jROD and Pyper Hugos: “The Creative Life”

Living an inspired life isn’t always easy, making a living off inspiration can be even harder. So, is the creative life worth it? Jarrod Eastman (aka jROD) and Pyper Hugos think so. They are the husband and wife behind jRODaRT and You Got Mojo. They met 11 years ago in Granada, Spain. Magnetized by their mutual love of life and creativity, they have been pursuing careers in the arts ever since they met. Jarrod has always been drawn to painting while Pyper’s love for anything old and rusty, especially metal, has led her to jewelry. jROD’s work leans towards an urban aesthetic while holding true to a painterly style. His paintings appear kinetic and surreal with the essence of a story just beginning or of one in progress. Pyper’s jewelry is beautiful in its simplicity of design and color. Using reclaimed automotive steel, found objects, and sterling silver, she reinvents pieces that transcend time and genres, creating art that is at once retro yet modern.

These two artists have teamed up with Amy Kirkland of Altitude Gallery to bring you a one night art extravaganza…“The Creative Life”. They will be showing new artwork from the last few months in the studio. jROD will also be releasing a new 16 x 20 limited edition print series, and Pyper will be unveiling new bracelets and rings in her line of jewelry. This event is sponsored by Altitude Gallery and Montana Ale Works and will take place at the gallery located at 134 E. Main St. from 5 to 9pm on November 6th, 2009. Stop by for some great art and libations.

For more information contact Amy @ 406.582.4472 or visit www.altitudegallerybozeman.com, www.yougotmojo.com, or www.jrodart.com.

Bonnie Glock and Stuart Bond @ Artists’ Gallery

The Artists’ Gallery at the Emerson invites the public to a reception for artists Bonnie Glock and Stuart Bond, to be held on Friday, October 9 from 5 to 8 PM. Their works will be on display from September 28 through October 24. Glock will present a series of abstract graphite and pastel drawings, most of which will be in black, white, and gray tones. Bond will be showing his beautifully carved wood hangings, using trout, birds, wildlife, and celtic designs as his inspiration.

Bonni Glock’s early artistic inclinations were shaped by her mother, a realistic artist out of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.  Having received a B.S. in Education from Texas Tech University and a B.A. in Art from M.S.U., Bonnie now combines mediums, styles and rhythms into her own individual expression.  She has painted and exhibited in eight states.

Stuart Bond started carving at age thirteen when his father enrolled them both in woodcarving classes. His instructor was a master woodcarver from Norway. From then on, with the encouragement of his artistic parents, he learned and practiced on his own, working in wood and stone. Living on the Oregon coast gave him inspiration and plenty of subject matter. Then he experienced the dramatic change of moving to Montana, and a what a good change it has been. Here he’s honed his skills and added clay and wax to his sculpture mediums.  Sculpture is a passion for Stuart and there is nothing he would rather be doing.

Brooke Karath paintings @ Sola

An exhibit of Brooke Karath’s Native American portraits is on display in the dining room gallery at the Sola Café (corner of So. 3rd and Kagy) through the month of September.

Although Karath has resided in Bozeman for 15 years, she has always been drawn to the beauty and spirit of northern New Mexico. She’s inspired by its rich regional heritage, majestic landscapes, and hypnotic night skies. Karath began painting in May 2007, and has exhibited in galleries throughout northern New Mexico, as well as the Gallatin Valley.

In addition to painting Native American portraits, Karath also paints “retablos,” a traditional Spanish art form that represents holy images of Jesus, Mary, and any one of the Catholic saints.  Since the 18th Century, retablos have been painted on wood or tin, and have been used to honor saints in homes and churches throughout the Southwest, Mexico, Central and South America, and Spain.  Karath prefers to work with pine, and uses a combination of watercolor, acrylic, and charcoal.  The driving force behind all of her work is the desire to honor the heritage, beauty, and heart of New Mexico and its people.

More of Karath’s work can be seen at her web site.

Robert DeWeese: A Look Ahead

Robert DeWeese: A Look Ahead is a survey of the life work of one of Montana’s pioneering modernist artists. Beginning August 5th the DeWeese retrospective will be on display in Bozeman’s Jessie Wilber Gallery at the Emerson and the Copeland Gallery at Montana State University. The community is invited to an opening reception at the Wilber Gallery on Friday, August 14th, with a gallery talk by Josh DeWeese at 5:30 pm. Refreshments will be served from 5–8 pm in conjunction with Bozeman’s Art Walk.

