Martha Swanson explains to visitors one of the many steps that goes into creating the salad bowls crafted by her and her husband Jerry. Each bowl takes about eight to ten days to complete. She credited Jerry for coming up with ingeniously simple solutions for problem issues such as how to provide sufficient pressure to stabilize gluing wood pieces on a curve.
Visitors crowded around the small Swan Valley Copper studio to watch Roger Watson glaze and fire copper bowls and other items. He further embellished some of the items with colored glass beads which he heated and swirled into different designs. In between firings, Watson told visitors about the many things that could go wrong at each stage of the process. Each item emerging from the searing kiln proved Watson a master of his art form.
Georgina Staggs of Two Staggs Glass was one of five exhibitors in the Condon's Swan Valley Museum. Staggs and her husband Walter specialize in a variety of stained glass items. With December rapidly approaching, Staggs included some Christmas tree ornaments in her exhibit.
Thomas Michael of Swan River Art is a whole tour of arts in himself. Focused primarily on wildlife art and landscapes, Michael works in oils, watercolors, pastels and a painting technique called clay engraving which requires a very fine needle and results in an etched image on a black background. In addition, Michael crafts fly rods, guitars and an occasional violin from specially chosen woods.
Visitor Paula Harvey admires one of Dona Aitken's trays displaying a hummingbird insert at the Brand Bar Museum in Ovando. Aitken and her husband Gary use woods salvaged locally to create lamps, bowls, vases and other practical items. A hallmark of their pieces is the inclusion of marquetry (applying pieces of contrasting colored wood pieces to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures) or pyrography (controlled burning to create color contrast).
Visitor Sherri Donovan admires some of John Mercer's photography at Swan Valley Images. Mercer's art works are spread throughout three wood cabins allowing him to feature his framed photographs as well as his large panoramic giclee pieces.
Patti Chamberlin discusses fine art basketry with a visitor. Chamberlin displayed her art pieces in the Grizzly Claw Trading Co. which also offered a store full of jewelry, pottery, handmade furniture, western artifacts and other artistic wares.
Trudy Skari in the process of setting up her clay sculpture exhibit in the Lincoln Community Hall. Skari was one of eight artisans displaying everything from paintings to jewelry to fiber arts.
Rina Baker from California's San Francisco Bay area pauses to add her name to the drawing offered by Diane Whitehead of Artoutwest. Whitehead, who does oil paintings primarily depicting western scenes and wildlife, was one of the five artisans exhibiting at the Brand Bar Museum in Ovando. According to Whitehead, visitor turnout was good on Saturday and even better on Sunday. Winners from each day of the drawings were Diane Gibson and Candie Cain. Each received a tote bag with a goat painted on it (upper left corner of photo).
From Lincoln through Ovando, Seeley Lake and up the Swan Valley, Montana artisans displayed a wide variety of art works during Alpine Artisans' Tour of the Arts Oct. 13-14.
Well over 100 visitors came from all over Montana and as far away as Tennessee, Minnesota and California.
The tour entailed a lot of driving for those who chose to visit every location but nature itself became part of the artistry as trees displayed their fall yellows and golds while mountains, trees and hills added a sprinkling of snow. Studios, galleries and museums housed artisans displaying their works. President of the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society Steve Lamar voiced his satisfaction with the Swan Valley Museum's participation. They provided space for five artisans.
Lamar said, "The tour attracted many visitors who might not usually stop in at the museum. Several guests commented that they were too busy to visit the museum in the summer and appreciated the opportunity to check out both the arts and the history of the Seeley-Swan area."
California visitor Rina Baker said she particularly enjoyed the small studios and the opportunity to engage in informal discussion with the artisans, to learn more about them and their love of their particular art form.
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