What: The opening of two new exhibitions featuring the work of accomplished local artists.

Where: Paint Creek Center for the Arts, 407 Pine St., Rochester; 248-651-4110; pccart.org.

When: Opening receptions 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20; exhibits display through Feb. 17.

Paint Creek Center for the Arts launches two new exhibitions this week. In the main gallery, Four features the work of four (natch!) artists with diverse backgrounds, experience and approaches to their art: 

Sculptor Evelyn Bachorski-Bowman displays pieces from her Portraits of a Soul series, which makes use of textured plastic and encaustic to depict the emotional states of her subjects. A painting, drawing and design teacher at Oakland University, Lynn Galbreath presents two series of mixed-media drawings. Cristin Richard creates wearable sculptures and installations, mainly from hog and sheep casings (!), that reflect on fashion, the body and materialism. 2009 Kresge Artist Fellow Sioux Trujillo, who bridges the gap between arts and communities as assistant director of community + public arts: Detroit, presents an installation that incorporates threads, felt and fiber objects.

Meanwhile, the first floor gallery is devoted to the work of local photographer Kyohei Abe. The founding director of Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography, Abe's background includes an extensive international exhibition history, numerous honors and awards, a bachelor's degree in architecture and space design, and a master's in photography from Cranbrook Academy of Art. For this solo exhibit, Minimal Landscapes, Abe draws on both his architectural and photographic skills to create sparse, clean compositions. 

Of his work, Abe says, "In my creative process, I always look for juxtapositions and interrelationships that create new perceptions and new meanings. I always discover a structure, or some form of order within."

The Whipping Man

What: A collaboration between Detroit's Plowshares Theatre Company and the Jewish Ensemble Theatre.

Where: The Music Box Theatre at the Max M. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit; tickets and info at 313-593-0926 or plowsharestheatre.org.

When: At 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday; further productions Jan. 27-29.

The itinerant Plowshares Theatre Company, which has operated without a home of its own for nearly 40 years, recently announced that they've joined with the Arts League of Michigan to transform the third floor of the Virgil H. Carr Cultural Center into a 400-seat performance venue. Along with Plowshares, the new space will play host to a few other artistic organizations. While development — including fundraising events, of course — is in the works, Plowshares remains in action with The Whipping Man, the story of an unusual Passover dinner bringing together two newly freed slaves and a Confederate soldier in the tumultuous aftermath of the Civil War.

Sugar Hill Clay

What: The opening of a new ceramics studio in the Sugar Hill Arts district of Midtown.

Where: 71 Garfield St., Detroit; 313-389-6811; sugarhillclay.wordpress.com.

A brand-spanking-new addition to Midtown's art scene, Sugar Hill Clay offers classes, workshops and open studio time for metro Detroiters interested in getting their hands dirty. Most classes are open to the inexperienced (so don't let that hold you back); offerings include your basic intro courses, as well as parent-and-child ceramics, drinking and eating vessels, and teen wheel throwing, offered in partnership with Pewabic Pottery. The studio is also available for private parties, and periodic workshops with visiting artists will also be on the agenda. See the website to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings.

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