Robert DeWeese (1920-1990) studied art at Ohio State University and moved to Montana in 1949 with his wife, Gennie Adams DeWeese. As professor of art at Montana State University in Bozeman from 1949 to 1977, DeWeese taught and influenced many of the artists now working in Montana and beyond. DeWeese’s immense creativity, protean productivity, and personal warmth and generosity made him a Montana art legend. His radical experiments influenced two generations of Montana artists and collectors, and his artistic explorations still reverberate today.

A Look Ahead is on loan from the Holter Museum of Art and is traveling throughout the state of Montana under the auspices of the Museum and Art Gallery Directors Association–Montana (MAGDA). It is based on the Robert DeWeese retrospective presented at the Holter Museum in 2006 and curated by Bozeman artist Terry Karson.

“We hope this exhibition provides a fresh, in-depth look into Bob DeWeese’s legacy, offers a significant addition to the historical record of this important artist, and stimulates renewed dialogue on the history of modern art in Montana and what it may offer to future generations,” Karson said.

For further information contact Ellen Ornitz, ellen@theemerson.org or consult our website: www.theemerson.org.

Whitehouse and Williams paintings @ Artists’ Gallery

The Artists’ Gallery at the Emerson invites the public to a reception for painters Kitty Whitehouse and Linda Williams, to be held on Friday, July 10 from 5 to 8 PM. Their works will be on display from June 29 through July 27.

Whitehouse will be showing her latest oil paintings of both landscapes and wildlife, many of which are of local scenes that Bozeman residents will recognize. Williams will be featuring new oil paintings of classically inspired still-lifes and plein-air studies of Montana’s western landscapes.

Kitty Whitehouse –  Landscape and Wildlife Artist
Kitty Whitehouse has an art degree from the University of New Hampshire as well as having studied western landscapes, lighting, and techniques with several local and nationally known artists.  Working primarily in oils, her subjects are usually horses, wildlife, and the Montana and Yellowstone landscapes. However, her paintings are usually about the light, using the subjects to portray an emotion, a unique lighting condition, or time of day.  Many of her latest paintings are of local scenes that Bozeman residents will recognize.

Linda Williams – Landscape and Still-Life Painter
Linda was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in New York, New Orleans, and Memphis.  She graduated Phi Kappa Phi from MSU with a degree in Fine Arts, receiving the Strand Award.  She was included in the “35 Important American Women Artists” show in July 1992 at Saks Gallery in Denver and currently resides in Bozeman, Montana. Over the last few years she has been sharpening her skills in oils paints through “plein-air” studies and still-life works.

Ann Wilbert and Wendy Marquis @ Artists’ Gallery

The Artists’ Gallery at the Emerson invites the public to a reception for jeweler Ann Wilbert and painter Wendy Marquis, to be held on Friday, June 12, from 5 to 8 PM. Their works will be on display from May 26 through June 27.

Ann Wilbert: Ann has been making glass beads since 1996. Working with a propane/oxygen mix torch,  she melts rods of glass, then layers and forms them to create beads. The finished beads are then annealed in a kiln for longevity.  The striking colors of the glass and the way that the colors react together make glass a fascinating medium to work with. Like ceramics, the finished beads are somewhat of a mystery until the kiln has cooled.  Realizing that there are cooled beads waiting in the kiln to be discovered, is always a welcome thrill for Ann. Her current work is a study of organic color and form in glass.

Wendy Marquis: Marquis’ eyes are constantly scanning her world for a scene to paint. As of late, she searches for ancient trucks in her Bozeman surroundings, as if she was a treasure hunter panning for gold; when she finds one that speaks to her, Marquis stops to see if she feels a story within its old metal bones. If she does feel so inspired, she proceeds to paint.  As she interprets this feeling and these stories of Montana…it flows intuitively through her brush and onto the canvas.  Whether she is painting an old truck, a landscape, or a mountain; or she is faux finishing a wall, Marquis’ spirit sings when she is working with color and paint.

She attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and graduated with a BFA from the University of Arizona. Over the last ten years, Wendy has traveled extensively to take classes in the art of faux finishing walls & furniture. She intertwines all these disciplines when she creates her paintings. Most of her paintings are available as limited edition prints, signed & numbered. Her website is www.muralquest.com. Her studio is in Churchill.

