Fibonacci fine arts digest volume 2 | issue 2

$7.95 US $9.95 CAN Volume 2, Issue 2

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Inside 7 8 9 10

From the Publisher Editor ’s Note Editor ’s Choice Mountain Wes t Ar t & Event s

Visual Ar ts 16

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Is Ar t Essential to E xis tence?

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by Carmen Stenholm

Por trait s by Picasso

by Josie Luciano

Colors of Jackson

by Francis Moody

Feas t for the Senses

by Savannah Turk

The Ar tis t ’s Studio

Displayed for the first time in public from Picasso’s private collection!

by Ehren Clark

Painting From Life

by John Hughes

The Ar t of Giving

by Robert T. Benson

Celebrating Fif t y Years

by Susan Easton Black

Boundless Beaut y

by Sara Pegarella

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DIGEST

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Music 54

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Maes tro Donald Runnicles

by Richard Maturi

Hones t y Meet s Harmony

by Rebecca Edwards

Remembering a Legac y

by Nathan Bowen

Multimedia 68

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A Symphony of Words

by Janice Brooks

Cultivating Craf t Lake Cit y

by Muyly Miller

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Lighting the Way

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Galler y Catalog

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by Kaylin Meyer

Galler y Direc tor y

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DIGEST

PUBLISHER Molly Bitton and Asenath Horton MANAGING EDITOR Savannah Turk CREATIVE DIRECTOR Chad Zavala DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Devin Liljenquist FEATURED WRITERS Carmon Stenholm Rebecca Edwards Francis Moody Richard Maturi Josie Luciano Robert T. Benson Kaylin Meyer Sara Pegarella Susan Easton Black CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ehren Clark Janice Brooks

John Hughes Nathan Bowen

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

On the Cover: Name by Olivia Pendergast Dimensions, Oil I started painting portraits about twelve years ago with only an occasional landscape break. I am so moved by the human form, by humanity, by what I see when I look into people; an emptiness, the fullest emptiness I have ever seen.

There is a seeing beyond ego, beyond personal need and something lands on a gentle kindness. I can see it in everyone and in everything.

When I travel to countries such as Haiti, Malawi, Bangladesh, Ethiopia—and hopefully one day soon, Iran— there is an openness, maybe because we do not speak the same language so the connection has to come from something else. When I experience this openness I can barely wait to paint.

I travel with my paints and roll of gessoed paper in a tube under my arm. A wall, a sheet of plywood, a porch floor become my studio and I paint and paint filling every available surface with studies of humanity. I keep thinking I will finally sate my desire to paint figures, but it seems to arise from something beyond me, this desire to constantly be in the company of emptiness. So, I just keep painting.

There is not any attempt to charade the work that I create. It is a process, an unfolding that I cannot even understand or take credit for. The gesso goes down, then the under-painting, then the line through pencil and scratches, and then the painting. This is how it works, how it is created and there is nothing to glaze over and create the illusion that I “know” what I am doing.”

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Abravanel Studio Austen Diamond Brigham Young University Elizabeth Jose Francis Moody Hadley Rampton

J.S. Scott John Hughes Katherine Wetzel Stan Clawson URBANSCREEN. Zoe Rodriguez

For advertising information send inquiries to: Fibonacci Fine Arts Company 221 E. Broadway Salt Lake City, UT 84111 P 385-259-0620 www.fibonaccifinearts.com advertising@fibonaccifinearts.com The opinions contained in the articles and advertisements published by Fibonacci Fine Arts Company are not necessarily those of Fibonacci Fine Arts Company, its officers, directors or employees, nor does publication in Fibonacci Fine Arts Company constitute an endorsement of the views, products or services contained in said articles or advertisements. The publisher is not responsible or liable for errors or omissions in any advertisement beyond the paid price.

Fibonacci Fine Arts Digest is published six times annually by Fibonacci Fine Arts Company., LLC and is distributed throughout Utah and surrounding areas. Any reproduction, electronic, print, or otherwise without written consent from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Address requests for special permission to the Managing Editor at editorial@fibonaccifinearts.com.

To subscribe to the Fibonacci Fine Arts Digest, make changes to your current subscription, or purchase back issues, call 385-259-0620 or visit us online at www.fibonaccidigest.com.

Copyright © 2015 Fibonacci Fine Arts Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

From the Publisher From the Publisher A couple years ago my life was flipped upside down,

of my favorite writers. Looking back, my siblings and I

dumped in a blender, and turned on high. For a long time

enjoyed countless precious hours before bed listening to

I didn’t know which way was up, and I didn’t really care.

stories of despair, adventure, and wild childhoods; listen-

I was numb emotionally and unable to take care of much

ing to stories read by our father in his thunderous but

more than myself. This was a dark time in my life where

loving voice. In those days, we couldn’t get enough of it—

I was lost, not moving forward, not feeling, not caring. I

story time could have gone on for the rest of our lives and

was just existing, hoping one day the pain would go away

we would’ve been content.

and I could be happy again.

Beginning a few months ago I started feeling the need

When we were young, we cut our teeth on Debussy.

We tasted our first red wine before we could reach the

for creativity, the need for beauty, the need for a purpose.

bathroom sink. We learned how to appreciate things we

There was a restlessness I couldn’t identify, but I kept

did not understand as part of our nature.

feeling this anxious excitement.

This restlessness and need was brought up during

Although we had limited vocabulary, this didn’t stop us from understanding, on a larger scale, what was happen-

a conversation with my sister, Asenath, about life and

ing in the text, the music, and in life. Literature, the arts,

where it was going. We are very good at getting each

music, and culture always meant growth and happiness.

other excited about prospects and business, ideas and

We are thrilled to be part of the resurgence of

goals, so I mentioned I needed something bigger than

“Fibonacci Fine Arts Digest” and Fibonacci Fine Arts

what I had going on and the brainstorming began.

Company. There is a growing need for art, culture, and

There weren’t any details discussed because I had

creativity in the world for which we are fortunate to have

no idea what I was looking for. I just knew needed some-

the opportunity and avenue to create a movement. This

thing. When Asenath came to me a few weeks ago with

will be a beautiful adventure for all of us.

“Fibonacci Digest” I knew this was it. The beginning of my personal resurgence.

Over the last year, “Fibonacci Fine Arts Digest” has gone through a resurgence of its own. Robert Benson had a vision and created Fibonacci Fine Arts to share the beauty and feeling of the fine arts with everyone. He created a beautiful publication that provided a medium

I would like to say thank you to Robert Benson for entrusting this beautiful publication to me and Asenath.

We are looking forward to amazing things happening for Fibonacci Fine Arts and for our entire team.

Molly Bitton, Publisher

Molly Bitten, Publisher

where artist of all varieties can share their own appreciation and understanding of art.

“Fibonacci Fine Arts Digest” is a pinnacle of the fine arts community here in Utah, and we are bringing it again into activity and prominence with this issue and will continue to provide a medium of artistic collaboration and nurtural growth for our artists and the fine arts community.

This is what inspired the theme of this issue: Resurgence.

We will continue to strengthen our presence and the arts community in the Mountain West, chronicling the lives of the inspired, sharing the tales of what has built what we have, and creating the life and the community we desire to be part of.

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream,” said C.S. Lewis, a beloved author and one Premier Fine Arts of theofMountain WestWest • Premier Fine Digest Arts Digest the Mountain

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Editor’s Note Vincent van Gogh was not as much of a talent as we

to take this magazine to the next level. Not only is their

often think he was. In fact, van Gogh continuously strug-

vision for Fibonacci’s future clear and bright, but their

gled with perspective and depth. And yet, he is considered

initiatives with Fibonacci outside of the publication are

one of the most brilliant art minds in history—a maverick

inspiring. It’s been a pleasure working with them to fin-

of monumental proportions, a household name. Van Gogh

ish this issue and I have faith that the editorial mission

did not have an impeccable sense of the rules of art, what

of this publication will excel under their leadership.

he had was creativity and passion.

When van Gogh decided to be an artist, he pursued

The dynamic art coverage that “Fibonacci Digest” provides is one of the reasons this craft resonates with

his career with verve and intellectualism. He studied the

me and deserves our absolutely best work. As Fibonacci

techniques of the masters day in and day out. He painted

expands into other mediums and develops its vision, the

and sketched every day. He joined artist communities to

quality of work created will always be the same and the

discuss what he learned and what he thought art should

mission to elevate the fine arts entities and artists in the

be. His craft consumed him.

Mountain West will never waiver.

Craftsmanship has lost some of its gravitas in the last

Van Gogh said, “Great things are done by a series of

few decades. When machinery and assembly lines became

small things brought together.” These words ring unique-

the leaders in industry, people began to forget how impor-

ly true within this issue. In the following pages you’ll

tant working on one’s craft is. When technology took over

read the stories of multiple legends who made their way

and everyone could be a genius with Google close at hand,

to greatness by a series of small accomplishments. You’ll

working to be innately better fell by the wayside.

see this pristine digest in your hands composed from the

“Fibonacci Digest” believes craft is important. What

small contributions by numerous talents. And you can

one chooses to do with her life should not be decided by

watch as Fibonacci hones its craft of art exploration and

chance or by default. An individual’s craft should be her

promotion each day, perfecting its technique, reaching

passion, her outlet for creativity, and her all-consuming

small victories, and eventually culminating in greatness.

hobby. Perfecting one’s craft is how we have gotten the great masters, such as van Gogh, and how we get the talents of today.

This digest does not reward sloth, and each gifted artist, musician, and creator featured in this magazine is here because they, too, have worked tirelessly to perfect their craft. Their art is all consuming and wholly fulfilling, and that has not only made them masters of their modern crafts, but worthy of filling these pages.

This issue was a joy to work on. As “Fibonacci Digest” expands it allows us to dive deeper into the arts all across the Mountain West. We get to take a journey to Taos, New Mexico to discover how artist Elizabeth Jose left everything she had in London to create art in the United States. We get to be swept away by the majestic musical leadership of Maestro Donald Runnicles at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming. And we get to peek inside the creative spaces of Salt Lake City’s finest artists’ studios.

Fibonacci’s new publishers, Molly Bitton and Asenath Horton, are both excellent talents who are going 8

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Savannah Turk, Managing Editor

Editor’s Choice

Something About a Rope, watercolor, 13” x 19”

A cowboy from Washington, Don Weller grew up with two passions: horses and art. After graduating with a degree in Fine Art from Washington State University, Weller spent several years in Los Angeles, California as an artist and graphic designer.

Though Weller had much success in L.A., he and his wife longed for simpler lives in a smaller town closer to nature. They landed in Park City, Utah. There, Weller’s love for horses was revived and he began riding cutting horses and competing in numerous contests and rodeos.

Today, Weller and his wife, Cha Cha, live in Oakley, Utah with their border collie, Buster, two cats, and five horses bred to cut.

Weller’s use of watercolor captures rodeo and ranch life with nostalgic precision. His dreamy backgrounds of rolling clouds and pastel skies put his characters, often rustic, American cowboys, in what feel like far off, mystical landscapes. Weller has mastered his technique and is able to capture the most minute, intricate details with ease.

This contrast of free-flowing watercolors and mesmerizing detail is what makes Weller’s work so captivating.

His piece, “Something About a Rope” paints a simple picture of a cowboy and his lasso, an artist in his natural studio with his chosen instrument. It embodies this issue by representing an individual perfecting his craft in his found space.

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Mountain West Art & Events Jason Bowen Exhibit

Photos by Brock Horton

July 31, 2015 - Cot tonwood Height s, UT

Grand Teton Music Festival

The 54th season of GTMF featured over 40 concer ts and events July 1 - Augus t 15, 2015 - Jackson Hole, W Y

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Photos courtesy GTMF

Utah Ar ts Festival

Photos courtesy Austen Diamond

Ar tists of all t ypes joined together with locals to fill the hear t of downtown June 25-28, 2015 - Librar y Square, Salt Lake Cit y, UT

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Mountain West Art & Events Sandy City Hot Air Balloon Festival Balloon Festival Inspires Thousands To Look Up! Augus t 8th, 2015 - Storm Mountain Park, Sandy Cit y, UT

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Photos by

by Marc EstaBrook

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Visual Arts

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Is Art Essential to Existence?

Humanity’s Purpose May Be Defined by Creation

by Carmen Stenholm

T

here were no colors where I was born. The buildings

were still a young form of life, we told stories with words

were grey, the streets were grey and the people were

and movements to inform and entertain. We added

grey. Somber looks on faces, which sometimes turned to

rhythm and produced harmonious sounds with voices and

fear, were the norm.

instruments that added dimension to our communication.

It was not until I escaped from East Germany with my

Later, when we learned to write as a means of keep-

mother and came to the United States that I knew what

ing count of transactions and records of deeds, we also

had been missing in my life: wild colors and wide spaces.

learned to layer colors into paragraphs to make the writ-

When I was still in my European home, I would sneak off to the cemetery and sit among riotously colored

ten word artful as well as functional.

All these means of expressing ideas and events

flowers and find faces in wispy clouds overhead. In my

are part of the large family of performing arts. They

home in America, I did not have to go where the dead

are the umbilical cord connecting people on the deep-

were honored to find beauty. It was all around me—in

est levels of their shared humanity. Performing arts

yards, in parks, and along highways. It took a bit of time

bring us into each others’ worlds through words, move-

to adjust to that difference.

ment and sound. The arts then

I will lend my voice to those who have so eloquently spoken about the value of art to our earthly experience. Perhaps my favorite observation comes from Allan Kaprow who wrote, “The line between art and life should be kept as fluid, and perhaps

make it possible for each of us

“Art allows us to share each other’s deepest emotions and experience life together in the same moment.”

indistinct, as possible.”

We know that, for some people, art is life. Without it

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full range of human experience without having to live each expression separately.

Ursula K. Le Guin has noted, “The story is one of the basic tools invented by the human mind, for the purpose of gaining understanding. There have been great societies that

their spirits wither and their bodies fail. Many of

did not use the wheel, but there have been no societ-

them are artists who give the essence of themselves

ies that did not tell stories.” Whether we use paints

to share inner visions—visions of landscapes, his-

and colors to tell our stories or dance and music, we

tories, and human nature that defy description and

are compelled to share our wisdom and ideas with each

understanding for all but the few. We revere them

other. It is, perhaps, this need to communicate, as well

for their talents to interpret what most of us can

as the need to work together in order to find physical

only imagine.

sustenance, that is the foundation of great cultures.

But let us journey back in history for a moment and

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to immerse ourselves in the

Most of us could, if we had to, survive alone; few of us can

take a look at the roots of what we continue to do with

thrive without each other. Art then can be said to be respon-

such a compelling human need. Ages ago, when humans

sible for the possibility of culture and the possibility to experi-

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Raphael, School of Athens, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City1509–1511, Fresco.

ence spiritual moments of understanding. No small gift.

As a psychologist, I believe that the greatest gift

confronts terrible challenges and stares into the abyss.

Along the way, the hero is blessed with help from friends

of art is its ability to make us feel. Whether art evokes

who often give him gifts. It is this help, and his own

repulsion, passion, anger, appreciation, reverence, or

perseverance, that transform the hero into a new self.

any number of other feelings, art is not only a means of

He then returns from his journey, a master of both the

expressing our thoughts and feelings, but is the vehicle

world from which he started and the one he has now

that tickles the centers of our being into feelings we

created. Art, in all forms, is therefore a collection of

might not otherwise have felt. Whether we are the per-

tributes to each of the many “faces” we, collectively and

former, the artist, or the audience, art allows us to share

individually, experience in our lives.

each others’ deepest emotions and experience life together in the same moment.

