D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
December
2008
Arts Scene
Grant County
The Mimbres Region Arts Council (MRAC) will present a preview of its 2009 Print Portfolio project with light refreshments at its offices in the Wells Fargo Bank building on Dec. 5, 5-6:30 p.m. This is the third MRAC Print Portfolio (formerly called the Print Project) and is a fundraiser for the arts council. Twenty-five artists produced the artwork, which has been assembled into folios, 15 of which are available to the art-collecting community for $500 each, proceeds benefiting the MRAC. This year's portfolio has also been published in book format, available for $40. The 2009 Print Portfolio is dedicated to the memory of Tad Van der Weele, a well-known Grant County artist and special friend of the arts council who passed away last month. Participating artists include Carlos Aguilar, M Fred Barraza, Tiffany Bass, Jean Bohlender, Patricia Clayton Leff, Dee Connett, David del Junco, Mary Frances Dondelinger, Lois Duffy, Paula Geisler, Marilyn Gendron, Diana Ingalls Leyba, Gloria Maya, Phillip Parotti, Eric Renner and Nancy Spencer, Carlene Roters, Allen Sanders, Rita Sherwood, Marcia Smith, Jeff Turner, Sandy Urban, Tad Van der Weele, Joseph Wade, Zoe Wolfe and Melanie Zipin. Nancy Spencer edited and designed the layout of the book. For more information call the MRAC at 538-2505 or check their website at www.mimbresarts.org
A collective of area artists and more than 20 gallery owners currently are forming the Silver City Gallery Association, hoping to create an entity that will grow to include artists and businesses throughout Grant County. A spokeswoman for the group says their aim is to provide enhanced promotion specific to the needs of artists and the art business, and that the newly formed association will dovetail with and offer support and strength to the area's developing Arts and Culture District. Artists and galleries interested in finding out more, or in joining the association can contact Leyba & Ingalls ARTS at 388-5725, LeybaIngallsART@zianet.com
The Blue Dome Gallery is kicking off the month with a special exhibit, ROAR, featuring festive new works by their artists and culinary treats prepared by Rob Connoley of the Curious Kumquat, offered at the opening reception Dec. 3, 6-8 p.m. 307 N. Texas St., 534-8671.
The San Vicente Artists and the Grant County Art Guild are joining forces this year to produce the annual Christmas Art Fair at the historic Silco Theater Dec. 13, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The event will include a bake sale and raffle, with proceeds from the raffle going toward a student art fund that provides grants for art supplies and scholarships for local art students. 388-2079, luannebrooten@gmail.com
Seedboat Gallery continues its annual jewelry group show this month, featuring the works of 10 different artists, through Dec. 31. 214 W. Yankie St., info@seedboatgallery.com
After its successful first season as an outdoor arts market, Mercado del Sol will move indoors and hold an Indoor Holiday Sale Dec. 20, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The works of local artists will be for sale with music, food, door prizes and raffle to benefit the Volunteer Center adding to the event. Donate a non-perishable food item at the door and receive a free door-prize ticket. Silco Theater, 311 N. Bullard St. 534-8285.
Las Cruces & Mesilla
Glenn Cutter Jewelers and Gallery "will soon cease to exist" in its current form, according to owner Steve Boudreau. The 34-year-old business currently is engaged in a liquidation sale of all jewelry and gift items at the store, which is located at 2640 El Paseo Road. In an earlier report, Boudreau said that the move was to help the company to fulfill its financial obligations and that the liquidation would enable "a new chapter" in the business' history to unfold. Reached at the store late last month, in the thick of the liquidation sale, he declined to say whether that "chapter" was a Chapter 11 or 13 bankruptcy or that the gallery and/or jewelry store aspects of his business would close permanently. "We're doing everything we can to stay in business. . . . Yes, that means drastically reducing our current inventory," Boudreau said. The liquidation sale will continue as long as the store has inventory enough to operate. 524-4300.
Black Gold from the Sun, a gallery at 1910 Calle de Parian inside the Old Tortilla Factory, will close at the end of this year. The business hosted the Dona Ana Arts Council luncheon last month, kicking off the gallery's final holiday season.
The Tombaugh Gallery of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruces will host the gourd art of Joanna Bradley and Kathe Stark, Dec. 5-Jan. 2, with an opening reception for the artists Dec. 7, 12-2 p.m. Stark has been working with gourds since moving to Las Cruces from the Midwest 10 years ago. Through trial and error, her art has evolved to include burnt and carved designs adorned with ink, dyes, paint, pine needles and feathers. She says the shape of the gourd points the way towards a design and method of embellishment. Both vessels and masks are created with an eye toward the rich Native American history of the Southwest. Stark's work has been featured in the galleries of the Rio Grande Theater. Bradley has had a lifelong interest in the gourd as canvas. She has participated in art shows in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas for 14 years. Her art has been featured at the Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery and the Main Street Gallery in Las Cruces. The gallery is open to the public Mon., Wed. and Fri., 12-4 p.m. 2000 S. Solano. 522-7281.
Works by Raul Madrid, a remarkable artist who has cerebral palsy and creates art with one foot, will be on exhibit at the Mastery in Life Center on the north end of the Downtown Mall, with an opening reception for the artist Dec. 5, 5-7 p.m. Madrid is a multi-media artist and the show will include works in watercolor, collage, acrylics and more. The exhibit continues through December. The reception will be followed by the center's "Howling Coyote Coffeehouse" open mic. 373-1971.
The New Mexico Watercolor Society, Southern Chapter, will meet Dec. 14, 2 p.m., in the Arts and Crafts Room at Good Sam's Retirement Home, 3011 Buena Vida Circle. After a brief business meeting, members will celebrate the holiday season by exchanging original watercolor paintings and enjoying refreshments. For more information, call 526-5374.
"Innovation and Change: Great Ceramics from the Ceramics Research Center, Arizona State University Art Museum Collection" is the new exhibit at the Museum of Art. The exhibit opens Dec. 12 and runs through Jan. 24, 2009. The Las Cruces show is part of a 10-city national tour over a three-year period and was curated by Peter Held, curator of ceramics. The comprehensive exhibit highlights 79 masterworks by many of the leading international artists of our time, offering a panoramic survey of the potential of clay as an expressive art form. The objects on view range from functional ware for everyday use to more expressive art forms. The exhibition features works by such prominent artists as Peter Voulkos, Stephen DeStaebler, Jun Kaneko, Tanya Batura and Eddie Dominguez and many more. Influenced by European modernist design, as well as Asian pottery traditions, these ceramic pioneers created a new American aesthetic. 491 N. Main St. in the Downtown Mall. 541-2137, museums.las-cruces.org