The Artists of Picacho Hills on Saturday hosted its annual Holly Day House Art Show, which featured a variety of original fine artwork created by residents of the Picacho Hills area.
The juried art show offered unique gifts, including jewelry, paintings, photography, textiles, basketry, glass and woodworking, created by nearly 25 artists from The Artists of Picacho Hills.
The 2nd annual Holly Day House Art Show continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at 1340 Picacho Hills Drive in Las Cruces, by Ump 88 Irish Grill.
Instead of enduring long lines and crowds of post-Thanksgiving shoppers, visitors to Saturday's show enjoyed refreshments and door prizes, while perusing unique, handcrafted works of art from the spacious venue in Picacho Hills, said Wanda Sparks, past president of the Artists of Picacho Hills, who also creates ornate and colorful gourd Christmas ornaments.
During the group's final show of the year, Sparks said more than 200 shoppers on Saturday were in search of holiday decorations, Christmas presents for loved ones, and even gifts for themselves.
"Several couples have come in and said to the person they were with, 'You know, this would make a really wonderful gift for me,'" Sparks said with a smile.
One of the newest art associations in Las Cruces, The Artists of Picacho Hills was founded in 2008 and has since blossomed into a group of more than 30 artists, including painters, sculptors, jewelry makers, photographers, woodworkers, potters, textile and multimedia artists, according to the group's website. Artists of Picacho Hills is open to all residents who create original artwork and live in Picacho Hills.
The Artists of Picacho Hills also annually hosts the popular Art in the Garden show in September, which typically attracts about 600 visitors, and For the Love of Art in February, Sparks said.
Choosing a new, more spacious venue for this year's Holly Day House Art Show, Sparks said, "No matter how many shoppers we've had at once, it's never felt crowded and the artists have had a lot of space to really showcase their art."
"It's been busy all day," said Jeanne DeArment, who organized the event, of the turnout during first day of the annual show. "It's nice to see people doing their shopping locally and supporting local artists, rather than purchasing a TV made in China. I can guarantee, what they've found here will last a whole lot longer, too."
Using various computer techniques to turn photographs into interesting works of art, Picacho Hills artist Steve Bailey said his pieces were selling fast during Saturday's show.
"I've been doing really well," Bailey said. "I've sold several of my bigger pieces and my cards are about to sell out."
Having participated in several previous Artists of Picacho Hills shows, Bailey said many who purchased works of his Saturday were repeat customers.
"Most of the people who purchase larger pieces of art are shopping for their own homes because it's just so personal," he explained. "Repeat customers also want to make sure that the piece they're thinking of purchasing will complement those already hanging in their homes."
He continued, "I'll definitely be coming back next year."
Watercolorist Marie Siegrist, who has been painting for most of her adult life, said the first day of the weekend-long show was a success.
"It's been very nice," she said. "I've already sold a painting and have interest in another."
The first time showcasing her paintings, which also feature acrylic and gouache pieces, at the Holly Day House event, Siegrist said of the art show, "It's been a great opportunity to get to know other artists and to connect with people in the community who are interested in our art."
"The more exposure the better," added Alice Terry, an oil painter. "Because of this show, I have potential for even more sales."
After taking a class in basket weaving about four years ago, artist Lonnie Wilson was hooked on the craft.
"It's such a fun project, and I've been getting a lot of good feedback here," she said. "This show has such a nice feeling since it's at the beginning of the holiday season and I think it's really coming into its own this year."
Oil painter Rosemary McKeown agreed, stating, "The response has been very positive and people have been impressed with how nice the art is."
She continued, "Because the show is juried by a third party, you know you're going to find some really nice works of art. And the facility this year is much bigger, allowing for the art to be displayed really nicely."
Gregg Tracy, who uses mesquite wood and turquoise to hand craft boxes, cutting boards and trays, as well as larger furniture pieces, said, "It's nice to have this large space this year."
He added, "The variety of art is what makes this show so nice. The group always looks for different mediums and different types of art to feature."
Judi Miller, who creates knitted shawls, said she draws inspiration from nature to come up with new designs. Her colorful pieces feature lace-like patterns that incorporate swans, turtles, lilacs, and other natural elements.
"Coming up with new patterns is always very exciting," Miller said.
Her first time showcasing her work at the Holly Day House Art Show, Miller said shoppers "seem to really enjoying looking" at her collection of shawls.
