We are welcoming hunters this month with a special exhibit in the main gallery. Local taxidermist, Robert Stephenson, will share his talent, displaying several of his favorite mounts including an elk, a bear, an antelope and a skunk.
Robert Stephenson was born and raised in the Colorado Rockies, hiking, hunting and fishing from a very young age. He has traveled throughout the US, Canada, Africa and New Zealand in pursuit of great hunting adventures. In 2007, he was able to meld his passion for wildlife, his artistic talent and his deep knowledge of animal behavior into the study of quality taxidermy. His innate creativity is evident in the mounts, as well as the design of original bases integrating interesting tree stumps and found objects into natural settings. As a lifelong and avid outdoorsman, Robert has developed a keen eye for the expressions of wildlife. He translates this awareness into his taxidermy work, bringing a very lifelike quality to his mounts.
He and his wife Jodeen opened Safari Adventure Wildlife Art and Taxidermy in Paonia in 2009. They offer global hunting and photography, travel consulting, wildlife inspired artwork and photography, in addition to custom taxidermy services.
Aside from his career in manufacturing and big business RON CLOYD is a potter. He loves pots, and the clay, and the process. Ron began his study of ceramics about 13 years ago. Attending evening classes at the Western Colorado Center for the Arts, he learned basic skills from Gary Andrews. Later progressing to advanced studies, refining his techniques with Terry Shepherd. Cloyd is president of the Junction Clay Arts Guild, and is an active, exhibiting member of Art Space and Open Studios, and maintains a membership in the Potter’s Council of the American Ceramic Society
Cloyd states: “Driven by a primal connection to the classic elements of earth, air, water and fire, I take my inspiration from the spectacular geologic formations and ecosystems surrounding my home in the high desert of Western Colorado. My ceramic pieces blend a combination of color, texture and images that attempt to reflect the timeless energies of erosion and metamorphosis defining the landscape of the Rocky Mountain west.
I am fascinated with clay, and fire, and the entire process of transforming a ball of mud into a finished piece of artwork. I share my home and studio in the western foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains with the most awesome person in the universe, my wife Dixie, without whose support, pushing, creative consultation, and patient love, none of this would be possible.”
Ron’s background includes eight years of classes at the Western Colorado Center for the Arts and attendance at workshops with many well known clay artists, including David Wright, Rodney Mott, Ian Currie, Randy Brodnax, Don Ellis, Doug Gray, William Shinn, Tom and Elaine Coleman, Lana Wilson, Paul Wandless, and Dee Shaad.
AMRO UMRANI brings her real earth paintings to us again in the Churro Gallery. Multi colored soils, hand gathered from several western states are combined with a fixative and applied to a tightly stretched canvas.
In her words, Amro tell us : “An acquaintance had started painting with earth and showed me how she mixed it with acrylic mat medium. I started there and developed my own techniques including washes, scraping, layering…and just having a grand time. All the pigments I use are natural- the earth itself. Sometimes I mix colors with unexpected results.
I enjoy long drives thru beautiful country, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and mostly Ouray and Delta County on ‘Dirt Quests’. I like working on stretched canvas as it’s somewhat pliable and hangs well.
Images come from my imagination and things I see in nature – cloud shapes and rock shapes and the never moving, always changing mountains.
There is something about the texture and flavor of dirt that is particularly nourishing. I can be driving along and see dirt that thrills me- the pinks and lavenders, all the colors.”
Amro will display pottery also, including a couple of large “Pinched Pots” and some smaller colorful pots and bowls.
Six weeks of Kids Summer Art Camp culminated in a plethora of excellent artwork. The students were taught by different teachers and completed several projects. The fruit of their labors can be seen during the Fall show in the Young Artists Gallery. Many accomplished young artists will display paintings, drawings and sculpture during the next few months.
Joanne Tullis has been one of the Creamery’s premier supporters since it’s inception in 2006. She received her Bachelor’s of Architecture degree from Rice University and has been a design-builder for 30 + years. Moving from Washington State in 2008 to make her home in the North Fork Valley, Joanne has become an active member of our community and supporter of the North Fork Valley Creative Coalition which grew from the well-attended and fruitful discussions at the February 2011 Chamber Business Forum/ North Fork 2020 round tables and from previous efforts by valley arts organizations to establish cross-sector collaborations. The Creative Coalition is actively working on strategies for community economic and social well-being, including creating a directory, marketing, providing educational opportunities, and promoting public art and events.
Joanne’s show “Putting the Pieces Together” showcases her quilting, mixed-media and fiber art. In her photographic collages, multiple photographs and close-ups of each wind-twisted tree are combined to form multi-sided portraits of individual junipers. Several colorful stained glass and fused glass works will also be displayed. Multi-talented Tullis is proud to bring you her first professional exhibit in the Churro Gallery.
The Gnome’s Traveling Rod Museum presented by Jeff Hatton is an unmatched presentation, in that it spans over 200-years of fly rod construction history, with rods dating from the mid-1700’s through up to the 1960’s. It is the most comprehensive compilation of pre-1860 fly rods in existence anywhere in the world, and it depicts the evolution of rod construction from solid wood rods of the 1700’s, through to the composite tipped wood rods of the early to mid-1800’s. This collection continues through to the designs of the modern bamboo fly rod of the late 1940’s into the early 1950’s, when the use of fiberglass became popular and rod construction became somewhat automated.
