February 4, 2004
Restaurant employees display their creative side
North Peak gallery features art created by four workers
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
North Peak Brewing Company threw its hat into the local gallery ring last March when it inaugurated an artistic showcase.
From now through March 2, the gallery features artwork from four North Peak employees: Danielle Majszak, Meagan Thomas, Ken Lester and Shawn Lane. These three servers and a cook find time among their busy foodservice careers to take photos, paint, sculpt and draw. All 20-something artists, they are pleased to have their work featured in the gallery.
"It is just such an awesome opportunity," said Meagan Thomas, a city resident who has studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design and Northwestern Michigan College. "It wasn't hard to choose what to put in because most of my stuff in my portfolio has to do with my classes."
Thomas, an artist all her life, has seven items in her first-ever show. She is thrilled that the exposure has generated two sales and two commissions, the latter something she had not even hoped for.
Majszak is also new to showing in a gallery, displaying five of her photographs on the walls of North Peak.
"It's been a lot of fun, I've never had my artwork displayed before," said Majszak, who has studied photography at Northwestern Michigan College. "I chose a couple of my pictures that my photography teacher had looked at and keeps telling me she wants to enter in an art show."
Despite her busy work schedule, Majszak said that finding time and inspiration for her art is easy.
"I have a dog and when I'm out walking my dog or driving around in the summer, I take photos," she said. "I used to develop the photos myself but I don't have access to a lab right now."
Every two months, the restaurant's back room gets a new look as a different show comes in, thanks to the effort of Lori Wilcox of Cedar. Wilcox connected with restaurant general manager Mary Pat Compagnari last year and the walls soon featured a variety of area artists. Coincidentally, Compagnari had already been thinking about artwork for a while.
"The back room used to need something and, being the general manager, I didn't want to spend anything," she recalled.
Compagnari contacted the Interlochen Arts Academy and a local high school, looking for some works to put up. She struck out but soon heard from Wilcox and is pleased with the collaboration, believing the gallery enhances the restaurant's atmosphere.
"Lori somehow heard of me and called," said Compagnari, noting that the employee show is her favorite. "I just think the gallery is fun, it is a real nice colorful addition to the back room."
Wilcox recruits the artists and coordinates the shows, with the current show being the gallery's sixth one.
"We've had quite an array, it's an odd place and not really well lit for the art but the back wall is brick," said Wilcox, whose work was featured in a previous show. "It took about two months of planning to get it okayed, but I stuck with Mary Pat and all the rules."
She said that North Peak hosts some of the typical gallery events every time a new show opens.
"They always have one open house to meet the artist and they put a nice little buffet out," Wilcox added. "They make postcard invitations to send out."