Muse Art Reclaimed

creative awareness | arts & culture | makers’ movement

STORY & PHOTOS BY KAYLA ANDERSON

Muse shop and gallery. From left, Muse owners Renee Koijane and Peggy Linquist. | Kayla Anderson

Muse Art Reclaimed owners Peggy Lindquist and Renee Koijane are in a bright, cozy, sunlit space surrounded by beautiful handmade art and a delicious batch of moist peanut-butter cookies that Lindquist made the night before. The two business partners opened Muse in early 2020 when Lindquist invited Koijane to her studio in Tahoe City to teach her how to sew a cover on an antique chair. Lindquist acquired the space a few years before meeting Koijane as a place to paint, showcase her art and teach classes. However, the idea was becoming stagnant when she met Koijane through a mutual friend at a yoga class. The two instantly hit it off. Koijane had owned an art cooperative and boutique on the West Shore, called Reclaimed, and decided to go into business with Lindquist on a handshake. “I never used a sewing machine in my life, but I wanted to learn and had a feeling about Peggy. I told my husband, ‘This is the first day of the rest of my life.’ I just knew there was something here,” recalls Koijane. “We opened this together right when the pandemic hit. All the cards were against us; this is a case study in resilience and I think that it forced out our creativity.” Lindquist concurs, “There was a mutual trust and respect right from the start, a heart connection. And I was ready to not do this alone anymore. And meeting Renee, who owned Reclaimed, it was perfect timing. I was ready to have collaboration.”

“We opened [Muse] right when the pandemic hit. All the cards were against us; this is a case study in resilience and I think that it forced out our creativity.” - Renee Koijane

“I never wanted to do it alone either and this place resonated with me,” agrees Koijane. “But it was a business partner approach that no one would advise you to do. It was very intuition based, a success story of following your heart. She was the spark and I put a little fuel on the spark.” She missed having a place in which to showcase her work and being more involved in the community. “It was easy partnering with Peggy, aside from the pandemic. I learn so much from her.” Today, Muse, is a gallery and shop that carries highly curated art from a dozen local artists, including Koijane’s oil paintings and Lindquist’s weavings, collages, paintings and succulent art. “We’re all in this together and want to support you to make your dream come true. But we are discerning in what we take. We have a teeny space, so we want to carry what we love,” Lindquist says. “And the vibe and connection that the artists have with us is important,” Koijane says. Lindquist nods and says, “It’s nice being around friends who are artists; it can help you move through problems which can be motivating.” Muse invites artisans and vendors of all kinds to join them at their First Fridays events held on the first Friday in the summer months from 4 to 9 p.m. Lindquist was surprised to see that instead of passing through, people stayed and lingered outdoors with their neighbors and friends. Throughout the year, Muse offers space to host classes, popups and other special events. “This is the people’s safe space, where they can go to hang out, be together. We want this to be more of a community,” Lindquist says. “It’s like having a hummingbird feeder, you know, how it attracts all the other hummingbirds? That’s what this place is for artists; it attracts other artists.,” says Koijane. “Tahoe has a lot of creative people, but for a very long time there wasn’t a gathering place,” says Lindquist. “Sometimes the lake is busy or you don’t want to go skiing. You can come here and work. There are five or six of us total who share hours in this space. We don’t have any employees and think that this way people are more invested in the artists,” Koijane says. | museartreclaimed.com, @museartreclaimed n

Muse Art Reclaimed will host First Friday outdoor artisan markets beginning on June 3 and will continue all summer until Sept. 2. From 4-9 p.m. each first Friday of the month, Muse will host more than a dozen local artisans selling their wares, live music, a local food truck on site and drinks poured by Tahoe Wine Collective (drink proceeds will benefit Tahoe Truckee School of Music.)

Visit TheTahoeWeekly.com to add your Event for our print & online calendars.

Sierra State Parks Foundation is sponsoring an art contest until April 18. This year, the theme is “Leave No Trace.”

Any art medium is acceptable. Winners will be announced on Tahoe Truckee Earth Day on April 23 in the Village at Palisades Tahoe and there will be prizes for winners in all age categories.