2011年11月27日星期日
2011年8月11日星期四
Workhouse Artist of the Week: Susan Tilt
It’s not just Susan Tilt’s infectious laugh that creates an aura of happiness in her studio. The former Navy wife turned mixed media artist creates colorful fiber and oil paintings full of vibrancy, whimsy - and the Holy Spirit.
“I’m not the only one to say this, but sometimes I don’t think that I work alone,” said Susan. “You can call it anything you want, but there is something there that is beyond me. There’s a Holy Spirit thing going on. I can get so lost in my work that sometimes I return to it and think ‘I don’t quite remember doing it that way.’ And that’s a wonderful thing.”
Susan’s contemporary liturgical fiber art (also called “textile art”) is mostly commissioned as vestments for local churches. But it didn’t start out that way. Susan married young and raised two children with her Navy husband, Tom.
“I hadn’t finished school,” said Susan. “I chipped away at a studio arts degree for years, and finally finished 13 years ago at Mary Washington. Prior to that I had taken classes in photography, painting and ceramics in all kinds of places—New Orleans, Washington, wherever the Navy took us.
“I commuted to Fredericksburg for school for two and a half years, which was a marvelous time,” said Susan. “The fiber thing came without a plan. Upon graduation, I had done a lot of painting and photography, but when I started keeping my granddaughter—she was a baby—she didn’t mix well with a dark room or oil painting supplies. I had sewn as a much younger person and I thought, well, I’ll just play around with it. And it just went from there.”
“A couple of things happened,” said Susan as she leaned back against her lime-green and purple quilted pillows. “An priest friend of mine, who is also an artist, commented one day about some work I had done in fiber and said it would make for a wonderful vestment stole for Christmas.”
Susan created a stole for her friend, and has since been commissioned for vestments, banners and altarpieces for St. Christopher’s in Springfield and New York Avenue Presbyterian in Washington, D.C.
“I’ve never advertised anywhere except for my website and the fact that I’m here,” said Susan. "But it’s just taken on a life of its own. I’m not only making vestments for priests, but also clergy. Word just got out.”
A quick glance around Susan’s Workhouse studio shows that she isn’t just moved by liturgical creations. Large oil pieces tell stories of poetic interpretations or inspirations from travel to volunteer work. “I just got back from two weeks in New Orleans,” said Susan. “I taught for a second year at a summer camp at All Souls Episcopal Church in the lower ninth ward. The church didn’t exist before Katrina —it’s in an old Walgreen’s.”
Susan’s eyes lit up as she described her experience. “It’s my mission,” she said. “A friend of mine, Gayle Fendley is a producer for Religion and Ethics on PBS. Gayle travels everywhere for her work—New Orleans is near and dear to her heart. We started talking one day about the city we both love. I said I would love to go there and help the people after Katrina, but not unless I really had a job to do. I wanted something of substance. She called without a whole lot of notice last year and said ‘they need an art teacher down here, can you come?’ and I just said yes, I’ll be there.
“I took lots of supplies—some of the artists here helped me gather up supplies and helped prepare me for it too, which was lovely,” said Susan. “I took my whole show on the road and taught art to almost too many children. It’s a challenge. It was a challenge last year and it was a challenge this year too because there’s not enough help, and it’s a lot of children who haven’t been exposed to things we take for granted.”
The trip to New Orleans inspired Susan to create her Katrina series: “Before”, “Katrina”, and “After”, which she says is still in her head and needs to get out onto canvas. “I do think of that neighborhood a lot,” said Susan. “I think of other neighborhoods and the raw beauty of it, the ups and downs. I think of the children and the art they created while I was there. All of it feeds me.”
Susan's fiber art sells for about $400.00 for her smallest vestments and her most intricate fiber work, a chasuble (the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy) start at $600.00. “I try to keep my prices down because churches and clergy don’t have much money,” said Susan of her costs. “But thread has even gone to $5.00 per spool—which is ridiculous, but that’s what it is.”
“My paintings can go anywhere from about $375.00 to $2000.00,” said Susan as she walked over to a recent oil painting titled “Interview with a Pear Tree”. “This is based on a poem by a friend of mine. Her poetry is so esoteric. It’s a lot of whimsy and fun.”
“I consider myself a mixed media artist with oils and fibers,” said Susan. “It addresses two sides of me. Painting is a way to just let loose. “Katrina” addresses something serious, but the way it’s done, you aren’t sure really what it is. And I like that about it. All the fiber work is far more detail oriented. It’s both sides of me. I didn’t know I could be so detail oriented, but I can be. And there’s a pleasure in that too— then after a point I have to paint and whoosh, let loose.”
