Jackson Hole Art Blog

Kaidi Dunstan’s first show took place some 20 years ago, in a small Deloney Street gallery.   In a matter of hours, the exhibit was close to sold out.  Her first collection of oil paintings, a grouping of still lifes and portrayals of the female human figure were so masterfully painted as to remind us of the great Post Impressionists Gauguin and Cezanne.    Dunstan’s compositions were inspired by some of the former’s paintings of Tahitian women, and a small study of a bowl of cherries could have been snatched from the latter’s studio.   Dunstan displayed, with her premiere show, a genius for mixing and applying paint.   Evident, too, was an affinity for capturing exotic color and patterns.

Transported, Dunstan’s first Jackson show in some years, opened February 22 at the Tayloe Piggott Gallery. An opening reception takes place Friday, February 26, and the exhibit remains up through April 17.

Dunstan currently lives in London.  Her life, recently touched by personal tragedy,—she lost her husband to cancer—remains enigmatic to the public at large. Though Dunstan’s work is contemporary and her colors echo those of the Expressionists, her work can be likened to Kiki Smith’s “Victorian”  artistic interpretation of mourning.   Dunstan continues to work on the human figure, but her work has become almost completely abstract.   Faces and human forms are transparent and Dunstan’s paintings are marked by overlapping lines and mosaics of color.   Structurally, she’s turned her paintings inside out.   They look as if they were complicated to create, and they are.  Dunstan uses transfer paper as a material on which to sketch, then transfers that drawing to another surface like canvas or paper.   She can use her original image over and over, and so creates multiple layers of the same image in a single work.

Often, Dunstan’s forms seem to be dissolving before our eyes.

“The human figure holds an enduring fascination for me providing both oddness and mystery,” says Dunstan.  She has incorporated media images of daily disasters into recent work, and is otherwise taking materials from the world at large into the maze of her compositions.   Through the imposed mystery and hints of grief emerge works that, with their bow to biology and minutiae, speak of teeming life.

The large nude double-portrait I purchased at Dunstan’s first show remains the centerpiece of my own little art collection.  And to this day, it’s often mistaken for a Gauguin by those seeing the painting for the first time.

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.

I like the way this new show of hot art screens and still photography by filmmaker Peter Pilafian has come together: it’s been very “techno.”  I have lots of “techno” feeling notes—why am I thinking of Astro Boy? Why, when I’m featuring Peter’s image of melting glacier ice that resembles molars?

Peter Pilafian’s new show is up at Elevated Grounds, on the Teton Village Road.  An opening reception takes place December 5, and you should be prepared to see something completely different.  Comprised of thematic groupings, Pilafian plans to explore such stimuli as Texture, Indigenous Portraits, Architecture, Shadows and Landscapes.

Watching Pilafian define and curate, I began thinking of these thematic groupings as a series of reflective pools. Fluid videos surrounded by a string of photographic pearls.  The show offers a glimpse, in National Geographic style, of some of Pilafian’s memorable earth journeys.

The exhibition will feature as many as five hot art screens and a selection of still photographs taken around the world.   A Delphi tablet, aged city walls of Havana, coffee farmers, Irish fiddlers, evocative shadows, orange trees and images of Athens are all part of the multi-layered story Pilafian wishes to tell.  High definition BluRay DVD footage provides vivid, crisp focal pointsPilafian plans on framing his videos as a painter frames canvases.  Why not frame moving landscapes?  Pilafian’s images are part of Grand Teton National Park’s Lawrence Rockefeller Preserve Visitor’s Center installation; consider that sensory exhibit and you will get a feel for this show.

Contact Peter Pilafian via email at: ppilafian@earthlink.net.

Item #2:

Ring-a-ding-ding!

Dancers’ Workshop’s 2nd Annual Affordable Art for Christmas Sale takes places Saturday, December 5, in the Center for the Arts Theater Lobby.  The sale runs 11:00 am -  5:00 pm and is open to all.  It’s free!

DW’s Alissa Davies tells us fifteen local arts vendors will be on hand, offering holiday arts and craft items.  Jewelry, paintings, bags, and knit items (fingerless gloves!) neck warmers and hats are specialties of this sale;  proceeds help support DW dance programs.

Price points are in line with a Scrooge-like economy - everything on sale is priced between $1 and $99.  A DW holiday rehearsal will be taking place on stage in the theater, a joyous treat.    For more information, call DW’s offices, at 307.733.6398.

The Jackson Hole Art Association addresses global warming with its summer exhibition GAIA and Global Warming: Women Artists Champion Nature, kicking off with a free “art talk” at the Center for the Arts Theater on June 24, beginning at 7:30 pm.    The show opens June 26 with a 5:30 pm artists’ reception at Artspace; the work remains on display through September 27, 2009.

Curated by Lowery Stokes Sims, GAIA looks at climate change through the eye of the arts.  In other words, this is not an exhibit about climate change; it is a show examining–considering–the myriad ways the arts have explored themes of global warming, sustainability (which, in its true sense, refers to any activity or practice that, no matter how often executed, never leaves a corrosive environmental trace) and responsibility.

Hope Sandrow, Peggy Diggs, Margaret and Christine Wertheim (of the Institute for Figuring), Nancy Macko and Judy Cotton are participating artists.

So, GAIA is not land art–art that disappears or transforms–nor is it work designed for a specific public installation. The show is at once a retrospective and commentary. Tracing the “explosion” of enviro-art back to 2006, GAIA embraces the concept that artists are at the vanguard of environmentalism.  Creativity and its derivative tactile arts reflect our experience of the world around us.

The Art Association notes that collaborations with “….scientists, statisticians, public policy wonks, municipal officials and arts organizations (has) set the protocol for this genre of art making. Artists thus have been at the vanguard of concretizing (sic) scientific, social, political and economic theory around the environment into specific projects which they have situated in venues for maximum exposure to the public.”

June 24th’s free panel discussion features moderator Lowery Stokes Sims, forest ecologist Nalini Nadkarni, and artists Nancy Macko, Susan Thulin and Lyndsay McCandless.

For more information, phone the Art Association at 307.733.6379.

Dance it Up!   An exception to my visual arts rule today:  Check out Dancer’s Workshop schedule of extraordinary events through June 14, as they celebrate their First Annual Summer Dance Celebration. DW is a frequent collaborator with Jackson’s Visual Arts community.    Here’s a schedule, and see ya’ll at Zydeco! :

Adult Dance Classes
Monday-Saturday, June 8-13
Dancers’ Workshop Studios
FREE
All ongoing adult dance classes are free this week. Classes include pilates, yoga, ballet, Zumba, Modern, Hip Hop, Capoiera, and Dance Fitness. Most classes are open to all levels and there are no limits on how many classes you take during the week…or during the day! Please see www.dwjh.org for class details or call 307.733.6398.

The “Square Series” Public Dance Performances
Wednesday, June 10, 3:30-5:30pm
Town Square
FREE
Bringing dance into perhaps one of the most public spaces in Jackson, the Town Square, Dancers’ Workshop will offer short performances of salsa and Zumba with Manny Sanchez, modern dance with the Junior Repertory Company, and breakdancing with Pasha.  This is a wonderful opportunity to watch dance for free and even partake yourself if the spirit moves you.

Master Classes with Elisa Monte Dance
Thursday & Friday, June 11 & 12, 3:30-5:30pm
Dancers’ Workshop Studio 1
FREE
Local dancers have the special opportunity to work with Elisa Monte dancers from New York City for free. These classes are geared to the Intermediate/Advanced dancer.

Open Rehearsals with Elisa Monte Dance
Thursday & Friday, June 11 & 12, 5:30-7:30pm
Dancers’ Workshop Studio 1
FREE
Open rehearsals offer a wonderful opportunity to view dance intimately and witness the interaction between choreographer and dancers. You see muscles flex, sweat drip, and emotions on faces up close. Additionally, during the Friday open rehearsal, Zydeco band Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys will rehearse with Elisa Monte Dance.  This free evening of dance and music is not to be missed!

Elisa Monte Dance
Co-presented with Center for the Arts
Saturday, June 13, 7:30pm
Center Theater
Tickets: $55 balcony/ $45 orchestra/ $20 students
Call 733.4900
The Summer Dance Celebration culminates with a fun and fabulous weekend. Saturday offers an elegant and inspiring performance by the world-renowned company Elisa Monte Dance at the Center Theater. Elisa Monte Dance, one of New York City’s most respected contemporary dance companies, has gained recognition at home and abroad. A favorite in the valley, Dancers’ Workshop is delighted to have Elisa Monte Dance return to Jackson and headline their Summer Dance Celebration.  The company will present their newest work, Zydeco Zare, choreographed to a musical score that features the six-piece Zydeco Band, Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys. Quick, physical, and highly emotional, this piece fits appropriately with the stunning repertoire of Elisa Monte Dance’s past work. Tickets for this 7:30pm performance are available at the Center Box Office 733.4900 or online at www.jhcenterforthearts.org. More information about Elisa Monte Dance is available at www.elisamontedance.org.

Zydeco Music and Picnic with Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys
Sunday, June 14, 5:00pm
Center Theater Lawn
FREE
On Sunday at 5pm kick off your shoes and join us on the Center for the Arts lawn for FREE Zydeco music. Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys will throw down irresistible, foot-tapping rhythms that are sure to provide enjoyment for listeners and dancers of all ages. One of the most influential accordionists and vocalists in modern Zydeco music, Jeffery Broussard has continually been an innovator, beginning his career at age eight playing drums in his father’s traditional Creole Zydeco band. Later he formed the nouveau group, Zydeco Force, before returning to a more traditional Zydeco sound with his band, Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys. Cajun food by The Kitchen at Pai’s Place and drinks by Snake River Brewery will be available for purchase.

For more information on any of the Summer Dance Celebration events, please call Dancers’ Workshop at 307.733.6398.

Two days ago I attended a fab web marketing seminar, presented by Chris Hansen, owner of Twist of Lime Marketing. I’m plugging him here because Chris taught me, over the phone, how to build this blog.   And I’m here to testify that if Chris can teach me how to build my own blog, he can teach anybody. I’m creative, and I have strong textural/color/composition skills, but I have a very difficult time understanding the inner workings of platforms and web design because I lack spatial aptitude.    It’s my theory that individuals with strong spacial relations have an easier time visualizing how websites are put together.

Years ago, an aptitude test involving my trying to put a big bunch of black wiggly blocks back together in one sculpture proved quite vexing.  I was asked if I wanted to try again.  “No thanks,” I said.

Chris explained WordPress step-by-step.  He held my hand and never lost patience.  He’s a specialist, but he’s able to talk to lay people using accessible, non-threatening  language.    Hire him.

“Nice juxtaposition of future-oriented construction specifics and intense as-if-remembered snapshot panoramas.” — Guest book comment on photographer Michael Sherwin’s exhibit “Dis•Location.”

June 18-28, photographer Michael Sherwin will lead a photography workshop  in the Jackson area.  The workshop is sponsored by the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts , where Sherwin is on staff.  For a time, Sherwin and his wife lived in Jackson Hole, and his June 2005 Art Association exhibition, “Dis•Location,” remains one of my favorite local photography exhibits to date.  Sherwin arrived in Jackson from Oregon.   Sherwin is assistant professor of photography and digital imaging at WVU’s Division of Art and Design.

Sherwin practices his craft democratically, openly encouraging new and experienced photographers.  He’s accessible.   Ego: checked at dark room door.

The 10-day workshop will be held in partnership with the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts, meaning Sherwin will have access to its photography studio. The workshop is offered through the extended learning office at WVU so it is open to everyone, says Sherwin.  As a WVU program, college credit is available.  Visit www.michaelsherwin.com.  Application deadline is May 1.  Hop to it!

The workshop will cover a broad range of photographic practices and principles, with an emphasis on instruction targeted to the individual level of the student. Primary instruction will include the use of digital and 35mm film cameras, along with color inkjet or black-and-white darkroom processes. Students will also have the opportunity to explore work in medium- and large-format cameras and alternative processes.”

My Arts Observatory article on Sherwin, written for Planet Jackson Hole in June 2005,  is reprinted below.

* New Photography Studio Clicks

“Wow!” responds Sherwin.  “Future-oriented in the sense that these things were mapping structures underneath the ground, intended, I guess, for safety.  So when you began the construction you wouldn’t dig up or damage what is underneath.  And I love the idea of a snap shot panorama.  I frequently talk about this work as a panoramic of experience, in that it’s not one single image, but a segment of time, riding the fence between still and moving images.”

Uncovering Fred Hayden’s spot-on observation of Jackson photographer Michael Sherwin’s exhibit, “Dis•Location,” now on display at ArtSpace’s upstairs gallery at 240 S. Glenwood, was kismet.  In fact, our interview was blessed with a confluence of happy incidents.   As Sherwin and I began to review his work, Diane Hazen, a gallery visitor, remarked that she was a long-time resident of Eugene, Oregon, where Sherwin’s photographs were shot. She recognized the locations.  Hazen is also a city planner, and was that day transfixed by Sherwin’s fluorescent street symbols and overlapping, exposed images.  Sherwin’s color photographs are extended, abstract urban street scenes, patterned with construction symbols, maintenance markings, and dynamic linear composition.  Looking at his work, you might be reminded of a path.

“Yes, the path as the narrative act is a big part of this work.  I was studying the idea of psycho-geography, which studies the way different geographies in the city and country affect us emotionally.  That idea of the path really played into this work.”  Contemporary work harkening back to the ancient.

How did Sherwin come to photograph urban road markings, putting them into the panoramic format that he does?  “I was walking and biking to school. I always had my camera on me, so I was paying attention to what was going on around me.  Using a toy camera, and using an entire roll of film really started here in Jackson. I was fascinated by how my walk was being mediated by man-made constructs.  Here I was interested in the road signs and other things coming into my contact. In Eugene, it started with noticing different paint on the streets, different colors.  I followed them through the landscape, and I documented where they were falling at my feet and the landscape as I moved through it.  That led to graffiti, and subconscious types of art.  Unintentional aesthetic acts.  I was interested in the boundary between things that are seen as logistics and things that are considered aesthetic.”

“You photograph the low part first, which is technically under exposed, and then when you photograph the back it brightens the whole image,” said Hazen.  “Exactly,” replied Sherwin.  Sherwin used a toy camera to capture his urban street photos, and his success in capturing the subtle interlocking patterns that occur when nature meets city proves once again that it is the photographer, not technicals, that renders good results.  “It is a process of trial and error with this camera,” Sherwin continued. “You really don’t know what you are going to get. The city is either sunny or cloudy, and you learn what weather works best, with what exposure.”  Examining one image, “13th Avenue University of Oregon, #13496,” Sherwin and Hazen noted the hot pink road markings. “This paint is by far the most colorful, the most fluorescent I’ve photographed. Who would think hot pink? And it is the most hieroglyphic of all of the [street markings]! Random marks that weren’t signifying anything that I could tell.”  Indeed, the markings are like petroglyphs.  “Yes,” agrees Sherwin. “There’s almost a male/female symbolic language going on. It was really fascinating, these street equations that were worked out that have no logical meaning to me at all.  It’s purely aesthetic.”  Discussing the symbols we realize that such records are chosen as communication vehicles, and are recognizable to a culture, because of their universality.  There is no difference between the determining of ancient petroglyph symbols and the cryptic street markings recognized and easily read by urban planners.  Sherwin’s markings represent an acquired knowledge reflecting a distinct community element.  Sherwin notes that the other interesting element of these particular pink markings was that they were water-based.  The evening of the day Sherwin photographed them, it rained.  Virtually all the symbols were obliterated.  “And that made it the chance of a lifetime, photographing that pink,” says Sherwin.

End.

Oh, my gosh. Rocky, check this out!   A few degrees of separation!

This Friday, February 13, Rocky Vertone opens his new Full Circle Frameworks gallery space with a show of works by Scott Sears. Kickoff is 5:30 pm, and the place is 335 N. Glenwood, in Jackson.

BUT, Sears’ publicity poster looks an awful lot like the now famous Obama “Hope” poster.   HOPE is the word, and a hep cat with Mohawk hair is the man.  I’ll have to see the work up close to tell you whether or not this is Sears’ vision of Mohawk Obama.

This is relevant because……..

WOW!!! BREAKING NEWS!!!   Obama “Hope” artist arrested!!

The Associated Press has accused artist Shepard Fairey of copyright infringement, saying the poster image was based on one of its photos, taken in April 2006 by Manny Garcia on assignment for the AP at the National Press Club in Washington.

Wow, now Fairey is under arrest, as of 30 minutes ago!    Ok, putting this up right now!

The message at Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary is CHANGE.  Somehow, in a sour economy for most Jackson Hole Galleries, LMC keeps on happening.  The large, loft-like space sitting at Jackson Street level has transformed itself into a place for happenings, 60’s style.  2009’s version of a record player is a d.j. named Mr. Whipple ( a 1960’s and 70’s lab-coated, bespectacled advertising character hawking toilet tissue–nice, soft toilet tissue ), wall art is the new tie dye, and a  communal creativity prevails.   Getting any attention in today’s art market is real tough;  galleries are asking their artists to go small, in order to bring down price points.  Three Jackson Hole galleries I know of have closed in as many months.   Galleries with strong client stables are calling upon those clients more often.

LMC is the Madonna of Jackson Hole art galleries, working feverishly to stay fresh. Author readings, AIVO, children’s art, musicians in white vans rocking the night away, fire throwing, collaborations with non-profits, joining 1% for the Tetons (says you feel confident you have enough net income capital to donate, going forward, and you’re comfortable providing full access to your income ledger, and you are going with green marketing, and you get your picture taken by the very cool David Swift),  openly political art projects.   With the exception of regularly scheduled art openings around town, there’s no other action of the sort LMC provides monthly.

So what’s going on over there?

McCandless has a marketing background and she’s pumping it up.  Her next happening, pARTicipate for Change,  gets hopping this coming First Friday, Februrary 6, 5:30-7:30 pm.  The project keeps Obamamania going–I’m all over that.

Here’s the skinny: This First Friday, you can’t just show up to eat  organic pizza (Where was that yummy pizza January 20, at Pub Place?  We ate bad cafeteria food! Even kids pushed that stuff around on the plate.  The dancing, however, was FAB! )  This coming Friday, all comers are asked to actively participate in the creation of a work that will come to life on a wall-sized piece of canvas. Create to the theme of participating for change, and the finished product will be photographed and sent to the President.  We audaciously hope!  We hope with audacity?  I’m still stuck on the “hopefully” grammar thing.

“I also want people to experience that excitement and joy of acquiring a
piece of art…so we will be giving away small pieces of art all night
to everyone who walks in the door. Maybe it will create a mini-trading
sensation,” says McCandless.

Here’s some ways to participate:

1. Hang/install your artwork, up to three pieces, framing optional.    Explore “Change.”

2. Contribute to the free-art collection. ( LM: “I am taking old photos/paintings/sketches and cutting them up into mini-art pieces (@ 2″ x 3″). I have one that Alissa Davies gave me in September as her ‘card’. I carry it around in my wallet as a little transportable piece of art that makes me smile. I will write on the back of all of them “www.lmcontemporary.com Art It Forward”)

Lyndsay!  I love you!  You used single quotations around a word! ( ‘card’ ) I get in trouble from Swift when I do that on Tammy & David Fight About Movies!  You go girl!  You mean, by single quotes, that the card isn’t a real business card, but you use it as such, it has that spirit, that function, is some way related to the entity “business card.”   Did we go to the same high school? Did you have Miss Cole for English class?

3. Bring art supplies/inspiration to use for the art wall-markers, sharpies, charcoal, adhesive stuff, photos, scraps of paper, crayons, safety pins, post-its,—paint requires lots of extra’s, brushes, water, containers—”but we
could make it work!”

Artists need to get their work to LMC by Wednesday, February 4.

Artists who have signed up (I’ve corrected spelling as far as I can; apologies for any remaining misspelled names!)

Anthony Birkholz…video installation
Nicole Burdick and Micah Richardson…ice installation
Bland Hoke…Center of Wonder Public Art ambassador
Amy Larkin
Bronwyn Minton
Alissa Davies
Babs Case
Rachel Kunkle
Ben Carlson
Susan Thulin
Emma Adkisson
Bryce Billings
Ashely Hogge
Jeremy Kusmin
Rich Goodwin
Steven Glass

Gone Missing Teton Art Lab will make an appearance, with its own installation.

Visit www.lmcontemporary.com, or call 307-734-0649/cell: 307-413-4331.

End.

• What are Jackson Hole Art Galleries planning this Christmas season? Here’s a peek.

ARTWalk 2008 !!! (Or, “A Revision Revised”)

The Gallery Association will hold TWO gallery walks this month. December’s Thursday gallery stroll takes place December 18, 5-8:00 pm. Look for the bright blue, red and white banners in front of participating galleries.

Additionally, the Gallery Association’s special HOLIDAY ARTWalk takes place SATURDAY, December 27, 5-8:00 p.m. Join Jackson Hole’s galleries for 2008’s holiday arts stroll, falling on the Saturday between Christmas and New Year’s. Banners designate participating galleries.

For more information on this month’s gallery walks, contact info@diehlgallery.com. Check with your favorite galleries for information on special openings and events.

The Jackson Hole Art Association puts on its annual Art Fair Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, December 6, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the Snow King Ice Arena. $2 Admission, dozens of vendors! 733-8792 for information.

Oswald Gallery has been selected to participate in the ultra-prestigious Photo Miami 2008. As part of the world’s most important contemporary art fair, Art Basel Miami Beach, Photo Miami takes place December 3 to December 7, in the Wynwood Art District of Miami.

Oswald’s entries are the contemporary photographs of Virgilio Ferreira and Dylan Vitone. “Both of these emerging photographers explore the urban environment in different ways and on different continents while exploring the ambiguities and contradictions of urban life,” says Leya Oswald.

Says Oswald, ” Vitone’s photographs combine formal portraiture with classic street photography in multi-frame panoramas…. In contrast, Ferreira works in an intuitive and random manner on the streets of Asia’s megalopolises. Embracing his outsider status, he works quickly and anonymously late at night, capturing the mere suggestion of the places and their people.”

For more information on Photo Miami or these photographers, please contact Oswald Gallery, leya@oswaldgallery.com or 888-898-0077.

Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary’s December 5th First Friday, “Funky Finds For Under $50” focuses on Jackson’s local creative community and supporting artisans this holiday. Music by DJ Mr. Whipple, and organic pizzas served up by Chris O’Blenness and SouthSide Pizza & Pub.

Change is coming, be the Change!

Featured vendors include, but are not limited to:

“Halo Hats” by AJ Carghill and Pam Coleman—seconds included;

“Special somethings” by Wren Fialka and Brandy….

Vanessa Sulzer’s screen print bird scarves…

Alissa Davies’ mixed media on paper (I have some!), small paintings with added collage materials.

Phone 307-734-0649 or 307-413-4331 for information.

The National Museum of Wildlife Art hosts one of Jackson’s favorite holiday traditions, “Wild About the Season!” on Sunday, December 7, 1:00-4:00 p.m. This family-style Christmas festival includes art projects, cookies, cider and other treats, and a visit from Santa Claus. Free. 733-5771.

The Jackson Hole Center for the Arts will be closed periodically during the holidays, particularly at Christmas and New Year’s. Phone 734-8956 for more information.

David Brookover, of Brookover Photography, reports his gallery will be open through the season. Check out the new platinum prints! Currently traveling and shooting in Japan, Brookover returns to his studio December 22. In his absence the gallery is well staffed; please visit.

JH Muse Gallery’s holiday invitation, featuring artist Nicole Charbonnet’s hauntingly beautiful, suggestive mixed media work “Tree,” invites the public to that gallery’s annual “Champagne and Chocolates” celebration. Join the gallery on Thursday, December 11, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. for drinks, hors d’oeuvres, Tayloe’s new glittery jewels and Charbonnet’s latest collection of works, “Avatars and Heroes.”

The gallery is open through the holidays. Hours are 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Monday through Thursday, 10:00 - 7:00 pm Friday and Saturday, and 11:00 am - 4:00 pm Sundays. 733-0555.

Cayuse Western Americana plans this month:  A brunch on Sunday, December 14th features Dawn Bryfogle’s wonderful jewelry from semi-precious and precious stones, but with a twist:  she finds unique “orphaned” vintage pieces she incorporates into necklaces or bracelets.  These could be old Navajo sterling and turquoise items, or western engraved silver - really, anything that looks like it could be given a new purpose in her contemporary settings of agate, tourmaline, and other beautiful stones.  The brunch is from 11 - 3 and will feature food and brunch style cocktails as well as the traditional non-alcoholic brunch drinks. Bryfogle’s work will remain a featured item this month.

Thursday, during December 18th’s gallery walk, Cayuse is open until 8pm, with gift ideas in a variety of price ranges, with some gifts under $12.  Seasonal treats will be all over the place, and hot spiced wine will be on the woodstove….

December 27th, Jack Walker is Cayuse’s special guest until 8pm.   His ingot silver and leather jewelry is marketed worldwide by a major fashion designer - his last Cayuse show sold out.

Cayuse’s extended holiday hours: Friday and Saturday until 7pm, and open on Sundays.  Monday - Thursday are 10 - 6 unless there’s a gallery walk; hours are good Dec 15th - January 11, 2009.    307-739-1940.

Horizon Fine Art’s 9th Annual “It’s a Small World Art for Those Tucked Away Places” event happens December 14 – January 4, 2009. Horizon’s “2nd Annual World’s Largest Amber and Turquoise Show” runs concurrently.

Horizon swings with the Season during this year’s December 27th gallery ARTWalk; stop in for some live jazz as you make the rounds.

For information, phone 307-739-1540 or email horizonfineart@wyoming.com

Galleries West Fine Art will host their 6th annual holiday miniature show, “Little Jewels,” December 15 - January 5, 2009. Featuring small sculpture and paintings no larger than 11×14, the show has an intimate quality that affords a closer look at each artist’s hand. Works by a range of artists, including John Potter, Jennifer L. Hoffman, D. Lee, & Bart Walker, showcase plein air and tonalist landscapes, wildlife art, Western and Native American art, basketry, pottery, and more.

An opening reception happens during December 27th’s ARTWalk, 5:00-8:00 p.m. Contact Galleries West Fine Art at 307-733-4412, or visit www.gallerieswestjacksonhole.com.

December 20- January 11, 2009 the Diehl Gallery celebrates internationally renowned sculptor Jim Budish with a one-man exhibition.

An artist’s reception takes place Saturday, December 27th, from 5-8 pm. Join the Diehl Gallery for fine art, sumptuous treats and beverages! This exhibition is Diehl Gallery’s featured Holiday ARTWalk event.

Contact the gallery at 307-733-0905. Email: info@diehlgallery.com

In town on Saturday, December 20, Jackson’s newest gallery, “Troutwater,” officially opens its doors with a holiday reception beginning at 3:00 p.m. “Troutwater” is located in Crabtree Corners Mall, a few paces past the giant stuffed buffalo. “A Horse of a Different Color” joins the fun, as does “Accentuate.” 307-699-4175.

Also occurring December 20: CIAO Gallery’s “Holiday Miniatures & Fine Artisan Exhibition” opening reception happens 6:00 pm-9pm. Featuring local and national artists and other works limited to 9×9 inch dimensions. More information on CIAO’s winter schedule can be found on the Jackson Hole Art Blog by entering “CIAO” in the search window.

A Horse of a Different Color presents three artists new to Jackson’s gallery scene. Toland Sand’s, D G House’s and Lynn Bishop’s creations will be featured at the Dec. 27 Holiday Gallery Stroll.

Toland Sand, known internationally for his constructed cold glass, has works in galleries and private collections around the world. His sculptures feel alive, seemingly changing color, patterns and structure.

D G House, a Native American artist residing in Bozeman, specializes in contemporary, vivid, paintings of animals. She is an artist in residence in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Her paintings are part of the Smithsonian Institute’s Museum of the American Indian permanent collection, as well as private collections worldwide.

Glass artist Lyn Bishop works in fused glass. “Glass can be incredibly strong, or very fragile, simple or ornate, transparent or opaque, functional or not, it’s limitless”, she says. Her pieces are densely patterned, often resembling woven fabrics.

“A Horse of A Different Color” holiday hours are 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Saturdays and 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Sunday.

“A Horse of a Different Color” is located at 60 E. Broadway. Phone 734-9603.

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