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Tuesday Artists Demonstrations
November 1st Donna Law
Jewelry
“I have been creating fine jewelry as my livelihood for over 48 years. I find my passion exploring creative ways of combining unique gemstones, colors of metals and techniques in my custom designs. It's what sets them apart and gives them an edge to insure they have their own identity and spirit just like the person who wears them.”
November 8th Gloria Sanchez
Mixed Media
In clay, I create one-of-a-kind pieces which I embellish with acrylic paint, gold and silver leaf, various stones and beads and Swarovski crystals which I discovered in the 80’s and use them to embellish everything I create.
November 22nd Rich Orbon
Pastels
“My love of hiking and the outdoors has blended well with my enjoyment of Pleine Air painting over studio art. I enjoy figure and life studies.”
November 29th Tammy Wentworth
Jewelry
“I've been making jewelry for about 15 years and use primarily semiprecious stones. My pieces tend to be large statement pieces that scream "Go Big or Go Home". My inspiration comes from nature and fashion.Each piece is carefully made with assistance from my loving cats, Sterling, Coral and Onyx.”
December 6th Kristin Kleyer Mangum
Fiber Mixed Media
Kristin creates her artworks with hand selected pure materials from all over the world.
Creating with fibers, ceramics, woods, metals or upcycling gathered materials, she emphasizes the natural beauty in each, when brought together, they grow into a powerful piece of art.
December 13th Jane Nassano
Mixed Media
My passion for recycling materials into art began while experimenting with mixed media monoprints to which I started adding bits and pieces of found objects. This grew into an obsession with collecting found objects to reuse and recycle: old, rusty things that most people would throw away, broken tools and jewelry, things found in junk drawers or thrift stores, or the alleys in my neighborhood just laying on the ground. I began making wall pieces and sculptures made entirely out of 'junk and loving it!
December 20th Nancy Grahlmann
Encaustic Painting
Encaustic Painting is painting with hot wax medium. Encaustic consists of natural bees wax and damper resin (Crystallized tree sap). The medium can be used alone for its transparency or with pigments. The medium is melted and applied with a brush or any tool the artist wishes to create from. Each layer applied is reheated to fuse to the previous layer. Encaustic painting is an ancient technique, dating back to the Greeks, who used wax to caulk ship hulls. Pigmenting the wax paved the way to the decorating of warships.Grahlmann discovered Encaustic Painting when she was studying woodworking at the MacArthur Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas. “It was such a unique technique and lends itself beautifully to collage, it also adds a depth to the design that is being established,” says Grahlmann. She is anxious to share her techniques with you.
December 27th Vicki O’Connor
Mixed Media
Vicki O’Connor is a self-taught artist who has always loved collage, color and creating something positive out of life’s many challenges. While recovering from chronic effects of Valley Fever, she began painting, and found solace, healing and joy in every stroke. When you see her art, Vicki hopes you find inspiration, joy, and the path back to your own beautiful heart. “Nature and her beauty inspire me every day. Whether it's the Sonoran desert, the red rocks in Sedona, the amazing North Minnesota woods, the crystal clear moon, or our famous local fountain, I am lit up by the possibilities of the stunning color and energies they have to offer.”
January 10th Rich Fitch
Ceramics
Rick's pottery captures the style, beauty and colors of the Southwest. He is intrigued with shaping, designing and decorating the functional pottery he produces. The ceramic artwork Rick produces is both wheel-thrown and hand built, ranging from intimate dinnerware sets and serving pieces to commissioned decorative creations. He pays particular attention to the form and function of his ceramic artwork so as to present his clients with a product that is aesthetically pleasing.
January 17th Chris Demma
Oils
Arizona native Chris Demma’s oil paintings invite you the experience the rugged yet evocative beauty of the Sonoran desert landscape. Her contemporary Southwestern works are creative expressions of the exotic botanicals, light, and atmospherics of this singular place.
Working from personal photos, Chris searches for unique patterns, colors and shapes then translates her images into intuitive impressions that she shares with us through her oil paintings. “My primary passion is inspiring people to partake in the mystery and wonder of the Sonoran Desert," says Chris of her work.
January 24th Jenny Willigrod
Pastels
“My artwork has been labeled “Southwest Whimsical” as I love bright, bold colors and my subjects are images from scenes of the Southwest and Mexico. In this area of the world, the land can be harsh and the desert can be a muted pallet of browns and grays. It never fails that amidst all of the dullness, a bright spot of color exists. I am inspired by these burst of colors in our landscapes such as in the brilliance of a bright pink cactus blossom or a shimmering adobe wall under the desert sky.”
