John Bauer

"Every student is unique... I'm actually teaching a 61 year old saxophone player right now, who is a beginning saxophone player, and he is doing so great...if you're learning an instrument that's new to you, the first step is really exploring that instrument.

Every First Friday we connect with Betty Firth from the Ely Folk School.  She lets us in on the upcoming classes and events in Ely and at the Folk School.  This month is full of cool stuff... including a class today where you can learn how to make a fish leather wallet and later in month a class on bent willow chair making!  Go to the Ely Folk School website for a full listing of upcoming courses! 

Every First Friday of the month, we check in with Katie Marshall, Executive Director of the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids.

"In terms of how I choose subjects, it's kind of a combination of physical exploration and...Google Street View exploration...  I look for a... formal structure that appeals to me in a building whether it's dilapidated or new.

"I do a lot of mental snapshots.  I'll look up, see something, go back down and paint it and try to capture them that way...it gets more expressive the faster I go, I find.  And then I don't think as much.  I just go with more of the feeling and try to get those brush strokes just as fast as I can on there...that's when cool things really happen." - Nate Luetgers on live-painting bands.