A few selections from Halloween on Main Street and in the gallery.
Thank you to all of the talented young artists who participated in our Children’s Spookin’ Art Show, benefiting Arts Kids. The pieces will continue to hang through this week, so stop by to see the works.
Polly and Buzzy Stasser, along with the Kimball Art Center, bring you a discussion of glass artist William Morris’ “Native Species” exhibition of 38 glass vessels. This art talk is led by Linda Turner, curator of the George R. Stroemple Collection. Following will be a screening of the film “Creative Nature” by John Andres.
Tickets are $100 per person and you can reserve your tickets by contacting Michelle at the Kimball Art Center: events@kimball-art.org or 435-649-8882. All proceeds from this special event support the Kimball Art Center’s education and exhibition programming.
When William Morris went to school at California State University at Chico, he fell in love with the potter’s wheel and the old gas furnaces that brought the surface of his ceramics to life. He might be a potter still if he hadn’t been diverted by the studio glass movement in the 1970s and showed up to study at a new glass school in the Pilchuck woods outside of Stanwood, Washington.
To pay tuition, he drove the Pilchuck truck. Dale Chihuly was one of his first passengers, and Morris soon became a key member of the Chihuly team. After Chihuly’s loss of an eye and later, a shoulder injury, it was Morris’ rock steady presence that helped convince Chihuly he could continue to forge his own aesthetic without blowing glass himself. “I was never as good (a glass blower) as Billy,” Chihuly said later.
Ultimately, “Native Species” is a result of [collecting experiences], what he has seen walking through forests and hiking through deserts, combined with what he has learned from art history and anthropological museums: Nature direct and nature filtered through cultural history.
With ski towns, getting there is rarely half the fun. Many, like Aspen and Telluride, are hours from a major airport. Moreover, small mountain-town airports operate at the whims of nature.
But the ski resorts surrounding Salt Lake City are the most accessible in North America, a city-bus ride away from a major hub airport that rarely closes. Three of the biggest Utah resorts can be found in one place: historic Park City.
“We moved here 28 years ago from Laguna Beach,” says Ann MacQuoid of Chin MacQuoid Fleming Harris, Utah’s top Prudential real estate agent for many years. “We came then for the same reasons people come here now: We were skiers who went to Colorado or Tahoe but found we could get on a plane in Orange County and be here 2½ hours later. This is what has made Park City so popular. That, combined with the really successful Winter Olympic Games in 2002, started a huge upward curve in second-home sales.”
Many Olympic facilities are still widely used, and visitors can bobsled, luge, speed skate and even try their hand at ski jumping and biathlon. Cross-country skiing abounds; in summer, biking and hiking are hugely popular, as is fly fishing, golf and boating on Jordanelle Reservoir.
But by far the main draw is a trio of world-class ski resorts: Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons.
Park City began as a thriving silver mining town in 1869, and though the full-time population has shrunk to about 7,400, the town issues more than 1.3 million daily lift tickets every winter. The other huge draw is the annual Sundance Film Festival.
The very walkable downtown, known as Old Town, is on the National Historic Register and filled with restaurants, shops and galleries [like Gallery MAR at 580 Main].
This combination of small-town charm, ample dining and shopping choices and especially convenience have made Park City somewhat unique: Essentially a suburb of Salt Lake City, it has attracted significant numbers of residents who live the mountain lifestyle and commute into the city for work, the opposite of nearly every other ski town.
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Best for: Frequent visitors seeking easy, reliable access.Claim to fame: Host of 2002 Winter Olympics and annual Sundance Film Festival.Don’t miss: Ski Utah Interconnect Tour (skiutah.com), a guided excursion to six resorts in one day — without taking off your skis.Getting there: Salt Lake City International Airport is 37 miles away.Tourism information: parkcityinfo.com |
Need a little extra jolt? We all do, some of us daily… or twice daily… or five times daily… you know who you are! Gallery MAR presents its private blend of coffee, Cafe MAR. Bargreen’s Coffee brings us both a dark and medium roast, roasted in the original, first commercial roaster in Washington state. A little history:
Bargreen Coffee Company, one of the oldest and finest coffee firms, was founded in 1898 by Sam Bargreen. He learned the coffee business from his uncle in Chicago, 
Illinois and during this time of apprenticeship, he lived for a time in Guatemala. Sam moved to the Seattle area over 110 years ago, at which time he was a partner in a commercial importing company where he became a “roaster”. In time he acquired the Imperial Tea Company as his one-third of the original partnership in the year of 1898.
