WHERE ART HAPPENS
DEVIN HEILMAN/Press Terri Dickerson of Coeur d’Alene contributes to a community volcano painting in artist Julie Rae’s backyard Saturday during the fifth annual Coeur d’Alene Artists Studio Tour. Rae held a raffle for the painting, so one lucky guest who helped paint it will take the piece home once Rae puts on the finishing touches.
Sculptor Sarah Thompson Moore discusses ideas behind some of her works as she stands near a model of her piece, "Everything Between," during the Artist Studio Tour on Saturday. "Everything Between" is a 28-foot-tall steel structure that she designed for Riverside Park South on the Hudson River in New York, where it was displayed for a year. She said the piece will soon be installed at a new location in Florida.
Acrylic and oil painter Julie Rae discusses her painting, "Lady with Scroll," during the Coeur d'Alene Artists Studio Tour on Saturday. Rae's style is influenced by her time living for a year in Japan and 20 in Hawaii. She enjoys infusing Asian, Hawaiian and Pacific Northwestern themes into her works.
DEVIN HEILMAN/Press This recent Kevin Jester soft chalk pastel piece shows a misty scene from the Thompson Pass area. Jester, who serves as chair of the Coeur d'Alene Arts and Culture Alliance, welcomed guests into his workshop studio Saturday during the fifth annual Coeur d'Alene Artists Studio Tour.
DEVIN HEILMAN/Press Oil painter and Coeur d'Alene Artists Studio Tour co-founder Kathy Gale displayed this colorful piece depicting workers in a field, "The Gatherers," during the tour on Saturday. Gale said the tour is all about letting people see the process and workspace that go along with creating art.
During the fifth annual Coeur d'Alene Artists Studio Tour, one local artist invited her guests to do some painting of their own.
"Everybody put paint on the volcano," acrylics and oil painter Julie Rae said with a smile Saturday morning. "I'm pretty thrilled about that."
Rae had a canvas with a sparse painting of a volcano set up near a table of paints in her backyard, ready for the next person's artistic touch. She planned to finish the painting after the tour and award it to one of the guest painters who dropped their name and contact info in her raffle box.
"I’ve always loved art, and I love the creativity,” said Terri Dickerson of Coeur d'Alene, after adding to the volcano piece. "I just appreciate seeing the creative artistic talents of people, especially when they’re local here. I do ArtWalk every month. And Julie's fun; she has a fun personality."
The tour, presented by the Coeur d'Alene Arts and Culture Alliance, featured 25 local artists in 12 studios in the greater Coeur d'Alene area. The creations varied from book binding, oil paintings and charcoal to sculpting and glass.
“I like to create multi-sensory experiences for my works, especially with the large-scale stuff,” said sculptor Sarah Thompson Moore, who showcased a model of her 28-foot-tall steel piece, "Everything Between," which was on display in New York for a year. "I came from an artistic family."
Moore has been creating since she was a child and hopes to keep making art the rest of her life. She said an event like a studio tour is beneficial for the artists as well as the community.
"I think it's important to get out there and engage with the public," she said. "In a lot of ways, that's what public art does, it takes you out of your element and it brings people into an art space that they aren't necessarily looking for. You're going to reach people you wouldn't ordinarily reach."
Kevin Jester, chair of the Arts and Culture Alliance, visited with guests who wandered through his wife Patti's luscious backyard garden and into his workshop studio. He attributed a comment to his art colleague and friend, oil artist Kathy Gale, that she said in a recent radio interview.
“I thought Kathy phrased it really well,” he said. “She said, ‘This is not about seeing fancy studios — this is about seeing where art happens. Sometimes it happens in closets, sometimes it happens in a bedroom, sometimes in a basement, sometimes in a garage. It doesn’t always happen in the classroom, and it doesn’t always happen in a fancy studio. That’s what this is about, is for people to see where art happens.’ I thought, ‘Yeah, she’s right, this is exactly what this is about.’”
Gale showed some of her works on the Jesters' front porch. She is one of the founders of the tour.
"We need everybody to know that we’re here, and there’s so much to see,” Gale said. "My joy in this is seeing the artistic community come together to show their studios and to show their process."