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summer
JUNE | ISSUE
TRA ARTist inspired cocktail guide
NO2 1
 Mary Rousseaux makes paintings and works on paper that
mary rousseaux
are built up through layers of paint overlaid with markmaking using pencil, pen, ink and resin. Rousseaux’s work conveys a layering and compression of time, space and place and is directly informed by the changing landscape of the city of Detroit. Her work continues to explore the ideas of memory and how they weave together to create our reality. She is an active member of the arts community and has exhibited in the city area for over 15 years. Her work can be found in many private and public collections, both national and international. In addition, her work has been included in publications such as Architectural Digest and Traditional Home and most recently has been featured in the Fox series Empire. She continues to influence and mentor emerging artist through her dedication as an educator, her open door studio policy, and her curatorial practice.
pimm's cup
Ingredients: 1 ½ ounces Pimm’s No.1 ½ ounce floral gin, such as Hendrick’s ½ ounce dry curaçao, such as Pierre Ferrand ¼ ounce fresh lemon juice 5 drops star anise tincture (recipe follows) About 2 ounces ginger beer, chilled For garnish, thinly sliced cucumbers, mint sprigs and assorted fresh fruit and veggies MIXOLOGY Combine the Pimm’s, gin, curaçao, lemon juice, and star anise tincture (if using) in a wineglass and stir to blend. Top with ginger beer and garnish. Makes one drink. To make a Pimm’s Royale, substitute champagne or sparkling wine for the ginger beer.
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katerina friday
Katerina Friday is a Russian-born artist with a background in drawing, painting, and animation. She received a BFA at the College for Creative Studies, where she studied traditional animation techniques, illustration, and multi-media. Her work ranges from representational to abstract and conceptual. Â Having grown up in Russia, she has lived in Detroit area for the last decade, and brings a cross-cultural approach to her art through multiple mediums.
smoky grapefruit gin and tonic
Ingredients 1 half-wheel slice of pink grapefruit 2 oz. gin 1⁄ 2 oz. grapefruit juice 2 oz. tonic 2 oz. soda Sea salt MIXOLOGY Build a medium-heat fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to medium. (Alternatively, heat a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high.) Place grapefruit on grill and cook, turning once, until lightly charred, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside. To an ice-filled rocks glass, add gin and grapefruit juice. Top with tonic and soda, and garnish with grilled grapefruit slice sprinkled with sea salt. SUMMER 2017•MIXED
Lenore Gimpert is a 1997 graduate of the Center for creative
lenore gimpert
studies, and received both her MA and MFA from Wayne State University. She has a strong love of history, particularly the Greek Hellenistic, Baroque and Rococo periods. The romance of these periods is portrayed in her paintings and drawings as we view the old and classical through her contemporary eye. Her work constantly is metamorphosed from classical statues, to wrought iron gates, to a combination of statues and gates or furniture details to corsets. She paints very different subjects, from varied times, with consistent elements of curves, femininity and romance. In her art she uses various materials and techniques to fuse the old and new. She emphasizes form over color. Her sparing use of color serves as a signature accent, to give her work an elegant ancient feeling.
sumac spritzer
Ingredients: 1 ½ ounces gin (preferably The Botanist) 1 ounce simple syrup Sumac soda (recipe follows) MIXOLOGY Combine the gin and simple syrup in a collins glass, then fill the glass with ice. Top off with sumac soda and stir. To make the sumac soda: This recipe requires a soda siphon, which carbonates liquids. Combine 2 cups dried sumac berries and 1 quart room-temperature water and stir vigorously for two minutes. Let the mixture sit for several hours (or overnight), until the infusion is dark pink in color. Strain the liquid through a coffee filter and refrigerate. Proceed with soda siphon as directed. Makes one quart.
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susan morosky
Susan Morosky's art develops from an abstract vocabulary inspired by the properties of water, fields, and their boundaries. She works to create a natural rhythm as a means to reflect spontaneous effects and the underlying forces as witnessed by the human spirit. In her work, the analysis takes place on the surface of the painting. Layers are continuously reformulated by adding and removing material. Surfaces are candidly penetrated revealing consequences, which become embedded to varying degrees in the final form, finding this process akin to natural forces upon the physical world. For Susan, making art is a journey to understand the natural world through the observance of movement, form, and color. It’s her approach to visual discovery.
bermuda hundred
Ingredients 1 1⁄ 2 oz. gin, preferably Commonwealth 1 1⁄ 2 oz. pineapple juice 3⁄ 4 oz. Campari 1⁄ 2 oz. fresh lime juice 1⁄ 2 oz. orgeat Brandied cherry, for garnish MIXOLOGY Combine gin, pineapple juice, Campari, lime juice, and orgeat in a cocktail shaker filled with ice; shake vigorously and strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass. Garnish with a cherry.
