D work (includes 3 views) Non-members: $15 per artwork, 3 for $36, 6 for $68, or $30 per 3-D work (includes 3 views) Artist Level Printmaking for Painters with Michael Volker Friday, November 7; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Join visiting artist Mike Volker as he demonstrates his approach to creating original painterly monotypes in the form popularized by Edgar Degas. Beautiful monotypes created in oil and overlaid with pastel demonstrate the immediacy and freshness typically seen in Degas' work. Traditional painting and printmaking instruments such as brushes, daubers, and cotton rags are used as well as nontraditional homemade tools, as Volker shares his techniques for combining some of the strongest characteristics of both oil and watercolor media. Workshop participants are encouraged to experiment with drawing materials such as pastels in order to further enhance their images. Volker will also discuss water-based inks as an alternative to oils. Students will create several small prints during the workshop. The monotype is equally effective for representational genre such as portraiture, landscape, and still life, or more experimental abstract images. Members $45, Non-members $55; materials included (students are encouraged to supplement with their favorites) Artist Biography Michigan artist Michael Volker, one of the featured artists in the Interpretive Landscapes Exhibit at the Arts Center in January, 2008, returns to the Bonifas Gallery as juror and awards judge for Northern Exposure XV. Volker earned his B.F.A. and M.F.A. in painting and printmaking at Central Michigan University, where he also studied art history and contemporary theory. During this period Volker became interested in the relationship between the natural environment and human culture. "As a landscape artist I am the benefactor of a rich and defining tradition in American Art. My goal is to create a visual space that is reflective and consciousness-raising, as well as entertaining," Volker says. Volker has exhibited extensively in galleries, museums, and juried exhibitions, where he has garnered awards for printmaking, including monotype and painting. In 2000 the artist was awarded a self-directed residency by the Ora Lerman Charitable Trust. He spent 3 years under exclusive contract to Bensen Galleries, LTD, where a limited edition print of his work was published. He is also included in "Journal of the Print World. His work is in the permanent collection of Alma College and Saginaw Valley University, as well as many private collections throughout the U.S. Some of Volker's works are now traveling with the 27th Annual Alma College Statewide Print Competition. Volker has conducted workshops and lectured at various art institutions throughout the state. Between 2001 and 2006, he taught at Alma College as a Visiting Instructor in Art and Design. Volker now teaches at Central Michigan University as Assistant Professor in painting and drawing, while maintaining a studio at his home in Bay City, MI, where he lives with his wife, Sarah.