As Joseph Campbell so beautifully points out in his

But, art is more than a mere reflection of our lives.

It can be the impetus and motivator for deeper understanding and change. Because each of us has a hunger

book, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” human his-

for our own and other people’s stories and visions, art

tory and individual journeys are filled with the same

provides a context enriched by emotion and a deeper

three main parts: departure, initiation, and return. The

awareness of how we fit into our shared human experi-

hero hears a call and, after first resisting it, crosses

ence. Perhaps most importantly, art can inform us about

the threshold into a new world. During initiation, he

why it matters.

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Portraits by Picasso

The Bellagio’s Newest Exhibit Explores Identity

by Josie Luciano

P

ablo Picasso once asked, “Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?”

This is especially the case when that painter is Picasso himself. By now we’re all familiar with the story of the

Given the speaker, the question seems a little loaded, but if

man. An artistic prodigy from the age of four and a clas-

I’m really honest – my answer is always the painter.

sically trained virtuoso as a teenager, Picasso made it his

Beyond a camera lens, beyond the self-aware reflection,

life’s work to eschew the formal technique of his early years,

painting portraiture is two-sided, filtered, and messy. The lie

unlearning his measured strokes and replacing them with

that reveals the truth.

new artistic paradigms roughly every ten years. Realism, the Blue Period, the Rose Period, Cubism, Surreal Cubism, Neo-expressionism. Picasso’s chameleonic styles overlap and change as often as his subjects over the years.

The particular appeal of the Picasso portrait has been the studied subject of many retrospectives and collections over the years. Some are broad and sweeping, others focus on periods, a few are heavily influenced by the late artist’s own curatorial eye. But for all the exposure, each exhibit reveals a new, vacillating angle of the artist to its modern audience.

The latest is “Picasso: Creatures and Creativity” at Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art (BGFA) in Las Vegas. Exhibiting work from 1938-1962, this exhibit displays 43 original works in paintings, lithographs, and linocuts—all focusing on the human figure. The exhibit, which opened in July, will run until January 10th, 2016.

The BGFA is well known among visitors as the premier art destination on the Las Vegas Strip. The gallery regularly exhibits work from the most prolific artists in history, such as Picasso, and does so with such skill and nuance that the BGFA has made a name for itself as a world-class gallery.

That nuance is largely due to the BGFA’s keen curator and director, Tarissa Tiberti. In her seven years as the BGFA curator, Tiberti has selected works from museums and private collections around the world to create exhibits at Pablo Picasso, Woman with a Yellow Necklace, 1946, Oil on canvas, 32 x 25 ½”, © 2015 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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Pablo Picasso, Woman Wearing Yellow Hat (Jacqueline), 1962, Oil on canvas, 36 x 28 ¾”, © 2015 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Pablo Picasso, El Greco’s Portrait of a Man with a Ruff, 1962, Color Linocut, Final state, 20 7/8 x 15 ¾”, © 2015 Estate of Pablo Picasso/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

the Bellagio that say something new and interesting about

moments of abstract serenity to snapshots of the dark, angu-

the human experience. The selection, she noted, comes down

lar, and distraught state of both the artist’s mind and artist’s

to what pieces will have “intimate conversations with one

subject.

another within the exhibition as a whole.”

In order to create a meaningful experience for visi-

On the lighter side of the exhibit, Picasso depicts a lover and mother of his children, Françoise Gilot, as a beautiful,

tors, Tiberti must rely on her own background and instincts

tranquil presence in “Woman with a Yellow Necklace”—a pil-

as an artist. Raised in Las Vegas, Tiberti left home for the

lar of stability and organization in the artist’s often chaotic life.

East Coast to earn her master’s degree in sculpture at the

Another painting shows the woman who eventually

Cranbrook Academy of Art. She then moved to New York City

came between Picasso and Gilot: Jacqueline Roque. As

to make art, and later worked at the Denver Art Museum

Picasso’s longest-standing muse and second wife, renderings

before returning to her hometown to curate at the Bellagio.

of Jacqueline vary over the years as the artist’s preferences

“‘Picasso: Creatures & Creativity’ is a unique exhibit

changed from one style to another. In this particular paint-

offering visitors the opportunity to dive into the mind

ing, titled “Woman Wearing a Yellow Hat,” Picasso shows his

and life of Picasso,” said Tiberti when discussing this par-

muse in distorted but expressively rounded curves, wearing

ticular exhibit’s role in the overall curation of the BGFA.

his favorite style of striped, Breton shirt.

“Additionally, guests will be enveloped by the insatiable

Picasso’s voracious appetite for new creative outlets can

curiosity and artistic vision of one of history’s most intriguing

be seen in “El Greco’s Man with Ruff,” a warped, cartoonish

and iconic artists.”

portrait that demonstrates the playful raw energy that char-

Created during one of the darkest periods of Picasso’s personal life, following Nazi Germany’s invasion of Spain as well as the death of his mother, these portraits range from

acterized Picasso’s series of linocuts in the early 1960s.

But the most notable piece in the exhibit is also one of its darkest. “Profile of a Woman With Blue Hair” is an oil paintPremier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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Pablo Picasso, Profile of a Woman With Blue Hair, 1938, Oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cm, © 2015 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Photo: Maurice Aeschimann

ing of Dora Maar, Picasso’s most tumultuous and tortured

Maar’s complicated, disjointed personality. At least her per-

relationship. Commonly known as the weeping woman, Maar

sonality as Picasso saw and painted it.

is often painted with expressive violence and dissonance.

Her image is well-known but this image is not. Displayed

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You might say that’s the point of every piece in this exhibit. The seeing of the person and the painting of the per-

for the first time in public from Picasso’s private collection

son—form and process side-by-side. Taken as a whole exhibit,

and on loan from curator Tatyana Franck, this painting has

each piece juts out like a nose, an eye, or an elbow—or just

all the markings of Picasso’s flat, cubist sensibilities and

another angle of the artist we think we know so well.

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Ben Hammond Fine Art www.benhammondfineart.com (801) 787-1634

An Angel Premier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain WestIn Repose • 21

Colors of Jackson

Artists at Trio Fine Art Find Inspiration In Nature

by Francis Moody

O

scar-Claude Monet was obsessed with painting the

But rather than a garden in France, they have opted to paint

water lily pond at his garden in Giverny, France.

a place in the western United States that is resplendent

He painted the sun’s reflection on its water in the soft light of early morning, then would move on to capture the colors of its flowers at dusk.

Like the famous impressionist, the three artists who own Trio Fine Art gallery are also fascinated with depicting the same landscape at different times, days, and seasons.

with wildlife and nature.

Placed between the Teton and Gros Ventre Mountain Ranges, Wyoming’s Jackson Hole is home to the town of Jackson. Known for breeding and attracting extreme athletes, the mountain community is also an art mecca.

Spreading from all directions of Jackson’s Town Square are galleries that showcase contemporary, landscape, and Western art. Located just a few miles from downtown Jackson, Trio Fine Art is one such gallery.

Founded by Molly Martin in 2004, the art space was created to form face-to-face relationships between the artist and viewer. The gallery has gone through many phases and owners since its start.

Always run by at least three artists—hence the gallery’s name—Trio Fine Art is now under the command of Jennifer L. Hoffman, Bill Sawczuk, and Kathryn Mapes Turner. “Like every iteration of this gallery, this iteration has seemed to work seamlessly,” Hoffman said.

Turner, Sawczuk, and Hoffman all share a love for the

Photos by Francis Moody

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Jennifer L. Hoffman, Evening Song, Pastel on Board, 20x30 in.

landscape they live in. To show their appreciation for the

White Grass Dude Ranch, which is found in the White Grass

valley they call home, the three artists like to take their

Valley of Grand Teton National Park. To make the painting

easels on location to paint en plein air.

pop, Sawczuk used hints of red and brisk brushstrokes.

Sawczuk is the gallery’s newest partner. “These girls needed someone to change the light bulbs,” said Sawczuk, who stands at 6 feet 7 inches. “They either had to get a ladder or a tall partner.”

Sawczuk appreciates the immediacy of painting outside.

“It’s very lucid,” he said. “There’s nothing much in here other than the impression of what’s there.”

Like Sawczuk, Hoffman enjoys painting the foliage and structures seen in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

But when she creates a valley or mountainside scene,

He says when he is out in nature working on a piece he has

Hoffman takes time to study how the sun changes the set-

a short amount of time to capture what inspires him. “I don’t

ting she is fashioning.

like to paint a long time,” Sawczuk said. “I get bored with it.”

An engineer in his early career and later an architect,

For her pastel “Evening Song,” which she painted at the butte off of Jackson’s Spring Gulch Road, Hoffman studied

the landscape artist is fascinated with the soft lines of old

the July setting of Jackson Hole. “I went up there in the

buildings and has painted many of the historical cabins

evenings and in the mornings,” she said. “A prairie falcon

standing in parts of Grand Teton National Park.

landed in a tree and sat there the first day I was there.”

When Sawczuk swipes colors on canvas, he is less con-

Placed in the background of a field of mule’s ear wild-

cerned with realism and more interested in creating a certain

flowers, are two of Jackson Hole’s most iconic formations:

feeling. “White Grass Winter” shows a winter scene of the old

the Snake River and the Teton Mountain Range. The yellow Premier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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wildflowers are Hoffman’s favorite part of “Evening Song.” She said the flora embodied human characteristics. “The flowers turned toward the sun as if they were witnessing the sunset,” Hoffman said.

While Trio Fine Art’s owners enjoy the practice of plein air painting, they also spend a significant amount of time crafting studio art. “There’s a lot of environmental factors we can’t control when working on location,” Turner said. “For instance, we can’t control the weather or the wildlife.”

Turner, who is one of the Trio Fine Art’s founding members, recalls one instance when a moose walked out of stream and to her workspace.

“I hid in the bushes,” she said. “He walked right by it and shook water all over the easel, all over the painting and kept walking.”

Top: Kathryn Mapes Turner, Three Matriarchs, Oil on Canvas. 36x60 in.

Bottom: Bill Sawcczuk, White Grass Winter, Oil on Linen, 18x24 in.

Unlike Sawczuk and Hoffman, who are both Jackson implants, Turner is a fourth generation Jacksonite. She spent a lot of her childhood at the Triangle X Dude Ranch her family built in Moose, Wyoming. “I grew up on this ranch and was really blessed to be surrounded by the beauty and magnificence of Jackson Hole,” Turner said. “I always wanted to find a way to express my love for it.”

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A Hawk’s Rest, Oil on Canvas, 20 x 30 in.,

Turner expresses her admiration for the valley’s scen-

wall to this scene, whether it’s in the cold winter or in an

ery by creating both Jackson-inspired studio pieces and

industrial town back east,” Sawczuk said. “When you are sit-

plein air paintings. She said the core of her inspiration

ting there, you are looking right at the Tetons or right at a

sticks with her when she works in the studio. One thing

stream in the snow.”

she likes about studio art is that it encourages her to use her imagination.

Her painting “Three Matriarchs,” an oil painting of three

Similar to how Monet felt about his garden in Giverny, Trio Fine Art’s artists feel it’s impossible to capture the splendor Jackson Hole has to offer. “Even though most of

elk, allowed Turner to invent a scene full of textures. Diluted

these paintings are of Jackson, they only scratch the surface

oil paint is pooled in certain areas in other areas the paint

of what there is to paint,” Sawczuk said.

appears to be dripping or is scumbled on the canvas’ surface.

Still on their quest to inspire people with the beauty of

“This was based on my imagination,” Turner said. “It came

the valley they call home, Sawczuk, Hoffman, and Turner

out of a dialogue with the painting itself and what the paint-

are glad they have a place where they can show their art and

ing wanted to be. It suggested these figures to emerge.”

form relationships with viewers.

Visiting Trio Fine Art is like viewing a patchwork quilt

“When we are out painting in the park or somewhere in

of Jackson Hole’s most astonishing landscapes. Sawczuk says

the valley, people will sometimes stop and look,” Sawczuk

looking at each painting is comparable to looking through

said. “We can take them right to the gallery and show them

several windows. “You are looking at a window through the

what we have done locally.”

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Feast for the Senses

Artist Karen Horne Fills Up On Culture

by Savannah Turk

A

s you exit the Capitol Theatre in downtown Salt Lake

ist; she is, perhaps more importantly, a patron of the arts.

City you might see a well-dressed redhead perched

Between frequenting museum shows, taking advantage

across the street with a camera pointed at the doors you

of her season tickets to Ballet West, and creating colorful

just exited. Don’t be alarmed, for that camera wielding

masterpieces in her studio, Horne’s life is full of art, and a

patron is Karen Horne, a local artist and art legacy that

very full life it is.

makes her home in the Horne Fine Art gallery just a few blocks south of the theatre.

Horne is so much more than a recognized visual art-

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Horne attended Yale University, eventually completing her MFA in painting at Indiana University. After college, Horne made her way to New York City where she

“Live performance has so much more depth to it than sitting at home with your widescreen TV.”

Top: Dreaming in Stagelight (Ballet West Academy) Pastel, 19 x 23 in.

Left: 20 Minutes to Curtain Oil on Canvas, 24x36 in.

Electric Tutus (Ballet West Academy) Pastel, 26x32 in.

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Top: Dancer in Blue (Ballet West Academy) Pastel, 16x18 in (with frame)

lived for 11 years, finding her husband Michael and immersing herself in art and culture as she worked at The Frick Collection.

“New York was a fabulous education,” Horne explains as she reminisces on the hundreds of shows and culture-rich cities she frequented while living on the East Coast. Being able to hop on the subway or train to create and consume art became a crucial factor in Horne’s growth and development as an artist.

“Traveling is very important for an artist. You’ve got to be in front of the piece to communicate with the medium,” says Horne.

That communication and interaction with the art one sees has been an essential part of Horne’s life.

“What I think is so interesting is that live performance has so much more depth to it than sitting at home with your widescreen TV,” Horne says. “You’re attending the performance, so you’re preparing, you’re dressing up and then you’re arriving and entering the beautiful venue and you’re gathering with other art lovers…It’s a feast for the senses.”

One of Horne’s favorite “beautiful venues” is the Capitol Theatre on Broadway in Salt Lake City. The theatre acts as a centerpiece in many of her painting series, which aim to capture the vibrant energies surrounding art spaces, performers, and patrons in everything from ballet to orchestra to dining.

Horne’s Capitol Theatre series is one of her most recognized in Salt Lake City. She uses energizing colors such as warm golds and electric blues to demonstrate the vitality that surrounds the theatre. “What I’m interested in is the synergy between the patrons and the building,” Horne says.

She masterfully demonstrates this synergy through her contemporary impressionistic style, which exemplifies her wellhoned draftsmanship with a creative display of colors and anonymous faces. Horne’s depictions not only invite you in, but they also make you feel like you could be one of the elegant patrons streaming out of the venue with the airy feel of someone who just experienced fine art.

Horne’s infatuation with art was destined from an early age.

Granddaughter of Alice Merrill Horne, the appointed “First Lady of the Arts,” Horne notes that Alice was a pioneer promoter of fine arts in the Salt Lake valley. Alice ran for the Senate in 1899 just to pass an art bill and used her time there to set up what is Middle: Butterflies (Ballet West Academy) Pastel, 15 x 17 in.

Bottom: Rehearsing Le Corsaire (Ballet West Academy) Pastel, 24x27 in. (with frame)

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currently the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, which continues to give numerous grants to local artists each year.

