Zero Degrees of Separation: Local Artists Support Trillium House

Art has a way of telling the story of a community — its people, landscapes, traditions and the places they call home.

At Zero Degrees Artist Gallery, those stories fill the walls and display spaces through the work of more than 40 established and emerging local artists. This summer, the artists behind the nonprofit cooperative are also using their creativity and community spirit to support another place deeply connected to the people of the Upper Peninsula, Trillium House.

Through the end of September, Friends of Zero Degrees Gallery is inviting the community to make donations to the gallery, with a portion of the funds raised benefiting Trillium House and its mission to provide compassionate care, ensuring comfort, dignity and support for individuals and their families during their hospice or respite journeys.

For Zero Degrees Gallery, giving back is part of its identity.

“Through Friends of Zero Degrees Gallery, we became a nonprofit about four years ago. Our mission is to help out the community as much as humanly possible and we look for places that are serving the underserved,” said Maureen Wood. “At Zero Degrees, we have 45 artists, and they all live in the area, work, and understand that community is number one for us.”

Founded in 2010 and reincorporated as a nonprofit in 2022, Zero Degrees is a cooperative of more than 40 local artists. Even its name speaks to connection. One of its meanings reflects the goal of creating “zero degrees of separation” between artists and the people who experience and purchase their work.

That connection is apparent when visitors walk through the doors.

Unlike a traditional gallery experience where visitors may view a piece without knowing much about the person who created it, Zero Degrees is operated with the help of its artists. On any given day, visitors may have an opportunity to meet a local artist, hear about their creative process, learn about other artists represented in the gallery and discover the stories behind the work.

The gallery features an extensive variety of art forms, including painting and drawing, ceramics, photography, jewelry, fiber arts, mixed media, sculpture, woodworking and carving, metalwork, pyrography and printmaking. Many of the pieces reflect the landscapes, wildlife, culture and everyday experiences of life in the Upper Peninsula.

In many ways, the gallery becomes a portrait of the community itself.

And that makes its connection with Trillium House especially meaningful. The people and places that inspire local artists are also the neighbors, friends and families Trillium House is here to serve.

Late Marquette artist Dan Cook is one example of just how closely those worlds can intersect. Cook received care at Trillium House, and his artwork continues to have a presence there. Following his passing, his art also became a way to give back. In 2025, Cook’s work helped raise funds for the Dan Mazzuchi Care Fund at Trillium House, which provides financial assistance to help make care accessible to individuals and families who otherwise may not be able to afford the full cost.

His story illustrates what “zero degrees of separation” can mean in a close-knit community — an artist creates work inspired by the place he calls home; that art is shared with neighbors and friends; the artist himself is cared for by his community at the end of life; and his work continues to help care for others.

“This fundraiser was a surprise, a really GREAT surprise,” said Melissa Cavill, Executive Director of Trillium House. “To me, the fact that people want to help with our mission…it means so much. It means we are making a difference in people’s lives.”

Art, care, and healing go hand in hand. Over the years, Trillium has featured many area artists around its building for residents and families to enjoy, and some have also benefited its care fund (Dan Mazzuchi Care Fund), to assist those facing financial hardship, through their work at fundraising events.

“There is something so meaningful about seeing our local arts community come together through Friends of Zero Degrees Gallery to support our mission,” said Cavill. “This is what community is all about.”

For Cavill, the connection between the gallery, art and Trillium House recently became personal in another unexpected way. A friend gave her a painting of a local artist, Zero Degrees Director Marlene Wood, an artist that her friend has collected over the years as a thank-you for Cavill’s work helping Trillium House grow.

“I was so touched,” Cavill said. “Having a piece of local art given to me in recognition of work that is so close to my heart was very special.”

The artist and director of the Gallery, Wood, brings decades of experience as both an artist and educator to Marquette’s arts community. Before coming to the Upper Peninsula, she spent more than 30 years as an artist and educator and owned Positive Strokes Art School and Gallery in Palatine, Illinois, where she taught children and adults. Her work has also been exhibited throughout the Chicago area and has been part of fundraising and public art projects.

Today, that experience is reflected in the welcoming, personal environment at Zero Degrees, where connecting people with art — and with the artists themselves — is central to the experience.

The gallery’s community involvement extends beyond this summer’s Trillium House fundraiser. As a nonprofit, Zero Degrees works to help independent area artists succeed, make high-quality local visual art accessible and provide opportunities for art education. Its community efforts have included mentoring young artists, visiting artist exhibitions and “Art Gives Back” initiatives supporting area organizations.

Through the end of September, community members are invited to experience that mission firsthand: stop into the gallery, explore the art, hear the stories behind the pieces and meet some of the local artists who make Zero Degrees what it is.

They can also make a donation to Friends of Zero Degrees Gallery, with a portion of donations received during the Summer Giving Drive benefiting Trillium House.

“We are incredibly grateful that Zero Degrees has chosen to support Trillium House,” Cavill said. “Both of our organizations are rooted in this community. Their artists capture the people, places and experiences that make the U.P. home, and we have the privilege of caring for those same people and their families during a very important time in their lives. It’s a beautiful connection.”

At Zero Degrees Gallery, dozens of artists work in different mediums and tell different stories, but there are very few degrees of separation between the art, the artists and the community around them.

The same is true at Trillium House. Residents arrive with lifetimes of stories and connections, as artists, teachers, business owners, parents, grandparents, neighbors and friends.

Together, Zero Degrees Gallery and Trillium House offer two very different reflections of the same community — one through the art it creates and the other through the care it provides.

Zero Degrees Artist Gallery is located at 525 N. Third St. in Marquette. Community members are encouraged to stop in through September to explore the gallery and learn more about the Friends of Zero Degrees Summer Giving Drive benefiting Trillium House.

Learn more about Zero Degrees Artist Gallery.

You can also make a donation to the Gallery and Trillium House at Giving Drive or scan the QR code below.

Posted on September 17, 2026 in General News. Bookmark the permalink.