Helena Montana – Page 3 – Water :: Earth :: Wind

04.12.201409.20.2022

April Calendar is a Peaceful Montana Sunset

Dear Readers: Here is a gift from me to you.

I really do appreciate you. For reading my words and for commenting. I can’t tell you how much it means to me when someone comments, or emails me to let me know they are reading and appreciating my posts. For telling me that I have touched their heart. Just alot. So thank you, and here is a desktop or wall calendar for April that I hope you will enjoy.

Sorry it’s a wee bit late. These calendars are a gift because I want you to have something to remind you of a different way of seeing the world around us. And … well, just ‘cuz…

I’d love to know if you find these useful.

The calendars are free for you to download. I will try to post the calendars the first day or two of each month. The only thing I ask is that you use them only for your personal use. Please don’t sell them yourself. And please do tell your friends these are available. Thank you!

If I don’t have the size or proportion of your computer monitor, or if you would like one for a cell phone, please tell me in the comments and I will make one for you and post it here. This month I am posting two versions: the calendar below may be downloaded and printed for your wall or fridge. The one at the top of this post is desktop wallpaper for your computer.

How do I do this? Just right-click to save the image. Let me know in comments if you have any trouble. You can download and print either calendar. Happy Springtime to you, wherever you are!

Here’s one for your iPhone:

and here is one that’s 1280 pixels wide, for your desktop:

And, finally, here is a calendar for your (analog/actual) wall (just print it out on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, using the “photo on matte paper” settings.)

03.18.201409.20.2022

Home is Where the Art Is … New Exhibit at 1+1=1

1+1=1 Gallery in Helena, Montana, announces a new, exciting woodworking exhibit of smaller, functional art by four Montana woodworkers: Tim Carney, Dave Carlson, Jim Hill and Phil Pontillo.

Jim Hill Spoons and Gourd Bowl — Hand Carved Spoons and Gourd Bowls by Jim Hill

Home is Where the Art Is

Whether you are furnishing your home with one-of-a-kind necessities, looking for something cool and unusual to give to a loved one, or trying to find the perfect Mother’s Day gift, you’ll find a variety of unique, affordable wood art at this exhibit.

Opening Reception Friday April 4th 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Please join us to meet the artists!

Gallery location: 335 North Last Chance Gulch, Helena, Montana. (between the Painted Pot and the Turman-Larison Contemporary.)

Exhibit: Home is Where the Art Is will be open from April 4th through May 7th, just before Mother’s Day. Come to the opening reception April 4th or come early in the month, to get first pick of the exhibit.

Sushi plates and chopstick sets made of domestic hardwoods
Hand mirrors
Live-edge bread and cheese boards
Turned bowls and lidded containers
Walnut stemmed wine glasses and maple tray
Shaker boxes
Jewelry boxes
A small four-legged cabinet
Gourd bowls
Hand-carved hardwood spoons and spatulas
Bistro table and stools
and much more

Sushi Plate Set by Tim J. Carney — Set of Sushi Plates, Chopsticks and Chopstick Rests by Tim Carney

03.16.201409.20.2022

Kids’ Arts Festival from the Perspective of a Docent

KidWorks 2014 at the Holter Museum of Art

Last Saturday, the Holter Museum of Art held KidWorks! — it’s 23rd annual arts festival for kids. What a blast!! I had an amazing opportunity to help put on this fun event and boy was it alot of work. Yet, when we opened the doors of the museum at 10:00 am, just like Connie, Judy, Sondra and Hannah told me, the festival took care of itself. A gigantic bulldozer of little kids and and their significant adults moved through the museum playing, delighting, learning, appreciating, thoroughly enjoying themselves and getting a messy education in the wonderment of art.

For me — as a docent — it was incredibly fun (I hardly stopped smiling except when I was concentrating,) extremely exhausting (the tables were set to little kid height and my back hurt like hell at the end of the day) but so, so fulfilling to share my enthusiasm about art with this many kids and their peeps.