But Horne’s legacy didn’t stop there. Her mother Phyllis F. Horne also became a decorated artist, and she and Horne share in being the only mother/daughter duo to earn their names on the

Matinee Oil on Canvas, 40x30 in.

They went to a chic restaurant downtown and the couple timidly asked, “Where are the people?” Horne gives a big laugh. “It’s not the same density, there aren’t people on the street all the time and it’s so much more disbursed. But I began to notice that there are pockets of real activity.”

Horne realized what many of us eventually do. There is a lot of art here, and not just any art, but really strong, quality, talented artists. You just have to dig a little deeper to find it. Horne began digging fervently and became amazed by the quality of the ballet, the opera, and the symphony. “For a mid-sized city, we have an amazing line up of culture,” Horne states.

Cleverly inserting herself into local cultural institutions, Horne found a way to fill her appetite for art and audience as well as she had in New York City. From working closely with Ballet West to portray the backstage atmosphere of a live performance to painting en plein air at the Utah Arts Festival, Horne has not only become a creator of art, but a direct participant in the unique art atmosphere Honored Artists of Utah list. Growing up in a home with numerous creative influences seemed to leave a mark on Horne, who eventually followed in her family’s footsteps.

“It felt very natural to have paintings around the house.

of Salt Lake City.

The Horne Fine Art gallery has become another special space for Horne to participate in and express art. Horne and her husband decided to open the gallery 12 years ago.

[My mom] was always creative and things were always

It was important to Horne that this was a hybrid space

being created, so it seemed natural to do that,” Horne says.

with her art studio in the back. She notes that she never

Continuing, as if she is realizing it for the first time, Horne

would have just opened a retail space. “I was only interest-

states, “[When you grow] up seeing art and you go some-

ed in there being a synergy between creating and showing.”

where else and it isn’t there, something doesn’t feel right.”

Horne shares how she has often visited large homes or

Horne’s list of accomplishments is long. Her work is shown all over Utah, and she sits in private collections

mansions and will all of a sudden see a lack of art. Those

across the United States, as well as Italy and Ireland. She

places can feel empty or drab, but when a piece of artwork

has been represented in the Springville Museum of Art

is introduced, the mood immediately changes. Everyone in

Spring Salon numerous times, she was voted one of the 100

the home becomes happier and more expressive from some-

Most Honored Artists of Utah, and has been featured in

thing as simple as hanging a piece of art on the wall.

numerous art publications.

This maverick artist takes it upon herself to capture

But, her biggest accomplishments do not come from

what she rarely sees captured in Salt Lake City. After com-

recognition, but from her participation in the local art

ing to Utah following over a decade in bustling New York

community. This is a woman who has chosen to fill her

City, Horne found a gifted and exceptional art scene, but

life with art in every way, and in meeting her it’s clear

with little variety or patronization. Always interested in

that she will never get full, her hunger will never subside,

the dynamics of urban life, Horne set out to capture the

as it never should. For an appetite for art is the most

metropolitan side of the Mountain West. The biggest chal-

noble of all cravings.

lenge? Finding the people.

Horne tells a story of a couple from Brooklyn that came to visit her and her husband in Salt Lake a few years ago.

Karen Horne’s paintings and pastels can be seen at HORNE Fine Art, SLC, UT. Premier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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The Artist’s Studio A Singular Art Space

by Ehren Clark

I

n real world art discourse, there is an on-going inquiry

application of paint, rendering the figure in architectonic-

of art spaces and the synthesis with the art of that

like expression, as a personal discourse of shades of life

space, including art institutions, museums, public spaces,

that have come and gone—many of whom have stayed,

and installation art. But, there is an art environment that

most of whom are a distant memory. How she feels about

is as imperative to contemporary art discourse as any

each is observable by the liberality of color or stark tonal-

other, yet has hardly been considered. This is the artist’s

ity she uses. Her studio is the development of maturity

studio space, and its relationship to art being and art mak-

and personal and artistic growth, where her demands for

ing, that is the reality within this unique space. A unique

productivity and creative necessity compartmentalize into

and distinctive studio space is the creation of the artist,

one essential concept.

not through arbitrary choice, but a development of productive, creative necessity.

Refreshingly unique, obliquely distinctive, and fero-

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Said Brinkerhoff, “I would definitely say that the studio is my product, because I get to set it up how I want, and what works best for my working environment. It’s all mine.

ciously creative, is painter Deborah H. Brinkerhoff. Her

My house isn’t all mine, so I don’t work in my house, and I

large scale, semi-abstract, rich impasto paintings function

don’t get to have control over my home, but I have control

from independent spiritedness and a generous, gestural

over my workspace. The biggest thing for a studio space for

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Photos by Josanne Glass

me is that there’s freedom…and in choosing a studio space, I need so much privacy—I don’t work well with others. For the most part I work alone. So having a door I can shut and lock is important, and forget about the outside world. So this is so very much my own space.”

As her embodied space, there is connectivity between the studio and the art made there, as there is a synthesis in any art world, art, and art space environment, and for Brinkerhoff, that something is absolute. Solitude, isolation, privacy, and the ability to personally allow for process to occur is the connectivity for this very unique space and this very unique artist.

“It’s all about freedom and being able to loose yourself, and not to have an audience…to have the quiet and the space to reflect. That is the biggest thing. I do love inviting people into my space, and I can be as tacky and messy as I want, but there is a zone where nothing else matters, and it’s harder to get there in [any other] space,” said Brinkerhoff.

From another artist, as different from Brinkerhoff in every way as she is from every other artist, is the enigmatic, and sophisticatedly advanced Oonju Chun, who apparently, can do no wrong. Chun likes to create an abstract canvas free of symbolic expression, meaning there is no reference in her lush, brisk, and colorfully vibrant canvas that might lead to any cognitive register. For an abstract artist, this is a seemingly impossible task, and is performed by Chun with every canvas for the sake of quiet of mind and freedom of spirit.

“The way I work, which is more gestural, a lot of move-

tural and colorful, I have a tendency to require more distance

ment, a lot of me swinging my brush, having to step back,

between my painting and myself, so more confined space

I do need a space that is just open,” said Chun. “It can’t be

would not work. Also, I cannot have things that are distract-

a smaller size, cozy space…it’s got to be a kind of working

ing, hence, the white walls. It needs [to be] just a very mini-

space where there is a lot of available room, and because of

malistic space; I cannot have too many things. The only thing

the way I paint, which is on a larger scale, and it is very ges-

that I want in my studio is my painting and me.”

Left: Photos by Logan Sorensen

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As much as Brinkerhoff requires privacy to connect with her work, Chun requires space. Be this the reductive nature

connection between this space, and by now I have certainly

of her large studio, a large canvas on which to paint, the

developed this connection, which builds every time artwork

room to move about in an interplay with her canvases, and

grows out of this space.”

ultimately, the very vibrant and gestured expression that in

art, a pure and honest manifestation of the artist’s specific

space for the spirit to engage with her work.

conditions for creative manufacture, as well as their most

Chun continued, “When I come into my studio and it environment, it is my space where nothing else exists but

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And this is just it; the connectivity between studio and

essence is a purity of space as it is purity of mind, and the

is just the painting in this context here, just being in this

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physical in this space that my painting requires, there is a

fundamental requirement, are the very substance of connectivity between the artist and the work of art.

Abstract portrait artist par excellence Jeffrey Hale, con-

my visual creation. I come in, there is a slight smell of

temporary painterly genius in the classical sense, manifests

paint in the air, these white walls; it puts me in the mood

this connectivity in an intense relationship of focus with the

to create. The clean floor that I dance on, I can be totally

abstracted form and conscious being of his subject. He seeks,

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Photos by Oonju Chun

not quiet, but for a relationship with his subject, that is as real as the one had in the sitting, and on as many levels of consciousness. This requires a compendium of factors for Hale, but for this intense creativity, the fundamental connectivity is not engaged by conventional inspiration, but from myriad and diverse sources.

Of his studio space, Hale said, “It’s my inner sanctum.

I walk in here, and even if it’s creative chaos, it’s immediately calm when I walk in. It’s all of my thoughts about the outside; family, friends, things like that, typically left at the door, and I am very focused when I am in here. It’s a place I could spend way too much time.”

In this domain is the make of Hale’s cognition and creativity. “In order for a studio to feel like a studio to me I need books, because I am very research driven, and so if I am on a subject, if I am interested in Cubism, for example, then I will dig into that as hard as I can,” said Hale. “I am constantly looking for perspectives from other artists. I’m trying to replace my art on the walls with other people’s art on the walls. I love to collect things, things that have deep meaning to me, and only me. I have turtles all around, sea turtles. Animals are huge in my life. I may not paint about them, but I try to surround myself with these things.”

“Because of the way I paint, which is on a larger scale, I have a tendency to require more distance between my painting and myself, so more confined space would not work.”

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Furthermore, Hale said, “I’m inspired by things that are old, reclaimed, or appropriated. I had a recent pop-up show at Polyform, the showroom is a very clean, obviously modern, pushing for a minimalist look, and I think my business meetings, going back there often, influenced me, and that was the time I was moving studio spaces. So I wanted something that had the old, appropriated feel, but even though my work isn’t concentrated on a Modernist perspective, I found that I like modern things, and my work became much more sharp, defined, structural; it also became more Minimalist in that it all came back to childlike strokes and part of that is the space and why it’s my inner sanctum.”

Such is the reality and ultimately, connectivity, for Hale, as to be a contemporary portraitist, and to be prolific, and to keep each subject invigorating, dynamic, contemplative, and palpable on limitless levels of consciousness, requires an immense amount of inspiration, and Hale is relentless in his pursuit for that which is a motivating influence. This, in Hale’s case, can only happen within the confines of the unique dynamics and individual requisites to engage inspiration: his studio.

Contemporary abstract neo-Minimalist Josanne Glass has her own very definitive studio story to tell that is a work of art a lifetime in the making. As stable, reasoned, considered, and ultimately balanced is her practice, this saga of her life is truly something remarkable, dramatic, and inspirational, replete with exciting and unpredictable changes, that are ubiquitously the case for new beginnings; new places of learning.

Learning is ultimately the vehicle for Glass’ astonishing rate of development in her exciting neo-Minimalist exploration of color, relationships of color, and color within color, that visually make so much sense. The more the viewer considers her work, the more depth is realized,

have, and the most important thing is that I have a bank

with no apparent end. These successes come from the

of windows all along that north wall. I have, for a house,

ongoing processes of developmental learning, or, learn-

amazing light. Because of the way my house is set up, [my

ing from mistakes, both very impressionable ways of very

studio is] a little bit separate from the rest of my house, so

valuable learning.

if I spill over, and stack paintings in the other rooms, it’s

Said Glass, “If you talk about what impacts me, what

regards. In other regards, that’s what is so important and

is in my home, that is the essential. Even if I had another

special to me; that it does impact my everyday life, in a

place, I don’t think I would like it nearly as much as what

really good way.”

I have now. I’m fortunate to have the size of space that I 34

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not impacting anything to do with day-to-day life, in some

helps me do good work, what is essential is that my studio

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Being in control is essential for balance, and this is

Photo by Logan Sorensen

one half of the equation. Intensity, which is nothing new to

others go away, as if they don’t exist, and I focus on what I

Glass, is the other side of the equation. “There are artists

want that one to be, and nothing else.”

that can do 12 different pieces at a time,” said Glass. “I do

With each artist, be it Brinkerhoff’s private space, Chun’s

that, but I do that one at a time, in a linear process. I do

license to dance, Hale’s obsession with sea turtles, or Glass’

that because I am okay going back to what isn’t measur-

one-track mindset, each works in a studio space of their own

ing up, but generally working one at a time. The process of

developmental materialization, that on an elemental level,

being able to do things and let them sit or occasionally, if

allows for an essential conceptual specification, that engages

it’s a 24 x 24 canvas, I might go through the three or four

creativity, thus a connectivity with their work. This intrinsic

step initial process, I may do those all at the same time, but

connectivity, driving their art, can only happen in this most

when I finish that, one canvas stays on the table, and the

abstruse of all art spaces, the art studio.

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Painting From Life The Plein Air Painter Up Close

by John Hughes

U

nderstanding the journey of how one became a plein air

wall of our New York City apartment that were my first

painter can aid in answering many of the questions often

artistic inspiration. Couple that with a move to the rural

asked to plein air artists. Why choose to work in various,

environs of Westchester County when I was five, and

sometimes extreme, weather conditions? How long does it

regular summer vacations in the Adirondack Mountains,

take to finish a canvas on site? Does a plein air artist ever

and there you have it; all the ingredients for a beginning

work in a studio?

landscape painter.

The challenges and rewards of a plein air painter can be

on canvas some of the scenes that were all around me. I

personal story to guide you through what it’s truly like to be a

remember making several trips down to the Croton River

plein air artist.

near our home as well as other sites close by. Little did

My motivations began simply and early, with my

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My first inclination as a budding artist was to capture

difficult to explain, so to help you understand I will use my

I realize the amount of training I would need in order to

love of art and nature. The two are hard to separate in

accomplish the lofty goal of recreating these breathtaking

my mind, since I started appreciating the landscape and

scenes. Numerous drawing and painting classes, endless

painting early in life. I think it was a couple of Winslow

hours working in the field, travel to distant locations,

Homer reproductions my parents had hanging on the

being away from home for long periods, and a huge mon-

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Lewis Falls Oil on Canvas, 10x15 in.

etary investment account for my, as well as many other artists’, commitment to this life of plein air. That aside, the motive and the drive to capture on canvas the feelings I have for nature have never left, and in many ways are stronger than ever.

Weather can also be a challenge for the outdoor painter due to the affects of sun, blistering heat, mosquitoes, biting flies, bitter cold, wind, hunger, sore legs from hiking, and any number of other obstacles. Most plein air painters have gotten used to these, or at least made accommodations to deal with them. The right gear, along with sunscreen, bug spray, plenty of water, and power bars usually take care of most.

Plein air is not the easiest course for a landscape painter, but it’s the most rewarding in terms of fulfillment and appealing results. Painting from life is the essence of understanding one’s subject. Without regular practice and inspiration working on site, it’s difficult for a landscape painter to produce credible work.

How long it takes to complete a painting outdoors varies from artist to artist, but one thing is for sure, there is less time out there than one would have in the studio. Working in nature requires artists to be quick on their feet, in order to deal with changing shadows and weather conditions.

This leads to the ever-complicated question of whether plein air painters ever work in a studio. The answers can vary, as each painter has to decide for themselves their best working method. Like any human endeavor there will always be purists, who take a hard line that reflects their way of thinking. For myself, and most of my plein air colleagues, the studio along with plein air opportunities play a vital role in our way of creating art.

While nature holds the key to understanding, with its clarity of perception regarding form and effects of light, the studio offers the staid, reflective atmosphere conducive to creating works that synthesize what is learned outdoors with the advantage of time, at a pace that suits our individual temperaments. Working from life is a must, but most of the time I reserve “large kites” for the studio, preferring to work from my field sketches, oil studies, photo references, memory, and a good deal of imagination.

The two approaches go hand-in-hand, each supplying important experience to the other, which produces finished studio work that is often difficult, stylistically, to distinguish from paintings done in the field. I often reflect on a thought that the late Helen Van Wyk used to express on her popular TV show Way to the Summit Oil on Canvas, 24x48 in.

Middle: Morning Outcropping Oil on Canvas, 9x12 in.

Bottom: Upper Provo Oil on Canvas, 30x40 in.

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Photo Courtesy John Hughes

“Welcome to my Studio;” to paraphrase, “People don’t care how much you suffer over a painting, they only care how well it’s done.”

