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By Hilary Salvas
ROSCOMMON – A Kirtland Community College faculty member, who was recently selected to compete for the world's largest art prize in Grand Rapids earlier this month, will be the featured artist at the first-ever “Celebration of Fine Art!” in Roscommon on Friday through Sunday, Oct. 23-25.
Kirtland officials, with assistance from organizations including the Pen & Palette Group in Higgins Lake, have invited area artisans to display their creative efforts at the fine arts exhibition that will take place at two venues – the AuSable River Center and the Roscommon County Annex, both located in the Village of Roscommon – this weekend.
 Justin La Doux, a 27-year-old part-time instructor at Kirtland Community College, will be the featured artist at the first-ever “Celebration of Fine Art!” in Roscommon on Friday through Sunday, Oct. 23-25. Above, La Doux stands next to his LION, which he entered in the first-ever ArtPrize International competition in Grand Rapids. The LION is made of various pieces of scrap metal and assembled using a mig and arch welder. It stands six-feet high, about three-feet wide and eight-feet long.
The three-day event during the fall color change will actually consist of two parts, with a small works exhibition at the AuSable River Center on North Main Street and a fine arts show for larger and more distinctive pieces at the Roscommon County Annex on South Fourth Street, adjacent to the CRAF Center.
Justin La Doux, a part-time instructor at KCC, was selected as the featured artist for the first-ever fine arts event. La Doux recently entered one of his pieces for a $250,000 art prize. His original art work, LION, was chosen from more than 1,700 applicants to be a participant in the first-ever ArtPrize International competition.
The competition is described as “unprecedented” in the ArtPrize media kit because the public decides who wins by registering at the event during a two-week period. All the exhibits occupied hundreds of venues within a three-square-mile area in the Grand Rapids downtown riverfront district.
La Doux, 27, was made aware of the international art competition by Scott Rice, an art instructor at Kirtland. Although La Doux is skilled in many different art forms, he decided to make his entry with a relatively new medium to him – welding, using all recycled materials.
The difficult part was deciding what exactly he wanted to create. La Doux and Rice tossed around the idea of a moose or a dragon. La Doux even crafted a sculpture of a Great Blue Heron. He felt, however, that his heron, while impressive, was not of sufficient size and complexity to compete for the top prize.
That’s when LION was born.
La Doux’s LION is, to put it mildly, stunning in design, structure and stature. Made of various pieces of scrap metal and assembled using a mig and arch welder, the LION stands six-feet high, about three-feet wide and eight-feet long.
But the size of La Doux’s work is not its most remarkable feature. Rather, it is the seemingly endless layers, of what some would call junk or tools, and textural differences that could keep a viewer inspecting and appreciating LION for hours on end.
Where you think there will be hollow space upon closer inspection, you find muscles made from car parts, saw blades, and farm equipment. Where at first you simply see a sharp-toothed roaring jaw, you realize his jaw is formed from a cheese grater and what appears to be some type of Victorian looking grating.
La Doux estimates the creation of LION took about 100 hours to complete. And he hopes the layering will provide the visual eye candy to keep voters talking and thinking about his entry. He also hopes to bring attention to recycling in ways many people hadn’t considered.
The KCC instructor and paraprofessional is a big recycling fan. La Doux once found an old muffler along side the road and turned it into an alligator. He finds his materials not only discarded on roads but also at Goodwill, St. Vincent DePaul’s and the Salvation Army. LION’s back bone was partially structured from an antique scale from his grandparent’s farm.
“I feel that this sculpture is a good way to help people think in a more positive way on how we can make a difference,” La Doux said in his work statement for LION. “The biggest benefit for me with using recycled items in my art is that most of the items are cheap, free and will not end up in a landfill.”
While La Doux’s creative efforts have made him the featured artist at the upcoming Celebration of Fine Art, organizers are sure that those attending the three-day event will find many other pieces that will also capture their eye.
“The purpose is to showcase the exceptional level of artistic talent and creativity available in the area, as well as provide a venue for local artisans to display and sell their products,” said KCC president Dr. Tom Quinn.
The show will include works by artists from Otsego, Roscommon, Crawford, Ogemaw and Oscoda counties. The college will display the items at the two venues in Roscommon, which will be open to the public. Refreshments will also be available during all three days of the event. There is no charge to attend, though donations will be accepted.
The Celebration of Fine Art! includes a reception from 4-7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, at the AuSable River Center. Planned hours for the weekend are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, and then 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25.
For more information on the fine art show, visit online at www.kirtland.edu or call 989-275-5000, extension 388.
Annually, about 3,200 students attend a variety of certificate and two-year degree programs at Kirtland’s three locations – near Roscommon, and the Michigan Technical Education Center (M-TEC) in Gaylord and in West Branch – with the college’s service area including all or parts of Crawford, Oscoda, Ogemaw, Roscommon, Otsego, Kalkaska, Missaukee, Gladwin and Alcona counties, and the surrounding areas.
– Hilary Salvas of Rose City is a staff writer for the Kirtland Zine, Kirtland Community College’s student magazine.
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