“I’m not the only one to say this, but sometimes I don’t think that I work alone,” said Susan. “You can call it anything you want, but there is something there that is beyond me. There’s a Holy Spirit thing going on. I can get so lost in my work that sometimes I return to it and think ‘I don’t quite remember doing it that way.’ And that’s a wonderful thing.”
Susan’s contemporary liturgical fiber art (also called “textile art”) is mostly commissioned as vestments for local churches. But it didn’t start out that way. Susan married young and raised two children with her Navy husband, Tom.
“I hadn’t finished school,” said Susan. “I chipped away at a studio arts degree for years, and finally finished 13 years ago at Mary Washington. Prior to that I had taken classes in photography, painting and ceramics in all kinds of places—New Orleans, Washington, wherever the Navy took us.
“I commuted to Fredericksburg for school for two and a half years, which was a marvelous time,” said Susan. “The fiber thing came without a plan. Upon graduation, I had done a lot of painting and photography, but when I started keeping my granddaughter—she was a baby—she didn’t mix well with a dark room or oil painting supplies. I had sewn as a much younger person and I thought, well, I’ll just play around with it. And it just went from there.”
“A couple of things happened,” said Susan as she leaned back against her lime-green and purple quilted pillows. “An priest friend of mine, who is also an artist, commented one day about some work I had done in fiber and said it would make for a wonderful vestment stole for Christmas.”
Susan created a stole for her friend, and has since been commissioned for vestments, banners and altarpieces for St. Christopher’s in Springfield and New York Avenue Presbyterian in Washington, D.C.
“I’ve never advertised anywhere except for my website and the fact that I’m here,” said Susan. "But it’s just taken on a life of its own. I’m not only making vestments for priests, but also clergy. Word just got out.”
A quick glance around Susan’s Workhouse studio shows that she isn’t just moved by liturgical creations. Large oil pieces tell stories of poetic interpretations or inspirations from travel to volunteer work. “I just got back from two weeks in New Orleans,” said Susan. “I taught for a second year at a summer camp at All Souls Episcopal Church in the lower ninth ward. The church didn’t exist before Katrina —it’s in an old Walgreen’s.”
Susan’s eyes lit up as she described her experience. “It’s my mission,” she said. “A friend of mine, Gayle Fendley is a producer for Religion and Ethics on PBS. Gayle travels everywhere for her work—New Orleans is near and dear to her heart. We started talking one day about the city we both love. I said I would love to go there and help the people after Katrina, but not unless I really had a job to do. I wanted something of substance. She called without a whole lot of notice last year and said ‘they need an art teacher down here, can you come?’ and I just said yes, I’ll be there.
“I took lots of supplies—some of the artists here helped me gather up supplies and helped prepare me for it too, which was lovely,” said Susan. “I took my whole show on the road and taught art to almost too many children. It’s a challenge. It was a challenge last year and it was a challenge this year too because there’s not enough help, and it’s a lot of children who haven’t been exposed to things we take for granted.”
The trip to New Orleans inspired Susan to create her Katrina series: “Before”, “Katrina”, and “After”, which she says is still in her head and needs to get out onto canvas. “I do think of that neighborhood a lot,” said Susan. “I think of other neighborhoods and the raw beauty of it, the ups and downs. I think of the children and the art they created while I was there. All of it feeds me.”
Susan's fiber art sells for about $400.00 for her smallest vestments and her most intricate fiber work, a chasuble (the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy) start at $600.00. “I try to keep my prices down because churches and clergy don’t have much money,” said Susan of her costs. “But thread has even gone to $5.00 per spool—which is ridiculous, but that’s what it is.”
“My paintings can go anywhere from about $375.00 to $2000.00,” said Susan as she walked over to a recent oil painting titled “Interview with a Pear Tree”. “This is based on a poem by a friend of mine. Her poetry is so esoteric. It’s a lot of whimsy and fun.”
“I consider myself a mixed media artist with oils and fibers,” said Susan. “It addresses two sides of me. Painting is a way to just let loose. “Katrina” addresses something serious, but the way it’s done, you aren’t sure really what it is. And I like that about it. All the fiber work is far more detail oriented. It’s both sides of me. I didn’t know I could be so detail oriented, but I can be. And there’s a pleasure in that too— then after a point I have to paint and whoosh, let loose.”
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