There is nothing sacred about the plein air process; it is a means to an end, not the end itself. Good art is good art, and in the final analysis, it doesn’t really matter if it is created outside, in a pup tent, or a palace, it still comes down to an artist’s soul being poured out on a piece of linen; and that can be a beautiful thing if done with confidence and knowledge.

Ultimately, along with many others, I enjoy the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere of nature as well as the safe harbor of an inviting studio. That said, the fresh air and sunshine are rewarding, and the authenticity that the plein air experience brings to my work is manifold.

Lake Solitude, Oil on Canvas, 24x30 in.

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At Frame Gilders, our goal is to enhance your art, not compete with it. www.framegilders.com (801) 335-0598 70 N. Main Street Suite 104 Bountiful, UT 84010 A division of Apple Frame Gallery

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The Art of Giving

Hadley Rampton Finds Art in Travel and Charity

by Robert T. Benson

“I

f you want to be a good painter, paint!” That was the

including Hungary, Turkey, Georgia, Romania, Bulgaria,

advice of esteemed art professor Paul Davis to his

and Armenia. But what is insightful is how and what she

then student Hadley Rampton. And so she did.

Rampton and her dog, Abbey, cover a lot of ground.

Painting outdoors is her preference, and travelling the

town square somewhere in Russia.

“I’m interested in getting really close to the way

midst of winter where you might find her set up with

other people live: it makes me understand humanity

easel and board, brushes in hand, capturing the moment

better,” said Rampton. “Travelling along forces me to

where the white snow and warm sun collaborate to show

immerse myself into their reality. It also makes me

off a spectra that a true colorist can capture on canvas.

more observant.”

Because Rampton doesn’t mind travelling alone, she

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blestone street in the back roads of Istanbul or the small

world is her penchant. It’s above the inversion in the

often takes flight to the farthest corners of the world

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captures with her pen and watercolors. It’s the quiet cob-

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Rampton likes to make a visual study of the way people stroll along a line of small cafes, the candid scene of two

girls sitting by a fountain, or to capture the historical richness of a solitary stone chapel on a hillside.

The studies that Rampton creates with pen and watercolor convey an intimacy she constructs between herself, her travelling kit of brushes, and the quaint and local setting of some faraway land.

Yet it’s the large format that makes a statement that captivates the imagination of her viewers.

For a former dancer with a petite frame, Rampton can create a dramatic scene with largeness and expanse. She paints almost life-sized windows into a forest of aspens or a wood heaped in colorful snow. Some of her most brilliant work is imagery painted in oils on large square format of an upward gaze through the branches of a quaking aspen into the stark blue sky. It’s a huge shift from the pen and ink to the large canvas, but it shows her range and helps one understand Rampton as a person as well.

A lover of the outdoors, Rampton likes to ski, trail run, climb, and has a fearless personae about her. Yet her sensitivities are acute and refined as a dancer and humanitarian.

Rampton recently returned from a humanitarian trip to Tanzania where she helped raise resources and joined in the effort with a friend to build a secondary school. With another upcoming humanitarian mission planned for Thailand, it’s evident in talking to Rampton this is the type of work that gives her a real sense of the meaning in life, which she also pursues through her painting.

There is a self-deprecating nature in Rampton as she talks about herself. It’s clear to an interviewer that she goes to these places not to create subjects of paintings, but to help those in need. She makes discoveries about herself and about life as a bi-product of her travels. Lucky for us, she shares

“This is the type of work that gives her a real sense of the meaning in life, which she also pursues through her painting. ”

them through her work.

Rampton is the perfect diplomat; she answers most questions with almost overly inclusive responses. In answering what her favorite music is, she spans by saying, “I enjoy a wide variety of music including jazz, classical, rock & roll, blues, hard rock, and world music.”

Regarding her favorite places she’s traveled, Rampton admits, “I’m afraid I can’t say that I have

Photos Courtesy Hadley Rampton

a favorite place to travel...I love them all.” And, pushing her to name her favorite city to paint she Premier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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states, “I can’t name just one.” But when she paints she’s decisive and deliberate. Her brushworks are bold, and her pen line intent.

Rampton’s training in the arts has been extensive and superb. Those that receive generous praise from Rampton include Paul Davis, Tony Smith, David Dornan, and John Erickson, and they also act as some of her most influential mentors. Some of the masters that have also captivated her attention are the works of the likes of Toulouse Lautrec, Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne, Egon Shiele, John Richard Klimt, Richard Diebenkorn, and Nathan Oliveira.

To get a taste of some of Rampton’s lip smacking work, stroll over to Phillips Gallery in Salt Lake City, Utah. Rampton will be showing her painting with the work of extremely talented ceramicist and sculptor, Francesc Burgos from May 15 to June 12.

Paul Davis’ advice? “If you want to be a good painter, paint.” Rampton took Davis’ advice with verve and has followed his instructions thoroughly. So she does, and so she is.

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Celebrating Fifty Years

The Story of the Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center

by Susan Easton Black

“I

f I were placed on a cannibal island and given the task

higher education, Maeser taught elocution, directed a choir,

of civilizing its people,” Brigham Young said, “I should

and insisted that students pass a musical performance test

straightway build a theatre.”

Young’s advice was not lost on Karl G. Maeser, who

small academy becoming a great university, “filled with

1876. Maeser resigned his post as assistant organist for the

buildings—great temples of learning.” One of those great

Mormon Tabernacle Choir to accept the leadership of what

temples is the Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center.

natural science, humanities, and mathematics dominated

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Maeser had a dream, or what he called a vision, of his

was appointed principal of the Brigham Young Academy in

would become Brigham Young University. At a time when

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before graduation.

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Since 1965, faculty and students alike have honed their artistic abilities within the walls of this remarkable place,

Left: Karl G. Maeser, ca. 1876.

Right: The Harris Fine Arts Center under construction, ca. 1963.

and have taken their talents into the world. On this, the

ary support for a series of guest concerts and lectures to

50th anniversary of the dedication of the building (1965-

be presented on campus, and the growth of a distinguished

2015), those who laid the foundation for the arts at BYU are

collection of 700 works of art. More importantly, he sug-

being remembered.

gested that the first dean of the College of Fine Arts be

The cultural threads that weave the historic story

European-born Gerrit de Jong Jr., a Renaissance man

of fine arts at Brigham Young University trace back to

known for his broad education, zest for learning, and aes-

Maeser. Without losing a day of teaching after a fire

thetic sensitivity.

destroyed the Lewis Hall where he taught, Maeser found

As President Harris worked closely with the faculty and

temporary space for academic learning in the Provo

de Jong, the College of Fine Arts flourished. Under the tute-

Tabernacle, a bank, the S. S. Jones Furniture Store, and

lage of pioneer faculty, the arts rose to great heights in the

a ZCMI warehouse. In these facilities and an opera house

lives of students and the community even though the fine

on Center Street, students performed much to the delight

arts college was hampered by lack of space.

of Maeser and appreciative audiences. When the academy

The problem of inadequate space to create, perform, and

moved to the elaborate brick and sandstone structure

render artistic works led de Jong to file a report that stated,

on Fifth North and University Avenues in 1891, Maeser

“The Art Department needs an appropriate place to do its

insisted that a college band, orchestra, and choir fill the halls with music and faculty find appropriate art to adorn the walls.

But it wasn’t until 1921, when Dr. Franklin S. Harris assumed the presidency of Brigham Young University, that arts gained a place of extraordinary distinction on campus.

Harris, a scientist by training, was an ardent patron of the arts. In a day when academic administrators considered such studies as music, art, and drama beneath traditional fields of learning, Harris rarely missed a campus musical, or a theatrical, or dramatic performance, coming early to the cultural events to greet rows and rows of people by name.

Harris’ commitment to the arts was most evident at a Board of Trustees meeting in 1925, when he suggested forming the College of Fine Arts, the first such college in the western United States. When the board approved the concept for the college, Harris gave personal and budgetPhotos courtesy Brigham Young University

The Fine Arts faculty in the 1920s, posing on the steps of the Karl G. Maeser Building.

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work. BYU needs an art gallery. The Music Department needs suitable places to rehearse…We should have 80 individual practice rooms. Our Speech Department has no theater in which its rich series of eight major plays per year might be properly presented.”

Thwarted at nearly every turn to provide adequate facilities to teach and train students and to take student productions to an ever-increasing number of national and international performing venues, de Jong said in exasperation, “The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the faculty of our college hath not where to lay its head.”

It wasn’t until President Earnest L. Wilkinson, who succeeded Harris as president of BYU, stumbled upon musicians “practicing in the outer vestibules of restrooms” that the administration’s mentality for fine arts on campus— “make do or do without”—changed. Wilkinson made a verbal

Requirements for the Fine Arts Center,” describing their

commitment to the outspoken Harold I. Hansen, chair of the

expectations and dreams for a building to house art, music,

Speech Department, to support the construction of a perma-

and drama. Wilkinson was stunned by the size of the docu-

nent building for the arts. In the minutes of a faculty meet-

ment and the specific recommendations, and said, “This is

ing held in 1956, Chairman Hansen announced the news of

the largest and most expensive building project ever to be

Wilkinson’s commitment to an enthusiastic faculty and a

undertaken by the university and it will be the hardest to

faculty committee was formed.

justify to the Board of Trustees.”

After three years of work, the committee presented Wilkinson a 141-page document titled “Program 46

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Armed with faculty suggestions and encouragement, Wilkinson presented the plan for a fine arts center to the

Board of Trustees, assuring them of the academic need as

died in 1960, a dedicatory anthem—composed by de Jong,

well as being ideally suited for Church purposes on Sunday.

conducted by Crawford Gates, and performed by the com-

When the board meeting ended, the “general feeling of the

bined university choir and orchestra—followed. The dedi-

group was that the building will go forward.”

catory prayer was then offered by Smith, who confirmed:

William L. Pereria and Associates of Los Angeles, hon-

“This structure bespeaks the beauty, dignity and function

ored for their design of the Los Angeles Center for the Fine

of a university dedicated to and appreciative of the fine

Arts, was selected to design what Pereria said was “the

and performing arts…The new center makes available to

most comprehensive center of its kind ever commissioned

students greatly increased opportunity and motivation to

by an American university.” Pereria and his associates’

create, appreciate, understand, perform, and communicate

design encompassed 258 thousand square-feet of floor space

the fine arts.”

on five levels and covered approximately two acres.

After multiple design attempts to meet budgetary

“I count myself extremely lucky to be in the Harris Fine Arts Center every day,” says current Dean Stephen

requirements, a groundbreaking ceremony was held on

Jones. As he walks its halls, the building’s venues bear

June 27, 1962, near the campus library with an estimated

the names of the college’s founders—including the Bent

300 dignitaries, educators, and students. At the ceremony,

F. Larsen Art Gallery, the Gerrit de Jong Concert Hall,

a letter from Wilkinson was read in which he confirmed

and the Franklin and Florence Madsen Recital Hall.

that, “No building is as greatly needed on the campus as

Jones pauses at each to recall the dedication and sacrific-

a fine arts building and none will be more service to the

es these founders made in order to give the arts a place

Brigham Young University.”

of distinction on campus. He’s amazed that from such

After working for decades with his colleagues to see this

humble beginnings, the college’s faculty and students

moment, de Jong admonished to those gathered “not to let

leave here to present and perform to audiences of mil-

this ceremony be an idle gesture in your life. See to it that

lions throughout the world.

in your life, you will inculcate these things that we refer to ordinarily as the finer things of life.”

Humbled by the realization that the dream of a new

The students recognize that Maeser’s academy lives on in them. Realizing that “any program ought to be greater than the structure that houses it,” they strive for the excel-

facility was now to become a reality, Dean Conan E.

lence expected of those who have preceded them. Fifty years

Matthews, remarked that “every one of us is struck by a

later, they are rededicating themselves to the values and

sobering sense of responsibility.” Realizing that “any pro-

vision of those who built this extraordinary venue, and who

gram ought to be greater than the structure that houses

helped take the arts from this place into the world.

it,” Matthews summed up the feeling of the faculty: “We are challenged, and we look anew at our responsibilities as teachers, creators, and performers.”

By 1964, the construction phase of the fine arts center neared completion. On a final walk-through the center, Hansen pointed out to Wilkinson that the carpet had been cut from the entrances to the theatres to meet budget constraints. Hansen said, “Surely after spending all the money you have on this building, you’re not going to have the Board of Trustees here to dedicate the building without carpet on the aisles of the theatres.” Wilkinson turned to the university comptroller and said, “I know you’ll find the money.”

With carpet at each entrance to the concert hall, dedicatory ceremonies were held in April of 1965, under the direction of Joseph Fielding Smith, chairman of the executive committee of the Board of Trustees and President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

After Wilkinson gave a tribute to Harris, who had

Photos courtesy Brigham Young University

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47

Boundless Beauty

Artists Elsewhere: Elizabeth Jose

by Sara Pegarella

A

rt is a visual representation of beauty. Beauty, like art, is something that can be both created and discovered.

The journey that took artist Elizabeth Jose from singing jazz

helped her build up a repertoire of hundreds of songs. Jose

in London to painting in Taos, New Mexico exemplifies the

had every intention of being a professional singer for the

idea that the more beauty you are open to experiencing and

rest of her life and had invested over a decade in schooling,

discovering in the world around you and within yourself, the

training, and making a name for herself in the jazz circuit.

more beauty, and forms of beauty, you will be able to create and place back into the world.

After attending music school in London, Jose successful-

realized I just didn’t need the attention any longer. Whatever it was in me that drove me to perform was simply not

music career. At this point in her life she felt a strong need

there anymore. It was the strangest experience…a strange

to perform—to be seen and heard. “My love for the complex-

moment…an awareness I wasn’t expecting. Like drinking cof-

ity of jazz kept me sitting at the piano, getting my voice to

fee and there’s no caffeine; I was looking for the buzz and it

do ever more complicated things. Fast be-bop scat singing,

wasn’t there.” says Jose.

range in every direction,” reflects Jose.

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However, one day things changed. “I was sitting with my microphone in my hand and the audience in front of me and

ly entered the London jazz circuit and began a professional

making crazy, discordant melodies work, pushing my vocal

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She began singing with a band in hotels all around the world and Jose’s almost photographic auditory memory

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This was a significant turning point in her life. From here on out, when she would perform, Jose would now find

Top: Taos Ski Valley Airstream Oil on Canvas, 15x30 in.

Right: Lemon Drop Martini Oil on Canvas, 30x30 in.

“that without the need for external validation, I could go deeper inside in the performance situation, blur out the audience and create music that was meaningful to me in a very different way. It was liberating.”

Jose continued to create something unique and meaningful to share with the world, but with a shift toward more of what she now wanted to personally experience with her creations. Jose started to take more jobs teaching singing and began slowly easing out of the life of performing.

Jose became an accomplished vocal coach. To this day, she teaches everything from standard vocal technique to holistic voice work in her private practice. She has taught singing at a number of schools and colleges including the Blackheath Conservatoire of Music, Richmond College, and the Guildford Rock School. Her students include a collection of professional musicians, actors and actresses, young academic students of music, and the woman next door who just wants to perfect her singing-in-the-shower voice.

Teaching music gave Jose a chance to help her students discover their inner strength and beauty. She says, “Seeing

in their life overall. I love it when my students tell me their

my students shift their thinking and emotional state and

stories of how they suddenly find speaking out or setting

hearing their sound change immediately was, and still is,

boundaries so much easier and more comfortable just from

central to my teaching process. The improvements a student

freeing up their singing voice.”

can make in a session can have all kinds of knock-on effects Chaco Canyon Glamping Oil on Canvas, 12x24 in.