I absolutely loved witnessing the diversity of approaches. Every child, has a unique way of seeing the world and expressing what they see! As docents, we have to Let Go of Results and Outcomes. Allow Mess. Delight in Oops. Multi-task-yet-Focus. Smile. Laugh. Make Eye Contact. Then. Clean. Up.

Well … it seems at the Holter, “docent” is a fancy word for a volunteer who:

works really hard
has lots of fun with peers and with the public
stays longer than expected to clean up the mess
knows how to laugh and goof
loves to share his/her passion for the arts
gets training to use Visual Thinking Strategy in educational museum tours
has a lot of energy (enough to keep up with kids of all ages!)
has an awesome opportunity to guide kids, teens and adults in appreciating art through tours and hands-on activities
can think on her/his feet, improvising when necessary
doesn’t mind getting down and messy
knows that every individual’s experience and ideas are valid
helps organize and put on the biggest and best kids’ arts festival anywhere around
then watches the magic happen as our doors open to over 800 participants

that’s alot to pack into one 6-letter word!

The Holter docents I have the privilege to work with, are a diverse group: outgoing, intelligent, friendly and helpful to new members of the team. We are all willing to learn from our mistakes and educate ourselves continuously so we are the best “art guides” the Holter could possibly have. It helps that we have some docents who are great leaders — super organized and experienced. It also helps that the educational staff (Sondra, Aubrey and Hannah) are so enthusiastic about their jobs. I have about half of the skills I need, to be an amazing docent. I’m working on the rest. But boy, was it fun, fun fun to help make KidWorks! happen.

Sorry about the photo-intensive post today. I just couldn’t resist! There were so many sweet moments and precious connections made during KidWorks! that I can’t resist posting these. Below is a gallery with a few more images from the festival.

If you attended KidWorks, or volunteered at the festival, won’t you write a short (or long) comment to say how you experienced it? Thank you!

03.10.201409.20.2022

Good Art Fosters Good Connections

03.02.201409.20.2022

A Gift for You – a Calendar for March

Dear Readers: I appreciate you. For reading my words and for commenting. For looking carefully and engaging with my artwork. For telling me if and how I have touched your hearts. And I hope that somehow I have.

Here is your free calendar for March. These calendars are a gift from me to you because I want you to have something to remind you of a different way of seeing the world around us. And … well, just ‘cuz…

I’d love to know if you find these useful.

How do I do this? Just right-click to save the image. Let me know in comments if you have any trouble. You can download and print either calendar. Late Winter Cheers from me to you!

Calendar for your (analog/actual) wall:

calendar for your iPhone

02.28.201409.20.2022

Wild Horses and our Naturally Wild Souls

Last night at our first monthly Girls Art Night at 1+1=1 Gallery (Brown Bird Studio) we were inspired by Ann Wood’s creative exercise to make these absolutely delightful horses. We were a small group — just the perfect size, though as we continue to do these art-nights I hope other women will join us.

Shayna, Jaime, Cari and I gave some of our horses to Whitney, who is ready to give birth any day now. Her little boy will be born in the Year of the Horse. He will have a herd of wild horses to remind him of his naturally wild joy. With a mama like Whitney we know he’ll grow up snorting with laughter, jumping with glee and letting his wildness out into the world. (*See bottom of this post for some interesting predictions about this baby — and other babies born in this year of the horse.)

“Last night was like a symbolic circling of all the mares … lending the strength of those who have gone before, to the one ready to walk through that door that you never, ever can cross back through … the becoming of motherhood and the strength and grace of sisterhood … so special to me” — Jaime Terry

We made horses. We laughed. She contracted. We played. Relaxed. Listened to her talk about the baby, the baby’s name, the nest she is preparing. Talked about lack of sleep and future lack of sleep and hope for sleep. And about other things. And nothing at all.

Our hands busy with scissors and paint and buttons. Good food. Good wine. Good company. It’s what women do. We nurture each other with food and listening and love and open arms. A circling of the mares.

