Photo by Valeria Drozdova on Pexels. Illustrative stock photograph; not a photograph of the Taking Flight exhibition.

Taking Flight remains on view at the Glen Arbor Arts Center through October 29, giving Grand Traverse area readers a current indoor option for an autumn outing.

The free Main Gallery exhibition brings together paintings by Shanny Brooke, ceramic vessels by Cynthia Marks, and mixed media sculpture by the late Michelle Tock York.

It opened August 21, so the October news is the opportunity to see it before the run ends rather than a new opening reception.

The Arts Center is at 6031 South Lake Street in Glen Arbor.

Posted hours are Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., and Saturday–Sunday, noon–4 p.m., with a separate winter Sunday closure noted for January–March.

Check the calendar before traveling, especially if you are fitting a gallery stop around another activity.

Three materials, one conversation

The exhibition description connects the artists through personal storytelling, nature, and the experience of making their work.

Brooke's cold wax paintings often use women and animals as symbolic subjects.

Marks creates detailed handbuilt vessels with decorative surfaces, while Tock York's sculpture combines found materials such as ceramics, metal parts, and driftwood.

Tock York died in 2025; the center explains that the exhibition's planning changed after the loss of their friend.

Treat that context with care and give the works time to speak beyond a quick photograph.

Cherry Buzz suggests choosing one piece from each medium and considering how its materials affect what you notice.

Ask yourself what first drew your eye, then return to the same work after exploring the other two artists.

That is a suggested way to look, not a claim about how any visitor will feel.

Learn about the making

For additional background, the center links to older Creativity Q+A interviews with the artists.

Brooke's interview, conducted in October 2021, describes working primarily with oil and cold wax and using a palette knife to develop texture.

She discusses scraping layers to reveal underlying color and the value of pausing before returning to a composition.

Read the Brooke conversation as historical process background rather than a newly conducted interview about this year's show.

The January 2023 interview with Marks describes her use of coils, templates, and carved or stamped surfaces.

She explains that handbuilding gives her room to experiment with the forms she wants to create.

Those accounts offer useful questions to carry into the gallery without requiring a specialist's vocabulary.

Keep the visit manageable

Cherry Buzz suggests making the exhibition your main indoor stop and leaving time afterward for an unhurried conversation about one favorite work.

If traveling with children, invite each person to identify a texture, shape, or material before discussing an interpretation.

Check with staff about photography, accommodations, and any visitor rules rather than assuming the same arrangements apply at every gallery.

The center's current exhibit list also includes the Lobby Gallery show At Least A Dozen Friends through December 17 and Colleen Gleason's outdoor Northern Vignettes through April 22, 2027.

These are separately listed exhibitions, so distinguish them from Taking Flight when planning your visit.

The Taking Flight page offers a virtual exhibit for readers who want to look before traveling or explore from home.

Its September artist conversation is already past and should not be placed on an October itinerary.

For the current gallery visit, confirm hours and questions directly with the center at 231-334-6112.

An October stop can be as focused as seeing one show, reading one artist interview, and leaving with a new question about how an artwork was made.

Sources and visit information

Taking Flight exhibition · Current galleries and hours · Shanny Brooke interview, October 2021 · Cynthia Marks interview, January 2023

Details checked October 5, 2026. Confirm organizer updates before traveling.