February 7th Linda Lawrence
Jewelry
I am a designer and artist of Japanese inspired jewelry. Keeping to the Japanese esthetic I create pieces of beauty through the simplicity of design. I use the ancient Japanese braiding technique called Kumihimo (pronounced, Ku-me-he-mo), combined with modern materials to create braided jewelry that is both unique and timeless.
I work on a Marudai (mar-a-di), the traditional Japanese braiding stand. The repetitive braiding movements, and the sounds of the wooden bobbins hitting against the legs of the stand becomes a form of meditation and focused relaxation.
The challenge of working with such a colorful array of beads and materials is what keeps the creation process interesting. I’m obsessed with color and texture and will often create a bead soup of dozens of different beads, gemstones and pearls to use in a piece of jewelry. I also enjoy creating ombre effects where one color of bead blends seamlessly into another.
February 14th Kelly Bowman
Acrylics
“I live, think, play, and am inspired by color. I cherish the colors of things in nature and surround myself with color. Along with color, I have always had a connection with animals, in particular, dogs and horses. It only made sense combining them to create happy, energetic, touching and telling portraits of animals.” Kelly’s inspiration for paintings comes from her love for animals, the desert, and her experience of the Southwestern lifestyle.
February 21st Mike Buchheit
Photography
Mike Buchheit is a Phoenix-based, landscape and wildlife photographer with a worldwide following. Prior to relocating to the Valley of the Sun, Mike was a twenty-seven year resident of Grand Canyon National Park, where he served as Director of the Grand Canyon Conservancy Field Institute. His frequent and farflung adventures in the park, and surrounding public and tribal lands, are evident in a portfolio of thousands of unique images.
The artwork for sale in the gallery includes a number of Mike’s favorite photographs. He would be happy to share a wider selection and printing/display options upon request, for both residential and commercial settings. “The point of my work is to enrich peoples lives by surrounding them with the landscape that I was blessed to inhabit for so long, and to cultivate a desire to protect Grand Canyon National Park, and all of our sacred public lands.”
February 28th Gloria Sanchez
Mixed Media
In clay, I create one-of-a-kind pieces which I embellish with acrylic paint, gold and silver leaf, various stones and beads and Swarovski crystals which I discovered in the 80’s and use them to embellish everything I create.
March 7th Jim Rapisarda
Fiber Art
My early artwork reflected my roots on Long Island, New York, where I lived until 1981. There I painted seascapes and lighthouses on stone and driftwood with oil and acrylic.
Moving to Arizona, the copper state, took my artistic inspiration in a different direction. My new surroundings inspired my creativity and the medium I use now. Using copper has enabled me to capture desert landscapes and abstract designs in a unique way. Using a technique I developed while painting on stone, I am able to embellish copper in a most interesting and exciting wa
March 14th April Bower
Jewelry
April Bower has always been fascinated by the many varied processes involved in metalworking. Her work, executed in Argentium sterling silver, copper; gold, bi-metals or Mokume’ Gane, features primarily metal with textures, sparingly accented with gem stones, diamonds and semi-precious stones. Specializing in earrings, cuff bracelets and pendants, April creates extremely wearable jewelry, with contemporary styling.
“I love forming jewelry in a low-tech way: with hammers and wood block. There is much satisfaction in turning a flat sheet of metal into a beautiful and wearable 3-dimensional thing with limited tools, hands and brain.
April will be demonstrating Anticlastic Forming, (curves that go in two opposite directions) making light weight, sculptural earrings.
March 21st Kelly Bowman
Acrylics
“I live, think, play, and am inspired by color. I cherish the colors of things in nature and surround myself with color. Along with color, I have always had a connection with animals, in particular, dogs and horses. It only made sense combining them to create happy, energetic, touching and telling portraits of animals.” Kelly’s inspiration for paintings comes from her love for animals, the desert, and her experience of the Southwestern lifestyle.
March 28h Kelly Bowman Returns
Acrylics
“I live, think, play, and am inspired by color. I cherish the colors of things in nature and surround myself with color. Along with color, I have always had a connection with animals, in particular, dogs and horses. It only made sense combining them to create happy, energetic, touching and telling portraits of animals.” Kelly’s inspiration for paintings comes from her love for animals, the desert, and her experience of the Southwestern lifestyle.
It's easy.