Northern Michigan’s winter white palette can get a bit tedious this time of year.  Warm up your visual senses with the Charlevoix Circle of Arts “Outside the Box- The Contemporary Arts” exhibit, which kicks off with an opening reception Saturday, February 27 from 5-8 p.m.  Working to promote Charlevoix as a cultural and entertainment hub, the Circle of Arts will bring together northern Michigan artists Edith Pair and Margie Guyot to showcase two very different styles that both celebrate the feeling of life up north.

Pair, a 1992 Charlevoix graduate who returned from Chicago to open the Ellair Gallery, has a whimsical sense of style and vibrant colors in her mixed media work.  As a lifelong artist and Ford plant retiree, Guyot’s oil paintings—be it still life, surreal, or a landscape—embody the simple beauty of her adopted hometown of Ellsworth.

“Outside the Box – The Contemporary Arts” will be on exhibit from February 27-April 24.  The Charlevoix Circle of Arts gallery is open Tuesday-Sunday 1-5 p.m. and is located at 109 Clinton Street in downtown Charlevoix; charlevoixcircle.org.