Ringing in the New Year

The Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery celebrates Jerome’s First Saturday Art walk with an all-member show aptly entitled, “Ringing in the New Year!” Co-op members are encouraged to display new work which may include work outside their currently juried mediums. This relaxation of media types broadens the range of techniques available to the membership to explore as they share their results during their “Ringing in the New Year” event.

Chris Ryback, a multi-talented artist, takes big steps outside her current work in the Gallery with the introduction of her woven necklace and earring set. This sparkly match invites a glamourous mood and can be worn on any occasion. Made with Czech glass beads and metallic yarn, Chris relates that, “It was a slow process, because the weaving is so tightly done.”

Mark Foltz created a little beauty to add to his line of gourd art at the gallery with his new “Three Feathers” gourd, measuring a mere 6.5” in diameter.  Most of Mark Foltz’s gourd art is extremely detailed, and visitors are amazed at their complexity. “Three Feathers” is no exception.

Florence Flynn, a Co-op member for just over 9 months, shares a surprising point of view which causes visitors to smile and take note. “‘Cactus Man’ is a Prickly Dude,” says Flynn, “and his friend ‘Goofy Bird’ keeps him in line and brings smiles of wonderment to those who pass him by. “Cactus Man,” she continues, “is part of a series which involves the challenge of working with mannequins to create interesting characters using mixed media on forms. My inner voice keeps repeating: ‘If you paint it, you must sculpt it; if you paint it, you must sculpt it’.” Flynn’s inner voice mantra helps keep her work fresh by encouraging her to explore each of her subjects in depth through multiple approaches. It’s this type of exploration of a subject that heightens Flynn’s awareness and sensitivity to her surroundings. “Now that ‘Cactus Man’ is complete,” Flynn confides, “I envision a whole line of ‘Friends of Cactus Man’ just waiting to emerge.”

“Ringing in the New Year” opens with a reception for the artists on Jan. 6 from 5-8 pm at the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery, 502 N. Main Street, ground floor of the old Hotel Jerome. Refreshments will be served. Open Daily 10am-6pm.

Jerome Co-op Celebrates with Members’ Holiday Show

The Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery kicks off the Holiday season with their 21^st Annual All-Members’ Holiday Show on Jerome’s First Saturday Art Walk, Dec. 2, from 5-8 pm at the Gallery in the Old Hotel Jerome.

All Co-op members are juried into the gallery in specific categories of art mediums so that a diversity of artwork is displayed all year throughout the gallery. During both their Summer Show and their Annual Holiday Show however, members may display any type of artwork they wish. This is very fun for the members, as it provides an opportunity to show work that they are already proficient in but are not juried in for; or maybe they are exploring a new technique or simply just wanting to try something new in a completely different medium. Whatever the reason, the Holiday Show provides an opportunity for them to do just that. When viewing artwork in the Members’ Show, gallery members themselves often exclaim, “Who did that?” because the work may be so different from what they are used to seeing in the gallery.

For example, Janet Farwell said, “I wanted to create something new for the Holiday Show this year. My own home is always filled with handmade Christmas decorations which are very meaningful to me; from pine cone wreaths made by one grandmother to a felt table cover made by the other. This year I decided to create miniature Christmas rooms that others might enjoy year after year as they decorate their own homes.” For Janet, finding the appropriate materials to embellish her miniature rooms was the fun part. The little rooms needed “just the right wall paper” and “just the right treasures” to put on the tiny mantels or under the little Christmas trees. In the end, she mosaicked the miniature fireplaces (her juried media in the Co-op,) and when it all came together, she had created precious whimsical environments that will set off mantels in any home during the holiday season.

V. Norton describes her love of sculpting the human face. “The character of the visage emerges,” she states, “as I mold the clay.” Inspired by both the past and the present, V. Norton mainly draws on her own imagination when creating her figures. As a high fire clay artist, V. Norton also understands the historical importance of turquoise, both in color and gemstones. Turquoise stones are used right up to the present in art and dress by both men and women. She uses a high fire turquoise glaze on the figures, and an oxide stain on their faces. Sculptures can be purchased as a set, or individually. 

Marjorie Claus draws on childhood memories as well when thinking of the holidays. “Horses have always been a part of my life and my art,” she points out, “but the carousel horse is a new version of horse for me. I used to love riding on carousel horses, and still love their intense color and forms. My intention with ‘Carousel Pony’ is to capture the historical celebration of the carousel in a new way bringing a modern look to it.”