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Abstract Expressionist Al Newbill was raised in Detroit, where he attended the
al newbill
prestigious magnet school Cass Technical High School, and took classes at the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum. After serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II, Newbill headed for New York where he studied at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Hans Hofmann School of Fine Art, and the New School of Social Research. In 1957, Newbill showed at the New York Artists’ 6th Annual Exhibition alongside contemporaries Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning and Hans Hofmann. Two years later, Newbill exhibited at Leo Castelli gallery in New York City, in the same year that the famed gallery also showed Robert Rauschenberg and Frank Stella. After fifteen years in New York City, Newbill turned to teaching, taking various positions around the United States, including those at Cornell University and University of California, Berkley. Eventually, Newbill settled down in Ohio, taking a position at Ohio State University in Mansfield until his retirement in 1976. Sadly, Mr. Newbill recently passed away at the age of 91.
pisco grape cocktail
Ingredients 6 seedless white grapes One 2-inch piece of celery, plus one or two celery leaves 2 oz. pisco 1 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 oz. simple syrup 1⁄ 4 tsp. lime zest MIXOLOGY Reserve 2 grapes and the celery leaves, and muddle the remaining ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Pour over crushed ice, and garnish with the reserved grapes and leaves before serving.
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carl krabill
Carl Krabill was born in East Canton, Ohio in 1930. He graduated from East Canton High School in 1948 and attended Mount Union College, Alliance, Ohio, obtaining a degree in business administration in 1952. After graduating, he served four years in the U.S Air Force. Upon discharge in 1956, he enrolled in Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He returned to Ohio and enrolled in the Art Teachers’ Program at Kent State University, graduating in 1959. He then taught art in the Shaker Heights school system, Shaker Heights, Ohio from l960 through 1985. During this time, he studied with Ellen Johnson and Forbes Whiteside at Oberlin College. While at Oberlin, Ellen Johnson encouraged him in painting. Subsequently, he returned to Kent State for a Master’s Degree in Painting. He also has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art and Case Western Reserve University. After he retired from teaching in 1985, he began painting full-time. He had his first one-man show at the Cleveland Playhouse Gallery in 1967, and returned most recently in1995. He was the recipient of an American Council of Learned Societies’ grant, and was awarded a Juror’s Mention for painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art May Show in 1966.
friends with benifits
Ingredients: 4 cups ginger beer 2 cups fresh lemon juice 1 bottle (750 ml) rosé wine, chilled 1 bottle (750 ml) Cocchi Aperitivo Americano 10 dashes grapefruit bitters For garnish: Lemon wheels and assorted edible flowers MIXOLOGY Place 3 cups ice cubes (or a block of ice; see tip below) in a punch bowl. Add the ginger beer, lemon juice, rosé, Cocchi Aperitivo Americano and grapefruit bitters, and stir together gently. Serves four to six.
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jim stella
Jim Stella was born in Detroit in 1954 and was attracted to art from an early age. He attended University of Detroit Jesuit high school where he was inspired by art teacher Jim Bridenstien. In 1973 he attended Pratt Institute, NY where he studied sculpture and anatomy. He later returned to Michigan to attend the University of Michigan on a medical illustration scholarship. Stella graduated with high honors. He continued his artistic education at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, where he studied watercolor under the direction of Richard Jersey. He created a number of one-off projects involving mosaics and welding. For the better part of a decade, Jim left behind his formal training and embarked on the path of an outsider artist. Ultimately, he developed his style of large-format oil painting, which he has exhibited since the mid1990s. Stella™s compositions flow directly from his mind to canvas. As he puts it, "The representations in my paintings are drawn from everyday life, but they are reintegrated to reflect how I see them, perceive them, or remember them. And I like the large format because thoughts flow in a lot of different directions and fast. The size is designed to take up your field of view, yet contain small elements your mind can follow." Jim works out of Pyramid Heads Studio where he creates his unique and larger than life pieces of art.
vanilla and cherry bourbon cocktail
Ingredients For one drink: ½ cup fresh cherries, pitted ¼ teaspoon Nielsen-MasseyOrganic Fairtrade Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract 1.5 oz (one shot) bourbon 3 teaspoons superfine sugar (called 'Berry' sugar in Canada) 1 teaspoon lemon juice ice cubes club soda (1/4 cup or so) MIXOLOGY In the bottom of a glass, combine the cherries, vanilla extract, bourbon, sugar and lemon juice. Muddle together until cherries are broken and juices are released (you can use the back of a wooden spoon if you don't have a muddler). Top with ice cubes and a small splash of club soda.
