Island Library Showcases Mackinac Seven Artwork in August
By Eric Fish

Mackinac Seven artists at their reception Friday, August 3, are (from left) Maeve Croghan, Marta Olson, Pat Pulte, Nicki Griffith, and Kitty Hannabass. The group's work will be on display the entire month of August at the library. Member Pam Finkel's work is also included in the exhibit.

The local Mackinac Seven artist group formed in 1991 and has put its work on display at the Mackinac Island Public library for the past 11 years. On Friday, August 3, Maeve Croghan, Pam Finkel, Nicki Griffith, Kitty Hannabass, Marta Olson, and Pat Pulte welcomed residents and visitors at the library for the beginning of their month-long display of their latest work.

"I think we all paint for the enjoyment of painting," Mrs. Griffith said. "I paint for the sheer joy and pleasure and love of painting."

The love of painting is what brought the Mackinac Seven together. The members all come from various academic and artistic backgrounds. They began painting together in the early 1990s to share techniques from each other and from art instructors, and decided on the name Mackinac Seven when they started to display their works to the public.

Mr. Pulte will be the first to tell you that there is no group president, there are no membership fees, and there is no Web site to promote the assembly. He classifies the Mackinac Seven as very loosely based.

"We're just a bunch that got together a few years ago and just started painting together," he said. "It's just like eight guys who play golf together."

Aside from showcasing their work, common group activities include traveling to Canada for painting sessions and learning from each other during afternoon painting sessions around the Island.

"I think we all paint very differently," Mrs. Griffith said. "It should be about the joy within you. The finished product is quite important to me, but more important is the joy in the process of doing it. It's therapeutic, it's meditating, it can be spiritual."

Over the years, they've watched their work evolve and their styles change. Here's an update of what the Mackinac Seven has been up to:

Maeve Croghan

Originally from Alexandria, Virginia, Ms. Croghan has spent all her summers on Mackinac Island. She attended college in California and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

"This has always been my love and ambition and my pursuit," she said.

As a life long artist, Ms. Croghan said she's been focusing recently on nature, including flowers, plant life, and trees. Last spring, some of Ms. Croghan's work was displayed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Her work can also been seen in several books, the latest being "Artists of the Great Lakes" and "American Heart Collector."

She also displays her work on the Web at maeve croghan.com.

Pam Finkel

Mrs. Finkel has lived yeararound on the Island since 1981 and is the art teacher at Mackinac Island Public School. She was graduated from Albion College with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

"I'm into evoking emotion and telling a story," she said of her art. "I think that's something I've always been trying to do."

She said that she's beginning to become more of the painter she wants to be in terms of technical application and detail.

Nicki Griffith

Mrs. Griffith's hobby of gardening has helped her transition to painting. Considering herself a life long gardener, Mrs. Griffith's work often portrays flowers and other aspects of nature.

"I'm really into color," she said of her recent work. "I'm excited about color. I think my thing is color and shape. It doesn't really matter what the subject matter is."

She added that she's heading in the direction of making her work more abstract, but has no specific goals for her future in art, other than to continue painting. Her work can be viewed on the Web at nickigriffith. com.

Kitty Hannabass

Mrs. Hannabass said she gets a lift from painting that nothing else can compare to.

Originally from Saint Joseph, Missouri, and now living near Charleston, South Carolina, Mrs. Hannabass spends her summer months on Mackinac Island, where she was inspired to begin painting. Her most recent paintings include water reflections and Island scenery.

"I like to look at water reflections," she said, "but I also enjoy scenes of Mackinac because I always spent summers here and its one reason why I probably started to paint. It's beautiful here."

Mrs. Hannabass' future plans are to paint as much as she can and as often as she can.

Marta Olson

Mrs. Olson is self-taught and has been painting for more than a decade. Her goal is to paint more, when not running her Web design business, Mintaka Design.

In the winter months, she resides in Harbor Springs.

Her work can be viewed on the Web at martaolson.com.

Pat Pulte

Mr. Pulte has resided on the Island for almost 40 summers and began painting in the early 1990s. He has no great aspirations as a painter, other than continuing to do it.

"Painting is a very, very personal thing," he said. "It's extremely personal."

When not painting, Mr. Pulte helps manage the Murray Hotel. He said that if he can paint, anybody can do it.

His work can be viewed at 4mackinac.com/artgallery.cfm.

Cathy Brockman is also a member of the group, but does not have work on display this summer.