Self-taught Shelby Township artist Margaret Glinke likes to work in layers. In addition to ink drawings, she has developed a layered approach to painting that incorporates sand, powdered marble and cheesecloth imbedded in the acrylics, a process known as impasto.
Glinke, who has been a fixture on the art show circuit for 44 years, will be demonstrating an ink/watercolor painting during the Rochester Area Heritage Festival Sept. 25-26 at Rochester College. Twenty-six of her paintings and drawings are also on display in the college’s Ham Library through January.
A graduate of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Glinke calls herself a self-taught artist. She paints both abstract and representational subjects, including Great Lakes lighthouses, carousels and commissioned house portraits.
Glinke ran Objects and Images Gallery for seven years in Rochester and has served on the Art and Apples Festival committee. She sees art fairs as a good way to bring original art to the public
“I don’t think Americans see a lot of original art any other way,” she says. “To me, that’s kind of important.”
During the Heritage Festival, she will be working on a painting of the Eddy House, a historic Rochester Hills home that is in danger of being demolished. Her son lived in it for a couple of years, so she saw the house before it fell into its current state of disrepair. “I’m sure there were a few good parties,” she said. “I saw it when it was nice.”
Impasto, Glinke says, means “in the paste.” She starts with a charcoal sketch on raw canvas, then layers on gesso, an acrylic base. Next she adds shredded cheesecloth, more gesso, then washed beach sand for texture and dimension. Powdered marble in a latex modeling paste completes the process. The result is unique and durable.
Rochester College is located at 800 West Avon Road, Rochester Hills. Festival hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. both days. The Ham Library’s hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 8:30-11 p.m.; Saturday 12 p.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 7-11 p.m.