When it comes to choosing art for yourself, your home, or gifts for the Holiday season, the Jerome Co-op is a great place to visit. Visitors will enjoy the exciting, festive options for unique, locally made gift items, home décor items, jewelry, wearables and greeting cards. Refreshments will be served. Dec. 2 from 5-8pm.

The show runs Dec 2-Feb 29. Open Daily from 10-6 excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas Days.

Seeing the Unseen - Birgitta Lapides Featured Artist

“Seeing the Unseen: New Paintings from Birgitta Lapides”

Best known, perhaps, for her colorful landscape collages, Cottonwood artist Birgitta Lapides is also widely recognized as a painter of stunning abstract canvases of enduring power. “Seeing the Unseen: New Paintings from Birgitta Lapides,” a solo exhibition of new work, opens on October 7 from 5-8 p.m. at the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery, during Jerome’s First Saturday Art Walk.

Combining a deft eye for color and an unusual aptitude for creating ever-new approaches to composition, Lapides’ new work displays a seemingly inexhaustible fund of novel ideas and colors that hint at early modernists painters such as Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky. “Indeed,” Lapides acknowledges, “both masterful artists have had an influence on my work.”

“My background as a weaver and textile clothing designer,” Birgitta recalls, “also had an early influence on my current approach to painting. I lived for many years in an old coastal town in southern France, where I produced and sold my original designs of hand-woven and hand-painted garments from my shop in an old historic building. The brilliant colors of the near-by sea, the beauty of the sky and the deep tones of the earth along the Mediterranean entered indelibly into my creative imagination,” she confides. “This background lives unconsciously in my contemporary paintings.”  

Lapides first learned weaving as a young woman in her homeland of Sweden. Later, she attended the prestigious L’Ecôle Superieur D’Architecture et L’Art Appliqué in Brussels. After that, she transferred to Pratt Institute in New York City where she received a degree in textile design. Even later, in France, she studied painting at the Ecôle des Beaux-Arts in Cannes.

Currently, Birgitta Lapides lives with her husband in Cottonwood, and has been a resident of the Verde Valley since 1996. She shows her work at the Sedona Arts Center, at Eisenart Innovations in Tiaquepaque, and at Zen Mountain Gallery in Jerome. Additionally, Lapides has been a member of the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery since January 1997, and currently shows her hand-made ear rings, hand-woven jackets and vests, as well as her paintings at the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery.

When asked to comment on the title of her show, “Seeing the Unseen: New Paintings from Birgitta Lapides,” she explained, “When I’m painting my landscape collages, I am creating an image that is in part drawn from my imagination, and in part drawn from my experience of living in Arizona; therefore, the result is seeing something that is both familiar and imaginative at the same time—it is seeing the familiar differently. My abstract paintings, on the other hand, are completely drawn from my imagination—meaning, they are the result of a visualization process that does not begin in the visible world—they really begin in my imagination; therefore, I’m seeing the unseen.”

“I see myself as an intuitive, experimental painter. I don’t want to know ahead how the painting will look when it is finished, because, for me, painting is a journey, a discovery, and that is what makes the process of painting so interesting to me.”

“Seeing the Unseen: New Paintings from Birgitta Lapides” opens Saturday, October 7, with a reception for the artist from 5-8 pm at the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery. Refreshments will be served.   

The show runs thru November 29.

The artist’s website: www.birgittalapides.com

Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery    502 N. Main Street in the old Hotel Jerome

Open Daily 10-6    928-639-4276    info@jeromecoop.com          www.jeromecoop.com

“Off the Wall” by Christy Fisher

"Off the Wall" solo exhibition of new work by Christy Fisher features her clothing and accessory designs as well as her new, unique "photographix" collection.

Christy's limited edition artwear is created by hand in her studio in Jerome from fabric that is destined for the landfills of Los Angeles. She recycles hundreds of yards of castoffs from mills in a process she calls "fabric rescue.” This process includes driving to Los Angeles and bringing back 300-400 yards of cast-off fabrics. Back in the studio, Christy and her team washes, dyes and prints the fabrics -- then cuts and sews each piece into great new skirts, tops, arm warmers, scarves and other wearable art designs. As Christy calls it, "Saving the planet one skirt at a time."

