No Oscar night is complete without a party, and no party is better than one hosted by artists for other artists. Mark Toncray and Janet Sullivan hosted a great one for this year’s Academy Awards in their Riverside Michigan home.
When we arrived, we strolled down a red carpet to the front door where we were greeted by a gentleman who took my fur coat (I kept my eye on it) and escorted us to a photo op backdrop in the expansive living room. He stuck a gold plastic Oscar in my hands, backed up and focused his camera on us while he snapped the photo.  A young woman asked my name while I was recovering from the flash of the camera and handed me a name tag in the shape of a yellow star.
We were pointed across Oriental floor rugs in the direction of a spread of gourmet food that looked like it was right out of a Hollywood California Mediterranean restaurant (except for the little bowls of chocolate-covered peanuts, raisins and cashews that I immediately dug into) and guests were already circling it with little black plates and matching napkins. On another counter was a spiral cut ham, lasagna, both vegetarian and not, and a birthday cake that had been provided for one of the guests who was lucky enough to have been born on Oscar night.
Gazing around the room, I saw that the open concept kitchen/dining/living room was also open about two stories up, and on those high walls were displayed collections. On the right and all the way to the ceiling was a collection of 40 or so small antique and folk art wooden shoeshine boxes of every color and description. There was one in particular that was painted white with heart cutouts for handles and decorated with a kind of Pennsylvania Deutsch decorative painting on the front.
On another side of the living area was a display of tramp art wood boxes, some dark wood, some painted silver, both large and small. This collection continued onto the wall behind it where a tramp art mirror hung surrounded by similar objects.
The kitchen was beyond, where the backsplash tile work was the start of the show. It is colorful and bright and ads a sense of contemporary creativity to these artists’ kitchen. The orange walls and lime green cupboards and center island were also a rbreath of fresh air from what one would normally see in a kitchen. On one wall of the kitchen was a double lime green shelf that was home to a collection of small and tiny oil cans. Each one was different, and it is curious how it held my interest so long. It’s because I am a printmaker and love inks and oils. I immediately wanted to squirt some onto my hands and rub them together — but I refrained and decided instead to goad the birthday girl into cutting the cake. I have come to love those little six-inch cakes that are so popular now, and I often have dreams of baking them.
I finally got around to greeting the host and hostess, who was dressed as some unknown (to me) movie character, wearing a huge black afro as part of her costume. Janet has invited me more than once to do an article on the nonprofit artist’s retreat that she and Mark run from May through November in a nearby out building called Blueberry View Artists’ Retreat. They started the retreat in 2010 and already this summer will have full occupancy. Envisioned as a two-week retreat studio for artists who need to do “concentrated contemplative work,” such as writing, performance or two-dimensional work, the ample and comfortable but simple second-story living quarters overlook gardens and a blueberry field. Spacious and well-lit, it is clear that lots of artistic dreams come true in this thriving arts community.
“We’re already full for 2013,” Janet tells me, “and you have to come back for one of the artist’s receptions — that’s when the fun begins.”
The usual stay is two weeks; there is an application for this free opportunity on their website at www.blueberryview.org.