With less of an emotional investment in London than she Premier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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Top: Yellow Flower, Oil on Canvas, 12x12 in.

Bottom: Hug-time Oil on Canvas, 11x14 in.

had when she was performing, Jose began to consider moving elsewhere. “I didn’t have a clue I would end up on another continent in a little town up a mountain, with a whole different career,” she recalls. During this time, Jose and her husband sold all of their possessions aside from a couple of suitcases and what could fit in one box, which was just a collection of photo albums and some of Jose’s demo tapes—the truly irreplaceable items in her life. Jose sold her London flat and the couple became voluntarily homeless. Her husband, who was from America, suggested they do the great American road trip.

The couple spent the next six months backpacking in Mexico and Central America before buying an Airstream trailer and a truck. While driving around the United States in the Airstream, they covered 30 states in five months.

Jose has always enjoyed the idea of being “Loose on the planet’s surface, where you are not tied to any particular place by possessions and that random meetings or conversations can send you in a totally new, unexpected direction.” The couple’s next direction took them through Taos, New Mexico, where the totally new and unexpected occured. While most people traveling through an area like Taos would admire the beautiful scenery, Jose picked up on a bigger, deeper form of beauty in the area that led her to decide to call Taos her home.

When speaking of what pulled her to Taos, Jose reflects, “I wouldn’t say that the landscape entranced me to stay exactly, although it is entrancing. There is something about Taos itself. Creatives feel out of step with the mainstream and their sensitivity can often inform them how to adjust to fit in, but fitting in is never truly satisfying to the creative. We are innovators. We first need the support of our community of peers and from that, build the confidence to truly express ourselves as authentically as possible.”

It was this majority of creative people that was more abundant in Taos than anywhere Jose had ever been before that allowed her to be able to relax while in Taos and totally be herself in a way she had never experienced anywhere else. “Now that is beauty,” says Jose. “I have found my tribe, if you will. After living here, it seems almost impossible to live anywhere else.” The creative atmosphere in Taos helps create an “undeniable ring of authenticity, which works across all forms of art.”

After spending a couple of days in Taos, she bought the home that she still lives in. The road trip was ended, the Airstream sold, and Jose and her husband became official residents of Taos.

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Photo Courtesy Elizabeth Jose

Jose continued to teach music and do vocal coaching, and painted as a hobby. She started to attend painting group sessions where a model was painted. She did three groups a week for just two weeks and then it hit her—she was a painter and always had been. This was the beginning of her full-time art career, and she began painting like a maniac to make up for lost time.

While painting from the figure remains Jose’s favorite thing to do, she doesn’t limit herself to just that. About six months into her full-time art career, a fellow painter told Jose that now that she lives in Northern New Mexico, she had to start going out to paint en plein air and really encouraged her to do so. Jose accompanied this painter on an hour-long hike and a painting session. This was when Jose painted her first landscape, a style that she is now famous for.

Jose was certain at one point in time that she was an extrovert, loving performing and needing to be seen and heard. She now realizes that she is very much a “well-socialized introvert” who does well in social situations and enjoys them, but after about an hour or so at a social event such as an art opening or a party, Jose is ready for some quiet time and she finds this quiet time when she paints.

“The quiet dialog between the canvas and I, the going inside myself to access thoughts, feelings, memories, theories, and intuition is deeply satisfying. I also love the creative flow

experiences. Her art strongly demonstrates that she is a

experience where my mind is quiet and I just paint from an

very multi-faceted person with an appreciation for much.

almost trance state and am surprised to see what is on the

As a British painter who is known for capturing images

canvas at the end,” says Jose. She still gets to be seen and

of Americana, she brings a unique, worldly aura to classic

heard like she did in her jazz days, but instead of Jose being

American images and landscapes.

on center stage, her paintings take the spotlight.

Whether painting a glistening Airstream, a rusty old

Her portraits mix a soft beauty with a subtle but strong modern edge. In “Hug-time” we see a classic nude portrait, but

pickup truck, a model in a classic pose, or a local Taos

with the woman in the painting reaching around herself in

scene, Jose finds and captures beauty everywhere. She

an embrance. This could be a humorous scene, one implying a

remarks that she is a “beauty seeking machine” when

lonely desire, or one that shows the beauty of pure self-love.

asked where she finds inspiration. “Light’s affects on a

The radiance of old rusted trucks and shiny Airstreams

landscape, the gesture of a dancer, a reflection on an air-

are common subjects found on Jose’s canvases, such as

stream, a color combination...I’ve always been fascinated

“Planted” and “Airstream Trip to Chaco Canyon.” But

by light and shadow and reflection. For instance, if there is

Jose counters the Americana of many of her landscape

a shadow on a wall or a reflection of a color, it bothers me

and plein air works with some British symbolism. In her

until I’ve worked out where it comes from—I’ve been like

piece, “A Nice Cup of Tea?” one sees a toy version of a red

that since I was a child. It’s like a visual mystery that has

double-decker bus and a cup of tea, both of which are widely

to be solved,” says Jose.

acknowledged symbols of life in London.

The versatility of Jose’s style and the range of her subject matter reflect the versatility and range of her own life and

Along with painting and creating art, Jose also teaches art. Similar to her music teaching, the art teaching experiPremier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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ence goes beyond just sharing painting techniques. Jose says,

canvas, or a calm student, reflects the beauty she has discov-

“Students freely tell me all the things they worry about as

ered in random places, people, and things. Art is one of the

they are painting and I find solutions for them and attempt to

most universal mediums for expressing and honoring beauty.

give them an attitude adjustment. If you can replace a worried

In this case, beauty refers not solely to something that is

mindset with ‘this is fun’ and ‘I can do this,’ you get the double

aesthetically pleasing. Sometimes the most internal and invis-

benefit of the painting being better than you knew you could

ible forms of beauty manifest themselves into something out-

do and having a more enjoyable experience while you’re doing

wardly fantastic that can be shared with the world, which is

it.” Through her teaching, Jose strives “to infuse people with a

exactly what the art of Elizabeth Jose represents.

sense of possibility and enthusiasm.”

Jose’s work, whether a note in a jazz song, paint on a

Elizabeth Jose is represented by Sage Fine Art on Taos Plaza.

A Nice Cup of Tea, Oil on Canvas, 12x12 in.

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Music

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Maestro Donald Runnicles

From the Thrones of Europe to the Grand Tetons

by Richard Maturi

D

onald Runnicles, age sixty, stands on top of the musi-

doctorate from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and

cal world with conductor baton in hand. He concur-

Drama. Regarding his honors, Runnicles said, “I don’t covet

rently serves as the General Music Director of the Deutsche

any future awards. Working with wonderful soloists and tal-

Oper Berlin, Chief Conductor of BBC Scottish Symphony

ented musicians is reward enough.”

Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta

way from his roots as the son of a furniture supplier and

Festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

choirmaster. As a small boy, the young Runnicles tagged

Noted for quality performances and his emphasis on

Edinburgh’s Usher Hall. He attended the distinguished

19th and 20th centuries, upon which the current opera

George Heriot’s School and George Watson’s College in

and symphony institutions are built and his reputation

Edinburgh, which offered a specialized music education. He

rests. His multitude of recordings includes music classics

furthered his education at the University of Edinburgh and

from Beethoven, Bellini, Britten, Gluck, Mozart, Puccini,

the University of Cambridge in England.

of the leading Wagnerians.

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along to choir practice and sang as an eleven-year-old at

grand romantic opera and symphonic repertory of the late

Strauss, and Wagner. In fact, the world regards him as one

54

The young Scottish lad from Edinburgh journeyed a long

Symphony and Music Director of the Grand Teton Music

Following a season with the London Opera Centre, Runnicles began his musical career as a singers’ coach

During his career, Runnicles has earned the title of

and an assistant conductor in Mannheim, Germany, in

maestro and has been awarded the Order of the British

the 1980s. During his years in Germany, he honed and

Empire, honorary degrees from Edinburgh University, the

expanded his Wagnerian experiences. He made his North

San Francisco Conservatory of Music, plus an honorary

American debut in 1988, conducting Berg’s “Lulu” at the

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Photos by J.S. Scott

Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

As part of his BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra activities, Runnicles conducts five programs in the orchestra’s Glasgow home, two programs at the London Proms and Edinburgh International Festival. In addition, three BBC Radio broadcasts recorded acclaimed concerts of Runnicles at home and on tour. Beyond his annual commitments, Runnicles, never one to rest, participates in symphonic repertoire and guest conducts across the globe for some of the world’s finest symphony orchestras.

Asked about his major achievements, Runnicles responded without hesitation. “Of course, the welfare of my children, my three daughters and three children my second wife brought to our marriage, ranks at the top.

Musically, leading one of the major international opera houses, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, makes me very, very proud. While I inherited the Grand Teton Music Festival [in 2006] from capable predecessors, I am pleased that it continues to grow and improve. In Wyoming, we feature prestigious soloists and musicians from renowned orchestras around the world in a breathtaking venue.

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It’s inspiring to play in such a beautiful setting.”

The 54th Annual Grand Teton Music Festival was held in

enthusiasm have not gone unappreciated.

“It is an incredible honor and privilege to have world

Jackson Hole this year, and ran from July 1st to August 15th.

famous conductor Donald Runnicles as music director of

The festival went off seamlessly, following through on its

the festival. His expertise and enthusiasm have inspired

promise to provide stupendous music in an intimate setting.

the festival to new heights,” said Sylvia Neil, GTMF board

According to Runnicles, “When you are trying to attract the top musicians in the world, you have to plan

chair. “My husband and I travel the world enjoying classical music and I can unabashedly say that the Grand

way in advance as their talents are in wide demand. I love the congenial atmosphere of the festival and working on the highest level with the world’s top musicians.”

Runnicles considers American

Teton Music Festival is one of

“It’s the survival of the fittest.

Despite, the recent lockouts, I believe we are in a better position and the future looks rosy”

audiences, “as good as anywhere. I love their spontaneity and positive energy versus the more staid audiences in Europe.”

Maestro Runnicles surely relishes the opportunity to

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the great music venues. The extraordinary quality of the performances and the unqualified beauty of Jackson Hole make for a very special experience,” praised Neil.

During the festival Runnicles lead many of the

seven orchestra weeks as well as directed and participated as pianist in many chamber concerts and recitals. The

head the musical component of the Grand Teton Music

festival is unique in that it lets concertgoers attend the

Festival over the past decade. Likewise, his talents and

rehearsals to watch musicians from all over meld their

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talents into soul-stopping music.

“It should be on every music lover’s agenda, from this

alternatives and it is harder than ever to raise money for classical musical venues. We have to become more competi-

country and every country around the world,” said Neil.

tive and creative. It’s the survival of the fittest. Despite, the

“They need to put it on their to-do list—to come to this beau-

recent lockouts, I believe we are in a better position and the

tiful area that is so breathtakingly amazing, and to come and

future looks rosy.”

hear this unbelievable festival.”

Runnicles weighed in on the future of symphonies and

While his music career leaves little time for outside interests, Runnicles enjoys bike riding—which is how

other classical music venues considering global economic

he gets to work every day—skiing, tennis, and family

straits. For example: Management locked out the Atlanta

gatherings. He’s currently learning to fly, practicing in

Symphony Orchestra musicians at Atlanta’s Woodruff Arts

flight simulators. But when it really comes down to it,

Centre last year. And the bitter 2012-2013 sixteen-month

he doesn’t need to get away from music because that is

lockout of the Minnesota Orchestra resulted in a fifteen

what he enjoys—making music and playing with his tal-

percent salary cut under the new contract. Storied Italian

ented colleagues.

opera houses such as Teatro dell’Opera in Rome and Teatro

Runnicles lives in Berlin and maintains a Wilson,

alla Scala in Milan scramble to find funds due to recent gov-

Wyoming home outside of Jackson. Besides English, he speaks

ernment funding cutbacks.

French, German, and Italian, all great operatic languages.

“Every musical organization in the world is constantly

Runnicles is not one to sit on his past achievements and

reviewing its operations and doing a lot of soul searching,”

endeavors to make every note, every performance the best it

said Runnicles. “We are continually looking for new ways

can be. He strives for ever-increasing depth and accomplish-

to attract younger audiences, who will become the patrons

ment, allowing each fortunate listener to sit back and enjoy

of tomorrow. Today, there are a lot more entertainment

the beautiful music of The Maestro.

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Honesty Meets Harmony

Singer/Songwriter John Louviere Finds His Voice

by Rebecca Edwards

S

ince time immemorial we have been soothed, entertained, inspired, and lulled by the sounds of a voice

more often then not, turns out to be our own.

Salt Lake City singer/songwriter John Louviere is one

and a guitar. From the medieval minstrels and trouba-

such modern-day troubadour, filling our hearts and souls

dours to our dad or uncle pulling out a six-string while

with the stories he tells through his music. Louviere was a

we gathered ‘round a campfire under a starry sky, there’s

reluctant artist, but over the last two years has fully sur-

something transcendent that can happen when a lone voice

rendered, the result of which is his most honest, moving,

joins with the strains of a guitar to tell us a story that,

and relatable album to date—“Longest Year.”

“Previous albums always hid everything in metaphor, but what he’s ready to do now is truly share his own story in a raw, vulnerable way he’s never done before.”

Photo by Stan Clawson

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Photo Courtesy John Louviere

“‘Longest Year’ for me was really a step for me toward coming clean with what I really feel,” Louviere said. “During the recording it was really hard. We scrapped three, four, five songs that we had nearly finished because it just was not honest. It was great music, but I wasn’t saying what I wanted to say and all I could do was go back to my apartment and start over.”

But the album has a life of its own, and it likes playing hard to get.

About two years prior to recording, Louviere felt the inspiration drying up, which led him to pick up a classical guitar for the first time. The new feel and delicate, quiet playing was in stark contrast to the punishment Louviere usually dealt out to his guitar when writing.

“You get to actually hear your own voice,” he said. “I’d been such a strummer and usually beat my guitar so much that I never

front of handful of people at the Salt Lake Roasting Co.

actually heard my voice. So it was amazing and these mel-

The difference wasn’t detectable in Louviere’s pres-

odies just started pouring out of me.”

To find the story Louviere wanted to tell, he had to start examining his own life. He started writing about his life in a way he never had before. Previous songs and

ence—he’s always most at home on stage—but it was the power of the songs, the clarity of the message, and the size and response of the crowd that was notable.

Louviere has always been one of those musicians with

albums always hid everything in metaphor, but what he

a devoted following. However, there is a new surge of sup-

was ready to do now was truly share his own story in a

port that is a direct result of the hard work and focused

raw, vulnerable way he’d never done before.

dedication that went into creating “Longest Year,” which

“One hundred percent of the songs were sad. Sad, sad, sad. It was on the heels of me leaving my faith and trying

Louviere didn’t even like at first.

“I remember listening to the album in my house and I

to figure out what do I truly believe?” Louviere shared. “So

hated it. So I tried listening to it again, while I was clean-

now I have a few songs that I feel are really, really true.

ing or cooking dinner, just to have it in the background

‘Longest Year’ is really close to about as true as it gets.”

and see if I would like it more that way. And I still hated

I have had the pleasure of knowing Louviere person-

it.” Louviere shared. But, eventually, Louviere began to

ally for many years, and have delighted in seeing his musi-

hear what others were hearing and he began to take on a

cal voice evolve and mature over time. But regardless of

new understanding of what each song was truly saying.

how much growth, or the size of the venue, Louviere has

“So Fast” is one of the songs on the album that

an amazing gift for intimacy when he performs. I was able

Louviere didn’t base on a true story and he didn’t really

to catch a recent show at The Garage and it was inspiring

know where it came from. When he first started playing

to see the difference since the first time I saw him play in

it, it didn’t feel true, but the more he played it the more it Premier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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became real to him. “I realize that someone wrote that through me, and it took me like two years to realize who the girl was, and that puts a smile on my face. It doesn’t get any cooler than that—to feel like you wrote a song that you didn’t know why you wrote and it comes back to you to comfort and soothe you. It’s the best friend in the world.”

