To the best of owner Hazel Hotwagner’s knowledge, the
Haze Art Gallery in Lansing’s
Old Town is the only gallery in Michigan—possibly within three states—that doesn’t take a portion of artists’ sales in commission.
The commission system is a standard procedure in which galleries charge artists money to carry and display their work.
Hotwagner has been able to hold the economic line and buck that system, she says, because community involvement gives her another revenue stream and generates more gallery traffic.
Haze Gallery was homeless for about a month recently, but never far from their next address. Hotwagner and her extended family of more than 60 artists packed up and moved across Grand River Avenue in Old Town.
“And the primary color is yellow,” says Hotwagner of the repurposed 2,500 square foot storefront on North Turner Street that now houses the gallery. The expanded space gives her more than 1,000 additional square feet for what’s become known as a art community hot spot.
In five years, Hotwagner hopes to have 5,000 square feet of available space.
“This new location will give us a better chance of expanding and to do a lot more with the immediate community,” she says
Art of the ChaseThe Haze journey started in the spring of 1996, when Hotwagner left her job in the corporate world to chase her artistic vision.
“I wanted something else in life,” says Hotwagner, who had watched a co-worker who was closing in on 40 suffer three heart attacks from work-induced stress. “I decided it was time to start getting back into my art.”
Hotwagner didn’t know what her ideal artistic enterprise would be when she first started. She knew ceramics. She knew painting. In fact, she was familiar with lots of different art forms, including knitting, sewing and silk-making.
“My mother enrolled me in every art, craft and hobby class since I was six,” says Hotwagner. “I realized I’d been doing art and ceramics all my life. And when someone told me that ceramics was a dying craft, I knew instantly I wanted my children to do this. It’s a great hobby.”
So shortly after leaving the corporate world, Hotwagner cleaned out her basement and opened a studio devoted to all things clay. She taught classes and passed along techniques she had fine-tuned over the decades. When her students asked for more, Hotwagner began teaching art appreciation—in her studio, at special events and at community luncheons.
“I’d hold private functions at local businesses during lunch hour,” says Hotwagner. “My work kept growing until it was more than just a ceramics studio.”
For five years, Hotwagner did shows, taught classes, gave demonstrations and made the rounds of the art show circuit.
“Everything I did became larger scale and closer together,” says Hotwagner, remembering years of staying in hotel after hotel. “So, I talked to some friends, and that’s when we started Haze, Inc.”
Community CharacterFrom the start, Hotwagner’s overarching mission was to provide a community space for mid-Michigan artists to exhibit their work and learn about the art world.
“I also wanted to open the eyes of the blue-collar and middle-class community that art is affordable and accessible,” she says. “Art doesn’t have to be so expensive that you can’t afford it.”
Hotwagner’s enterprise took on a life of its own, especially seven years ago when she moved her business from her basement to Old Town.
“We’re really more than a gallery and a studio,” says Hotwagner, as she mentions the gallery’s involvement with numerous special events, promotions, organizations and neighborhoods events. “We’re hoping our new space will allow us to expand that type of involvement.”
Haze’s community gallery hosts free events like Easter egg hunts in the spring, and art events for children and families. Haze also has ongoing partnerships with several local agencies, including
Peckham Inc., a Lansing-based non profit devoted to providing employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
“It was a perfect match,” says Sue McGuire, Peckham’s art program developer, of the relationship forged with Hotwagner six years ago. “I wanted to raise the bar, and give people with disabilities the opportunity to exhibit their work.”
Haze Gallery exhibits the resulting "Art from the Heart" program four times each year. To date, more than 80 artists have participated in two-dimensional pieces created from oils, acrylics, charcoal, color pencil and markers. In addition to the shows, Peckham showcases artists and the art rehabilitation program through a permanent exhibit space at Haze.
“Hazel greeted us with open arms,” says McGuire. “She’s amazing in the way she promotes and encourages our artists. They have such pride knowing their artwork is exhibited in a real gallery for everyone to see.”
Canvassing the NeighborhoodCombining vision and opportunity, Hotwagner continues to develop and maintain relationships with artists—be they established or emerging.
“We don’t seek artists with any particular vision,” she says. “We seek anyone who wants to be an artist and wants to give it a try. If they have a special creativity, it’s going to show.”
The gallery features three artists a month, with plans to feature more in the new space. The list includes artists creating two- and three-dimensional work in mediums like oil and acrylics, watercolors, pottery, gift baskets, knit and crochet hats, photography, jewelry, textiles, candles and various forms of sewing.
Of the 21 artists who helped open the gallery doors, 12 are still with the gallery, including silkscreen artist, Mark Hahn, who joined the group two years ago. Hahn traverses mediums to create signs and sculptures. His most recent endeavor includes creating a French-theme façade and interior décor for the new gallery space at 1220 N. Turner Street.
“Like a lot of the artists here, I am grateful for Hazel. Period,” says Hahn. “Here is a chance to see what your art can do when it faces the public. It’s a chance to see what people like, and what they respond to.”
For Hotwagner, that experience is what it’s all about.
“We’ve evolved to where we are because of the artists inside the gallery,” she says. “They made the changes, and are helping to take it forward again. I would love to say it was all me, but it’s not.”
Ann Kammerer lives in East Lansing. She has written about area businesses, non-profits and people making news for a variety of local and regional magazines.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Hazel Hotwagner
The new Haze Gallery in Old Town
Welcome to our Gallery
Sue McGuire, Peckham's art program developer
Watercolors by Gail Foster
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie