Jackson Hole Art Blog

“Years later I’m going back and looking at the projects we did.  My critique is, they are pastiche.  They are cardboard facades.  The real town is a block behind them, and it’s still awful, in trouble. So we didn’t help the people who live there, the thing that was supposed to be helped.” – Walter Hood

Finding what is particular and special to a community is part of what urban landscape designer Walter Hood does; over the years it has become clearer to Hood that urban centers require different formulas for renewal, depending on relevant measurable goals.

Pittsburgh, with its steel industry history, at one time existed for opposite reasons than Jackson exists.  But, says Hood, Pittsburgh  (sort of a sister city for me, and a great example in urban renewal) has found itself again. Like other mid-west industrial towns Pittsburgh fell on hard times; hard enough that a few decades ago many were giving it up for lost.  Jobs disappeared, people left in droves, and the city was gritty and depressed.

Jackson and Pittsburgh have traditionally relied on single industries. Jackson’s magnificent beauty and location have made it an economy inflated by landscape;  Pittsburgh’s economy relied on steel.

Now Pittsburgh’s economy is strong; it has weathered this recession relatively well, in large part because the city has taken pains to attract diverse market sectors.  Healthcare, education, technology, financial jobs play a large role. City parks are being restored. Abandoned spaces are recycled into new housing and businesses.

Hood opines that whatever direction Jackson takes in shaping its future, keeping traffic in check is crucial.   Open space cannot be fully protected unless we control congestion and emissions.

“I think where we are as Americans, things are hitting the fan.  We will have to make some really serious decisions about the land.  I have a lot of projects where people are investing in alternative transportation modes; they are starting to say “we don’t need that much parking.”  They are beginning to say we want to be greener—it will force them to act differently.”

Its community locking horns over a new Comprehensive Plan, Jackson’s town and county officials are attempting to correctly address a demand for affordable housing.  The risk of over development is very real.  To date, officials are treating mass transit as a finishing touch for building more units;  most urban planning takes the opposite approach.

Whenever I return to Jackson from the east coast, my immediate sense is Jackson’s traffic is under control.  Then summer arrives.

“In the winter it is really fantastic to be here—you could drive and everything goes back to scale,” says Hood.  “When spring comes the scale gets smaller but it is still big.  You see more in Jackson.  It’s sensory overload.”

A national park’s purpose is defeated, says Hood, when 4,000,000 tourists a year jam the roads and the scenery is…”unseeable.” If you want to reduce traffic, and impact, you make roads smaller and narrower. Cars then have to get smaller.  Discourage, don’t encourage, more traffic.

We agree that the town of Jackson should be about this place.  That gentler transitions from park to town are optimal, but not planned.  Approaching downtown Jackson, there is a sense that our open spaces are chopped off at the knees.  It’s good, we conclude, that the National Museum of Wildlife Art is one of the first things you see.   But many buildings and landscapings closer to town are visually harsh.  Lots of aging concrete, signage, little shoulder softening, no real thought to the landscape.

And simply as a marketing concept, in addition to the conservation benefits, planning should accentuate sensitivity to place.

But what about helping a community through recession?  Hood may not have Jackson’s specific economic remedy, but he does have experience with plans that didn’t work.

Hood says that collectively, we often make big mistakes when trying to “save” community.

“There are some amazing places, but the way we act in those landscapes is still the freakin’ same way,” he notes.  “I worked for a firm in the 90’s that would go to lots of small towns, particularly in Washington state. There was, at the time, the whole notion that you can go to these communities and save them by design.  A lot of them have lost their industries; they were river towns and people logged, or fished…those economies died.

The community then dies.

So we’re in this amazing valley or setting and what do we do?  Tourism. Immediately the main street programs help fortify the preservation of these towns—and I was into it.  At the time it seemed like the right thing to do.

Years later I’m going back and looking at the projects we did.  My critique is, they are pastiche.  They are cardboard facades.  The real town is a block behind them, and it’s still awful, in trouble.   So we didn’t help the people who live there, the thing that was supposed to be helped.”

Hood says the reasons people do choose to live in Jackson Hole are clear.  Safety is big, he says, and that feeling of safety springs in large part from how we control growth.

“It is a gift to have the ability to just walk around without fear and collision.  Last night I saw a woman running in the near dark, without street lights, without fear.  Wow.  She’s safe, there’s no traffic, the landscape is still visible, and she wants to be there.

I could not do this where I live.  Those are the kind of experiences to save.   The ability to navigate the landscape at night!  But more people, more traffic—more security and more lights come in. Success breeds more demand. It’s a circle.   I asked for a room on the upper floors of my hotel, facing the mountains, so I could take that in.  That’s the experience!  I know why people live here.”

To find out more about Walter J. Hood and his work, log onto his website here.

Post Script:  The Jackson Hole Art Blog is VERY happy to hear of Blaize Oswald’s encouraging progress as he recovers from a bad fall from a ski chairlift.   Our prayers and best wishes go out to the Oswald Family.

Time for Jackson’s annual Latino arts tradition, our Day of the Dead Altar Walk–to be followed by a Day of the Dead Party at Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary. Happening on Monday, November 2 – you will have changed your clocks back an hour by then – the walk begins at 5:30 pm, departing from the Center for the Arts lobby (check to see which lobby, east or west).  Walk along Pearl Avenue with other D.O.D. enthusiasts and savor–appreciate–the great creativity, spirit and love behind these traditional altars.  Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrates life, and offers up kudos to loved ones moved on to another dimension.

They’re still with us, though—you can be sure of that.  Be open to receive them, and messages from your loved ones will come to you.

Following the walk, join the festivities at Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary; it’s a party for all ages with delicious Mexican fare, sugar skull decorating AND…a LIVE ALTAR PERFORMANCE.  Cool.

If you can’t make the Walk, you have until November 3 to visit the altars.  Check with Ladrillos para los Artes, our local organization supporting Latino cultural arts and programming.  All events are free and family friendly.

Altar Walk Store Fronts: Center for the Arts, Bank of Jackson Hole, Cloudveil, Arteffects,Pearl Street Bagels, Antler Motel, JH Meat and Fish Co., Bon Appe Thai, Betty Rocks, Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary Gallery, Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church.

Altar artists: Susan Thulin, Nona Yehia, Jennifer Daniels, Alissa Davies, Babs Case, Meleta Buckstaff, Vanessa Sultzer, Stacey Walker, Madeleine Mundt, Cindee George, Teton Literacy Students, Middle School Students, Spanish Council at Our Lady of the Mountains.

Other D.O.D. inspired activities are listed here.  Contact Oona Doherty at 690-5264 for details.

Traditional Mexican Cooking Class
Friday October 30
Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church
5:00pm-7pm
Space is limited. To register contact Oona Doherty: 690-5264 or oonadoherty@gmail.com

Children’s Sugar Skull Decorating Workshop
Sunday November 1
2-4pm Children 5 and up
Teton County Library
No sign-up, drop-ins welcome.

Day of the Dead Altar Walk
Monday November 2
5:30pm
Begins in the Center for the Arts Lobby

Day of the Dead Fiesta
Monday November 2
6:00pm-9:00pm
Lyndsay McCandless Contemporary Gallery
130 South Jackson Street
Homeade Mexican food and beer, dead bread and hot chocolate and sugar skull decorating!

Jackson Hole artist Suzanne Morlock will join the U.S. non-profit Cross Cultural Collaboration (www.culturalcollaborative.org) , an educational organization working with students from around the world, to work on a variety of paper-making projects in Ghana, Africa. Morlock will spend three weeks this August in Ghana, fulfilling a mission to promote cultural exchange and understanding through art.

Although Ghana provides six years of free, compulsory education, school curriculums are limited, says Morlock.  “There is a focus on reading, writing and math, but no exploration of technology or the arts,” she says.

Morlock, Teton County Library’s Public Service Manager, will work with over 40 students daily at Aba House, CCC’s cultural center.  She will supervise current projects and create new ones using papers from locally grown sugar cane fibers.

While teaching artistic techniques, these craft projects have another
purpose: creating saleable items to help students earn money for school supplies not provided by state sponsored schools. Morlock lists books, pencils and writing paper as some of the basics students still need.   She adds that the summer should see the addition of a new library and webpage design project at Aba House.

Morlock says that though weekends are weekends, children come to the program seven days a week.  The kids are learning values, rather than simply relying on bartering or begging.  Children will work with other mediums and create art using materials other than paper.

“Here in Jackson we are experiencing some economic slowdowns, and I believe this kind of service is even more important as we realize how connected we are globally.  Culturally diverse experiences strengthen and influence our communications as humans living on one planet. I’m sure I will learn more than I will teach,” says Morlock, who also needs help now with projects such as gathering and shipping books, computers and art accessories to Africa.

Want to know more?  Contact Suzanne Morlock by emailing nungua.ghana@gmail.com.

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.

Lots and lots of National Museum of Wildlife Art news and updates!   Here is a full list of activities related to our museum on the hill.

#1:  Dr. Seuss!

Whose childhood–and by extension, adulthood–has not been charmed by Theodor Geisel’s opus?  We all occasionally find ourselves thinking “Seussical.”

“The Lorax: Original Illustrations by Dr. Seuss” is on display at the museum through September 7.   NMWA notes that the Lorax’s tale is a cautionary one, a tale ahead of its time, warning us of our own penchant for wrecking our beloved environment.   The exhibit gives us access to Seuss’ process, from conceptual sketches to to camera-ready line art.  Anthropormorphism of wildlife and our relationship to the natural world are the coal in creative story-telling engines; Disney has built an empire around these themes.   Stand out exhibit characters include Swomee-Swans and Humming-Fish.

“Seuss was not one to shy away from contemporary topics or social commentary. The Lorax is among his most pointed, taking to task a company whose greed causes grave environmental harm,” notes the Museum. ” This exhibit combines original art as it probes humanity’s relationship with nature, making a perfect match for the National Museum of Wildlife Art.”  The exhibit is on loan from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library & Museum.

Special fun-for-kids activities tied to Seuss’s art will be offered throughout the Museum. The Lorax exhibition is included in Museum admission: $10 for adults, $5 for kids 5-18, and free for children under 5. A family rate of $30 for the first two adults, first two children, and $1 for each additional child helps make the Museum affordable for larger families.

#2:  Out of the Box!

NMWA’s biennial “Out of the Box Show and Auction” is one of the museum’s best-loved events.  This year, the show and sale takes place Friday, June 12 and includes over 115 creatively altered boxes by regionally and nationally acclaimed artists.   Prices have typically ranged from an affordable $25 to $4,000 and more.  Proceeds support the Museum’s adult and youth education programs.

Each box is unique, and artists are invited to work in any medium as long as the work retains its function as a box.  The box artworks will be auctioned by auctioneer Jim Loose, and the evening’s M.C. is KMTN’s “Fish.”   Of course, there are door prizes: two CityPass books, a two-hour art appraisal by Art Appraisals of Jackson Hole, LLC, two bird-themed notions boxes and a tour of the newly opened Jackson Hole Raptor Center with guide Roger Smith.

Volunteer Chair Ann Nelson notes the event is a labor of love, with 15 volunteers devoting much of the last two years organizing the show.    “The community of Jackson Hole anticipates Out of the Box with great enthusiasm; this show will have something for everyone,” says Nelson.

Out of the Box is free for museum members, $7 for non-members; free for children.  Event admission includes light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.  Doors open at 5:30 p.m.    733-5771.

#3: Wyoming 2009 Junior Duck Stamp Winners!

Through August 23, take time to visit this year’s entries and winners of the Wyoming Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest. Now in its 15th year, this exceptional program, a national art competition for students in grades K – 12 simultaneously teaches art, conservation of wetlands and natural resources, and awareness skills.

The exhibit is traditionally on display in the Museum’s King Gallery; check with the front desk to confirm.   The list of winners is long, and every entry is a winner in itself.

The following information on is provided by the Museum.

Eighteen year-old Bryant Helm, of Cokeville, Wyoming, received the 2009 Best of Show award for his painting, “Provocative.”  His oil painting depicts a striking portrait of a Long-tailed Duck.  Bryant’s painting represented Wyoming at the Federal Jr. Duck Stamp contest Wednesday, April 22, 2009, at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. The winner of the national competition will receive $5,000, a trip to our nation’s capital along with a parent and the art teacher, and have his or her artwork used to make the 2009-2010 Junior Duck Stamp.  Proceeds from the sale of the Junior Duck Stamps, which cost $5.00, support conservation education.

Baily Schupp, a eight year-old student from Pinedale, for the second year in a row,  won the 2009 Betty Nelson Artistic Promise Award for the best art in the youngest age group.  The Betty Nelson Artistic Promise Award was established eight years ago to recognize the artistic accomplishment of students in the K-3rd grade age group and to honor the late Betty Nelson, a generous supporter of the Junior Duck Stamp program.

The 1st through 3rd place Wyoming winners of the Jr. Duck Stamp contest can be viewed online on the Museum’s web site, WildlifeArt.org.  The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place contest winners will be honored at a dinner and awards ceremony at the National Museum of Wildlife Art on Saturday July 18, 2009.

For more information, please contact Amy Goicoechea at (307) 732-5435.

Where is the Spiral Jetty, perhaps the most famous land art sculpture, located?

The Great Salt Lake.

You probably knew that.

The Jetty is immediately identifiable with Utah’s Great Salt Lake, a memorable icon with a very positive connotation.  We connect forward-thinking creativity and environmentalism with this significant earth art.

The jetty is a giant earth logo.

The concept of Land Art appeared in the U.S. ..in the 60’s!  Of course.  In its purest sense earth is linked to the creative process, and becomes the art.  Land art can erode over time, be ephemeral, and leave us with only the memory of the work. Made entirely of earth elements, land art is truly sustainable because no matter how long it survives or transforms, no ecological harm is done.

Sculpture gardens are more permanent outdoor projects; they also create a strong, identifiable sense of place.   Google ’sculpture gardens’ and one of the first items you’ll come across is the Sculpture Parks and Gardens Directory,  provided by the International Sculpture Center.   The directory displays an emerald world map, and countries with notable sculpture gardens are indicated.  I clicked on USA, and up popped a map of the United States.  States with documented sculpture gardens had a yellow dot hovering o’er.

The map seems to indicate Jackson Hole, Wyoming has a world-renowned sculpture garden! A yellow dot floats above Wyoming’s upper left corner.  Click on that, however, and a link Colorado’s Museum of Outdoor Arts window opens.

MOA’s history vitae page tells us that the non-profit is a “…synthesis of fine art, architecture, and landscape design integrated into the community and business environment.  It is fully accessible to the public, exemplifying the belief that “art is a part of everyday life.”

Utilizing a One-Percent-for-Art program–Seattle’s program is a prominent example–the organization’s founders purchased commissioned art for site-specific projects.

Our town of Jackson seems a good place to create a stronger sense of place through incorporating new public placemaking art that is accessible to visitors and residents, and that interprets traditional themes and values in contemporary ways.  Outdoor art allows everyone to take it in on their own terms.  Yes, we’re in a recession.  What better time to re-think our downtown and what it might offer to us, and to visitors?

Oh, I LOVE this.  This is a story about Vertical Gardens.  The Art of Green.  Green urban gardens. Happy Earth Week, Jackson Hole!  The photo above is from Vertical Garden’s Exit Art website.

Vertical Gardens is “…an exhibition of architectural models, renderings, drawings, photographs and ephemera that depict or imagine a vertical farm, urban garden or green roof.”

Imagine Jackson’s new downtown garage transformed as a vertical garden.  A vertical forest, a vision of vines!   Imagine it surrounded with indigenous wildflowers and plants, an ever-changing public art installation, transforming itself with every season.  Wow.

Vertical Gardens encompasses over 20 projects by “…artists and architects that envision solutions for building greener urban environments.” Cities all around the world are finding ways to include gardens in their planning, knowing the urban aesthetic will increase a hundred fold.   They’re great ways to feed and inspire urban dwellers, and since Jackson’s downtown is bent on adding multi-million dollar commercial and residential spaces, how about including green gardens in the design?   Provide space for sustaining, aesthetic projects in every development and pay it back, pay it forward to the community.   And bring our town’s profile up to new age marketing snuff while you’re at it!   Bring the region’s great beauty right past the city line and into…town’s heart.

Here’s more from their site:

“Largely based on the principles of hydroponics, vertical gardens would also be mostly self-sustaining because they would capture large amounts of natural sunlight and water, and could use wind as an energy source. In a country where cities are suffocated by high rises, cement and industrial materials, where can green space exist? As this exhibition demonstrates, one possible answer is “up.” These and other urban parks and gardens provide areas for socialization and recreation; a location for a city farm or community land-trust; an outlet through which hundreds of people can learn about farming and agriculture; and the addition of much needed plant and animal life to the otherwise concrete jungle.”

Vertical Gardens is a project of SEA (Social Environmental Aesthetics) , which is an off shoot of Exit Art, which “…is an independent vision of contemporary culture prepared to react immediately to important issues that affect our lives.”  The New York City center, 25 years old, engages in “…experimental, historical and unique presentations of aesthetic, social, political and environmental issues.”  Exit Art says it “absorbs cultural differences that become prototype exhibitions,” and embraces multiple disciplines.   Starting as a ‘grass roots’ project, it has grown into a contemporary green, artistic powerhouse.  Always changing, it is now internationally recognized for its innovations, curatorial depth, media savvy and stick-to-it-ness.

Few endeavors build community like gardening.  And few activities provide the warm sense of well-being that gardening does. Win. Win again.  If we incorporate the Verticle Garden vision into ours, we won’t be able to take our eyes off the results.

A couple of time zones away from Jackson Hole–it seems light years away–in Hartford, Connecticut, Aid To Artisans (ATA) has worked for decades to create opportunities for third world artisans.  ATA provides small grants that go a long way towards educating artisans and crafts people in poverty-stricken regions, while keeping cultures intact.  ATA helps these creative enclaves bring their goods to the American market.  Once an artisan has established a relationship with a U.S. vendor, ATA steps back, allowing infrastructure to develop and the artisan to sustain its own business initiatives.  

ATA is passionate about all cultural traditions and makes sure environmentally sound practices are followed.  ATA says it recognizes it can “…can only bring lasting economic growth if (it can) provide an integrated approach to product development, business skills training, market access and eco-effective processes.”

For 33 years, ATA has provided mentoring in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe and Asia.  I’m proud to say my mom, Thyrza Christel, contributed years of service to ATA, working in the grants department and travelling solo to Armenia, for a month, in her mid-sixties. The experience changed her life, and the lives of Armenian women working in crafts collectives.    Working for ATA and the warm, creative craftspeople around the globe has been one of her life’s great passions.

ATA is offering a Market Readiness Program Aug. 15-19 in New York City; the course coincides with ATA’s annual presence at the New York International Gift Fair. The course offers “…the latest trend and market information offered by industry experts.”  Marketing, distribution, design analysis, buyer relationships, importing and exporting, strategies, how to prepare your work for export…these topics and more will be explored.

Deadline for registration is July 15.  A discount is available for early registration.  To learn more, log onto www.aidtoartisans.org.   Phone:  860-756-5550.

What can we be to the rest of the world?

Well, each December we can look forward to Didi Thunder Coburn’s annual Christmas Bazaar, a two-day event reminiscent of an old world marketplace. And by purchasing goods and gifts there this year, you can aid those on the other side of the world struggling to survive.

Colorful, aromatic, and loaded with goods imported from the Himalayan region, the Bazaar has become one of our valley’s favorite traditions. 2008’s edition happens Saturday and Sunday, December 13 & 14, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Many gifts will be priced under $45.

This year’s bazaar features Satya Yoga Jewelry, Tara Knits, furnishings, bronze ware, Nepalese rugs (at recession prices) and more. But perhaps the most meaningful offerings are the handmade necklaces and jewelry made by Eastern Afghans. Sales benefit “Inside Afghanistan,” a non-profit supporting the women and children in that war-torn country, where poverty, disease and starvation are commonplace. “Inside Afghanistan” works to provide sustainable income, establish schools, health care, and to initiate conservation initiatives and reforestation. Lapis lazuli, silver and gemstones have been mined in Afghanistan for 6,000 years.

It’s difficult to overstate this annual holiday tradition’s warmth and spirit. The Wilson Christmas Bazaar is located at the Coburn’s home, 1520 Fish Creek Road. Look for the signs and prayer flags, and bring a friend. For information, email didi@wyoming.com or phone 307-733-4124.

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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