“Transplant” is another song that came as a surprise to Louviere. Coming from an intense, Christian background, he originally wrote the song about his faith. But after some soul-searching, he realized that he didn’t believe in what the song was saying anymore.

Playing the song has been difficult because Louviere is committed to honesty in his music and this song doesn’t resonate with him, but despite his distance Top: Photo by Austen Diamond

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from the song, it has made a profound difference to those who are listening.

“A woman walked up to me in the State Room and

guitar,” Louviere said. “I had just dropped out of college

said, ‘My husband had a liver transplant and I cried

so I had all the time in the world to practice. They gave

the entire song,’” Louviere said. “And I was at a house

us one rhythm and I was bored with it in 30 seconds so

show and a woman came up crying and said, ‘My hus-

I started making up rhythms. I showed up to the second

band had a heart transplant.’ And that was like a sur-

guitar lesson and I was clearly miles ahead of everybody

prise. I have to force myself to play it because it’s not

in the room and that was my last guitar lesson.”

fun to play and it’s not super fun to sing, but there’s a part of me that thinks maybe this song is about some-

He never went back to the group and, without any formal training or even knowing how to read music, a

thing bigger than me.”

A theme for music in Louviere’s life is that it has always been somewhat bigger than him. And before “Longest Year,” were a couple decades. Decades where this talented storyteller honed his craft and did

distinctive, prolific singer/

“I was so into sound and making different sounds and my fingers just started falling in different places and every accident I made was a little success”

battle to become the artist

songwriter was born.

“I was so into sound and making different sounds and my fingers just started falling in different places and every accident I made was a little success,” Louviere explained.

“Later, when I moved to Utah and had my first job as a wor-

we know today. As a child his tendency to sing and rhyth-

ship leader, other musicians didn’t know what I was doing.

mically drum on everything in sight wasn’t always appreci-

They asked, ‘Is that a G?’ and I would just show them that

ated and he felt his musical tendencies were a source of

my hand did this. But they started to love playing with me

aggravation for those around him. That all changed one day

because it opened up music in a different way that they hadn’t

during a walk to a bible study.

thought of before. I was just experimenting.”

“I remember as a little kid being very rhythmic and

Louviere’s experimentation led him to take on music

dancing all the time, being very theatric,” Louviere said.

full-time. Over the years he has played in art galleries,

“So I was walking down the road and I’m drumming on

coffee shops, the State Room, and other Mountain West

my body, and it hit me. It was such a deep sense of under-

venues. His most prolific concerts have been several series

standing that came so quickly, like a flash of lightning or

of house concerts hosted by different friends and fans

like being visited by an angel in the middle of the road, and

throughout the West. Now, with “Longest Year,” and his

I heard a voice inside of me…the first thing it said was,

true voice closer than ever, Louviere is ready to take his

‘you are not annoying.’”

story to more people.

Louviere had to choke back tears as he remembered

And, as someone who has heard this artist’s voice for

sitting in front of his grandmother who became more and

many years, I think the people are ready to hear what he

more annoyed as he incessantly drummed on the table. He

has to say. If you are ready, you can see Louviere perform

says his next epiphany was the message that he was given

at the State Room on Wednesday, October 21st when he

a gift of rhythm, which was freeing and confusing at the

opens for Griffin House.

same time. Louviere asked what he should do next, but received no immediate answer.

But he didn’t have to wait long for more direction.

As in days of old, we need storytellers to help us identify with one another, and with our own feelings and emotions. Louviere’s music touches sorrow, but the beauty

That same week another epiphany led him to sign up for

infused in each song serves that sorrow with a side of

guitar lessons. All it took was one group lesson and he

hope. But no one can say it better than Louviere himself,

was hooked.

“I hope ‘Longest Year’ brings the listener many years of

“I went to my first guitar lesson and there were maybe 12 of us in the room, and I had to borrow someone’s

inspiration, hope, and the courage to be honest—whatever your story is.”

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Remembering a Legacy Celebrating Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony

by Nathan Bowen

M

aurice Abravanel’s beginnings are so remarkable they seem almost mythological. His is a story of per-

severance and passion catapulting a legend to greatness.

Though Abravanel has many accomplishments, one of his greatest being the Salt Lake City symphony hall dedicated in his name, his greatest successes come not from awards and recognition, but from the innumerous lives Abravanel influenced with his love of music. This year, as the Utah Symphony celebrates their 75th anniversary, it only seems right to commemorate the man who started it all.

Born 1903 in Thessaloniki, Greece, Abravanel came into a successful Sephardic Jewish family. His father was a very prosperous pharmacist, his older brothers were a pharmacist and a lawyer, and with Maurice’s great aptitude it was decided that he’d be sent to medical school in Zurich. When Maurice resisted his family’s plans in order to pursue music, his father stopped all financial support. Maurice wrote home, “I hate [medical school]. I realize I have to become a musician. This is final.” His father never answered his letter.

In his late teens Maurice went to Berlin and became a student of Kurt Weill. In the midst of suffocating economic depression Weill taught Abravanel composition, counterpoint, and harmony. They became great friends, and stayed in close contact throughout their lives.

Abravanel’s first real conducting position was north of Berlin in Neusterlitz, taking an unpaid apprenticeship.

Whatever pocket change he had from his brother Ernest went toward purchasing scores, even at the expense of food until he could no longer stand the pain. This went on for six months before he could properly feed himself. For Carolyn Abravanel, Maurice’s third wife, this behavior was just part of who he was. “With every cell and pore of his body music

Photo courtesy Maurice Abravanel Papers, J.Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah.

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[without exception] was always number one.”

At a very young age he showed exceptional talent for conducting. According to his wife, Abravanel developed a

Photo courtesy Abravanel Studio, McKay Music Library, University of Utah

month-long journey a fellow musician tipped him off that there was a surprise waiting for him: there was no orchestra. So Abravanel went to work making a pick-up orchestra, and that’s where he realized that he could build an orchestra from the ground up, a crucial turning point for his future in Salt Lake City.

While in Australia, Abravanel was offered the job of a lifetime to conduct at the New York Metropolitan Opera.

His experience having conducted both German and French operas made him an attractive and versatile asset in their rotation. At age 33 he was—and remains—the youngest conductor to step on the podium there. He also was extremely prolific. He holds a record conducting seven performances of five different operas in nine days without a rehearsal, and often times with entirely different casts.

Abravanel was then offered a handsome salary and five-year contract with Radio City Music Hall, but he turned down the position since it would not lead to performing very clear technique “so he wouldn’t have to open his mouth

music of the masters. He told his manager, “Mr. Judson,

and reveal that he was a foreigner.” Performers working

I went into music because of Beethoven and Debussy and

under his baton liked him for his strong, clear beat, and he

Stravinsky and Mozart.” Salt Lake City provided him fertile

quickly moved up the ladder as a conductor working vari-

ground not only to get back to the music that inspired him,

ous positions around Germany before making his debut at

but gave him an opportunity to prove to himself that he

age 27 at the Berlin State Opera.

could build a world-class orchestra.

Unfortunately, Abravanel’s meteoric rise was coinciding

In his own words, the maestro said, “Because I had

with Hitler’s rise to power in Germany. In fact, one night

those big successes in Germany and the same thing in Paris

at the opera Hitler was in attendance. Carolyn recalled,

and Australia long before I reached New York, they all

“Maurice said that he could feel something. He could always

thought I was great, but I thought, ‘I am young. I am enthu-

feel the audience through his back, whether they were with

siastic. Musicians love me, therefore, they played better for

him or not. There was no applause and when he turned

me.’ But I could not have built an orchestra the way they

everyone was slowly raising his or her hands. He was still

had been built for me by great European conductors. Then

in contact with Kurt, so they mutually decided shortly after

I went to Australia and was able to prove that I could get a

that they needed to leave Berlin.”

pick-up orchestra and make them play very well. I thought

This was in 1933; their destination was Paris.

now I could actually build a permanent orchestra. Later, as

Abravanel conducted the Monteux Orchestre Symphonie de

an American citizen, I was looking for a place where I could

Paris—the best ensemble in Paris at that time—and direct-

prove it. Then came Salt Lake.”

ed Mozart performances at the Paris Grand Opera. One

Lisa Chaufty, director of the University of Utah McKay

night at the Grand Opera he turned to take a bow, and he

Music Library explains, “When he came out to Salt Lake

looked down, and his father was in the audience. Carolyn

City, people thought he was a little crazy for making that

asked her husband, “Maurice, did you forgive him for dis-

choice, but he really wanted to have the opportunity to

owning you?” And he said, “Of course. I know my father.

build an orchestra. It was clear as we interviewed musi-

Above all, let there be peace.”

cians who had played under his baton, that he wanted to

Around this time he was hired to take a troupe of singers to Australia, but just before he arrived to Sydney after a

start the symphony modestly, and through time extend the season. He kept working and working to make it into the Premier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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Photo courtesy Abravanel Studio, McKay Music Library, University of Utah

orchestra that it is now. The Utah Symphony is his legacy,

these kids from the beginning, and turned them into profes-

and it is one of the few orchestras in the United States with

sional musicians.”

a 52-week season.”

Carolyn Abravanel, confirming this, adds, “He did bring

It is important to note that the Utah Symphony was most-

his principles from New York, but hired all local people

ly a volunteer enterprise when Abravanel took the position

because he knew he had to build an audience. Many of them

in 1947. Though they performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle,

hadn’t played [in a professional orchestra]. He chose them if

there was no adequate rehearsal space until Abravanel bro-

they had a love of music. The technique could be corrected,

kered a deal to be in residence at the University of Utah. He

but it was the passion—they had to have the passion. He

was committed to working with local talent.

Chuafty notes, “Homegrown talent was important to him. He would bring out a section leader from a place like New York, but then he would build the

knew that each person hired

“The most important thing for me in the ideal performance is the ‘total message,’ even if at the expense sometimes of total precision.”

section from talent here in

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would come with mothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles, and so that in turn was part of his reasoning to hire locally.”

Over time, the profile of the Utah Symphony grew, but at the root was Abravanel’s uncompromis-

Utah. A number of people we interviewed for our oral history

ing commitment to musical quality. Interestingly, although

project were very young when they started with him. Some

technical merit was certainly necessary, to Abravanel that

of them were just finishing high school or starting out at the

was a subsidiary artifact of a good performance. He said,

University of Utah. He served as a conductor who taught

“The most important thing for me in the ideal performance

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Photo courtesy Abravanel Studio, McKay Music Library, University of Utah

is the ‘total message,’ even if at the expense sometimes of total precision. Verdi felt that way. Prokofiev felt that way.

Bruno Walter felt that way. Others felt the same. I felt that way from the beginning.”

Abravanel and the Utah Symphony are best known for the first-ever complete recordings of the ten Mahler symphonies, although the tenth is still incomplete. To appreciate this achievement, bear in mind that the 1963 performance of Maher’s Eighth Symphony in the Salt Lake Tabernacle had approximately 800 performers. The recording of the performance—both an engineering logistical feat and an exceptional demonstration of Abravanel’s coherent and carefully paced reading—catapulted the Utah Symphony into the interna-

during his lifetime. “When that big announcement came, it

tional spotlight. For classical music connoisseurs Abravanel’s

was in winter. In the spring he then wanted to see for himself

recordings of the Mahler symphonies still remain the gold

the letters up on the wall of the building. He wanted to see it

standard. In 1975 the recording of the Utah Symphony play-

just to make sure they were really there.” She chuckled, “He

ing Mahler’s Fifth won Abravanel the Mahler Society Award

would ask me, ‘Do you think you could come down here and

for the best Mahler recording that year.

trim those trees down just a little bit?’”

As homage to Abravanel and the legacy of the Utah

The honors, when viewed in aggregate, are merely one

Symphony in their 75-year anniversary, current conductor

indication of a man who loved music and knew the value it

Thierry Fischer has chosen to present all Mahler symphonies

has to promote peace, understanding, and the core virtues

over the next two years, in order.

of the human experience. You can tell by listening to those

Mahler’s compositions are notorious for having very

who knew him that he cared deeply about personal relation-

specific instructions to the performers in order to get sonic

ships and treating people well. He advocated for better pay

results. Combine that with Abravanel’s notes written in the

for musicians. He wanted enough rehearsal time to give com-

margins, and the artifacts become real treasures—they reveal

positions the respect they deserved. He promoted local com-

insights about the delicate art of transforming a paper docu-

posers, especially Crawford Gates and Leroy Robertson. For

ment into a sonic experience. They simultaneously decon-

twenty-four summers he was Music Director of the nonprofit

struct and validate the mystique of a maestro’s touch: the

Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and came to

coordination of hundreds of human beings playing in sync;

Tanglewood to teach students for thirteen summers. “He was

the balance of instrumental forces and their various volumes

a champion for us all,” said Carolyn.

and timbres; the meticulous preparation; the psychology of getting the best out of the players.

With all of the hype surrounding the Mahler Cycle,

Even until the day he died, he was very interested in what was happening in the musical scene in Salt Lake City. As a nod to his investment in young musicians,

it is easy to forget that Abravanel’s legacy extends far

University of Utah composer Morris Rosenzweig started

beyond undertaking Mahler scores. Among his more pres-

the Abravanel Visiting Distinguished Composer Series,

tigious awards, President Bush presented Abravanel with

which hosts many of the foremost composers of new music,

the National Medal of Arts in 1991. Of his seven honorary

including Steve Reich, John Corigliano, Lou Harrison,

doctorates, Carolyn recalled, “He would joke that I should

John Adams, and others. As Rosenzweig put it, “Of course

have greater respect for him, since he was Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr.

we want to honor Maurice, but it’s really about the stu-

Dr. Dr. Dr. Abravanel.”

dents. The exposure to a lot of different ideas has been

But according to Carolyn his most cherished recognition

extremely good for the students.” This is just as Abravanel

was the renaming of Salt Lake’s symphony hall to become

and his supporters have wanted it. Keep paying it forward.

Maurice Abravanel Hall, and that this gesture took place

Keep investing. Pass on the legacy.

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Multimedia

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A Symphony of Words How to Experience Poetry

by Janice Brooks

I

was sauntering through a labyrinth-like hiking trail in Snow Canyon State Park while reading and reciting

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you hike?” With a resounding note of assuredness, “Why,

aloud a new piece of performance poetry I was memoriz-

yes,” was my reply and we all laughed hearty. After many

ing, when by happenstance, I came upon three women

interesting questions were asked, I thought it prudent—as

silently standing stock still, each gazing at me with a look

this was not the first time I’d been observed by other people

of bewilderment. Clearly they had been observing me for

in this mode—to offer an in-depth explanation.

quite some time, from a vantage point out of my view. I

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One woman briskly asked, “Are you reciting poetry while

So we hoisted ourselves onto a nearby red rock and sat

immediately came to a screeching halt in the middle of

down to chat. I began by explaining that I always emotionally

the poem.

enter into the realm of the language within a poem through

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Photos courtesy

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its verbal movement. My second experience with a new poetic piece is by physically walking the rhythmic pattern and musical quality of the words and syntax. Thirdly, I added, I focus on the “breath” within the poem: I inhale swiftly with vibrant syllables and grammatical crescendos and exhale slowly, lento-like with the subtle phrasing and pauses. Words are similar to a tuning fork, I shared, they have their own vibrational frequencies and resonances.