We decided to do this every month. Something artsy. Something to connect us. To each other. To our souls. To the Earth.

Please join us at our next Girls Art Night with Brown Bird Studio on the last Thursday of each month. Like our gallery’s facebook page or sign up for updates from 1+1=1 Gallery, and we’ll remind you a few days in advance. Put Girls Art Night on your calendar for March 27th at 6:30 pm. 335 North Last Chance Gulch, Helena.

Our evening gatherings are all about being relaxed and nurturing our inner artistic souls.

Whether you consider yourself artsy or “crafty” or not, I promise you will have a good time. And don’t forget we’ll share food, music and laughter too. The cost is free or minimal, depending on the materials we use.

LINKS:

A perfect horoscope prediction for Whitney’s baby (knowing Whit …): People born in the year of the horse are said to be a bit like horses: animated, active and energetic – they love being in a crowd. They are quick to learn independence – foals can walk minutes after birth – and they have a straightforward and positive attitude towards life. They are known for their communication skills and are exceedingly witty. — from The Guardian (UK) “8 Things You Probably Didn’t Know about the Year of the Horse.”
Here’s another one with more information about Chinese astrology: What is the Meaning of the Year of the Horse?

02.28.201409.20.2022

Selected Sled Dog Portraits Available

I promised to post a gallery of the sled dog photos included in the exhibit, Ancient Bond. So here it is. Each of these is available for purchase as a signed, archival print. (See details below the gallery) Click on the photos to enlarge them. Watermarks are not on the prints.

At the pre-race vet check — Intensity and Trust

Paw-Check-Complete-Trust — Paw Check: Complete Trust

Sled Dog Curiously Tilting Head — A Tilt of the Head

Thunder, a sled dog, howling a warning — Warning Song

Red sled dog waiting for the race in the snow — Roberta’s Beguiling Smile

Race to the Sky Sled Dogs and Musher — Sheer Exuberance

Old Sled Dog Waiting — Old Warrior Waiting

Two sled dogs who have been rejected by the vets at vet check — They Won’t Be Racing

Two Sled Dogs Howl at Starting Line — Starting Song

Old Black Sled Dog Waiting — Old Warrior

Photo of Musher Handling his Dog — I’m Only Just Putting Up With This

Sled Dog Eyes — Up Close and Very Personal

Dog Yoga — Yoga Stretches Before the Race

Sled Dog up close — The Eyes are the Soul’s Windows

02.26.201409.20.2022

The Color of Zero Degrees Cold

or: Snow is Not White

or: How Many Shades of Blue is Winter?

Helena, Montana is closing in on a record February snowfall. The winter of 1936 set that record. I’m not sure how much snow we’ve had so far this month (usually our driest month of the winter) but, since last Friday, at least 18 inches of snow has fallen outside our house.

Snow is good. The mountains need snow. The soil, the prairies and farms and trees and fish, the rivers and air and people. We all need this moisture and I will be glad of it in summer when the grasses are crisping and crackling. When wildfires do their roaring, racing, burning thing…

The older I get, the less patient I am with the inconveniences of Montana winters. But the colors! Those colors keep me interested!

I go on at least one walk a day, but I get so cold in my bones that it’s just not as much fun as it was when I was younger and (ahem… ummmm) hotter.

it takes a day like today:
wide open skies
not a single cloud
an almost
(imperceptible)
mist hanging close
to the frozen earth

it takes this kind of day
to remember
how many different blues are inside the cold

… how many
different
colors belong to white

Snow.
Is not.
White.

You knew that.

So … I hope these images inspire you to take some time and get out into the cold. Bundle up. Stay out until just before the sun goes down so you can grab a little of that incredible light into your soul.

And look. Really look at the colors that surround you!

Those colors will still be inside you on a summer day that tops 100F. When all you want to do is stick your head in a freezer. When you are wishing for some of that of zero-degrees-cold.