D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
February
2008
A Whole Lotta Love
Las Cruces and Mesilla fall in love with the arts all over again with a jam-packed For the Love of Art Month.
It's a feast for the eyes and ears in Doña Ana County all this month as the ArtForms Artists Association celebrates its 10th anniversary with "For the Love of Art Month" (FLAM), featuring visual art shows and gallery openings throughout the area, theater and dance programs, concerts and a special anniversary gala. The ArtForms Artists Association is a Las Cruces-based nonprofit organization that supports and promotes the visual, literary and performing arts.
Throughout Las Cruces and Mesilla, a record number of area artists and galleries will participate in the event, with two weekends of studio tours at 27 locations. Several organizations have signed on with ArtForms this year to be designated "official" venues and events in conjunction with FLAM.
On Feb. 1, the FLAM ArtForms Member Show, featuring some 50 artists — painters, photographers, sculptors and multi-media artists — opens at the Branigan Cultural Center, 500 N. Water St., during the Downtown Ramble, 5-7 p.m. The show continues through March 1.
Several other shows also will open during the Feb. 1 Downtown Ramble:
The New Mexico Watercolor Society, Southern Chapter artists share their visions of "Love and Chocolate" in their group exhibit at the Las Cruces Museum of Art, 491 N. Main St., 525-3225. There will be an artists' reception 5-7 p.m. The exhibit continues through March 1.
"Heart to Art," artworks by clients of the Tresco art class under the direction of Laurie Shade-Neff, also will be on exhibit at the Museum of Art, sharing that opening reception.
("After China," works created by American ceramic artists Marie Weichman, Dryden Wells and Ian Thomas during and following their artists residency in Jingezhen, China, also continues at the museum.)
On Feb. 2, writer and painter Ruth A. Drayer will open a show of her visual arts, "Our Environment: Heaven, Earth and Beyond," at the Cottonwood Gallery of the Southwest Environmental Center, with a 5-7 p.m. reception. While peaceful and meditative, Drayer's multi-layered, "stream of consciousness" work is also vibrant and bold. For more information, call 522-5552.
A dozen artists in the Society of Layerists will participate in FLAM with a multi-media show at the Blue Gate Gallery, 311 N. Downtown Mall, 523-2950. And the art of Joanna Bradley and Kurt Van Wagner will be featured in the two galleries of the Rio Grande Theatre.
Two weekends of Studio and Gallery Tours, Feb. 9-10 and Feb. 16-17, will provide art lovers the opportunity to visit with artists where they work and buy art directly from them. This year features 27 locations with more than 30 artists; look for distinctive ArtForms Artists Studio Tour signs denoting these venues. Studios will be open for visitors 10 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. Studio tour maps are available at the Blue Gate Gallery, the Convention and Visitors Bureau (www.lascrucescvb.org), the Cultural Center de Mesilla, The Bean coffeehouse and other locations around town.
All month, as part of ArtForm's goal of filling the town with art — more than 40 venues in all — restaurants, markets and other business venues will host exhibitions, participating as official temporary galleries. Savino's Ristorante Italiano will display the photographs of Sharlene Glock. Toucan Market will exhibit sculptures by Susan Frary. Abraham's Bank Tower Restaurant will host works by the Ten O'clock Club. Spirit Winds will host an exhibit of Lois Wilson's glass art, and Funky Karma will show the fractal art of the Women in Focus group. Venue lists will be available at the same locations as the studio tour maps.
But that's not all that will be brightening the local art scene. The Las Cruces Arts Association's show, "For the Love of Abstract Art," will open at the Tombaugh Gallery at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2000 S. Solano, Feb. 3, 12-2 p.m. This is the second year that the association has held its annual member "theme" show at the gallery. Featured artists of the juried show include Kurt Van Wagner, Jan Addy, Martha Brown and Flo Dougherty. The show runs through Feb. 29. For information, call 524-2329, 523-1882 or 522-7281.
Quilt lovers won't want to miss the annual Las Colcheras Quilt Guild's "Echoes of the Rio Grande" show, sale and demonstration at NMSU's Corbett Center Feb. 9-10.
More fiber art will be on display at Abby Osborne's show at Laughing at the Sun at the Old Tortilla Factory, 1910 Calle Principal in Mesilla, 523-1890, with an opening reception Feb. 2, 5-7 p.m. Also on exhibit at the Old Tortilla Factory will be "Chicas de Nuevo Mexico," a show of original art created in Microsoft Word by local artist Maria Christina, featuring posters inspired by Mexican artists of the 1930s to 1960s.
This year marks the sixth year that the town of Mesilla will join in celebrating FLAM, and there will be numerous events, exhibits and opening receptions around town Feb. 9. The Border Jazz Trio will add to the atmosphere on the plaza, playing 2-3 p.m.
During the Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery's annual "My Masterpiece" show, the public is invited to test their knowledge of famous artists by matching art created in their style and the names of the mystery artists. A contest sheet with the names of the artists and clues about their styles is available and gift-certificate prizes will be awarded. The show opens Feb. 1, with an opening reception Feb. 9, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., and will be on display all month. Concurrently, there also will be a booth on the Mesilla Plaza featuring many of the local co-op artists' works.
Also in Mesilla, the David Rothermel Fine Arts Gallery presents "For the Love of the Organs," a silent auction of a framed gicle print by David Rothermel entitled "Organ Morning," with receptions Feb. 15, 5-8 p.m., and Feb. 16, 1-5 p.m. Proceeds from the month-long auction will be donated to the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.
The Town of Mesilla will host a student art exhibition of works by participants in an intergenerational photography workshop led by artist Diana Molina, opening Feb. 16, 4-6 p.m., at the Mesilla Community Center, 2251 Calle de Santiago, 524-3262 ext. 116.
Along with the visual arts, there will be treats for the other senses during FLAM. The Black Box Theatre will present "Love Letters," appropriately enough on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, with performances at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. The Black Box also will continue its run of "Always Patsy Cline," featuring the songs of — who else? — and starring Janet Mazdra and Rachel Space. The show runs through Feb. 10. For info and reservations call 523-1223. And, combining theater and visual arts, thetheatregallery at the Black Box will exhibit works inspired by the songs of Patsy Cline.
At NMSU's Music Center Recital Hall, Mark Medoff and the Doña Ana Lyric Opera will present the world premiere of a new musical, "We Are Enron, a Power Play in Music," written by Bradford Hodgson, Christine Sanders and Justin Raines, Feb. 21-23, 7:30 p.m., and Feb. 24, 3 p.m. More than 70 singers, dancers, instrumentalists and production staff will bring to life a full Broadway-style musical highlighting home-grown talent. Tickets are $5 for students, $13 for faculty and $15 for adults and are available at Ticketmaster and the Pam Am Center box office.