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mimi prussack
 My intention is to use nature as a springboard for the exploration of space. I concentrate my attention on scenery I have personally experienced to study space and light. In order to study the complexities of the shapes found in nature I experiment with cropping photographs of the landscape. I am concerned with the direction, brightness, and angle of the light. How the trees are illuminated and the resulting shadows affect the way the light is transmitted onto the neighboring surfaces. The rhythmic patterns of the shadows and negative spaces become the focus of the work. A colorful underpainting is applied and the surface is slowly built up with numerous layers of paint and glazes. Many areas are carefully painted to allow the previous layers of color to show through from beneath the surface. The use of a limited palate at the onset aids in expressing space and natural light. This adds to the vibration and illumination of the surface. The use of an elongated format adds to the drama of the work.
watermelon-basil cocktail
Ingredients 1⁄ 2 oz. fresh lime juice 1⁄ 2 oz. simple syrup 4 (1-inch) cubes yellow watermelon flesh 4 fresh basil leaves 2 oz. tequila 1⁄ 2 oz. yellow Chartreuse MIXOLOGY In a cocktail shaker, combine the lime juice and zest with the syrup, watermelon, and 3 basil leaves. Using a muddler, crush the ingredients and then add the tequila, yellow chartreuse, and ice. Cover and shake vigorously for 15 seconds, and then strain into a collins glass filled with ice. Garnish the cocktail with the remaining basil leaf before serving.
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alan watson
Alan Watson is a painter, photographer, assemblage artist and printmaker. He was born in Detroit and raised in nearby Redford Township. Watson’s family appreciated culture. After seeing his father take art classes, Watson started painting himself. His first subject was impressionist style landscapes. Later, as a teenager, he developed an interest in abstraction. He also began exhibiting in galleries at age 18. His love of painting led him to choosing art as a career. Watson recieved a BFA from Wayne State University in 1990. It was at Wayne that Watson developed his signature “pull tape” technique that he employs in his abstract paintings to this day. While comleting a painting assignment about shape and form, he was inspired by the clean lines left on the canvas after the tape was removed. After experimenting with the ways that tape created negative and positive space, he began incorporating factory made stickers into his painting process. This inclusion of “ready-made” objects opened up further possibilities to create interesting shapes and effects. He developed this technique further while getting his MFA from Wishita State University in Kansas.
everything is coming up rose
Ingredients 1⁄ 2 cups dry rosé wine 3⁄ 4 cup brewed hibiscus tea, chilled 3⁄ 4 cup Lillet Rosé 1⁄ 3 cup plus 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice, plus wheels for garnish 1⁄ 3 cup plus 1 tbsp. simple syrup 3 tbsp. Aperol Sparkling wine, for serving Edible flowers, for garnish Grapefruit slices, for garnish MIXOLOGY Combine wine, tea, Lillet, lemon juice, simple syrup, and Aperol in a pitcher. Divide between 4–6 ice-filled glasses and top each with 1–2 oz. sparkling wine. Garnish with lemon wheels, edible flowers, and grapefruit slices.
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paul mansky
Mansky uses an archaic process call “platinum palladium printing”. It is the oldest exposure process in the world. Platinum printing’s origins come from a man named Sir John Herschal, who in 1832 discovered that when you expose certain platinum compounds to light they can be reduced. In 1873 William Willis was able to create the process of platinum exposure and printing. Mansky's work explores the shifts of light and the etherial qualities of the landscape. He captures the moody almost human qualities and builds a narrative within the natural environment. The viewer becomes on with the landscape as they become vehicles for reflection
the soul train
Cardamom Simple Syrup 25 lightly crushed green cardamom pods Cheesecloth and kitchen twine, for steeping 1 1⁄2 cups sugar 1 cup water Cocktail 2 oz. Suerte Blanco tequila 3⁄4 oz. cardamom simple syrup 3⁄4 oz. freshly squeezed grapefruit juice 1⁄4 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice, plus lime slice for garnish MIXOLOGY For the syrup: Wrap cardamom in cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine into a tight packet; set aside. Combine sugar and water in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add cheesecloth packet. Let syrup cool completely and chill overnight. Remove packet and refrigerate syrup until ready to use. For the cocktail: Combine tequila, syrup, and juices in an ice-filled shaker. Strain into a rocks glass with 1 large cube; garnish with lime slice. SUMMER 2017•MIXED
Mark Wolak claims he has always been an artist. This statement
mark wolak
goes far beyond Mark's focus of painting. Mark began drawing before he was ten, studied guitar and martial arts through high school, and made a short career as a musician in his 20's. Disillusionment with the music industry brought him full circle to rediscover the visual arts again. Mark began began drawing again years after he originally put down the pencil as a child. Mark created a method of working which is uniquely his own. Mark makes each and every canvas unique. He rarely repeats himself. His canvases are each unique in size. This nuance gives each work its own character and helps Mark to create individual statements each time he works. His unique method involves painting "wet on wet", which means he never allows the painting to dry while he is working. He rarely uses brushes. He prefers to use found objects, sticks, and other "tools" to get the desired effect.
