Mike Sohikian, a retired ironworker, has been a member of the Bridge and Structural Ironworkers Local 55 for 37 years.  He has had a lifetime of love and appreciation for art, but did not begin his art career until 1995. Since then, he has garnered acclaim and numerous prestigious awards and recognition for his paintings and sculptures.  Sohikian is best known for taking salvaged steel to new heights with impressive and innovative concepts.  He assembles industrial materials as well as reworks the materials into fascinating forms. 

This sculpture is the third of four we have in our program this year.

Mike lives in Genoa, OH.  Mike has 4 sculptures in our program this year.  When we select the sculptures, we do not know who the artist is; just that we like the sculpture.

Check out some of his work at

https://www.facebook.com/russel.sohikian

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are now plenty of sunny days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in October 2025 – 2026 and be sure to like us on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99 

The Bee Reader sculpture at the evolving MCEP Pollinator Park was installed in July of 2024.  It will be open to extend gifts of small paperback books for young readers and mature readers. Each month the Bee Reader will have two paperback books available. One geared for younger readers and one for mature readers. Please come and check it out. Each month’s selection will be available on the MCEP website with the book’s description.  If for some reason the books are not there just call us on 586 783 6008 and we will replenish the stock.

May Bee Reader Books

Spot-the-Differences Dinosaurs

By Fran Newman D’Amico

This entertaining little activity book is chock-full of prehistoric beasts for young puzzle fans. Dinosaur lovers can identify the differences between two detailed pictures of Anatosaurus, Triceratops, and 25 other dinosaur duos. Each whimsical illustration can also be colored for even more fun. Solutions appear at the end.

The Ultimate Maze Book

By Galen Wadzinski

Entertain and challenge your brain with this bonanza of puzzles. Thirty mind-boggling mazes, created by a master maze designer, include labyrinths involving 3-D constructions, directional arrows, over-and-under structures, as well as key mazes, surface mazes, designated stops, and much more.
The puzzles are designed around clever themes and are categorized by difficulty into five levels–from “No Brainers” that take about five to ten minutes to solve, to “Full Brain Overload,” mazes that might take hours to find a solution. (A picture of a brain with varying amounts of gray matter appears next to each maze to indicate its level of difficulty.)

There is also a “hints section” that provides clues for all but a few of the easiest puzzles. Use the hints section if you get stuck, but working the easier mazes will help you solve the more difficult ones. So, grab a pencil and a-Maze yourself!

This is the last of three sculptures by this artist in our collection.  Jonathan Bowling grew up on a small farm in Kentucky, where the Appalachian Mountains melt into the rolling hills of the Bluegrass. His first sculptural efforts were the simple games of childhood–fieldstone castles, a bridle of hay twine, a driftwood armada. As a teenager in the late eighties, Bowling lived in Belgium, where he had access to the museums of Western Europe. On his return to the states, he attended the University of Kentucky where he received his BFA in sculpture and a BA in art history. In 1996 he moved to Greenville, North Carolina, to pursue an MFA in sculpture at East Carolina University in 1999. He has been working out of Greenville ever since. Bowling has shown extensively in the Eastern United States, which has resulted in a number of long-term lease agreements and sales to municipalities and private collectors.

For the past 12 years I have been focused on public art, largely farm animals. These pieces are made with the intention of staying outdoors in a public area without the need for extensive maintenance. The materials I use are often from the turn of the last century, which I feel is appropriate for depicting animals so intertwined with our agrarian past. Repurposed steel provides a sound structure which allows me to work on a scale that lends itself to public spaces.

Check out more of his work at: https://jonathanbowling.com and on https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.s.bowling

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are now plenty of sunny days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in October 2025 – 2026 and be sure to like us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99

11

The Bonior Tree sculpture was initiated by a small group of supporters who conceived, funded, and commissioned the sculpture in 2023.  It was designed and erected by the Nordin brothers who grew up in Sterling Heights.  The tree is a symbol of the Bonior years of passing out seedlings which over the lifetime of the project numbered over a million seedlings.  To this day you can find people who will show you the tree they or their family planted.  Bonior was a key supporter of environmental causes.  In fact, Bonior prevented the banks of the Clinton River from being paved with concrete up and down the river from the very spot where the sculpture now stands.

Next to the tree is a small monument which enumerates the many legislative efforts Bonior worked on during his time in the Congress.

The area around the sculpture is being planted and landscaped by MCEP volunteers.  They were given a raw site that will be developed step by step.  This spring plant signage will appear for visitors benefit.  Native plants are a priority even though our friend the ground ho found the first plantings most desirable, and we are now shifting to a less desirable menu of native plants.

