ArtPrize 2021: Introducing John Katerberg

Behind the Artwork

Postcards from Home installation by John Katerberg

John Katerberg, a purple heart recipient, is a combat veteran of Desert Storm and Afghanistan. After being medically retired from the Army in 2013, John returned to Kendall College of Art and Design and earned a B.F.A. in fine art with a painting concentration.

Although a lifelong resident of Western Michigan, John moved to Florida for two years, where he took an active role in the art communities of Tampa, Sarasota, Cedar Key, and Saint Petersburg. John was also an art instructor at the Veterans Art Center Tampa Bay, with primary teaching locations at the Pinellas County Jail and West Care addiction recovery program.

By sharing the transformative power of art, John mentors many people struggling through the lowest time in their lives. Currently, John is developing a relationship with the Falkenberg Jail in Florida. He plans to teach art to incarcerated veterans via Zoom.

Postcards from Home

Postcards from Home is a three-sided display of three 72 x 36-in. paintings of Michigan scenes. This piece is unique to the art world, as it combines both acrylic and oil paint on a foundation of polished brass. When the realistic painting is nearly finished, John uses pneumatic and electric grinders, as well as engraving hand tools, to reveal polished brass. Coated with an automotive clearcoat, the art is completely waterproof.

As the viewer interacts with and experiences the work, the paint surface appears to move and change. The title, Postcards from Home, honors the tradition of sending postcards, photos, and letters to members of the military to remind them of the places and people they love. Memory of these places helped John endure stressful and dangerous situations when he was deployed to war.

Our new type of ArtPrize venue gives veterans a voice as they share their stories of struggle and healing through art.

Postcards from Home is showcasing at Veterans Memorial Park

A special thanks to Kent County Veterans Services, Zero Day, Finish the Mission, West Michigan Veterans Coalition, and Healing in Arts for making this collaboration of veteran stories possible.

ArtPrize 2021: Introducing Walter Marshall

Behind the Artwork

SteepleChase installation by Walter Marshall

Walter V. Marshall served in the USMC during the Iraqi war, and he has won three Emmy Awards as a videographer. His military experiences and Christian faith allowed him to balance the difficult concepts of death and sacrifice. Walter uses photography and film to capture perishable moments. The Detroit Institute of Arts featured his early work, which was critiqued by late Harlem Renaissance photographer Gordon Parks. Currently, besides working as a videographer, Walter enjoys biking adventures with his wife and three children. Through his life of service as a veteran and follower of Christ, Walter aims to inspire others.

SteepleChase

People are like steeples. They can encourage in times of despair, like the belfry. They can serve as guiding lights when we are lost, like the lantern, they can give perspectives to avoid falling in adverse times, like the watchtower, and they can inspire us to live in service to one another and God, like the spire. SteepleChase is an exploration of Michigan steeples combined with inspirational messages to give rise to a higher calling of service to the world.

Our new type of ArtPrize venue gives veterans a voice as they share their stories of struggle and healing through art.

SteepleChase is showcasing at Veterans Memorial Park

A special thanks to Kent County Veterans Services, Zero Day, Finish the Mission, West Michigan Veterans Coalition, and Healing in Arts for making this collaboration of veteran stories possible.

ArtPrize 2021: Introducing Ron Leigh

Behind the Artwork

Marching Behind Heroes installation by Ron Leigh

Following his military service, U.S. Navy veteran Ron Leigh eventually ended up at Silver Star Apartments, a housing facility for homeless veterans located in Battle Creek, Michigan. In 2013, while attending Kellogg Community College, Ron studied art, and he created a recreational-based program for Silver Star. The program focused on helping veterans develop positive friendships through music lessons, chess, and video games.

Ron wanted to encourage other veterans to experience community without the aid of alcohol or drugs. After graduating from Siena Heights University with a notable 4.0 GPA, Ron also volunteered at God’s Kitchen, a soup kitchen for the community. Today, Ron works as an outreach case manager, while he continues to create art, serve other veterans, and help the homeless community.

Marching Behind Heroes

After veteran Ron Leigh enrolled at Kellogg Community College, he became interested in art. Before long, Ron developed his own concepts, incorporating many effective creative strategies. His Marching Behind Heroes project, a time-based, site-specific installation, involves the transition of shadows from sunrise to sunset. Symbolically, this continual movement of light throughout the day causes the shadows to appear to be walking across the sidewalk or grass.