if you like pina colada
Ingredients 3⁄ 4 oz. pineapple juice 1⁄ 2 oz. coconut syrup 1⁄ 2 oz. fresh lime juice 1⁄ 2 oz. Green Chartreuse 1⁄ 2 oz. Linie aquavit 1⁄ 2 oz. rye, preferably Michter's 1⁄ 4 oz. Velvet Falernum 3 dashes Angostura bitters Pineapple fronds, to garnish MIXOLOGY Combine pineapple juice, syrup, lime juice, chartreuse, aquavit, rye, and velvet falernum in a hurricane glass filled with crushed ice and stir; top with bitters and garnish with pineapple fronds.
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paul varga Born in Detroit to parents of Hungarian ancestry, Paul's family resided in suburban Chicago and later returned to the Detroit area during his childhood years. In this impressionable time frame he would visit the Art Institute of Chicago and later during high school years, the Detroit Institute of Art. His interest in many art forms was nurtured at Central Michigan University where he received a BA in Art education and an MA in Art, with a concentration in sculpture. Although he finds drawing and printmaking to be quite rewarding facets in art, most of his studio time is concentrated on sculpture. From the early 1970's to present he has balanced the careers of Art teacher and sculptor. His teaching career has taken him to four high schools throughout Michigan from the Detroit area to Marquette County. In 2008 he retired from teaching to concentrate his energy on sculpture. In 2009 he was commissioned to create a nine foot bronze sculpture that was installed by Lake Michigan.
the sabbath
Ingredients 1 1⁄ 2 oz. Cruzan Black Strap rum 1 oz. cold brew coffee, preferably Stumptown 1⁄ 2 oz. St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram 1⁄ 2 oz. sweetened condensed milk 2 dashes Fee Brothers aztec chocolate bitters MIXOLOGY Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice; shake vigorously, then strain into an old fashioned glass filled with ice.
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frank gallo Frank Gallo has worked primarily from the human form. The sculptor was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1933. He studied art from 1951 to 1959 at the University of Toledo, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and the State University of Iowa. Gallo was professor of sculpture at the University of Illinois. Gallo's works are often mildly erotic, with elongated figures that may sit or recline in postures suggesting extremes of boredom or self-involvement. Often distorting his life-like figures Gallo has commented, "I'm obsessed with the female figure. I get static from some women - you know, women's lib- who say that I capitalize on them. But that's not fair. What I express in these pieces is worship, not exploitation. I'm interested in the beauty of the female figure, and I'm trying to express it, the way I feel it." Museums with works by Frank Gallo include: The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Grace Museum, Sara Roby Foundation Collection, Neuberger Museum of Art, National Portrait Gallery, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Dennos Museum Center, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
black velvet
INGREDIENTS 4 ounces (1/2 cup) chilled Champagne or prosecco 2 ounces (1/4 cup) chilled Guinness Extra Stout
MIXOLOGY 1 Pour the Champagne into a flute or other tall glass. 2 Pour the Guinness on top. (Guinness is heavier. If you mix it the other way around, it won't combine evenly and will need to be stirred.)
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TRA ART GROUP TRA Art Group was formed in 1989 by owner Tim Pike. Tim has over 30 years of experience as an art dealer in the Midwest. Over the years, Tim has collected a core group of talented Michigan artists who create works in all medias including Painting, Sculpture, Digital, Printmaking, Wood Working, Metal Work and Forging, Glass, Ceramic, and more. TRA has a specific focus on promoting Michigan art, artists, and artisans, but we show work from around the globe. Names such as Miro, Picasso, Calder, Kahn, ect. are also available through TRA's network of contacts. The client can personalize any piece of art using our Custom Framing services. We have a list of experienced and professional Art Installers and Movers who can help facilitate one piece, or an entire collection, around the country.
1030 N Crooks Rd, Suite R | Clawson, MI 48017 | 248.677.4008 | traartgroup@gmail.com
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