Bringing a piece of art from start to finish is often a multi-layered process that may involve travel and exploration, collecting objects, photography, digital tools, and layers of substrates, techniques and other media.
Videos
Meet the Artist: A Fascination with Stones Brought Cynthia Downs to Jewelry Making
Though Cynthia Downs-Apodaca identifies more as a metalsmith than a jeweler, she says it was a fascination with the natural beauty of stones that attracted her to jewelry making. In many regards, she’s a bit of a stone whisperer––listening to the story each stone has to tell and building her designs around that.
Art Discovery: Artificial vs. Emotional Intelligence
AI has officially infiltrated various aspects of our daily lives. Most of us interact with it in some capacity without even knowing it. But when it comes to art, where does AI fit in? Should it fit in? Or should art remain our connection to true handcraft––to emotional intelligence vs. artificial?
Meet the Artist: Elizabeth Butler is a Channel for Her Artwork
For artist Elizabeth Butler, one of the greatest rewards of creating art is when she can reach a state of flow––when she simply becomes a channel for the expression of art to flow through. In this interview, she shares what that experience is like, how her work has evolved over the years, and how she’s exploring combining metal leaf with her oil paintings.
Art Discovery: Vitamin [A]rt
The creation of art has long been used as a healing mechanism, but it turns out, viewing it has superpowers too. Discover how color, texture and the subject matter impact our cognition and overall well-being.
Second Generation Artist Paving His Own Way
Matt Sievers has painting in his blood. His father is artist Greg Sievers, who has been participating in the Celebration of Fine Art for more than 25 years. “I grew up painting with my dad,” Matt says. “There are five of us kids. He was eager to teach any of us that would listen, but […]
Bringing Happiness to Life Through Cheerful Creatures on Canvas
What does your hometown have to do with what kind of artist you become? For Jenny Foster, a small Arizona town along the Colorado River surrounded by petroglyphs and pottery shards left by the American Indians was exactly what fed her early exploration into art and continues to influence her style today. “When I was […]
Creating Works of Art to Honor the Vibrancy of Nature
There’s no question budding young artists can be helped along by supportive families. That was the case for Leah Rei, who was born in Colorado but raised in Arizona. Her childhood is filled with memories sewing, embroidering, coloring and making collages to pass the time. “I was introduced to art at a very young age,” […]
Sharing the Sculptural Beauty of Basket Artistry
When you walk into the Celebration of Fine Art and turn to the left, one of the first studios you’ll see is Montana Blue Heron, a space filled with unique, colorful baskets, woven sculptures and three-dimensional wall art in dramatic shapes and sizes. Montana Blue Heron is a collaborative effort between husband and wife Marilyn […]
The art of creating unique burl woodturnings
Few people enjoy a direct and seamless path into a successful career as an artist. To some, it’s an obvious calling from a young age. To others, it’s a result of the zigs and zags life throws out along the way. The latter was the case for acclaimed woodturner David Barkby, who didn’t fully pursue […]