The women were hooked! I always have a small chapbook of poetry or two in my possession, so I invited the women to share in the experience. To my delight, they each expressed a yearning to participate. Un-orchestrated and enthusiastically, we individually and collectively zigzagged about the canyon speaking in purple prose. Each woman was an accomplished classical musician, so we composed on the spot a short libretto and delivered several improvised lines and also in spokenword four part harmony.

Artistically refreshed, we paused and another lengthy and lively conversation about the musical dynamics and melody of poetry, the power of language, and the metaphorical and symbolic nature of walking, recitation, memory and movement ensued. After spending three magical hours

art form that paints pictures with words and sounds in the

together, we departed, jubilant in heart.

imagination. Since the sound dynamic greatly increases the

Deeply inspired by the encounter with the women and highly motivated by the emerging poetic-renaissance that

est enjoyment—silent reading just won’t do poetry justice.

is happening in the public sphere regarding literary perfor-

Reading aloud enables a poem to reproduce the music of

mances, I set out on a journey to gather more information

rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, assonance, and harmony to

that focused on how enthusiasts of language and poetry

enhance the emotional colors of the words.

mavens might bring the magic of speaking and reciting poetry into their everyday poetically creative lives.

Here are a few simple creative notations that might help you become a passionate maestro of the poetic arts:

Read poetry aloud Every acclaimed poet offers this advice. Poetry is an 70

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affect of the words, poems read aloud often provide the full-

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Vizualize Akin to looking at solo notes on sheet music or viewing a musical score, enjoying the visual aspect of a poem’s layout on the page, which often represents a careful preparation by the poet to complement the texture of the work, is indeed an artistic experience to be cultivated.

Become the conductor of a poem Break down the text, beat-by-beat. Use repetition: Read

(audio and text) on your sleek smart-phone or mobile device.

Create a poetry word vault: A repository for words that you

and re-read lines over and over again. Annotate and highlight

love and catchy phrases to be used often and never forgotten.

words and dynamic phasing that sing to you.

Store and keep poems in categories for life’s most fascinating

Analyze The process of analyzing a poem is subsequent to hearing

and spellbinding moments.

The arc between hearing a poetic symphony of words— listening with the “soul’s ear” and feeling the sensation of

and reading a poem. The logical experience or understanding

pure language, like musical notes, striking heart-chords while

of poetry will be “visited” upon you. Interpretation is relation-

gliding across and reverberating through the imagination and

al and experimental—it is what you believe it to be.

human spirit, by means of a poetic performance, is indeed as exhilarating and ecstatically joyous as the experience of hear-

Rewrite others’ poems with your own pen Create an elegant personal poetry anthology of your own,

ing a great orchestral masterpiece. The last word, is always, the silence.

with handwritten pieces that speak to you. Keep poetry files Premier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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Cultivating Craft Lake City The Artists That Bring Salt Lake’s DIY Festival to Life

by Muyly Miller

C

raft Lake City DIY Festival did not disappoint this

and try to catch them and keep them. I couldn’t resist talk-

year during their 7th annual festival dedicated to do-

ing to the genius behind this and each of his pieces, which all

it-yourself crafting and creative projects. Their exhibitor showcase, workshops and even food wowed the community,

started by Borba making his own molds, then casting them in

August 7th and 8th.

resin, painting them, and then finalizing them by adding the life-like texture on the outside. When asked about his pre-

local, handmade items such as paintings, prints, mugs, cloth-

ferred method to sell his artwork, he shares, “Half the story

ing, greeting cards, jewelry and more. I caught up with some

is lost through online platforms, but festivals and shows are

of the artists hoping to join the art-adoring audiences that

great for me to tell the whole story to the audience.”

buzzed around their booths.

My first stop was with Dave Borba, a 3D mixed-media

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For instance, Borba’s signature hearts on a board is

attracting over 40,000 enthusiasts to the Gallivan Center Exhibitors in the festival shared their crafts through

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involve many processes to bring them to life.

Sabrina Squires, another artist at Craft Lake City, also uses multiple processes to create her art. Squires’ pieces are

artist. Upon stopping at his booth I was drawn to metal but-

National Geographic images collaged together on wood, sand-

terflies in glass jars that Borba exhibited and it took me back

ed down, and then drawn and painted on with ink, acrylic

to my childhood when I would chase butterflies in my yard

and charcoal.

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Though we find many artists and crafters building a foundation of followers, buyers and inventory on online markets such as Etsy, it is a sentiment shared with all artists that being in an environment such as Craft Lake City helps them relate with others and speak about their pieces in a more personal way.

According to Ashley Giessing and her husband, who represent Isabell’s Umbrella, a paper goods designer, “E-commerce sites are more profitable for me because we are always open, but the festivals are a big percentage of our sales.”

I asked her about the saturation of similar artwork on Etsy and how she differentiates her work. “I, myself, create every single product,” Giessing said. “My inspiration comes from Japanese artwork and anime. Things need to have a cuteness and sweetness factor to them.”

Another illustrator and designer who finds her online presence is a great tool is Candace Jean. Jean illustrates images of women and animals. Her work has recently been featured in SLUG magazine and her online presence is on all the major platforms. I asked her what it was about female or feminine subjects that inspire her illustrations.

“Their delicateness,” Jean commented. “I enjoy drawing pretty things, but I am expanding into a masculine art with gentleman rabbits that will round out the work.”

Some artists cannot contain their creative souls and do branch out to different types of art to fulfill those urges and display their affection, apathy or humor toward what is around them. Mike M. Murdock illustrates quirky images, and he is not afraid to say out loud he is weird. When I

“Half the story is lost through online platforms, but festivals and shows are great for me to tell the whole story to the audience.”

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asked him what his inspiration was, he made an illustration to describe it. He made all the frames around his illustrations and even published a children’s book.

He called his work “making messes.” Since he was kid, “funny and weird art” was what he loved to do, and he says that he never grew out of it.

For exhibitors such as Spilt Ink, a Utah based art and screen printing business about to hit a million in revenue, Craft Lake City is a way to build camaraderie with local artists, show support and give back to the artist community. This year, Spilt Ink chose to screen print different graphics and illustrations made from artists found throughout the festival and put those images on tote bags. Working endlessly both days to print and dry each tote bag for the festival-goers of Craft Lake City was an arduous task, but the Spilt Ink team always worked with a smile on their faces.

Stephanie Hillman, representing her company Stephanie Hillman Design, showcased her impressive watercolor works as well as her handmade goblets and mugs. She was running to the kiln to grab her latest creations when I was looking to interview her, but her family was there proud as can be sitting post at her booth to promote her work and talent.

Art may not be what pays the bills for every artist at Craft Lake City. For some artists, like Murdock and Jean, art is a hobby that lets them express themselves and what they love to create. For others, like The Cheeky Whale’s Melissa Mae, her art is her money maker.

Walking through Craft Lake City, though, it’s clear that whatever their motivations these artists are passionate and talented and we are lucky to have them make up our local culture.

Muyly Miller is a local blogger, event planner and clothing designer. Her wedding planning company, Muyly Miller Weddings, and baby fashion and accessories line, Tiny Limes Co., have been successful Utah businesses for a combined total of four years. Miller is active in the local art and craft scene and is a popular blogger and social media personality.

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Lighting the Way Light Projection’s Role in Art History

by Kaylin Meyer

T

hough the future no longer resembles the past, the influence of the past is ever-present. This is ostensibly true

Today, artists are using these early tools to innovate experience and change the way we see the world. By inter-

when it comes to tools and technology, and the tools devel-

secting light and shadows with color, modern artists use map

oped in the art world are no exception. Mechanical aids such

projection techniques to reclaim space, create atmospheric

as candlelight, mirrors, lenses, smoke, film or even perspec-

effects and bring architecture to life. Though still in its infan-

tive grid lines have been used to help master painters execute

cy, today’s level of light projection intelligence has officially

precision in their work.

entered a new avenue of infinity and we are already on the stretch beyond.

A Brief History of Light and Art Early artists portrayed a profoundly colorful world, didn’t they? Rumor has it an artist’s dream was once to craft artworks out of pure projected light and color. The concept of photographic images had been realized long before the actual invention of photography had come to fruition. In fact, there are certain art periods defined by photography that happened much before the medium had entered any major technological development.

Dating back centuries, the desire for visual spectacle merely inspired artists to incorporate light, projection and perception into their art. Artists truly began manipulating lighting conditions once the candle was introduced. Early artists discovered changing the perception of reality was possible through utilizing light and shadow.

The master painters of photorealism demonstrated such a profound grasp of the concept of light, perception and reality that these early painters inadvertently set the bar for artistic excellence.

This excellence, however, has been challenged over the last decade and a half. In a 2001 book, “Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters,” artist Caravaggio, The Conversion on the Way to Damascus, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome 1601, Oil on Canvas, 91 × 69 in.

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Johannes Vermeer, The Art of Painting, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 1665-1668, Oil on canvas, 51 Ă— 43 in.

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David Hockney claimed that legendary art masters including Vermeer, Caravaggio, Velazquez and Van Eyck “cheated” by using optical devices to create their paintings. This new theory has evoked provocative questions of much controversial debate, to say the least.

It’s important to note that the old masters of the fine arts discovered some of the most brilliant artistic, scientific and mathematical concepts of our time. In the 15th century, artists developed techniques that were devoted to the mathematical principles of optics and theories of perspective. In the 16th century, artistic techniques were enhanced after many calculated experiments were executed to test optical theories to understand the underlining rules of perspective. As result, the concept of projected light became valued as fine art.

Hockney’s theory looks at how Johannes Vermeer poetically animated paintings so cruelly realistic and questionably photographic that it unlikely came about without projection assistance. With zero drawings or writings and only 35 paintings to count, Vermeer was a man who almost left no trace behind except a stunning luster of exquisite artworks and puzzling questions. Only recently has the integrity of his work been put to the test.

Hockney suggests that in order for Vermeer or any of the old masters to craft such masterpieces, they had to make use of optical assistance including the camera obscura, camera lucida, mirrors, or a combination of the troika. If that’s true, the question then becomes: “If some of history’s most polished legends chose to utilize a resource for the purpose of seeking genuine artistic improvement, would that actually be considered cheating?”

Artistic creations, such as “The Music Lesson” by Vermeer, used the concept of “directional lighting” to create mysteriously accurate, photorealistic effects, which revealed a delectable three-dimensional world. This method changed the intensity, texture, color and direction of light to enhance the emotion and realism of the painting.

Old masters like Vermeer brought unrelenting realism to paintings by recreating scenes of reality both enticing and convincing through their manipulation of light and shadow.

Jan van Eyck, Madonna in the Church, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, c. 1438–40, Oil on Oak Panel, 12.25 × 5.5 in.

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This understanding of optical effects helped these artists carefully and deliberately use color to match real life far more precisely than any other artist could.

Art historians sometimes refer to instinctively color savvy painters such as Vermeer as serial colorists. Vermeer demonstrated immaculate skill in this area, which saturated his paintings with a before-his-time photorealistic aesthetic.

Each painting by Vermeer shows his ability to take a scene from reality, measure the visual similarity of that scene with color and then delicately rearrange that reality by manipulating light and shadow. This artistic endeavor was evoked in pursuit of the psychological intensity of realism fused with raw emotion.

Perhaps the mysterious photorealistic images were made possible by some unknown 17th century technology or, if angled just right, maybe even a shiny teaspoon could have created the optical effect. As of today, no one knows. In any case, if some medium of the sort was used as creative substance for the sake of improving the art of their craft, shouldn’t this be considered quite inventive, instead of cheating?

The Value of Illumination

555 Kubik, Hamburg Germany.

Photos courtesy of URBANSCREEN.

The simple truth is that Vermeer had a mind ahead of his time and knowledge is power. It is through human

display of optical illusions was first seen in the late 1600s

nature and knowledge that humans evolve, progress, impact

and was originally and only executed by magicians. Ancient

and grow. From a broad perspective, the concept of human

magicians used this mechanism on stage to magically appear

enhancement indicates that any technique discovered over

and disappear.

the course of mankind’s history is used to improve the overall quality of life, or in this case, art.

Illumination is a phenomenon that has been around for

Oxy-hydrogen limelight and arc light made it possible to create elaborate effects displaying huge images in front of public audiences. Lenses, mirrors and light sources

hundreds of centuries and has inspired creation since the

improved a projectionist’s craftsmanship and could expo-

beginning of mankind. Beyond the candle, the camera obscu-

nentially improve shows in front of live audiences. The

ra was among the first mechanical aids portraying a lens-like

improvements of light sources brought tasteful changes

technology. The camera obscura is a clever image projection

to the style of live shows. As technological advances

tool that crafts artistry purely out of organic light projection.

increased, the images became brighter, more distinctive

Once specific illumination principles were introduced artists

and featured animation. Manipulation of illumination and

were provided with the ability to highlight certain areas of

light exploration has been part of an ongoing innovation

visual imagery and control the shaft of light, whether on can-

ever since.

vas or on stage.

The “Magic Lanterns” are the earliest slide projectors

The truth is, photographic imagery did change the innocence of our naked eye, but at this point turning back is not

that could produce general projection arrangements with a

really an ideal. If creating perfection is the goal, projection

number of mechanical slides of moving images. This magical

tools are the way to achieve it.

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Light and Projection in the 21st Century

produce the utmost spectacular and enigmatic three-dimensional performances.

