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MICHIGAN CITY, IN. — A former Dowagiac resident will have their works of art on display.

David Baker, an artist and teacher from St. Joseph, will exhibit a new body of work at SFC Gallery in Michigan City, Indiana. The exhibit opens with an artist’s reception from 5 to 8 p.m. (CDT) Friday, October 7 and continues through October 31.

The exhibit, titled Faerie Rings, presents 15 watercolor paintings of tiny sculptures and monuments discovered on the beaches of Benton Harbor, Michigan. The artist recorded these structures, making precise drawings of them on location. Later, in the studio, full spectrum color modifications were added to the drawings. The little structures are probably the work of children.

“For The Faerie Rings, I sought out tiny sculptures which seemed to be created by children,” he said. “In nature, circular growths of mushrooms are called Faerie Rings. While science has an explanation for this phenomenon, folklore in many places of the world attribute these rings to faeries who danced in a circle at night. It was considered very bad luck for humans to step inside the ring. But children seem to know about circles. They gravitate toward them in their

games and their art. Like the builders of the prehistoric monuments, they seem to understand the magic of the circle. 

“So, I draw their sculptures on site, exactly as they were created. Then I take them home to the studio and add a bit of magic of my own.”

SFC Gallery is located at 607 Franklin Street in Michigan City. The October 7 reception is part of the Art After Hours monthly art walk, in the Uptown Arts District. David Baker holds an MFA degree from Indiana State University. Baker lived in Dowagiac for 33 years, where he was an Art Professor Emeritus at Southwestern Michigan College for 36. He continues a 44-year teaching career, with workshop teaching at Ox-Bow School of Art, Krasl Art Center, and the Box Factory for the Arts. He has mounted more than 40 solo exhibitions of his work. For more on the artist, go to www.dbakerart.com.