Submit entries to communications@ sierrastateparks.org or drop off submissions at Donner Memorial State Park Visitor Center. | SierraSPF on Facebook

Elements Mountain Co. and Alibi Ale Works have partnered to host a Mountain Life Photo Contest to raise funds for Rocker Memorial Skatepark. The goal is to create an exciting, high-quality annual photo competition while generating an artistic buzz in the local community. The contest is open to all nonprofessional photographers in the Truckee and Lake Tahoe communities. There will be a reception and gallery showing on May 19 at Alibi Ale Works in Truckee. | elementsmtn.co

South Lake Tahoe author Bruce Rettig will release his book, “Refraction: an artic memoir,” published by Wayfarer Books, on Nov. 15, but can be pre-ordered now. The memoir recounts the experience of working in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, a remote Arctic outpost and home to the largest oilfield in North America. It provides an intimate insight into the power of Big Oil and the dangers of an industrial environment and living with fellow laborers in an isolated work camp. The book has won numerous awards including first place in the San Francisco Writers Contest.

“Refraction” is available for pre-order through Homebound Publications and for every book sold, a tree will be planted. | homeboundpublications.square.site

Author Bo Grebitus recently released “Touching History: Rediscovering Tahoe City’s Hidden Waterfront,” featuring a collection of historic images of the town’s once thriving waterfront district including docks for steamships that traversed Lake Tahoe as the area’s only transportation and the railroad that once connected Truckee and Tahoe City.

What makes this book different and fascinating is how Grebitus uses historic images set next to contemporary images of the same Tahoe City locations to visually engage the readers in the area’s history. As well, his “history-meld” images where a historic image is transposed over a contemporary image of the same location. | arcadiapublishing.com

Scott Forrest

Stop in and meet artist Scott Forrest at Scott Forrest Fine Arts Studio on April 8 and 9 from noon to 4 p.m. with live painting.

Each painting from the Forrest Collection takes on its own unique voice, some rhythmic and textural, others featuring Forrest’s signature bold and sweeping brush strokes as seen in ancient Japanese ink painting. | scottforrestart.com TRTA RIM TRAIL POSTER CONTEST FOR KIDS

The Tahoe Rim Trial Association is hosting a poster contest for kids ages 5 to 17 years of age to design a poster to promote stewardship ethics in with the theme “Leave No Trace Around The Rim” based on the Leave No Trace Principles. Winning designs will be displayed at Rim Trail trailheads throughout the region.

Posters must illustrate and/or describe the seven Leave No Trace Principles and how visitors and residents can follow these stewardship ethics in the Tahoe Basin. Spanish and dual-language poster submissions are encouraged to spread inclusivity in the outdoors. The deadline is April 29. | Details tahoerimtrail.org

The Tahoe Art League in South Lake Tahoe hosts its Spring Show through June 25. The gallery is open Thursday to Sunday and admission is free. | talart. org

Sierra Nevada University | Incline Village | April 6-8 | (775) 831-1314, sierranevada.edu

North Tahoe Arts | Tahoe City | April 6-30 11 a.m.-4 p.m. | (530) 581-2787, northtahoearts.com

Sierra State Parks Foundation | Tahoe City | April 6-18

Lake Tahoe Community College | South Lake Tahoe | April 6-22 11 a.m. | talart.org

Mountain Workspace Art Gallery | Incline Village | April 6-April 30 9 a.m.-5 p.m. | mountainworkspace.com

area venues | Truckee | April 6-29 | elementsmtn.co

Sierra Nevada University | Incline Village | April 6-May 20 | (775) 831-1314, sierranevada.edu

For Goodness Sake | Truckee | April 7-May 12 10-11 a.m. | goodnesssake.org

Tahoe Arts League | South Lake Tahoe | April 7-June 26 11 a.m.-4 p.m. | talart.org

Sierra Nevada University | Incline Village | April 8 | (775) 831-1314, sierranevada.edu

Harrah’s Lake Tahoe | Stateline | April 15-17 2-10 p.m. | (508) 863-1463, tahoe.tattoo

Sierra Nevada University | Incline Village | April 18-May 6 | (775) 831-1314, sierranevada.edu

For Goodness Sake | Truckee | Until May 31 | goodnesssake.org

Truckee Library | Truckee | April 27 3-5 p.m. | (530) 582-7846, madelynhelling.evanced.info