This past fall, while watching the costume contest at Grand Rapids Comic Con, I was weary. I was sitting up front near stage left, so that I could get a glimpse of the incredible costumes as they exited the stage. However, as you know if you have seen a costume contest, they take a while.

Wandering the Artist Alley at Grand Rapids Comic Con, we were stunned with the talent everywhere we glanced. Like everyone in the hall, we looked and marveled, and then the next booth came, and we did the same, ad infinitem. When we discovered artist Melissa Cordes, though, we actually stopped (never an easy feat at a busy comic con) and talked. So impressed with her talent, beautiful art, wide variety of styles, and joy in creating, we knew we had to share her art with our wandering educators. 

I cannot express how excited I am to present my art teacher, Kaylon Khorsheed, as our featured Artist of the Month. She has challenged me in ways that I didn't know I needed; she works through problems with my ceramics even when I am frustrated with a piece - and not just to talk me out of putting it in the slop bin. She makes sure to spend time with everyone in the class, helping them with their goals and projects.

While perusing Grand Rapids Comic Con's artist gallery for the fifth time, we found ourselves looking at one place in particular. His work stood out to me, not only because of the smiling crowd gathered around the joyful booth, but also because of the extreme detail of each work, which pulls you in, wanting to see every little thing hand-crafted by artist Kyle Hagey.