Christy’s jewelry is created from recycled glass and metals.
Both her clothing and jewelry lines have been featured in many publications as well as being carried in both the Smithsonian and the Museum of Modern Art Gift shops. 

Her new “Photographix” series are framed pieces that start with original photographs printed on fabric then hand dyed and colored. 

“Off the Wall” runs thru Sept. 27^th at the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery.

“Raise the Roof” for The Hotel Jerome

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The Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery, a 20-plus year tenant of the Hotel Jerome, is taking steps to help the Town of Jerome acquire funds to replace the leaking roof of the building. In celebration of this year’s 100^th anniversary of the Hotel Jerome, a fundraiser, “Raise the Roof,” will be held on Saturday, July 29^th from 5-8 pm at the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery, located on the ground level of the Hotel Jerome at 502 N. Main Street in Jerome.

The purpose of the fundraiser is to raise money for a new roof. “The Hotel Jerome, built in 1917, was a stunner in its day,” according to a newspaper article in the gallery, “with phones and showers in every room!”

The roof has been leaking for many years, right down through all three stories above, and into the gallery! Action is desperately needed to correct the situation to protect the building from further deterioration.

The Jerome Co-op has already donated $11,000 to this effort, and 100% of the proceeds of the “Raise the Roof” fundraiser will go towards replacing the roof. Jerome Co-op members have additionally donated artwork for auction, and food and wine for the event, inviting you to join in, making this an enjoyable evening for all. Local restaurants will also contribute food on the night of the event, and the Jerome Ukulele Orchestra will perform as they donate an evening of lively musical entertainment.

The event itself will include a silent auction and a raffle of artworks and other items that have been donated by Co-op members and interested members of the community at large, including residents of Sedona, Cottonwood, the Verde Valley, and Prescott. “We are getting a lot of support from members of the Jerome Community,” notes Janet Farwell, a resident of Jerome, and a Co-op member. “They have been very generous with their donations of art, gift certificates and raffle items.”

There will be a wide variety of raffle items including a turntable and gift certificates to local businesses. Auction items include paintings, wall hangings, ceramics, glass, wearables, handmade wood items and an array of handmade jewelry. This is truly a unique opportunity to acquire some fabulous local art and offerings while helping to save one of Jerome’s historical landmarks.

Join the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery as they “Raise the Roof” for a worthy cause. Monetary donations are also gratefully accepted.

Raise the Roof Facebook Page 

Jerome Co-op Summer Membership Show “Celebrating Hotel Jerome: 100 Years”

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The old Hotel Jerome is King of the hill- Cleopatra Hill, that is. The venerated, iconic showplace built in 1917 (with indoor bathrooms!) still sits firmly planted on its solid foundation – the first building in the USA to be constructed of poured concrete. The views from its top floors include the nearby foothills where the exact geographic center of the state of Arizona is located.

On the ground floor of the Hotel Jerome, visitors will find the juried displays of 35 local member/artists of the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery who are responsible for all aspects of the gallery business. The artists will be celebrating their own longevity as a co-op (21 years) as well as “Celebrating Hotel Jerome: 100 Years.” The show opens on July 1^st in conjunction with Jerome’s First Saturday Art Walk from 5-8 pm. The show runs thru July 26.

The dream of creating a cooperative art gallery in Jerome took flight in February of 1996 when a space in the Hotel Jerome- which is owned by the town of Jerome- became available. Four months later, with the able help of a local accountant named Norrie Benjamin, a group of 20 dedicated people, of which only 12 of them were actual displaying artists, agreed to become partners in the new endeavor of starting a Co-op, by each putting $100 into the till to get it started.

Documents were signed, and in the words of one of the local founding members, Anne Bassett, “with a great deal of courage… a lot of curiosity and community support,” an official working cooperative gallery was born. Three founding members who are still in the gallery are Rex Peters (manager), Jim Rome and Brice Wood.

Please join the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery in “Celebrating Hotel Jerome:100 Years,” on Saturday, July 1^st from 5-8 pm in the Hotel Jerome, 502 Main Street, Jerome, Arizona. Refreshments will be served.

Save the date: a “RAISE the ROOF” event will be hosted by the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery on Saturday, July 29^th from 5-8 pm to raise funds to replace the Hotel’s roof. The main event will be a Silent Auction of artwork donated by local artists. In addition, items donated by local businesses will be raffled off throughout the evening. Come early to place bids on your favorite items. Come for a fun evening with friends and community members, and leave knowing that your support is helping to preserve a Jerome landmark. Entertainment will be provided by the Jerome Ukulele Orchestra and refreshments will be served.