The conceptual work also invites the viewer to reflect on a veteran’s sacrificial journey. Ron earned recognition through this very ambitious project, and he continues to explore artistic expression and community engagement. By utilizing art to develop positive outreach, Ron offers the viewer an opportunity to experience empathy—Marching Behind Heroes.

Our new type of ArtPrize venue gives veterans a voice as they share their stories of struggle and healing through art.

Marching Behind Heroes is showcasing at Veterans Memorial Park

A special thanks to Kent County Veterans Services, Zero Day, Finish the Mission, West Michigan Veterans Coalition, and Healing in Arts for making this collaboration of veteran stories possible.

ArtPrize 2021: Introducing Frits Hoendervanger

Behind the Artwork

I'm Still Here - Oil painting by Frits Hoendervanger

Born in the Netherlands in 1947, Frits became interested in art at an early age. His family first immigrated to Canada, and he became a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists at age fifteen. The family later immigrated to the USA, and before becoming a citizen, he was drafted to serve in Vietnam. Self-taught with no formal art school training, Hoendervanger has received numerous awards for his hyper-realistic paintings and standard of excellence.

He is also represented in many public and private collections, including the Michigan Governor’s mansion and the collection of former President Gerald R. Ford. His mural depicting the history of the Grand Rapids Press, previously displayed in the former Press Building lobby, is now part of the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s permanent collection. In 2011, Hoendervanger won the Grand Prize in The Artist’s Magazine’s annual All Media Competition. The winning painting was his ArtPrize 2010 entry. He won 3rd place for his 2012 ArtPrize painting, “Rebirth of Spring.”

The following year, he was commissioned to paint a 25 foot mural for a veteran’s facility in Battle Creek, which was praised by Governor Rick Snyder at the ribbon cutting ceremony on Veterans Day in 2013. As a U.S. Army veteran himself, Hoendervanger’s art continues to stir the audience’s imagination with beauty and grace. Most recently, Hoendervanger was selected to participate in the National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society 2021 “Best of America” Small Works National Juried Exhibition, winning the award of excellence.

I’m Still Here

Fifty years after fighting in the Vietnam War, and a short period of homelessness, I still struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and memory issues. Recently, after learning about the relationship between PTSD, Agent Orange, and Alzheimer’s for Vietnam veterans, I painted “I’m Still Here.” The 48 x 72 inch oil on canvas painting depicts my father-in-law’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

As I watched the dreadful disease steal away Morley’s health, while fighting my own internal battle, our connection grew closer. “I’m Still Here” represents the loss of Morley and my ongoing health issues, but it also serves as a remembrance of all the veterans and loved ones who have lost their lives to Alzheimer’s. Decades later, though my struggles are very real, life has been good, so I try not to let PTSD be the focus of my daily life.

Our new type of ArtPrize venue gives veterans a voice as they share their stories of struggle and healing through art.

I’m Still Here is showcasing at Veterans Memorial Park

A special thanks to Kent County Veterans Services, Zero Day, Finish the Mission, West Michigan Veterans Coalition, and Healing in Arts for making this collaboration of veteran stories possible.

ArtPrize 2021: Introducing Artist and Co-Curator Pamela Alderman

Behind the Artwork

Decorated broken tree sculptures for Pamela Alderman's ArtPrize 2021 Yellow Ribbon installation

As a veteran wife and military mom, I designed a responsive piece called Yellow Ribbon, in partnership with Kent County Veterans Services, to honor our veterans. But this year, my expanding ArtPrize role included coaching twenty-one veterans in creating their own ArtPrize entries at Veterans Memorial Park. Each of these ArtPrize entries tells the veteran’s story—dealing with homelessness, PTSD, military sexual trauma, and veteran suicide. With the oldest veteran of our group turning 90, our veterans from World War II, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan represent diverse unity.

Although composed of separate ArtPrize entries, our collaborative venue offers freedom of creativity, despite the veterans’ injuries or lack of artistic training. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be introducing the healing art and artists from our new type of ArtPrize venue, where veterans come together to share the story of struggle—speaking hope into their darkest conflicts.