Over the last 60 years, the development of illumination and projection has accelerated immensely. In the most

epitome of brilliant execution of modern technology, but they

recent decade, artists have begun to design stage sets with

are also playing a critical role in the evolution of public art,

illusions of psychedelic proportions and craft scenes from

which has forced art critics to completely rethink how to

light that thrill the millions.

contextualize this kind of artwork. The reality of art is that

Today’s visual artists use computer animated projection

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it is malleable and in order to cope with the world’s new

technology to ingeniously juxtapose live action with motion

paradigms, it’s paramount we stay constantly aware of its

pictures, taking performances and their viewers to different

potential. The impressionists and photorealists once changed

realms, previously never seen before. Rapid prototyping has

accepted concepts of color and light and in the spirit of revo-

allowed visual artists and creative lighting engineers to har-

lution, today’s artists will eventually do the same.

ness the imaginative potential of interdisciplinary arts and

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Contemporary projection illusions are hands-down the

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KarenartHorne of dance

Dancing in Crimson, 36”x 48” Oil on Canvas

Adjusting Her Shoe, 12” x 16” pastel

www.hornefineart.com 801-533-4200 142 East 800 South SLC, UT 84111

Dancing in paint and pastel Premier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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177 East 200 South Salt Lake City, UT 84111 801.355.3383 modernwestfineart.com

608 Main Street Park City, UT 84060 435.655.3264 www.montgomeryleefineart.com

142 E 800 S Salt Lake City, UT 84111 801.533.4200 www.hornefineart.com

101 25th St Ogden, UT 84401 913.744.9524 www.bellamusegallery.com

Selected Works on Display

To Advertise Your Gallery’s Selected Works in our Digest Catalog contact: Premier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West 801.953.0186 advertise@fibonaccidigest.com

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Moonshine

by Mark Eberhard 42 x 42 Oil on Canvas MODERN WEST FINE ART

Razorback Bluff

by Rob Colvin 42 x 42 Oil on Canvas MODERN WEST FINE ART

Twelve

by Annette Lemieux Acrylic Silkscreen Ink on Wood Panel (2) panels at 38 x 40 MODERN WEST FINE ART

Night Owl-Crow Indian Man

by Kevin Red Star 30 x 40 Acrylic on Canvas MODERN WEST FINE ART Gibson Wilderness

by Woody Shepherd 72 x 71 Oil & Acrylic on Hardwood Panel MODERN WEST FINE ART

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Horses on the Hill With Cloud

by Phil Epp 40 x 40 Acrylic on Board MODERN WEST FINE ART

Heat

by Lenka Konopasek 30 x 40 Oil on Canvaas MODERN WEST FINE ART

Warrior on Horse

by Ben Steele 90 x 80 Oil on (3) Panels MODERN WEST FINE ART

Into the Glittery World

by Shonto Begay 48 x 24 Acrylic on Canvas MODERN WEST FINE ART

Nude 1

by Jann Hathworth 36 x 42 Oil on Canvas & Vinyl MODERN WEST FINE ART

Suzie Yazzie

by Logan Maxwell Hagege 30 x 20 Oil on Linen MODERN WEST FINE ART

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Grazing Under the Needle

by John Berry 16 x 20 Oil on Canvas MODERN WEST FINE ART

Bladed Bloom

by Ed Mell 24 x 18 Oil on Linen MODERN WEST FINE ART

The Grand Tetons

by Tracy Felix 36 x 48 Oil on Panel MODERN WEST FINE ART 88

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Keokook

by Stanley Natchez 40 x 46 Oil and Mixed Media on Gold Leaf MODERN WEST FINE ART

Red

by Dave Newman 30 x 30 Mixed Media MODERN WEST FINE ART

Filtered Sun

by Dan Namingha 40 x 30 Acrylic on Canvas MODERN WEST FINE ART

Sea Butterfly

by Ario Namingha 15 x 13 x 4 Texas Shell, Bass Wood & Bronze MODERN WEST FINE ART

Mountain Storm

by David Jonason 36 x 48 Oil on Canvas MODERN WEST FINE ART

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Whispering Aspens

by Phyllis Horne 30 x 40 Oil HORNE FINE ART

Dressed in Purple

by Phyllis Horne 16 x 12 Oil HORNE FINE ART 90 90

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A Chill in the Air

by Phyllis Horne 24 x 30 Oil HORNE FINE ART

Behind the Scenes

by Barbara Edwards 18 x 14 Oil HORNE FINE ART

Sunday in the Garden

by Karen Horne 12 x 12 Oil on Panel HORNE FINE ART

When in Rome

by Karen Horne 40 x 38 Oil on Linen HORNE FINE ART

Quiet Riders

by Glen Edwards 12 x 16 Oil HORNE FINE ART

At the Springville Art Ball

by Karen Horne 24 x 18 Oil on Linen HORNE FINE ART Premier Fine Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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Enchanted Evening at the Vienna Ball

by Karen Horne 48 x 96 Oil on Linen HORNE FINE ART DC Cherry Blossoms

by Ken Baxter 20 x 24 Oil HORNE FINE ART

Trio Backstage

by Karen Horne 13 x 24 Pastel HORNE FINE ART

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Ballerina Resting

by Karen Horne 18 x 14 Pastel and charcoal HORNE FINE ART

Sound of Autumn Jennifer Johnson 12 x 16 Oil BELLA MUSE GALLERY

A Walk in the Woods Shanna Kunz 15 x 16 Oil BELLA MUSE GALLERY

Glacier LIght Cindy Baron 8 x 10 Watercolor BELLA MUSE GALLERY

Glorious

by Elizabeth Robbins 14 x 18 Oil BELLA MUSE GALLERY

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Dahlia’s in Silver ELizabeth Robbins 16 x 20 Oil BELLA MUSE GALLERY Sunflowers in Jade Elizabeth Robbins 16 x 20 Oil BELLA MUSE GALLERY

Silver LIght Cindy Baron Oil 8 x 10 BELLA MUSE GALLERY

Quiet Evening Lori McNee 8X8 Encaustic BELLA MUSE GALLERY 94 94

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Homage to Bitterroot Shanna Kunz 36x26 Oil BELLA MUSE GALLERY

Mid Winter Morning

by Joseph Alleman 34 x 48 Oil MONTGOMERY-LEE

Polperro Boats

by Steve Songerr 36 x 48 Oil MONTGOMERY-LEE

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Trio in Black and White

by Don Weller 10 x 17.5 Watercolor MONTGOMERY-LEE

A Close Watch

by Jake Songer 20 x 16 Oil MONTGOMERY-LEE

Depths of Autumn

by Robert Moore 30 x 30 MONTGOMERY-LEE

Weathered

by Jarred Sanders 45 x 48 Oil MONTGOMERY-LEE 96 96

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Alta Hills

by John Hughes 10 x 12 Oil MONTGOMERY-LEE

Black on White

by Jared Sanders 60 x 48 Oil MONTGOMERY-LEE

Down the Valley

by Barbara S. Edwards 24 x 20 Oil MONTGOMERY-LEE

Tranquility

by Ivan Blagorenko 30 x 40 Oil MONTGOMERY-LEE

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Gallery Directory

Listings Throughout the Mountain West

15th Street Gallery 1519 S 1500 East Salt Lake City, UT 84105 15thstreetgallery.com

Altamira Fine Art 172 Center St 100 Jackson, WY 83001 altamiraart.com

Artworks Park City 461 Main St Park City, UT 84060 artworksparkcity.com

Brookover Gallery 125 N Cache St Jackson, WY 83001 brookovergallery.com

A Gallery 1321 S 2100 East Salt Lake City, UT 84108 agalleryonline.com

Anthony’s Fine Art & Antiques 401 E 200 South Salt Lake City, UT 84111 anthonysfineart.com

Astoria Fine Art 35 E Deloney Ave Jackson, WY 83001 astoriafineart.com

Brushworks Gallery 160 E 800 South Salt Lake City, UT 84111 brushworksgallery.com

Authentique Gallery Art & Design 199 N Main St St George, UT 84770 authentiquegallery.com

Centaur Art Galleries 4345 Dean Martin Dr Las Vegas, NV 89103 centaurgalleries.com

Al Rounds Studio 60 E South Temple Ste 34 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 alrounds.com Alderwood Fine Art 641 E South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84102 alderwoodfineart.com Alice Gallery 617 E South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84102 alicegallery.org Alpine Art 430 E South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84111 alpineartinc.com

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Art Access Gallery 230 S 500 West #125 Salt Lake City, UT 84101 accessart.org Art at the Main 210 E 400 South Salt Lake City, UT 84111 artatthemain.com ARTe Gallery and Framing Shop 415 S Dixie Dr. St George, UT 84770 arte4artgallery.com ArtisticLifestyles Gallery Las Vegas 2758 S Highland Dr Ste B Las Vegas, NV 89109 artisticlifestyles.com

Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art 3600 Las Vegas Blvd S Las Vegas, NV 89109 bellagio.com Bret Webster Images 312 Main St Park City, UT 84060 bretwebsterimages.com Brett Wesley Gallery 1025 S 1st St 150 Las Vegas, NV brettwesleygallery.com

Charley Hafen Jewelers 1409 S 900 East Salt Lake City, UT 84105 charleyhafen.com Contemporary Arts Center 1217 S Main St Las Vegas, NV 89104 lasvegascac.org Cornerstone Gallery of Fine Art 175 S Main St Ste 100 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 cornerstonegallery.net

Counterpath 613 22nd St Denver, CO 80202 counterpathpress.org

Diehl Gallery 155 W Broadway Jackson, WY 83001 diehlgallery.com

Coyote Gulch Art Village 875 Coyote Gulch Ct Ivins, UT 84738 coyotegulchartvillage.com

District Gallery 751 Main St Park City, UT 84060 districtartgallery.com

Dateline 3004 Larimer St Denver, CO 80202 ddaatteelliinnee.com David B. Smith Gallery 1543 Wazee St Denver, CO 80202 davidbsmithgallery.com David Ericson Fine Art 418 S 200 West Salt Lake City, UT 84101 davidericson-fineart.com David J. West Gallery 801 Zion Park Blvd Springdale, UT 84767 davidjwest.com DeZion Gallery 1051 Zion Park Blvd Springdale, UT 84767 deziongallery.com

Earth & Light Gallery 847 Coyote Gulch Ct Ivins, UT 84738 cdwood.zenfolio.com Evergreen Framing Co. & Gallery, Inc. 3295 S 2000 East Salt Lake City, UT 84109 evergreengallery.com F. Weixler Gallery 132 ‘E’ Street Salt Lake City, UT 84103 fweixlerco.com Fatali Gallery 556 Main St Park City, UT 84060 fatali.com Gail Severn Gallery 400 1st Ave N Ketchum, ID 83340 gailseverngallery.com

Gallery 873 873 Coyote Gulch Ct Ivins, UT 84738 gallery873.com Gallery De Novo 320 N 1st Ave Ketchum, ID 83340 denovoartconsulting.com Gallery MAR 436 Main St Park City, UT 84060 gallerymar.com

Horne Gallery 142 E 800 South Salt Lake City, UT 84111 www.hornefineart.com Ice Cube Gallery 3320 Walnut St Denver, CO 80202 icecubegallery.com Illume Gallery of Fine Art 60 E South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84111 illumegalleryoffineart.com

Gildar Gallery 82 S Broadway Denver, CO 80202 gildargallery.com

J GO Gallery 408 Main St Park City, UT 84060 jgogallery.com

Gilman Contemporary 661 Sun Valley Rd Ketchum, ID 83340 gilmancontemporary.com

Julie Nester Gallery 1280 Iron Horse Dr Park City, UT 84060 julienestergallery.com

Hope Gallery 268 Main St Park City, UT 84060 hopegallery.com

Kevin Barry Fine Arts 6001 S Decatur Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89118 kevinbarryfineart.com

Horizon Fine Art Gallery 30 King St Jackson, WY 83001 horizonfineartgallery.com

Kimball Art Center 638 Park Ave Park City, UT 84060 kimballartcenter.org

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King’s Gallery 13 W Center St Logan, UT 84321 antiquesutah.com Kush Fine Art Las Vegas 3500 Las Vegas Blvd S Ste G27 Las Vegas, NV 89109 vladimirkush.com

Martin Lawrence Galleries 3500 S Las Vegas Blvd S Las Vegas, NV 89109 martinlawrence.com

LaFave Gallery 1214 Zion Park Blvd Springdale, UT 84767 lafavegallery.com

McCarthey Gallery 444 Main St Park City, UT 84060 mccartheygallery.net

Left of Center Gallery 2207 W Gowan Rd North Las Vegas, NV 89032 leftofcenterart.org

McMillen Fine Art Gallery 1678 Redstone Center Dr Ste 120 Park City, UT 84098 mcmillenfineart.com

Lanny Barnard Gallery 74 S Main St Salt Lake City, UT 84101 lannybarnardgalleryslc.com Logan Fine Art 60 W 100 North Logan, UT 84321 loganfineartgallery.com Lucheni Sculpture Gallery 110 Bristol Rd Logan, UT 84341

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Mangelsen-Images of Nature Gallery 364 Main St Park City, UT 84060 mangelsen.com

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Meyer Gallery 305 Main Street Park City, UT 84060 meyergallery.com Michael Bedard Fine Art Gallery 29 W 200 North St George, UT 84770 bedardfineart.com Milici Studios 95 E Shelbourne Ave Las Vegas, NV 89123 milicistudios.com

Mission Gallery 173 N Main St St George, UT 84770 themissiongallery.com

Plus Gallery 2501 Larimer St Denver, CO 80202 plusgallery.com

Modern West Fine Art 177 E 200 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 modernwestfineart.com

Park City Fine Art 577 Main St Park City, UT 84060 parkcityfineart.com

Montgomery-Lee Fine Art 608 Main St Park City, UT 84060 montgomeryleefineart.com

Phillips Gallery 444 E 200 South Salt Lake City, UT 84111 phillips-gallery.com

Mountain Trails Gallery 301 Main St Park City, UT 84060 mountaintrailsgalleries.com

Rare Gallery 60 E Broadway Ave Jackson, WY 83001 raregalleryjacksonhole.com

Native American Trading Company 1301 Bannock St Denver, CO 80202 nativeamericantradingco.com

Relics Framemakers & Fine Art Gallery 4685 S Holladay Blvd Salt Lake City, UT 84117 relicsframemakers.com

Old Church Gallery 868 Zion Park Blvd Springdale, UT 84767

Rich Haines Galleries 751 Main St Park City, UT 84060 richhainesgalleries.com

Pattern Shop Studio 3349 Blake St Denver, CO 80202 patternshopstudio.com

Rio Gallery 300 S Rio Grande St Salt Lake City, UT 84101 riogallery.org

Robischon Gallery 1740 Wazee St Denver, CO 80202 gildargallery.com Sagebrush Fine Art 3065 S West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 sagebrushfineart.com Sandra Phillips 420 W 12th Ave Denver, CO 80202 thesandraphillipsgallery.com Sean Nathan Ricks: The Main Street Gallery 909 S Main St Ste F Logan, UT 84321 Sears Art Museum Gallery 155 S University Ave St George, UT 84770 dixieculturalarts.com/ sears-museum Silver Queen Fine Art 577 Main St Park City, UT 84060 silverqueenfineart.com Slusser Gallery 447 E 100 South Salt Lake City, UT 84111 slussergallery.com

Sorella Gallery 868 Zion Park Blvd Springdale, UT 84767 Split Rock Gallery 2 W St George Blvd St George, UT 84770 splitrockinc.com Stanfield Fine Art 751 Main St Park City, UT 84060 stanfieldfineart.com Svper Ordinary 3350 Brighton Blvd Denver, CO 80202 svperordinary.com Tayloe Piggott Gallery 62 S Glenwood St Jackson, WY 83001 tayloepiggottgallery.com Terzian Galleries 309 Main St Park City, UT 84060 terziangalleries.com Teton Art Gallery 47 W Deloney Ave Jackson, WY 83001 jewelryjacksonhole.com

Thomas Anthony Gallery 340 Main St Park City, UT 84060 thomasanthonygallery.com

Wide Angle 51 N Main St St George, UT 84770 wideangleart.com

Trio Fine Art 545 N Cache St Jackson, WY 83001 triofineart.com

Williams Fine Art 132 ‘E’ Street Salt Lake City, UT 84103 williamsfineart.com

Trove Gallery 804 Main St Park City, UT 84060 troveparkcity.com

vWillie Holdman Utah Photographs Gallery 580 Main St Park City, UT 84060 willieholdman.com

Urban Arts Gallery 137 S Rio Grande St Salt Lake City, UT 84101 utaharts.org/locations/ urban-arts-gallery Utah Artist Hands 163 E Broadway Salt Lake City, UT 84111 utahands.com West Light Images 333 Main St Park City, UT 84060 westlightimages.com

Winborg Masterpieces 55 N Main St Logan, UT 84321 winborg.com World Focus Gallery 20 N Main St St George, UT 84770 Worthington Gallery, Inc. 789 Zion Park Blvd Springdale, UT 84767 worthingtongallery.com

Whitaker Studio 899 Coyote Gulch Ct Ivins, UT 84738 whitakerstudio.com

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FIND YOUR VOICE. FUEL YOUR PASSION. IGNITE YOURFine FUTURE. Premier Arts Digest of the Mountain West

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