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Resident Artists and Theater Companies: Michigan Classical Repertory Theatre Some of our friends and colleagues: Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority Ypsilanti Convention and Visitors Bureau Ann Arbor Area
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Riverside Arts Center, Summer, 2007, Newsletter Winners announced for “It Grows on Trees” The exhibition has been a tremendous success. Organizer Gendler hopes it can be repeated and expanded in future years.
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James Freeman of Manitou Beach earned First Prize for his “Firewood Suite – Table,” made from cherry and wind fallen maple branches. Second Prize was awarded to Jeff Salter of Ann Arbor for his unique sculpture “What’s It?,” created from maple and walnut waste wood and firewood pieces. Monroe resident Jim Crammond received Third Prize for his “Windsor Highchair,” made from dead ash, cherry, and elm trees from Ypsilanti, Brighton, and Blissfield. Honorable Mention went to Aaron Reimers of Grand Rapids for his “It’s All Right, It’s Just a Rental House” birdhouse crafted from salvaged pallet wood. Gary Rednour of Milan received the Ash Turning Prize for his Heart Bowl, made from ash from a backyard tree. 
Jurors for the competition were Raymond Wetzel, a furniture-maker, mixed-media artist, exhibition designer, and adjunct professor in the crafts department at the College for Creative Studies; Nelson Smith, a painter and multi-media artist, chair of the art department at Marygrove College; and Jessica Simons, ash program coordinator at the Southeast Michigan Resource Conservation & Development Council (SEMI-RCD), which sponsored the competition through funding by the USDA Forest Service’s Wood Education & Resource Center. The competition’s goal was to demonstrate how trees damaged by the Emerald ash borer and other salvaged or undervalued wood might be used positively. 
The show included 27 pieces by 17 Michigan artists, ranging from sculpture to bowls to furniture. The display also featured the work of Gendler, who organized the competition.