(Riverton, WY) – The winter weather did not deter the public from attending last Saturday’s artists’ reception for ‘Frosted’...the current exhibit now showing through February 14 in the Robert A. Peck Art Center Gallery at Central Wyoming College.
Artists represented in the winter exhibit included Aly Ball, Aubrey Ellis, Bryce Giesmann, Allison Hardy, Wendy Herrmann, Al Hubbard, Aaron Ivie, Patrick Jacobson, CWC Art Professor and Gallery Director Nita Kehoe, Tresa King, Alice Marlett, Judi Mott, Lindy Paskett, Noelle Weimann and Delina Wille.
“I just think it’s fantastic that Nita has been rolling these exhibits through,” said ceramic artist Wendy Herrmann. “She’s so supportive of all the artists in Fremont County, and CWC is a great avenue for all of us. The more we do this and the more people come, the better it is for us. It’s hard for artists…we just want to work. So this is just such a great bump for us.”
Herrmann said she loved the ‘Frosted’ theme. “It gave me focus,” she said. “It’s a beautiful time of year. This helps me if I have a goal, helps me work harder.”
Tresa King’s exhibit, ‘Permafrost Lost’, is literally made up of frost porcelain clay. “When you carve into it, it becomes translucent,” King said. “My idea was to do something with snow, and then I got to thinking about climate change. So I decided to do a bit of research on glacial melting and the loss of permafrost, which is a big issue.”
“Once you have the piece, then you have to glaze it, so it really makes you think about the reflective qualities of the glaze, and how it bounces off each angle,” King continued. “The more organic piece represents the loss of permafrost…the more teardrop ones are kind of like melting glaciers. I wanted to do something that would tie it together and to think about it, so it was fun just to carve and kind of create something. I try to do sculptural pieces that have a purpose. So they’re light if you want them to be, but also kind of transcends us into thinking about the environment more. And that is what ‘Frosted’ did for me… what is frost in the environment? There is beauty in the melting of things. It was an interesting theme because it means a lot of different things to different people. If we can all just do one little thing, maybe it will make a difference.”
Artist Judi Mott said that her piece entitled ‘Ice’ was one in a series of twenty pieces. “They’re not quite finished,” she said. “I’m really just waiting to do a show with all twenty.”
Mott retired in August 2023 after twenty years with the Bureau of Land Management. The series was done during her time with BLM. “So it worked out to about one painting per year,” she said. “I’ve drawn and painted my whole life. Now I can start to do it more often and try to make that leap into professional.”
Mott said that she heard about the ‘Frosted’ exhibit when she was out to dinner one night with a friend, and “heard that anybody can put work in this show,” she said. “ I got home and thought, what remotely fits this theme? I came down and put some stuff on the wall and that’s what ‘Frosted’ means to me. For me, it means opportunity.”
Photographer Aaron Ivy said that he grew up in the mountains of Northern Idaho and followed in his father’s footsteps as a nature photographer. He tries to find different ways to find the beauty around the subjects he captures in his photos.
“Winter was a big one,” Ivy said. “A lot of times trying to manipulate with the different types of weather…my father did a mixture of abstract with nature, so I grew up with that from my younger age and found his influence in my own art.”
Ivy went out with his father on photo shoots when he was as young as two years old. He won his first adult open class competition at age 11, and only recently decided to do professional photography. His photos in the ‘Frosted’ exhibit were taken in Wyoming.
“I’ve always done it (photography) for fun,” he said. “I’m disabled, so it’s something I can do…try to find the beauty in the world that God the Creator gave us…the beauty of the snow and the different placements of the sun.”
The subject of Aubrey Ellis’ photo ‘Winter Watch’ was a night shot of an owl in a tree. “I was at my house…and when I’m out doing chores, I have a headlamp on,” she said.
Ellis had looked up, and the headlight shined up into the tree when she saw the owl. She said she didn’t even know it was there.
“I mean, we get a lot of owls, but I never got a very good shot.”
All of the artists’ information accompanies their displays. Red dots indicate that the artwork has been sold, but many artists have prints of the original for sale, or similar artwork available. Artists can also take commissions to create a special piece just for you.
Anyone interested in purchasing artwork should contact the artist directly, or Gallery Director Nita Kehoe at [email protected].
