By Jordan Griffin

Paint is splattering, glass is shattering, and kilns are firing up — The Ann Arbor Art Center’s 2nd annual 30X30 project is under way.

The 30X30 project challenges 30 artists to create 30 works of art in 30 days to be sold to benefit the Ann Arbor Art Center’s Art for Kids Scholarship fund. The third-floor gallery space will be the venue for approximately 800 works of art available for sale on Saturday, March 26 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The gallery will be open for preview on Thursday, March 24 so antsy art-buyers can scope out their favorite pieces before they all go up for public sale.

All artwork in all media will be sold at $40 apiece. Proceeds from the gallery show are donated to Art For Kids, a program that provides tuition for classes at the Art Center. The program has been successful for the last 19 years, though donations from the community are largely what keep it going.

Being the project’s go-to person during its debut in 2010, and retaining that status during this year’s revamped edition, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the buzz from last year’s project was still stewing among the artistic community. Late last October, artist recruitment posters were posted in Detroit shops, Ann Arbor galleries, and myriad coffee-shop windows in between. Response from a Craigslist posting flooded my inbox with an overwhelming amount of interest.

A coincidental meeting with a former art school classmate at a restaurant in Ypsilanti prompted me to give a few friends from Grand Rapids a call.

73 artists were cut to 20 and will be showing alongside 10 of last year’s top sellers. Three of the 20 new artists are Kendall College of Art and Design graduates and are thrilled to contribute to the fundraiser’s cause, even though they aren’t Ann Arbor area residents themselves.

“I am very fortunate to be a part of this show,” says Ryan Weiss, a 30X30 first-timer and current Grand Rapids resident.

As education budgets dwindle and art classes are among the first to be cut, Chris Gray, fellow Kendall graduate and 30X30 participant, believes that it has “become apparent that there is ever more a need to support the arts for kids.” Weiss, recounting his own exposure to the arts, adds “if I wasn’t encouraged and sent to extra art classes outside of what my school offered, who knows if I would have ever understood the power of art.”

The kids aren’t the only ones benefiting from the fundraiser. One of eight painters returning from last year, Lorenzo Cristaudo, had only recently discovered his painting potential. Drawing conclusions from his beautifully rendered Venetian canal scenes, I assumed he’d been painting his entire life. I was astonished to learn that he was an established glass blower, and that the 30X30 project challenged him to work in 2-D. “The challenge was too great to turn down,” said Cristaudo. “I did the 30 paintings and sold so well that I enrolled full time at Siena Heights as an undergraduate studio art major.”

Along with new artists, there are new canvas sizes as well. For this year’s show, painters were given a choice between 8x8’’, 8x10’’, and 10x12’’ canvases. “Having only so much space to impact someone’s thoughts can be intimidating but also thrilling”, says encaustic painter Rob Kinsey.

Most participants chose a variety of canvas sizes to work with, although some — like project newcomer Stephanie Gallison — opted for all 30 of the largest size. “I believe that the size of the canvas is actually a vital part of the impact of a finished piece of artwork”, she explains. Seven other artists share the bigger-is-better attitude, using the 10x12’’ canvases for at least half of their pieces.

Of course, we aren’t just letting painters have all the fun. The Ann Arbor Art Center offers a wide variety of classes to its scholarship-enrolled kids including jewelry and pottery, both of which will be represented at the 30X30 show. Jeweler Deborah Fehrenbach’s pieces can be found at the Art Center’s gallery shop all year, but the debut of her 2011 “funky flower garden” collection will be sold at the special 30X30 price of just $40 at the March 26 gallery opening.

Potter Mark Ehrman, a former Art Center student, is using the Art Center’s clay studio to create beautiful and functional pieces for the 30X30 show. “Hopefully someone buys a set of coffee mugs, loves the glazes and takes a class to make their own,” suggests Ehrman. “Through 30X30 kids can benefit from self expression and creation,” he says, elaborating on the project’s concept. “Creating something you are proud of, that is beautiful to you, gives you an enormous sense of self-worth and that is important to kids.”

In addition to pottery and jewelry, textiles, glass mosaics, prints, metalsmithing, collage, photography, and illustration are some of the other mediums that will be shown alongside paintings.

Looking to fill that empty wall space in your living room? We’ve got a huge variety of paintings. Consider combining two or three of your favorites to create a unique diptych or triptych. Expecting a new family member? Colorful, whimsically painted animals are gender neutral and will fit any nursery’s décor. Ladies, accessorize with hand-painted purses, silk scarves, and retro-inspired jewelry.

The Art Center’s staff, volunteers, and myself are busy prepping the gallery space for maximum viewing and schmoozing pleasure. But if you schmooze too long, you lose. Artwork is sold on a first-come, first-served basis. If you take something off the wall, you buy it. Ann Arbor Art Center’s CEO Marsha Chamberlin recalls the masses of people from last year, “The crowd was huge and lined up an hour in advance.”

A suggestion: Show up early. The early-morning trailblazers of last year’s crowd exploded up the stairs at opening time and were rewarded with the first pick of the artwork. A strategic few of them had been through the gallery during the preview days, and had already plotted a course directly to the pieces they wanted.

Coffee, snacks and other refreshments will be provided in a lounge area just outside the exhibition space on the third floor. Artists in attendance will be wearing nametags, so feel free to strike up conversation with the creator of the art you love. You can get a sneak peek of their work on the 30X30 Ann Arbor Art Center Facebook page, and stay up-to-date with news and events at AnnArborArtCenter.org.

30X30 project intern Jordan Griffin works in Ann Arbor and resides in Ypsilanti.