Steppin Out Web Portal - Mountainair- Gallery fetes nature's art as enhanced by man

Pottery, tin work on exhibit at Mountainair’s Cibola Arts

Tomas Wolff's pottery is featured as part of May's Clay Show.

Tomas Wolff's pottery is featured as part of May's Clay Show.

Mountainair – The Cibola Art Gallery in Mountainair is collaborating with another group in town, the Mountainair Clayworks for “The Clay Show” opening on Saturday, May 2nd and running until May 31, 2009.

Anne Ravenstone's works of weathered wood and decorative tin, will be featured in June.

Anne Ravenstone's works of weathered wood and decorative tin, will be featured in June.

The Mountainair Clayworks is a cooperative group of clay artists which began eight months ago with the purpose of providing classes for beginning clay art students and to provide studio space for more experienced artists.

Mountainair is the location of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument Visitors’ Center with the ancient villages close by of Abo, Quarai, and Gran Quivera. This provides excellent surroundings for clay artists from The Mountainair Clayworks to practice and study ancient clay handbuilding methods.

Many of its artists make pottery in the traditional way and decorate with colored slips, using firing techniques which employ low-firing with combustible materials such as wood and sawdust.

Artists showing their work at the Cibola Art Gallery include Ellen Ashbrook, Kathy Baur, Mari Cicola, Kathleen Davies, Jude Mowris, Dean Schroeder, Deb Vetterman, Deb Weinman and Tomás Wolff.

The opening on Saturday, May 2nd will be from 2 PM until 4PM. Refreshments will be served. For more information call the gallery at 505 847-0324

June exhibit

While elements of traditional Hispanic tin are inherent in Ravenstone's work, she has taken the art in her own direction.

While elements of traditional Hispanic tin are inherent in Ravenstone's work, she has taken the art in her own direction.

“Honoring Tree Bones”, works of weathered wood and decorative tin by Anne Ravenstone, will be featured at Cibola Arts in Mountainair from June 6-July 15. A reception will be held on Saturday, June 13, from 2-4pm.

A dancer by training, Anne moved from Minnesota after becoming intrigued by Southwestern history. She has been an active member of the Cibola Arts Cooperative since its beginning and has been working with tin for 14 years.

While elements of the traditional Hispanic tin style are inherent in Anne’s work, she has taken the art in her own direction. Designs are full of spirals and flowing lines reflective of her love of movement. Some pieces use only tin, but many of her works are an unusual combination of metal and weathered wood gathered from area homesteads and ranches. “A piece of weathered wood has such character and is full of stories,” says Anne.

Parts of old weathered chairs, telephone poles, horse-chewed fence planks, old window frames, and pine knot hearts find their way into Anne Ravenstone’s imaginative work.

This show introduces many new designs and stylistic changes that have evolved from 14 years of work. Cibola Arts Gallery, 217 Broadway, is on the main street (Hwy 60) of Mountainair and is open Tuesday – Sunday, from 10 am - 5 pm.