On Friday, September 26th, The Nines Gallery will host an art opening to celebrate the new works of Michael Pfleghaar. In addition to Pfleghaar’s traditional subject matter of modern interior scenes and still life, his new collection of paintings and drawings will showcase a collection of work depicting modern architecture inspired by visits to Palm Springs, California and other modern architectural masterpieces. This will be Michael Pfleghaar’s only gallery show in West Michigan in 2008. The Artist’s Reception will be held from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm and is open to art collectors and the public. Admission is free of charge. The Nines Gallery is located inside 17 West 10th Street, in Downtown Holland. “Modernscapes—Near the Edge” will be showing at The Nines Gallery through October 2008.

Michael Pfleghaar has also been painting the Michigan landscape while traveling through the state to visit friends and vacationing. These landscapes and interiors celebrate the vibrant colors, unique buildings, and man-made paths we make through nature. Pfleghaar also works in terra cotta clay and last year one of his creations was awarded Best in Show for a the statewide Fire and Mud Clay Competition and his work was recently featured in American Craft Magazine. Pfleghaar received a BFA in Painting from Grand Valley State University in 1988 and exhibits throughout Michigan and in Palm Springs, California. He will be teaching a weekend landscape class at OxBow this fall.

The Nines Gallery and Framing Studio is located at 17 West 10th Street in Downtown Holland. Normal business hours are Monday through Friday: 10 AM to 5:30 PM, Saturday from 10 AM to 3 PM, or by appointment. Please call 616.392.3239 with questions or to receive directions; and please remember to visit www.theninesgallery.com for a sneak preview of the show beginning on September 22nd.

Well not quite Atlas holding up the earth, but Michael holding up a giant heart...photo by Cristina T.C.

Today we started applying wire, flowers, and beads to the "heart" our centerpiece of the Artworks sculpture for the Grand Rapids Community Foundation. Special thanks to Brett Haberkorn for welding the frame. Photo by Cristina T.C.

Here is my class of Artworks students (minus one) for this summer. Two weeks to go and now the fun begins as the sculpture starts to be assembled. Its a great group of hard working kids 14-20 years old from all over the Grand Rapids area.

Group photo of Tommy Allen, myself, and Guillaume and Brooke Hazael-Massieux, Chef and owners of La Becasse in Maple City, MI. The show looks right at home at the cozy little French Restaurant. More photos can be found here:
La Becasse "Feast" Show

Photo by Cristina T. C. and student in my Artworks class this summer. She has been documenting the projects we are working on, to get the full picture visit her Flickr site page UICA Momories!~

oil on board, 12" x 12"

oil on board, 12" x 12"

silk-screen on terra cotta in progress

Ever wonder what the heck Artworks is? Well here is your chance to find out.

Thursday July 10
9-10 AM or 12-1 PM

Thursday August 21
9-10 AM or 12-1 PM

Please join us for an exclusive, one-hour look inside the ArtWorks program!

• see the students in action as they develop creative solutions
for local organizations
• speak with students and mentor artists about their
career-building experiences in the ArtWorks program
• enjoy a sneak peek at the works of art before they are unveiled
to the public

Refreshments will be provided. Meter parking is available on all streets surrounding UICA.

Contact Jill May to schedule your Inside ArtWorks session at 616 454 7000 x26 or jmay@uica.org.

ArtWorks is an innovative job program for youth, ages 14-21, offering real-life job opportunities in the arts. For more information about the ArtWorks program, visit uica.org.

More clay Greek Urn inspired work in progress for the fall show.

My work will now be carried at a new gallery in South Haven, MI. The Roger Mason Gallery is having its opening party this Friday night, June 27. The gallery is located at 422 Eagle Street and for more info call 248-202-6073

The above painting, Flaming Foliage, oil on canvas, 48" x 48" will be part of the exhibition.

I wrote this for International Design Magazine, where it appeared in the June 2008 issue.

You’re in a deflating raft. You have 4 minutes and 30 seconds until the black storm on the horizon reaches you. Only some of you can swim. Do you: a) organize time-intensive swimming lessons? Or b) ask everyone to fix the leaks nearest them with the repair kits they have in their pockets?

Curiously, when it comes to climate change, where the states are worse than bleak, the answer seems to be swimming lessons: Invest more in alternative energies. Establish higher standards for fuel efficiency in cars. Invent carbon-capture technology. Force big businesses to come up with plans that will change the way they do business. None of these measures is capable of effecting change in the here and now.

Many of us know that we’re currently facing 50 percent species loss this century; five meter sea rise this century; and 10 to 20 percent reductions in corn, wheat, and rice yields – despite a more than doubling of population – this century. But way too few of us have paid attention to the timetable required to avoid this possibility, as laid out by the U.S.’s two leading climate scientists. James Hansen director of NASA’s Space Goddard Institute, released a new paper in March that says we have close to zero percent change of avoiding “catastrophic effects of climate change” if we continue with “business as usual.”
And in his report to the UN last September, John Holdren, director of the Wood’s Hole Institute, projected that we could improve those odds to 50 percent if we begin curbing emissions by 2015. If you ask me, 50-50 odds of facing major worldwide catastrophe are unacceptable.

Regardless, with heads firmly embedded in the sand, we continue to focus on what the scientists tell us needs to be accomplished by 2020 and 2050. And because there is no action at the federal level, cities and states, and companies and universities and institutions, are one by one setting 2020 and 2050 goals for CO2 reduction. Even presidential candidates give us these benchmarks, and talk about capping and trading emissions so that power plants will figure out a plan and make new investments that will start reducing their emissions.

But in fact we have only two to three years to get worldwide CO2 emissions to stop growing and begin their downward crawl if we want to improve our odds of averting disaster. Which means we only have to change our ways enough to avoid the 3 percent annual emissions rise driven by “business as usual,” and then next year we need to reduce our rate by 3 percent again. It isn’t that hard. Just focus on the ways you consume energy.

The difference between long-term strategies and immediate behavioral change can be easily visualized using the example of cars. If everyone in American bought a fuel-efficient car when it was time to replace their current model, 10 years from now (well beyond our critical period for action), demand for fossil fuel would be reduced by 5 percent. But if we shared 1 out of every 20 trips, we would reduce demand by 5 percent this week.

So turn your heat down 2 degrees, turn your air conditioner up 2 degrees. Feeling just a teeny bit uncomfortable? Pick half the species in the world –humans, animals, vegetables, insects – and imagine them gone. Don’t drive for single errands, don’t drive if the place you are going is less than a mile away, ride with a friend once a week. Mildly put out? Imagine the worldwide suffering of even fewer basic food staples than exists today. Use the dishwasher and dryer only for full loads. Hang your laundry on a line! Walk or bike more. Don’t like having to think about energy all the time? Imagine the political and economic unrest that will result from the immigration precipitated by a 5 meter sea rise.

We all have life-raft repair kits in our pockets. Put them to work.

Here is my group of 9 Artworks students. We will be working on a project for the new Grand Rapids Community Foundation building lobby over the next five weeks.

I will be painting live in the Children's Garden at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park on Monday, July, 28 noon to 1pm. More info at http://www.meijergardens.org/calendar/event.php?id=356