You can find out more about the Nordin brothers by visiting their website and Facebook pages: https://www.detroitdesigncenter.com/ and at https://www.facebook.com/nordinbrothers

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are plenty of sunny, spring days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send  a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in  October 2025 – 2026.  Have a friend who may want to join us?  Ask them and if yes, send us their name, address, phone number and email address (if they have one).  We are always looking for additional friends to help bring art and beauty to our community.

Be sure to like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99/

Daffodils

The daffodil is easily recognized for its bright yellow, abundantly growing blooms, in early spring. If just looking at these yellow flowers makes you smile and feel a glow inside, you are not alone. Daffodils are not only a well-recognized symbol of spring, but they also symbolize rebirth, new beginnings, hope and joy! They celebrate the arrival of spring and the end of winter.

Because they emerge from bulbs, with the warmth of spring, and after the cold of winter is over, they are powerful symbols of renewal and a fresh start. Because of their cheerful appearance, they do make us feel optimistic and happy and are known as a symbol of hope and joy. Because they have survived the long, cold winter, year after year, sometimes under snow and ice and other harsh conditions, they also represent resilience. And if that is not enough, their unique shape and vibrant yellow color are believed to inspire creativity and imagination.

In some cultures, daffodils bring good luck and prosperity. They are the birth flower for the month of March, and the flower for the 10th wedding anniversary. Because they are believed to instill hope, the American Cancer Association chose the humble daffodil as their official symbol in hoping for a cure. It is also a flower associated with Easter, representing not only renewal of life, but also the hope of eternal salvation.

Daffodils are easy to grow, and once planted they will usually come back, year after year; however, it is best to wait until fall, late September to early November, before the ground freezes, to plant them. Choose a sunny location, or partial shade, and dig a hole about six inches deep, placing the bulb pointy end up and bulbs about five to six inches apart. Water well, but be sure the soil is well-drained. Daffodils cannot survive in soggy conditions.

After the flowers are done blooming, cut back the stem, but leave the foliage to die back naturally. This will allow the bulb to store energy for next year’s blooms. When you plant your daffodil bulbs, plant a bunch of them, which symbolizes good luck and happiness, as a single daffodil symbolizes misfortune. Where it is often the custom to gift a single rose, do not extend the custom to the daffodil family.

The botanical name for the daffodil is narcissus. In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a young man known for his beauty. He was tricked into falling in love with his own reflection while looking into a pond of water. The drooping flowers that characterize the daffodil are purported to represent Narcissus, this young man.

By Linda Morrison / Idaho County Free Press

Enjoy the over 1,800 we have planted by various sculptures.

Be sure to like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99/

MCEP Sculpture Walk – Sculpture of the Week 12

“The art of sculpture is to take something considered to be useless or broken and give it a new life and a chance to be a part of something bigger than it ever was. I take an inanimate congregation of objects and put them together in a way that gives them an actual presence that you can feel and touch. Not only can you touch these inanimate objects but they can touch you back. They visually speak to you, invoking real emotions. When this almost unexplainable connection is happening, the material thought to be useless or broken comes to life. That connection between you and my creations and the emotions that take place gives me much excitement and drives me to create with great passion.

To make an inanimate object touch, feel and speak is a gift that has been given to me. This gift has turned me into a pioneer of sorts, who dredges through industries pollution on a quest for steel. I find myself climbing amongst the ruble of a recently demolished high rise, and digging in the garbage for fragments of a recent fabrication, or in a junk yard dragging off parts of an old dinosaur that time has forgotten. I believe in things discarded lies the seeds of infinite possibilities. My mind is constantly studying and categorizing all the objects that I am collecting. I visualize the objects floating in the air waiting for their chance to twist and dive into the sculptures not yet born, that constantly swim in my mind. As I clean the earth, all the objects I collect will be recycled and no longer destined to be trapped for eternity in a landfill forever labeled as garbage. I also firmly believe it is my duties as an artist to create art with archival longevity and superior quality as I single handily sculpt the future of the twenty first century.”

Check out his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/james.oleson.376/

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are plenty of sunny, spring days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send  a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in  October 2025 – 2026.  If you have a friend who may want to join us, ask them and if yes, send us their name, address, phone number and email (if they have one).  We are always looking for additional friends to help bring art and beauty to our community.

