The Mill Glen Arbor once served as a recording studio for musicians in the lates 1970s --- creativity and community continue to come together in a truly unique setting. Our Artist in Residence Program invites artists of all disciplines to spend time on site, drawing inspiration from the natural beauty, history, and spirit of Leelanau County



During their residency, artists are given the space and time to explore their craft, experiment, and bring new ideas to life. Each residency culminates in a public exhibit and open house, where the community is invited to experience the work created during the artist’s stay. Artworks will be available for purchase, offering guests the chance to take home a piece of this creative journey.



We believe art has the power to deepen our connection to place and to each other. By hosting resident artists, The Mill fosters a vibrant exchange between makers and the community, ensuring that creativity continues to thrive in Leelanau County.

In 2024, we proudly welcomed multi-disciplinary artist Jeff Kraus to kick off our first ever Artist in Residence retreat. Michigan-born and now Brooklyn based, Jeff Kraus has evolved his artistic approach to combine photography, printmaking, and image transfer techniques on canvas. His current pieces reflect an innovative blend of media, capturing moments in time. As The Mill’s inaugural artist in residence, Kraus spent ten days immersing himself in the surroundings, drawing inspiration to craft unique, site-inspired works that reflect his evolving creative journey.

Alexa Grambush was born and raised in Michigan, loving the Great Lakes and the time she spent living with her sisters on a boat in Traverse City.

She is an observer, creator and painter. Her innate sensitivity to space and dynamics, both interpersonal and aesthetic, informs her creative interactions which have included watercolor and acrylic painting, weaving, floral design, environment design, and event production.

Her artistic expressions are guided by her deeply held values of truth and sincerity, and her desire to see the sacred in the everyday.

After calling California home for nearly 13 years, Alexa now lives and works in Traverse City.

"The Mill’s is a long history of providing for the community: daily bread, hospitality, a sounding board. It offers itself up for visioning and re-envisioning, and the Crystal River patiently watches every iteration of what it becomes. Theirs is a partnership I admire–the untired drive to create and offer, and the restrained power of constancy, ceaseless beauty, and observation.

I hope my practice embodies facets of each as I join the space to create in and beside them as The Mill’s next artist in residence. Nestled as it is amidst such natural, bountiful splendor, it makes me wonder, and hope to explore through abstract expression during my stay:

How do we use the capacity we have, the capacity we’ve been given, to tune in to the quietly, artlessly rich discipline of wonder?

I want to believe it’s a muscle that can be trained and strengthened. Can we make perceiving wonder, experiencing awe a practice as well as an exception? I sincerely look forward to opening myself to it, and increasing my own capacity for joy and delight through my work at The Mill, and sharing whatever it is I find at the end of it."

Fama's, 24" x 30", $3,400
Jeff Kraus 2024
Available at Outpost TC

Protector, 24" x 20", $2,400
Jeff Kraus 2024
Available at The Mill Glen Arbor

L65, 16" x 12", $1,600
Jeff Kraus 2024
Available at The Mill Glen Arbor

Artist in Residency

2026

ALEXA'S RESIDENCY WILL BEGIN ON MONDAY, MAY 18TH. HER WORKS WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC IN OUR MEMBER'S LOUNGE ON FRIDAY MAY 29TH.