During the years of building the company and being the “buyer”, Sam Bargreen had the opportunity to again visit in Latin America for a time and thus learned to use “Brazilians”, “Colombians” and “Centrals” for his coffee blends. Each was roasted separately and then hand blended in the “Jabez” blender — which is currently on display at the Bargreen Coffee Company Museum, located at 2817 Rucker, Everett, Washington. 
The company has been handed down from father to son over the years, as have been the recipes and traditions. Along the way, however, progress warrants new recipes and traditions have been incorporated along with the old ones. The company had been able to maintain its “small company feeling” and still puts the customer at No. 1 today and always. Bargreen Coffee has been here many years and will continue to serve the customers of yesterday, today and tomorrow, with the same great service, product and customer-need awareness.
Collectors and friends of the gallery are invited to try this special blend. Stop by the gallery for your own taste and visit Bargreen Coffee’s website to learn more.
The Quick Paint Art Auction
Last weekend I was able to get away from Park City and visit the final weekend of the Jackson Hole Fall Ats Festival. This is one of my favorite arts events of the year.
Saturday morning 30 artists from across the west huddled under tents and umbrellas for the Quick Paint– they had just an hour to paint or sculpt a new piece. As you can imagine, with hundreds of art lovers wandering through the maze of tents, these artists have to work doubly hard to produce their pieces in time. We did our best to distract each one, asking questions, taking photos, and in my case nearly stepping on Greg Woodard’s sculpture model: his raptor bird! Seeing the artists work up close is a fantastic opportunity.
At the end of the hour the pieces were auctioned off with proceeds benefiting the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce. I was very pleased with the auction results. Most paintings went for well above retail price and a few double their usual retail price! One of my favorites, a tonalist landscape by Shanna Kunz, produced exciting bidding. As did Jackson’s own Amy Ringholz, who is a favorite every year. She’s got her Quick Paint style down pat: she wears headphones while she paints to avoid distraction, leaving a sign for collectors and friends: “I’ll be happy to chat with you after 11:00 am!!” Her strategy worked well; the piece she produced was vibrant, well completed and full of energy, and excited bidders.
Shanna Kunz at the Quick Paint
The rest of the weekend was a blur of art galleries, meetings with artists, Cowboy Bar saddles, delicious food, and the beautiful Jackson landscape. Highlights? In a sparkling new location, Deihl Galleries (formerly Meyer-Milagros Gallery) featured the work of Tim Cherry. Their new contemporary spin on western art is not to be missed. Those ladies know how to throw a great art party! And local journalist Kevin Wittig showed me a hike to Phelps Lake that I highly recommend. The fall colors were truly amazing. On Sunday a farewell brunch stroll throughout the galleries ended the Fall Arts Festival with the perfect note: mimosas and bagels. I’ll be back next year…
Paul Havas, “Inlet” Oil,
An Art and Culture Podcast.
Pinpoint SLC, a division of Utah Free Media, picks the sweetest fruit from the blossoming Salt Lake City art and culture scene and delivers it directly to your ears in weekly delectable doses. Each week Salt Lake notables tell firsthand tales of the city’s creative side. This podcast covers local bands, classical music, theater and the local arts showcasing the best events of the coming week, which of course means each and every Gallery MAR event.
SLC notables include: Angela Brown (SLUG Magazine), Jerry Rapier (Plan-B Theatre Company), Jamie Gadette and Bill Frost (City Weekly), Crystal Young-Otterstrom (Utah Symphony) among others. Their unique perspective on local arts and culture can be heard at www.utahfm.org or subscribe via iTunes to integrate Salt Lake happenings into your weekly Thursdays.