Be sure to like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99/

The Bee Reader sculpture at the evolving MCEP Pollinator Park was installed in July of 2024.  It will be open to extend gifts of small paperback books for young readers and mature readers. Each month the Bee Reader will have two paperback books available. One geared for younger readers and one for mature readers. Please come and check it out. Each month’s selection will be available on the MCEP website with the book’s description.  If for some reason the books are not there just call us at 586 783 6008 and we will replenish the stock.

April Bee Reader Books

Creative Haven Norman Rockwell Classics from The Saturday Evening Post Coloring Book, By Norman Rockwell and Sara Jackson

“I absolutely love, love, love this adult coloring book! Each design is printed on quality paper, so you don’t have to worry about colors bleeding through or the paper tearing while you’re working on your artwork design. I love how detailed each image is and trust me, you’ll be pretty impressed too!” —The Classy Chics
“A wonderful way to reminisce and remember simpler times, while celebrating Rockwell’s work, and Americana generally.” — Sharing Craft Ideas

Thirty-one illustrations by Norman Rockwell appear in all their heartwarming glory in this classic and collectible coloring book. Handpicked from the hundreds of covers that the American legend created for The Saturday Evening Post, these ready-to-color pictures recapture the bliss of bygone days. Pages are perforated and printed on one side only for easy removal and display. Specially designed for experienced colorists, Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post Classics and other Creative Haven® adult coloring books offer an escape to a world of inspiration and artistic fulfillment. Each title is also an effective and fun-filled way to relax and reduce stress.

My First Book About Outer Space, By Patricia J. Wynne and Donald M. Silver

“Entertaining, easy-to-understand captions explain crater formation, constellations, weightlessness, space junk, and other fascinating subjects.” — Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin
Where do we live among the galaxies, what did people think before they could study the sky with telescopes, and what happened to Pluto? Thirty-nine illustrations to color answer these and other questions about our Solar System and beyond. Entertaining, easy-to-understand captions explain crater formation, constellations, weightlessness, space junk, and other fascinating subjects. Suitable for ages 8–12. Winner of the 2015 Moonbeam Children’s Book Silver Award.

This is the second of three sculptures by this artist in our collection.  Jonathan Bowling grew up on a small farm in Kentucky, where the Appalachian Mountains melt into the rolling hills of the Bluegrass. His first sculptural efforts were the simple games of childhood–fieldstone castles, a bridle of hay twine, a driftwood armada. As a teenager in the late eighties, Bowling lived in Belgium, where he had access to the museums of Western Europe. On his return to the states, he attended the University of Kentucky where he received his BFA in sculpture and a BA in art history. In 1996 he moved to Greenville, North Carolina, to pursue an MFA in sculpture at East Carolina University in 1999. He has been working out of Greenville ever since. Bowling has showed extensively in the Eastern United States, which has resulted in a number of long-term lease agreements and sales to municipalities and private collectors.

For the past 12 years I have been focused on public art, largely farm

animals. These pieces are made with the intention of staying outdoors in a public

area without the need for extensive maintenance. The materials I use are often

from the turn of the last century, which I feel is appropriate for depicting animals

so intertwined with our agrarian past. Repurposed steel provides a sound

structure which allows me to work on a scale that lends itself to public spaces.

Check out more of his work at: https://jonathanbowling.com and on https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.s.bowling

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are plenty of sunny, winter days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send  a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in  October 2025 – 2026 and be sure to like us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99

Crocus

The first flowers of the spring are in bloom at the Bonior Tree sculpture and the Peacock Garden at the Post Office. Please enjoy the first flowers of spring even though they are small the crocus can endure the changes of weather easily. They are not a native plant but one we all enjoy.  They do not invade our gardens or land but are welcomed but all as the first hint of spring.

Crocus (/ˈkroʊkəs/; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain underground, that bear relatively large white, yellow, orange or purple flowers and then become dormant after flowering. Many are cultivated for their flowers, appearing in autumn, winter, or spring. The flowers close at night and in overcast weather conditions. The crocus has been known throughout recorded history, mainly as the source of saffron. Saffron is obtained from the dried stigma of Crocus sativus, an autumn-blooming species. It is valued as a spice and dyestuff and is one of the most expensive spices in the world. Iran is the center of saffron production. Crocuses are native to woodland, scrub, and meadows from sea level to alpine tundra from the Mediterranean, through North Africa, central and southern Europe, the islands of the Aegean, the Middle East and across Central Asia to Xinjiang in western China. Crocuses may be propagated from seed or from daughter cormels formed on the corm, that eventually produce mature plants. They arrived in Europe from Turkey in the 16th century and became valued as an ornamental flowering plant.