Story and photos by Ramona DeGeorgio-Venegas
For a quarter century, the Kaleva Art Gallery has offered locally handcrafted, original creations in this centrally located Manistee County village. The gallery’s annual Arts and Crafts Fair, to be held this year on July 16 draws visitors to the Finnish community and is one of the best times to visit. Once there, newcomers can also visit Kaleva’s sculpture walkway, The Bottle House Museum and two eateries, where they can either refuel with breakfast or lunch and a homemade slice of pie, or quench their thirst with a pint of beer alongside tavern pizza, burgers and meal specials.
I first heard about the small art gallery in Kaleva while substitute teaching in nearby Brethren and stopped by one weekend. Imagine my joy at seeing so many beautiful things, some made by people I know. I bought a birthday gift and a few handmade cards. Years later, I returned to visit a friend and had my eye on a lovely turquoise bead necklace. I told myself if this piece of jewelry wasn’t sold in six months, I would claim it for myself. It wasn’t, and I did. Just holding the necklace makes me happy. A few weeks ago, I was visiting the gallery again when two sisters arrived to make their annual gift purchases. Among them were several quilts and a bird house.
Offering one-stop shopping for birthday, anniversary and holiday presents, this gallery is the place to find functional gifts and mementos.
Fabric arts of handwoven, knitted or felted scarves, mittens, and hats are next to handsewn quilts and throws. On the walls are paintings, mirrors, art glass, metalworks, wooden creations and photographs of local scenes. Jewelry, some made with area stones, and wooden pens and shell-casing pens catch the eye not only with their beauty but because they’re artistically displayed in interesting ways.
Shelves hold pottery, soy candles and Christmas or “lake house” decorations. Browse the rag rugs and windchimes. You can pick out all-occasion artistic cards, some with photographs, from a rotating stand. In one corner are quilt squares and materials, and handmade paper. Student artwork is frequently on display in its own area toward the back. Kaleva, Michigan “sisu” apparel, cookbooks and Finnish souvenirs are also available for purchase.
Cooperative community of artists
The Kaleva Art Gallery is a cooperative gallery, which means it is member operated. Local artists and crafters living up to 25 miles away may join. According to Cynthia Asiala, one of the gallery’s 20 or so members, an artist or a crafter wishing to become part the cooperative can attend meetings held in the gallery at 6 p.m. on the first Monday of month, or on the second Monday if the first falls on a holiday.
After completing an application in person or downloading it from the website, new members can opt to work in the gallery or not. Working members pay $40 annual dues and work 4 hours a month, which entitles them to an 85% commission on sales of their wares. Non-working members pay their dues and receive a 60% commission. For me, talking to people who visit the gallery would be the best part of becoming a member.
Gallery history, landmark location
The gallery is located on the southeast corner of Wuoksi and Aura streets, kitty-corner from the village post office. It is close to the old railway, now a sculpture trail with permanent art installations depicting Finnish history and culture. The Bottle House Museum and Maple Grove Township Community Center area are only few blocks away.
Asiala shared the gallery’s history with me. She wrote:
The gallery began with the Brethren High School Service-Learning class in 1997, when they called local artists together to show and sell their artwork as part of the newly formed cooperative. Approximately 25 artists responded, and the grand opening of the gallery was held in December 1997. Neil Terwilliger loaned space to the artists in the building next door to its present location (on Wuoski Avenue) and the first years of operation proved successful. In 2004 the former drug store became available, and the gallery relocated there. This historic building is now owned by the village, which leases it to KAG.
As the oldest structure in town, pre-1900, the building has an interesting history. The New York Publishing Company set up presses and printed ‘The Siirtolainen,’ or ‘Immigrant.” This paper was mailed to Finns in the U.S. and Finland, in their own language. It urged readers to come to Kaleva–named after the Finnish epic ‘The Kalevala.’ Many Finns came, enticed by a place where the streets had Finnish names and they could speak their native tongue. But the ‘promised’ fertile land was not. The immigrants needed ‘sisu,’ or determination, to survive on the tree denuded, sandy-soil farms. These people worked together, helping one another.
One story claimed that the Finnish Newspaper had leanings toward Communism. Later, the building housed a drugstore, owned by Chug and Hazel Gustafson, which offered delicious ice cream and cherry cokes. If walls could talk, I’d cover my ears– well, maybe.
When to visit, how to contact
Kaleva Art Gallery hours of operation are 12-4 p.m. on Fridays and Sundays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The building is located at 14449 Wuoski Avenue. The gallery can be reached at 231-362-2749. Completed membership applications may be mailed to: Kaleva Art Gallery, P.O. Box 243, Kaleva, MI, 49645.
To learn more, find them online at at www.kalevamichigan.com or follow them on Facebook @Kaleva-Art-Gallery.
Ramona DeGeorgio-Venegas is a retiree of the Manistee Ranger District, Huron-Manistee National Forest, where she worked in recreation and as an outdoor recreation planner.
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