Desert Fiber Arts Guild: 50 Years of Wearable Art

This January, the Gallery at the Park presents an exhibition from the Desert Fiber Arts Guild celebrating its 50th anniversary!

The exhibition, titled “50 Years of Wearable Art,” features unique, handcrafted fashion, accessories, and home goods, including shawls, scarves, hats, jewelry, rugs, tea towels, wall hangings, baskets, and more. Desert Fiber Arts Guild members designed and created all fiber arts pieces over the past year.

The Desert Fiber Arts Guild was founded in 1974 with the motto, “Each one, teach one.” Its purpose is to encourage appreciation for the fine craftsmanship of fiber arts. Educational gatherings and special interest groups regularly meet at the Guild Studio in Kennewick to explore topics such as weaving, spinning, knitting, basketry, and felting. 

To learn more about the Desert Fiber Arts Guild, visit desertfiberarts.org.

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Holiday Gift Show 2024

This November and December, celebrate the holidays with the Gallery at the Park’s annual Holiday Gift Show!

Throughout the season, the Gallery features beautiful holiday decorations, including trees, wreaths, and ornaments, all handmade by Gallery artists and volunteers, in addition to art and fine crafts from hundreds of local and regional artists.

Alongside the Holiday Gift Show, the Gallery is showcasing art from Leslie Ann Hauer, a National Park Artist in Residence.

National parks have inspired artists in more than 50 residency programs across the country, providing unique opportunities for creating works of art in varied natural and cultural settings.

Leslie Ann Hauer spent two weeks in the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah as one of two artists selected for the 2023 residency. Her goal was to capture the unique feeling of the landscape, using brushstrokes and colors to represent its complexity.

In southwest Utah, Hauer experienced the vibrant orange, red, and gold sandstones, dotted with the occasional dark green piñon and juniper tree. Because she was there in the spring, Hauer was able to paint the cactus flowers, a bright and brilliant contrast to the landscape.

Hauer looks forward to sharing the Utah landscape with those who may not have the ability or opportunity to spend time in this unique place.

The Holiday Gift Show is on display through December 30.

Christmas Market

On Friday, December 6, and Saturday, December 7, the Gallery presents the Christmas Market, a free community event that takes place every year during the Christmas Lighted Boat Parade!

Enjoy a firepit and complimentary hot chocolate at a location perfect for viewing the parade. Then, step inside the Gallery to enjoy live music, make free kids’ crafts, and take photos with a Christmas cutout board designed by artist Lexie Forbes.

The Celtic Kinfolk will perform music on Friday evening, and the Dulcimer Society will perform on Saturday. On both nights, kids will be able to make their own handcrafted ornaments with all materials provided.

Stop by the Gallery at the Park to enjoy the fun and see the beautiful lights!

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Neva Scott

This October, the Gallery at the Park presents a unique new exhibition from Neva Scott, an artist who works in encaustic, collage, assemblage, fabric art, and mixed media.

Neva Scott became inspired by the San Francisco Design Center in 1973, calling it “the largest art pallet I’d ever seen, full of bright, imaginative ideas showcased in vibrant colors.”

“It was way beyond anything I’d imagined growing up in Panaca, Nevada, where my greatest design inspiration was the Sears catalog.”

Scott used home decor as her creative outlet for many years. In 1998, she opened Nest Feathers, a home decor store, and developed her decorating and display skills.

She closed Nest Feathers in 2009, and in 2012, she turned her full attention to becoming an artist. That year, Scott opened an art studio and gallery called Mosswood.

She has experimented with a variety of mediums but is most interested in using found objects and organizing ephemera, drawing inspiration from assemblage artists like Joseph Cornell, Orhan Pamuk, and Kurt Schwitters.

Scott also enjoys encaustic painting, which involves manipulating wax and resin with a blowtorch.

“When imagining a piece of art, I summon up a mix of contrasts; clarity and chaos, exactness and freedom, control and randomness, precision and free flow.”

To see more of Neva Scott’s work, visit her website at nevascottart.com.

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Michael Jacoby & Alex Roeder

This September, Gallery at the Park presents an exhibition of intricate woodwork and beadwork from Michael Jacoby and Alex Roeder!

Michael Jacoby is a woodworker inspired by shapes and movement, whose art draws from various sources such as engineering, architecture, and biology. Jacoby’s education in biological sciences has stayed with him throughout his artistic pursuits.

Jacoby is also influenced by kumiko woodworking, a 1,300-year-old art form entailing precision, repetition, history, and a connection to nature, evidenced by the representation of the hemp leaf in a pattern known as asa-no-ha.

“While I strive to find fluidity and whimsy in the work, I enjoy the reality offered by biological structures,” Jacoby says.

Alex Roeder is a bead artist known for her captivating designs. She experiments with innovative bead-embroidery techniques and vibrant color combinations to create truly unique works of art. Her works explore themes ranging from nature’s intricate beauty to the complexities of the human experience.

In 2019, Roeder received the prestigious Grand Prize in the international competition Bead Dreams for her work titled “Lily.” Roeder was also featured as the spotlight artist in Bead and Button Magazine’s December 2019 issue.

To see more of Alex Roeder’s beadwork, visit her website at alexroeder.weebly.com.

The Jacoby & Roeder Exhibit is on display from August 27 – September 28.

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Juried Show 2024

This summer, Gallery at the Park presents its annual Juried Show, a showcase of talented artists from across the region!

The Gallery received 250 submissions, and Liana Bennett, the 2024 juror, selected 61 pieces for exhibition, representing 46 artists.

Liana Bennett is an artist, an art teacher, and the founder of Arts Umbrella, an art education center. In high school, Bennett won a scholarship to Art Center School, and after, a scholarship to Chouinard (now CalArts). She paints in acrylics, oils, and mixed media.

“The figure challenges me to this day, and it will always be the subject that I am pulled to,” says Bennett. “I need to feel a connection to whatever I paint, places I've been, people I know.”

Bennett has displayed in many galleries and has juried exhibitions across the Pacific Northwest.

The Gallery at the Park’s Juried Show is on display from July 2—August 16.

The reception and awards ceremony is on Friday, July 12, from 6—8pm.

Some artists will receive monetary prizes, with more than $3,000 being awarded altogether!

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