It’s a great time to visit the Anton Art Center.

Aspiring artists and even families visiting the Mount Clemens venue will discover two exhibits going on in January including Saturday’s opening of “Sky & Space” an exhibit featuring selected artwork submitted by four local art groups. Visitors can view the collection on display through Feb. 22. Then there’s the “Michigan Annual” exhibit featuring work by renowned artists from across the state, showing Jan. 25 through Feb. 22.

This is why Garth Glazier loves the art center.

“It’s a nice facility and they put on some really good shows,” said Glazier, a resident of Troy and the juror for the prestigious “Michigan Annual” competition, which has been going on for 50 years.

Glazier, who teaches art at Macomb Community College and has been creating his own original works for more than 40 years including illustrations for Hollywood productions like “Dune” and the television show “Yellowstone” said he was pleasantly surprised by the submitted work he juried for the “Sky & Space” exhibit.

“I was really impressed with the way the artists approached the subject matter,” said Glazier, who will be attending Saturday’s opening reception and awards presentation for participating artists.

All of the participants representing the Mount Clemens Artist Association, Lakeside Palette Club of St. Clair Shores, Romeo Guild of Art, Shelby Township Fine Art Society and the Warren Tri-County Fine Arts Association were asked to create artwork inspired by the theme of sky and space.

Their work resulted in a collection featuring a variety of mediums.

The Michigan Annual contest and exhibit will also feature a wonderful collection of work in a variety of mediums, created by invited artists including Donald Cronkhite of Allen Park, who submitted work titled, “The Scarlet Veil” and the piece “If I Ruled the World,” submitted by Darin Darby of Romulus.

While all of the artists submitting work have a following of admirers each exhibit will highlight the top art pieces chosen by the jurors including Glazier and Jeff Cancelosi. These awards will be presented to the artists during the opening receptions being held for each exhibit: Jan. 18 (Sky & Space) and Jan. 25. (Michigan Annual). These awards represent work in all mediums with no size limitations and include a first prize of $1,000, second prize of $500 and third prize of $350. The Michigan Annual competition and exhibit juried by Cancelosi, a Detroit artist, curator and photographer, and hosted by Delta Kappa Gamma, Omega Chapter will include three honorable mention awards of $50 each.

Glazier, who recently submitted his own work for a competition in Glen Arbor said these events are not only a unique opportunity for the public to see original works but a great exercise for aspiring artists.

As for the advice he might share as an art teacher and juror?

“Pick three artists that you really admire and learn everything you can from them in order to develop your own style,” Glazier said. “This was the advice given to Picasso when he was a young artist starting out.”

Both art exhibitions are free and open to the public, Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Anton Art Center is at 125 Macomb Place, Mount Clemens. For more information visit theartcenter.org.