Steve Hamner photographs @ Sola Cafe

Sola Cafe will host an exhibition of photographs featuring food and culture from around the world by Steve Hamner during the months of February and March. An artist’s reception will be held Friday, February 6th from 5:30 – 7 pm. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Montana Outdoor Science School.

Hammer’s interest in photography began as a teenager when he was introduced to the photographic legacy of Edward Curtis. Inspired by his love of Curtis’ photographs of vanishing Native American culture and the landscapes that framed Indian life, he purchased his first 35mm camera while en route to Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1975. Since then, he has always had a camera with him during travels overseas. He has selected some favorite photos from time spent in Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer and in Japan as a novice student of Buddhism living in a temple in Kyoto in the 1970’s. Also on display are more recent photos taken in India, where he worked over the last five years as a microbiologist studying the relationships between poverty and public health, and water and infectious disease. His photographic eye is most often drawn to people going about their everyday activities. “As a visitor and guest in a foreign country, I am intrigued by the diversity and richness of other peoples’ lives, as they perform their work, procure food and water, or relax over a cup of tea with friends and strangers.”

Sola Cafe is located at the corner of S. 3rd & Kagy across from the Museum of the Rockies. For more information, call 922-SOLA.

Exhibit at MSU Libraries: Paul Heaston

Self-Portrait in Studio

Artwork by MSU graduate student, Paul Heaston, is currently on exhibit in the first floor Heathcote Court at Renne Library through December 2008. Additional works are displayed over the computer area on first floor.

In 2002, Heaston graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio (Magna Cum Laude) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting. Some of his Bozeman exhibitions have been included at the Waller-Yoblonsky Gallery, the Weaver Room at the Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture, and the Helen Copeland Gallery. His artwork has also been exhibited at Bear Moon Gallery in Boerne, TX  and the Eye II Eye Gallery and Bismarck Studios in the Blue Star Arts Complex in San Antonio. Heaston’s artist’s statement is available at http://www.lib.montana.edu/displays/08fallexhibit.php.

Stop by the library or visit Paul’s website [www.paulheaston.com] for his bio and more samples of his work.

Ian van Coller: “Interior Relations” opens in San Francisco

Ian van Coller, Professor of Photography at MSU, has a solo show in San Francisco at the Rayko Photo Center. The exhibition runs November 5 – December 6, with an opening November 7. Some images from the show, photographed in his native South Africa, have been previously seen in Bozeman. For more of this and other work by Van Coller, see his web site.

Elina Makitla

Interior Relations explores the deep fault lines between the country’s public democratic ideals and the ongoing racial and economic inequality that circumscribes the lived experiences of many black South African women. Many of the contradictions evident in South Africa’s transition to democracy are encapsulated within white households that employ black and coloured domestic workers, often housing them in segregated living quarters on their property. These households, simultaneously private spaces for employers and public spaces for the employees, are ultimately political spaces where race, class and gender inequalities are negotiated. Interior Relations is a portrait series focused specifically on female domestic workers—nannies and maids—who continue to embody this daily repertoire of inequalities.

Anne Menge, Bozeman artist

Anne Menge just graduated from MSU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting (and a minor in Psychology). Originally from Billings, she plans to pursue a MA in Art Therapy and a Master of Fine Arts with an interest in glass blowing and metalsmithing in the future at an out-of-state university.

I am primarily an oil painter and in recent years, I have switched to painting on much larger canvases. I enjoy painting the figure and also have a lot of fun with abstract imagery. My technique is always using thick and juicy impasto strokes and I have recently moved beyond the limitations of the brush and palette knife to literally squeezing my mixed paint onto the canvas in various ways. I work with huge mounds of paint on my palette (often 5 and 6 cups of paint at a time) and this is one of the most delightful things I think an oil painter can experience. Oils have a saturation that is unparalleled by any other medium and their creamy consistency only adds to the wonderful sensation.

Also, I have developed my own abstract process of using various types of thick textures, then overlaying them with very thin paint. As the thin paint drips down my paintings it tends to follow the contours of my textures. Finally, I always bring my hand back into the equation by adding finishing touches, often finding interesting shapes in the drip and accentuating them.

See the Bozeman artists page for Anne’s contact information.