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DOWAGIAC — A new exhibit is coming to the Dowagiac Area History Museum.

The museum will hold an exhibit Open House for Charting the Wolverine: The Artwork of Elaine S. Wilson from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, June 8. The exhibit features original watercolors and prints of ‘Birds-Eye Views’ of communities and sites along the Wolverine Amtrak Railroad line in Michigan. 

Maryland-based artist Elaine S. Wilson has spent years visiting the communities from Ann Arbor to Three Oaks, creating unique artwork along the way. The works she has done help document the communities’ unique features and character. 

According to Museum Director Steve Arseneau, “The Birds-Eye Views Elaine has created are reminiscent of the aerial maps created from the mid-1800s to early 1900s. Companies sent artists to cities across the globe to create sketched-out 3-D aerial maps and the works they created were accurate portrayals of a city at that point in time. Elaine has done the same thing with communities along the Amtrak line in Michigan.” 

“I have been working on this project for twelve years,” Wilson added. “I started at my home in Ann Arbor and slowly worked my way westward. I have been fascinated by all the backroads and interesting places and people I have met along the way.”

In addition to the exhibit, which will be displayed into the fall, Wilson is planning to host an art workshop at the museum later in the summer. The museum will provide details on the workshop in the coming months. 

The Open House for Charting the Wolverine: The Artwork of Elaine S. Wilson is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. The museum is at the corner of Division and West Railroad streets. For more information, call the museum at 783-2560 or visit www.dowagiacmuseum.info.