You will be fortunate to see rare heirloom rods made of ash, greenheart, lancewood, snakewood, hickory, bethabarra, Calcutta cane, Tonkin cane, baleen, fiberglass, and early graphite composite materials. Jeff creates handmade bamboo and exotic, hardwood fly fishing rods. The hardware in the rods is of locally cast bronze, hand carved with pure art, fish themes featuring the “smiling cutthroat” – a signature trait. A customer from Singapore describes Jeff’s work as “ancient looking with modern performance”. The rods are finished in hand-carved wooden cases inlayed with semi-precious stones and scrimshaw ivory. The cases are protected in a leather scabbard. Jeff has a waiting list of two years for these special rods and builds only five to ten a year. His sales are worldwide. Hatton is the published author of Rodcrafting and is working on a second and third book. Jeff refers to himself as a “trout bum” working from his shop in Paonia
Over the years, Scheele’s artistic vision has progressed from faithfully representing the world around her in botanical illustrations, to loosely interpreting that visual world, to abstracting concepts of dynamism and spirituality in our world. Her new works add another dimension to the painted surface by incorporating silken human forms emerging from the abstract painted canvas. These experimental pieces provide a vehicle revealing the dichotomy between the physical and the spiritual. Blending the two reveals that neither exists in isolation, rather, each is a part of the other.
“ I’ve experienced natural disasters and personal tragedy,” Scheele says, “and have witnessed the same in others. To make sense of this, I use color and movement to express the dynamism of our physical world and its spiritual connections in my art.”
Reflecting both serious and whimsical aspects of life, the multi-media art of Maya Nichols provides a complement to the bold, colorful paintings of Jill Lacy in the Peach Gallery. “Each piece has the potential to celebrate, honor, or comment on something of importance,” says Nichols, who enjoys working on clay with a metal scraper, which, she says, becomes an extension of her hand. “A caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly or a fertilized egg’s growth into a complex animal are just two manifestations of life cycles that stimulate my work,” she says.
Nichols’ most recent theme is life and light within a subject. She enjoys working with light, whether contained in or glowing from a piece, using it as a visual element in some pieces, while intending it to be symbolic of life or energy in other pieces. A creative artist in many media since she was a child, Nichols took a break from art after receiving a Fine Arts degree in college, but found she simply was not content unless she was creating. Artistic expression, with its exploration, release, and enthusiasm, is now a way of life for her.
Inspired by nature, Jill Lacy paints vivid landscapes and bold, colorful flowers, reminiscent of both Van Gogh and O’Keefe. She has lived in the southwest for many years, and spent ten years living in remote locations on the Hopi and Navajo Indian reservations. Her ideas, vision, and values have been greatly shaped by this experience.
“I love the modernness of acrylic paint,” she says. “It is amazing to work with, I love the glossy feel of the paint on the canvas.” Lacy paints primarily on commission, and when a patron requests a painting, she focuses on listening to their favorite musicians while she paints their original piece. This inspires each piece to be a unique creation tailored to her client. Her goal is to enlighten environments with paintings that evoke joy and enable the viewer to escape from reality. “Art is Love on Canvas,” says her artist’s statement, and her paintings reflect that.
Photos coming soon….
Jewelry artist RuthAnn McCullam will show her work downstairs in the Peach Gallery. Her artisan gemstone jewelry is an artistic expression of her Colorado surroundings: the many animals roaming the plateaus and river basins, the colorful and rich minerals and rock specimens, the high desert and riparian flora, the eclectic and elegant human population. Her work is often surprising in its unusual color combinations and elegant design elements.
RuthAnn discovered a fascination with minerals as a young girl; a photograph shows her as a toddler in a vast expanse of dirt, collecting rocks in a brown paper bag. Her early interest in rocks developed into a sophisticated relationship with natural gemstones and precious metals, glass, and vintage materials. She is focused on providing high-quality handcrafted artisan jewelry and strives for complete service and customer satisfaction.
photos coming soon…
A total of 67 students will exhibit their art upstairs in the Churro Gallery, featuring the work of four senior artists displaying a very strong start to their creative futures. During the past year, students have dabbled in various media, learning what they love and where they have to experiment to gain new insights into creative options. A piece from each student in the program will be displayed in the show. At the end of the opening, students will participate in a Raku firing, which guests may also observe.
Art teacher Jamie Roeber encourages students to explore all facets of art, including everything it takes to set up a gallery show and opening. Jamie runs a “choice-based classroom: students have to pick what objectives they hope to reach; I don’t give cookie cutter projects. It’s all about the kids.” In this era of decreasing funding for the arts in public schools, Jamie is optimistic about the Hotchkiss arts program. “If you have a strong teacher in an area the program will prosper.” Roeber and her students have conducted fundraisers for the Hotchkiss arts program, gone on art related field trips, and many of her students have won awards in local exhibitions.
