I paid a visit to this place on my first stop during the 2018 Wine and Harvest Festival, and I have…read moreto say, I was really intrigued with what I found there! The Southwest Michigan Artists' Association is a group of wonderful people who not only all love what they do, but they also make it possible for the artistically-inclined to have a place where thier creations cannot only be displayed for all to see, but also a place where anyone willing can come to learn how to make their own art. As I wandered on up, I noticed a number of people were clustered around someone who was throwing clay on a wheel. It was practically spellbinding- I mean, we all remember the smell of clay and paint and the like from our days in elementary school, but I never really developed the skills beyond 'mash clay and mold it until it looked vaguely humanoid, add three holes and it's a little ghost figure' bit. But just watching the artist make those pots, well... it makes me wonder if I could do the same thing. I also saw some very nice berry bowls (the clay bowls with holes in the bottom), and they seem like they'd be good either to use or just to put up on a shelf and use as a conversation piece! A little closer to the entrance, I found someone doing something I remember doing for fun waaaay back when I was a kid- placing a piece of paper in a machine that would spin it around rapidly, and then dripping paint on it from a height and letting gravity and centrifugal force do their thing. I still don't remember what the machines were called, only that we had one and it apparently got tossed because nobody carried the paints for it. But seeing that kind of thing made me think a lot of fun thoughts- but I kind of doubt the ones on display were as inexpensive as the toy one I had! After that, I stepped inside to take a look around. There were a few people inside- as well as plenty of art already on the walls to glance at, as well as some wonderful jewelry inside a case that was hand-made and looked really pretty! They were a bit out of my price range, though... Everybody looked to be having a lot of fun, though- there were a few painters in there, and someone else making what I thought was some kind of flower-arrangement (I could be wrong on that, but it looked really nice)! Maybe I'll drop in again and take some classes here- I'd like to think not all of my artistic talents lie with the written word! If you see something you like, there's also a display of business cards with contact information that you can use to contact the artist you're looking for! They're also looking to expand- but I urge you to stop on in and take a look around, and maybe give some classes a shot- or if you fancy yourself an artist, come on in and take a look around and do some networking to get your things shown!