Steve Gilzow of Saline is scheduled to arrive July 25 at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to begin a two-week stint with the Artist-In-Residency Program. A retired elementary teacher in Washtenaw County, Gilzow is a visual artist (watercolor and oil) as well as a writer.

Gilzow taught third, fourth and fifth grades for 30 years. While teaching, he contributed artwork to publications of the Huron River Watershed Council, The Ecology Center of Ann Arbor and the Children’s Center for Environmental Literature.

Since retiring from teaching in 2004, He has painted more than a dozen covers for the Ann Arbor Observer. He has also written feature articles for the Observer and has been published in Traverse magazine. With his late wife, Ava, and daughter Ann, he has traveled the entire shoreline of Lake Superior, camping, backpacking and paddling along the way.

In addition to this summer’s residency in the Porkies, GIlzowk has been selected to participate in an autumn exhibition co-sponsored by the Legacy Land Conservancy and the Chelsea Center for the Arts. He will be creating paintings inspired by visits to protected land in Washtenaw County.

He lives on a dirt road south of Saline in a home built on the sand of the ancient Lake Erie shoreline.

At 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 4 at the park's Visitor Center, Gilzow plans to share with the audience how he develops Illustrated Journals to "deepen the experiences of nature." This program is free and the public is welcome.

AIRP is a program of the Friends of the Porkies, a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to providing support to enhance visitor experiences at the park.