March 7th, 2009

Jan Perkins, “Ten O’Clock in the Morning,” Oil, 5″ x 5″, 2008

Our hearts go out to the Bozeman, Montana community, Montana Trails Gallery and its staff, and all of the artists affected this week by a natural gas explostion. One person is still missing after the explosion shook downtown Bozeman early Thursday morning, destroying several businesses and prompting the shutdown of a portion of the city’s downtown. This tragedy affects thousands in Bozeman and elsewhere.

The explosion occurred at about 8:15 a.m. in the 200 block of Main Street. Crews allowed the fire to burn into the afternoon because they could not completely shut off natural gas. Several businesses were destroyed including Boodles restaurant, the Rocking R Bar, Pickle Barrel that is located in the Rocking R Bar, Montana Trails Gallery, the American Legion building and Lilly Lu’s children’s store. Bozeman is a small mountain resort town, similar to Park City

Debris was launched over a 3 block radius and, while Bozeman has calmed somewhat, work has just begun for those who will clean up and investigate the devastating natural gas explosion.

One of our Gallery MAR artists, Jan Perkins, shows with Montana Trails Gallery as do other friends of the gallery. This is a grim reminder to always manage your artwork carefully, document when your pieces are hanging, and make sure that your works are insured properly.