Archive for December, 2009
Altamira Fine Art Intros New Artists
“Sunrise, sunrise…Looks like morning in your eyes…” -Norah Jones
Browsing through the works of landscape artist John Felsing, I find myself humming Norah Jones tunes. Felsing’s paintings conjure up misty, purple views I enjoy here in New England, sunrise and sunset. Quiet daybreaks slipping up the horizon, transforming to brighter colors of the day more slowly than those quick-rising Teton mornings. Landscapes coming into focus.
Lucky you, Jackson Hole. Art lovers have a chance to see Felsing’s works at his new gallery venue, Altamira Fine Art. The gallery showcases Felsing and sculptor Steve Kestrel – also new to Altamira — during this Wednesday’s (December 30th) Gallery Walk.
Kestrel’s work, quite distinguishable, is poetry transmorgrified to sculpture. Its 
nascent qualities — his sculptures, often egg-shaped and eliptic — suggest birth’s innocence and omniscience. He is a favorite of mine. Of his work it is written that the artist “….prefers to carve directly in granite, slate, limestone, and sandstone….His stone carvings forsake the use of a prior constructed model as…this method helps preserve “the soul of the stone”.
Bregelle Whitworth Davis, Andree Hudson and John Greene will be featured as well. Says Altamira, “Davis is a colorist whose style resembles the illusion of silk screening yet retains the textured surface of a painting. 
Andree Hudson’s art features large dramatic brush strokes that enliven her subjects while her use of contrasting light and dark colors create an intimacy between the viewer and the subject. John Greene’s landscapes depict imagined rather than actual realms that reveal new insights upon each viewing.”
Stop into Altamira for fresh art, and refreshments. Phone: 307.739.4700. email: econnect@altamiraart.com.
Happy New Year! May Jackson Hole flourish, remain creative and nourished. Keeping arts at our forefront is the best way, that’s sure-ish.
Jackson Hole plein air painter Jen Hoffman’s pastel Winding Through has won Best in Show in Bucks County, Pennsylvania’s First Annual Autumn Arts Painting Challenge. The work will be exhibited (along with other winning entries) during the month of March, 2010 at the Bucks County Gallery, in New Hope; Hoffman’s win will be chronicled in both American Artist and Pastel Journal.
Although the competition took place during Fall, the Gala Reception for this show happens next Spring, on March 6, at the Bucks County Gallery of Fine Art, and the show runs through March 31, 2010.
Not only did Hoffman win, she was presented with a 60-piece Terry Ludwig pastel set!
Hoffman’s star seems to be rising; she’s showing her work in other venues around the country and has been invited to show the West’s prestigious “The Russell,” the C.M. Russell Museum’s March fundraiser exhibition and sale.
In Jackson, Hoffman is represented by Galleries West Fine Art. Congratulations, Jen!
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There’s lots to do this holiday week, up at the National Museum of Wildlife Art . A partial (post-Christmas Day) schedule includes:
A free screening of the beloved PBS favorite, “Christmas in Yellowstone.” Go and watch on Sunday, December 27, beginning at 2:00 pm. If you can’t get up in the Park this winter, this gorgeous film will take you there itself. I believe the film also includes images from Grand Teton National Park; at least that’s what the promos on Public Television suggest; the Grand Teton and Sleeping Indian are featured in PBS spots for the show.
Art After Hours and Tapas Tuesday happen on December 29, with Museum galleries open 5-9:00 pm, and programming beginning at 7:30 pm. The Museum will screen National Geographic’s documentary, “Eye of the Leopard.”
Check out everything NMWA at their website. Phone: 307.733.5771
PS: Did ya miss Bert Raynes‘ Christmas Eve “Chronicle” interview (conducted by local producer John Kerr) on Wyoming Public Television? Me, too! Click on this link ; once you’ve gotten to the “Chronicle” page, click on the new Video button, left side of the page, to find and view Bert’s interview. Happy New Year, Bert! Congratulations on your new chronicled status! Miss you!
Nice and Small are what you will find this month and next (through January 7, 2010 ), at the Diehl Gallery, as it presents a holiday show, Small Works.
Now on display, an opening reception and holiday party for the exhibit takes place December 23, 5-8:00 pm. Diehl Gallery promises fine food and holiday spirits, and is honoring the Season by donating 10% of each sale to the Jackson Food Cupboard, Jackson’s non-profit providing food for members of the community in need.
Jackson Cupboard serves up to 400 individuals a week, a meaningful statistic. In fact, if you’ve not already done so, please consider bringing your extra pantry items to the Cupboard’s offices, located on the St. John’s Episcopal Church Campus, in Jackson.
For more information, contact Diehl at 307.733.0905, or email info@diehlgallery.com. Diehl’s address is 155 West Broadway.
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The Ugliest Christmas Sweaters
This holiday, don’t forget to donate to your nearest Ugly Christmas Sweaters Thrift Store. Economic recessions are tough on ugly sweater output, and as we make our fumbling, over-fed way through the holiday season, it’s easy to forget those whose lives could be cheerier, warmer–not to mention more fashionable–in your “softly used” sweater.