Yellow Ribbon

Yellow Ribbon around tree

Families tie yellow ribbons around trees to represent support for military loved ones returning home; the yellow ribbon also symbolizes suicide prevention. Expanding these traditions, I designed a veteran collaboration, called Yellow Ribbon, in partnership with Kent County Veterans Services. The broken, abstract trees portray the veterans’ resilience despite the long-term effects of PTSD, military sexual trauma, and veteran suicide. Dozens of veterans and their families, ranging in age from 2 to 92, helped sponge-paint the background.

The work also features four 8 x 10 paintings created by veterans. Exhibit visitors are invited to write uplifting notes on yellow ribbons and tie them to the trees, to honor and thank the veterans for their sacrifice. Following the exhibition, the Blue Star Mothers, a support group for military moms, will include the yellow ribbons in care packages for deployed soldiers.

Veteran workshop for creating Yellow Ribbon for ArtPrize

Our new type of ArtPrize venue gives veterans a voice as they share their stories of struggle and healing through art.

Yellow Ribbon is showcasing at Veterans Memorial Park.

A special thanks to Kent County Veterans Services, Zero Day, Office Max in Grandville, and Healing in Arts for making this collaboration of veteran stories possible.

ArtPrize 2021: The Yellow Ribbon Story

Behind the Artwork

Veteran workshop for creating Yellow Ribbon for ArtPrize

The initial concept for Yellow Ribbon took root, in partnership with Kent County Veterans Services, as we set our sights on ArtPrize 2020. Over the next few months, this community-based work involved ten veteran art workshops across West Michigan. We initially planned six workshops, but the interest level kept growing; veterans and their families felt excited to be part of this ArtPrize project.

In early 2020, the first workshop, sponsored by 92 for 22, swelled to capacity with eager vets and their loved ones. At the American Legion in Caledonia, Michigan, Vietnam veterans, along with their grandchildren, produced some beautiful art pieces. Female veterans gathered in Greenville, and aging vets from Grand Rapids Veterans Home also participated. The following month, more than 70 enthusiastic vets, along with their spouses, parents, siblings, and children, crammed into the historic American Legion in Marne to create art.

Veteran workshop for creating Yellow Ribbon for ArtPrize

As the pandemic emerged, the workshops came to a halt. But later in the summer, when the spread of COVID-19 slowed, we met outside with Veterans Upward Bound and WINC (For All Women Veterans), for the next phase of the work. In keeping with social distance protocols, each veteran or family group worked at a separate table and helped paint the background of the large wooden panels. Meanwhile, at Breton Woods of Holland Home, the elderly veterans received personal art kits to create their art pieces within the safety of their own rooms.

Veteran workshop for creating Yellow Ribbon for ArtPrize

Although we faced a pandemic, national political unrest, and the cancellation of ArtPrize 2020, we continued to find alternative ways to safely engage veterans. Everyone appreciated the camaraderie and the chance to be part of something bigger than themselves. As ArtPrize regrouped for 2021, the Yellow Ribbon project proved to be an important opportunity to help galvanize the West Michigan veteran community—especially during such extraordinary times.

Veteran workshop for creating Yellow Ribbon for ArtPrize

We would like to express hearty appreciation to the following organizations for their collaborative involvement in the Yellow Ribbon art workshops:

An Artist’s Story

Behind the Artwork

Photos from Pamela's Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind, Broken Wings, and Open Hands projects

Healing in Arts 2021

Through my art, I’m on a healing journey with the audience. Art provides another way to resolve our inner conflicts. My work—as an artist without borders—extends outside the usual boundary lines of working through a gallery or an agent, as I create hands-on projects that focus on creative care. Somehow, God uses the heap of emotional wounds piled up in my heart to deepen the impact of this art and to help spread hope and healing to others.

We are grateful that more than fifty people joined our Zoom Chat series. The link below gives a peek into the virtual series; this one focuses on my artist’s journey. Enjoy!

Pamela’s Work

Over 350,000 individuals have participated in Pamela’s hands-on installations over the first ten years of ArtPrize. Drawing on her own journey towards restoration, her popular work continues to expand to new communities, focusing on finding solutions to life’s challenges. Contact Pamela today to commission an interactive exhibit, virtual experience, or inspiring presentation—utilizing art as a healing tool.