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Purpose + Life = Happiness | A Conversation

Vic Strecher

Happiness is an elusive state that often seems beyond one’s grasp. Or, is it? University of Michigan professor Vic Strecher spoke with Sarah Bearup-Neal, Glen Arbor Arts Center gallery manager, about his thinking and writing on the role purposeful living plays in human happiness. This recorded, video conversation is part of the GAAC’s exhibit, Happy, January 12 – March 21, 2024. Enjoy this conversation now.

Strecher has been a professor in UM’s Department of Health Behavior Health Education at the University of Michigan since 1995. For the first 15 years, he focused on cancer prevention and control. Strecher’s latest research now focuses on living life with purpose. His books — Life On Purpose and the graphic novel On Purpose – are the true to the old adage: Write what you know. In 2010, the entire Strecher family was thrown a monumental curveball, which put Strecher, his wife, and daughter into an existential tailspin. Out of that life-changing event came Strecher’s research into human happiness.

To learn more about the Happy exhibit go here: https://glenarborart.org/events/exhibit-happy.

Learn more about Vic Strecher’s books Life on Purpose, On Purpose, and his research here: https://www.vicstrecher.com.

 

 

Creativity Q+A Video with Jessica Kovan

Benzie County artist Jessica Kovan’s mixed media work is now on display in the GAAC’s Lobby Gallery. The Birds Are Watching, Kovan said, “asks viewers to pay attention from the vantage point of local bird species.” Kovan combines the personal with the political in this series of mixed media, avian vignettes created on cardboard. She took on the subject of local birds “in hopes of establishing a sense of interconnectedness between all beings.”

Exploring the Arts of Japan Series

New for 2023

In a series of classes, we teach a variety of Japanese art forms — from ceramics and printmaking —to poetry and floral design.

-A brief history of Japanese art form
-Hands-on experimentation and skill building
-Insight into contemporary Japanese art practices

Performance

TAIKO DRUMMING

Classes

GYOTAKU PRINTING

INTRODUCTION TO MOKUHANGA

FLORAL FUSIONS: EXPLORING JAPANESE FLORAL DESIGN

STITCHING FOR MINDFULNESS: SASHIKO AND BORO

JAPANESE POETRY

KURINUKI: JAPANESE CARVED POTTERY

Creativity Q+A with Mary Beth Acosta

A Feral Housewife, an exhibition of collages by Leelanau County artist Mary Beth Acosta, take up residence in the Glen Arbor Arts Center Lobby Gallery January 6 – April 21. View it in the GAAC Main Gallery or on line.

Working under the creative nom de guerre “The Feral Housewife,” Acosta uses simple, familiar tools and a range of recycled, vintage papers to create collages about mid-century housewives, big-finned cars, and “labor-saving” appliances that were promoted as drudgery-busting machines that would revolutionize the modern home.

Please enjoy this conversation with Mary Beth, which was first published in January 2022 — a companion program for the Paper Work exhibition [January 14 – March 24, 2022].

Pictured: Auto Show Housewives, 11″ w x 16″ h, 2017, Mary Beth Acosta


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