Saturday, July 29 from 5-8 pm.  See you there!

Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery.

Facebook Raise the Roof

Sarah Harms, “Going off on Tangents,” Runs thru June 28th!

Going off on Tangents

Sarah Harms has been a metalsmith, making jewelry for over 30 years. In Harms’ first solo show at the Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery, Harms introduces new jewelry pieces and new forged steel works that are both functional and decorative. Felted wool and photographs printed on aluminum will be incorporated into some of her steel works in new ways.  Additionally, Sarah has been exploring pottery-making, so her clay pieces may make their debut as well.

Sarah has taken previously developed ideas and pushed them to new levels. By pushing the boundaries of her work in this way, she has come up with a broad range of new work. For example, she has taken some of her symbolic elements, that she generally uses in her jewelry, like hearts and spirals, and redesigned them as functional items like forged steel hooks and hangers. This is a direct result of Harms deciding to not stick with a plan for this show, but rather, allow her creativity to take her where it wanted to go, and go off on tangents. “This way,” Sarah confesses, “I had no idea how the show was gonna end up, and I love that!”

The uncertainty of outcome is what makes this show exciting. And, by allowing her creativity to guide her, Sarah has indeed pushed the boundaries of her previous work into new directions. All the pieces in this show were developed because of Harms’ skill and dedication to her craft, and her desire to ‘go beyond’ and explore tangents. 

Since the show is being held in the Historic Hotel Jerome, which is 100 years old this year, Sarah thought it would be fitting to price many of her items under $100, to celebrate event.

Sarah Harms, “Going off on Tangents,” opens on Jerome’s First Saturday Art Walk on May 6 from 5-8 pm. Refreshments and snacks will be served. The show runs May 6-June 27.

Jerome Artists’ Cooperative Gallery        502 N. Main St.              928-639-4276          

Sewing with Suzen: 50 Joyful Years

Exhibition Opens at Jerome Artists Co-op

In the final scene of Gone with the Wind, the besieged heroine, Scarlett O’Hara rips the lush green velvet curtains from the drawing room windows of her beloved Tara, and (with the help of her faithful maid), creates a dress “fit for a queen.” For Jerome Artist Co-op fashion designer, Suzen Brackell, her favorite film moment was a motivating factor in what has turned into an amazing, productive 50 year long career as a seamstress and free-wheeling designer of a unique line of ”Wearable Art for the Ageless Goddess.” She, fellow Jerome Artists Co-op members and popular, toe-tappin’ local music group, Christy and Friends will ‘joyously’ host the March 4^th Art walk and opening night of her 2 month exhibition.

Like many who first became acquainted with a needle and thread in early school years, Suzen was introduced to her first sewing machine in her hometown of Windsor, Ontario in the 7^th grade; she put her foot to the peddle, set the flywheel spinning and never looked back! At a young age, she was asked by her friends and family who greatly admired her clothing- to sew for them, but to their great disappointment, she would reply, “My clothes are just for me!” The seamstress continued to develop, design and hone her craft until after her daughters were born, and only then did she decide it was time to share her gift with the world.

Suzen describes herself as a “cloth artist,” a fabric sculptress who carves and shapes unique designs from material that is fun and easy care, wrinkle-free and always pre-shrunk to hold its form. The tops, dresses, jackets and scarves are a blend of chic and whimsy- casually elegant and subtly sensual. She playfully enhance her pieces with tiny loops of stitched thread, intentionally frayed edges, and carefully tied lengths of sculpted cloth strips. Her wearable art ‘one size fits most’ garments can be found in every color of the fabric palette- including rare vintage finds, and while she often uses natural fibers, she confesses, “The fabric content is not as important as the comfort, feel and flow of the fabric itself.”

Suzen specializes in custom work that is individually personalized “Just For You” and will guarantee a perfect fit. She is celebrating opening night of her “50 Joyful Years” with a Special $50 sale on many of her normally higher priced items, and will be available to answer questions and take names for custom orders.

First Saturday Art Walk and opening night festivities: March 4^th from 5-8pm in the old Jerome Hotel, 502 Main Street, Jerome, AZ 86331    Open Daily 10-6

Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery (928) 639-4276     www.jeromecoop.com