Get creative about your sweater collecting! Start an annual neighborhood Ugly Sweater competition tradition. Team up. Each team (fun for couples!) knits or shops for the most god-awful reindeer, kitties, snowballs, Santas, Christmas Trees, cookies and fruit cakes assembled on wool (or a wool-acrylic mix). Teams with the ugliest sweaters win! (Don’t forget 
the designated non-side-taking judge–your grammy is a good choice) Losing team cooks the goose. (I am not delightfully saucy!)
And remember, ladies: Beware of snobbing off a man just because he’s got to wear
the ugly sweater his mum knit. He might be a barrister, the kind of guy who posts bail in order to get you out of that Caribbean prison you were slung into, after being so wrongly accused of concealing controlled substances while struggling through security at that nasty, bug-infested, coconut-strewn airport.
Who needs self-confidence when a larger-than-life appliqued reindeer sweater-wearing hunk is your date?
SEASONS GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES FOR A COLORFUL NEW YEAR–THANKS FOR WATCHING. ~ The Jackson Hole Art Blog
I let CIAO down; I did not get their photography deadline posted in time, but hope to make up for that hole-in-the-blog by posting the following comprehensive information sent by gallery director Michele E. Walters. Visit CIAO’s website to find out more about the gallery–you can even view a video–or call 307.733.7833 to find out about upcoming opportunities for artists.
CIAO Memberships:
The gallery is taking applications. Membership includes:
* Gallery representation in downtown Jackson Hole, WY
* Website representation on a busy site and webstore representation
* Free application fees into any of the juried competitions.
* Representation in press releases, newspaper articles, emailing, etc.
* Accessibility to potential collectors
First Annual Open Photography Competition
This competition is open to landscape, wildlife, candid, portrait/studio, abstract & architectural shots and more. B&W and color photography accepted. Eligibility requirements include:
• Semi-Professional and beginning photographers (Photography revenue must be 
less than 50% of your gross income.)
• Photos of people must have release forms.
• Work must be ready to hang, and clearly labeled with the artists name and contact information.
• No substitutions of accepted work.
• All work will remain on display during the duration of the exhibit.
• Art work must be for sale.
Exhibition date: January 8, 2010.
You could win some cash!
1st Place-$500 Cash Prize and one months representation of selected works
2nd Place-1 month free representation in featured artist section on gallery.
3rd Place- 6 months free representation in featured artist section on gallery website.
Deadline is December 18th 2009! (This is the late part. Call anyway, what could it hurt?)
Naturally Nude
Join CIAO’s 3rd Annual Naturally Nude Show. Open to all artists in any medium, traditional images and not-so-traditional, just bring it. Entry deadline: January 22, 2010. Exhibition takes place on Valentines Day.
*1st Place*-piece featured in gallery for three months with no exhibition fee; six months free representation in featured artist section on gallery website.
*2nd Place*- Six months free representation in featured artist section on gallery website.
*3rd Place-* Three months free representation in website’s featured artist section.
Submissions must be received on or before January 22nd, 2010.
Please visit CIAO’s website for links to specific events and invitations, or phone 307.733.7833.
A poignant holiday note for Jackson Hole’s contemporary arts scene is that two of its best galleries, the Oswald and Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary, are closing their doors. With them go venues for myriad contemporary artists – photographers, painters, sculptors, multi-media artists, crafts people, filmmakers – and the loss pries open, to a greater degree, a cultural chasm our community must strive to close.
Ever entrepreneurial, McCandless and the Oswalds are combining their artist rosters for one great contemporary art sale opportunity. The two galleries offer up the works of more than 40 artists in a special series of Seasonal events, taking place at the Oswald Gallery, 165 North Center Street:
December 17 & 18, 6-8 pm: “Art Cocktails”
December 26, 6-9 pm: “Holiday Party”
December 28, 29 & 30, 6-8 pm: “Art Talks”
Through the months of December and January, 2010, all proceeds will 
provide a percentage of art sales as donations to local arts non-profits. Beneficiaries include the Center of Wonder, the Art Association, Teton ArtLab, Womentum and the National Museum of Wildlife Art.
Press materials feature images of works by Bronwyn Minton, Rick Bartow and Nine Francois. Check both gallery websites for their complete artist lists, and phone 307.413.4331 for more information.
En-Joy!
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Galleries West sends word that a new hardcover coffee table book, “Sculpture of the Rockies,” has just been released by the editors of Southwest Art Magazine. The book “surveys the broad spectrum and spectacular variety of current sculpture being created in the Rocky Mountain region.”
“The Rocky Mountain region of the American West is renowned for its natural beauty – rugged, snow-capped peaks, sweeping valley vistas, towering pine trees, delicate wildflowers – as well as its artistic splendor, with many noted sculptors living and working in this area,” herald the book’s publishers.
As many as 97 sculptors have chosen favorite works to share; they also talk about their process and inspiration. The book includes both contemporary and traditional sculpture, even providing a sampling of purely abstract works. Galleries West will have the books on sale, and suggest you call to reserve a copy. The gallery is offering some special deals on holiday 
shopping, so jingle their telephone bells (307.733.4525) to find out more.
Galleries West is currently showcasing its annual holiday exhibit, the 7th Annual Little Jewels Holiday Miniature Show, running through January 15, 2010. An opening reception takes place December 30, 3-8 pm. In this miniatures show, paintings measure 11×14 inches and smaller; sculptures are 12x12x12 inches and smaller. Chimney-sized gifts for all!