Kathleen Peterson “A Wait for Sun” Oil
Coming up next weekend, don’t miss the Spring City Arts Plein Air Competition. The plein air painters will be out and about in Spring City from the 17th to the 19th, and the Competition Art Show and Sale is on the 20th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to walk around the historic town and watch the artists paint their own chosen scenes. All of the paintings in the plein air competition will be on display and available for sale on the 20th. Artists who want to participate can even sign up at the event. The Spring City Arts website has more information.
Spring City is in Sanpete County; it’s remote but also full of fantastic artistic energy and some of your favorites live there: Kathleen Peterson, Michael Workman, Sharron Evans, Lee Udall Benion, Douglas Fryer, and more. Get together a group of friends and carpool down to the event.
The University of Utah Fine Art Museum’s (UMFA) “Money to Picasso” exhibit runs for only a few more days: September 21st is the last day to visit this extraordinary exhibit. The collection is thanks to the Cleveland Museum of Art, which chose four museums across the country to show their collection as they undergo renovations.
From the UMFA website: “Masterworks by artists Renoir, Degas, Monet, van Gogh, Dalí, Picasso and Matisse grace the walls of the Museum’s first floor galleries. Monet to Picasso will allow you the rare opportunity to see an extraordinary gathering of work up close by some of the most important European modern masters of the last two centuries.” I’ve been twice and I’m sure I could use a third.
Beginning earlier this year, a group of Park City gallery owners and directors made the move to take ownership of the Park City Gallery Association into the hands of the galleries. They are working to create their own website, www.parkcitygalleryassocation.com (love the new logo), along with their own awareness, advertising and marketing campaign to promote the stroll and Park City arts. From what I’ve heard, everyone is working well together and “good things” are happening… Congratulations!
Previously, the Kimball Art Center headed the Association and was known as the starting off point for the monthly stroll. And prior to that (a few years back) there was an individual association run by gallery owners. It seems that the group is now coming full circle with the Park City galleries as heads of the Association. From what I have been able to discern, with this new organization, the Kimball Art Center will be a part of the stroll and Association, but there will not be a charge for the stroll (previously $7) paid to the Kimball. This means more responsibility, time and effort for the galleries, but also more say in the organization and operations of the Association.
I’m looking forward to joining the new Park City Gallery Association and participating in the strolls along with the promotion of Park City arts. The Kimball Art Center does a fantastic job of bringing arts to our locals and visitors, and we’re fortunate to have them as a part of our arts community. Check out their current exhibit of Erin Berrett’s work if you’re in town. With their new leadership, I’m optimistic that the Kimball will work together with the Park City Gallery Association to do great things.
Watch in the coming months for the new brochure, the completion of the website, and a new energy and level of involvement from the galleries here in town. Gallery MAR will be featured on the new map/brochure, as well as the website, and will participate in every monthly stroll.
What a fantastic weekend for our Park City art community! Many thanks to our local artist Brooks Yates for coming by the gallery to paint here and delight our guests. This weekend was incredibly hot (both the temperature and the art!) and packed to gills every day with festival-goers. Friday night was the best night by far, in my opinion, with locals streaming through and picking up artistic goodies to add to their collections. Favorites of the 225 artist? Salt Lake painter Erin Berrett and Seattlite Brian McGuffey. Congratulations to the Kimball Art Center on their very successful annual auction on Thursday night and the popularity of the festival on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
It’s hard to believe that this is the Kimball Art Center’s 39th year hosting the Park City Arts Festival. Congratulations! This is the largest art festival in Utah, with growth every year.
As always, Main Street will close down on Friday afternoon to allow the artists and craftsmen to set up their booths. On this night, locals can check out the booths in a free sneak peak starting at around 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The official festival kicks off on Saturday, August 2nd from 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. and runs through Sunday, August 3rd from 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. 225 artists will showcase their wares and live music; 3 beer and wine gardens, and delicious food will entice you to stay all day. There’s also a Kids’ Corner featuring activities including face painting and art projects to keep the little ones busy.
“How to Fest”:
