Plates & Palates

A Food Inspired Exhibit
Opening Reception
Friday August 30
5-7 PM

Showing work from:
Pete Halladay, Cedar Keshet, Naomi Kosmowski,
Jane Schultz, David Strong

H. Cedar Keshet was raised in El Paso, Texas/Sunland Park, New Mexico. She spent many hours in the desert of southern New Mexico, near her family home, on her horse, with a sketchbook in the saddle bag. The light, colors in nature and huge expanse of sky was being infused into her artistic psyche. Having an eye for detail also played a huge influence on her works. She often brings home bones and pods of plants for subjects of her work.
Keshet paints in oils, en Plein Air and in the Studio. She is inspired by the open landscapes of the West. Keshet has participated in many fine art shows, exhibited in galleries and museums in Chicago, Milwaukee and across the West.
“I paint as a way of distilling the feelings of completeness and joy I experience from the landscapes of the Western United States. When a viewer of my work feels a connection to place, then I have succeeded in my work. I believe that painting the beauty of the West documents and supports these lands. I hope this will move others to recognize these amazing places and advocate for them.”
Keshet lives in western Colorado.  Her paintings can be viewed online at cedarkeshet.com  or Plein Air Cedar on Instagram.

Naomi Kowmowski, hailing from Glenwood Springs will enliven your senses with her remarkable talent.  An accomplished painter and muralist, Kosmowski was born in Katowice, Poland, to four generations of professional artists. In 1987, she moved to New York with her family where their art careers flourished and their individual reputations grew. Over the past 20 years, Noemi’s art has evolved from classical renderings to explosive contemporary realism. Noemi’s still life pieces have gone from classical renderings to explosive, colorful contemporary realism.  The viewer can almost taste the flavor of the subject while smelling the aromatic scents wafting from the images. With her husband, Krystof, she has done a sidewalk mural in front of High Country Gems and Minerals in Glenwood. “Art connects people,” she said. “Everything is art. Walls. Cars. Tables. Whatever we make and whatever we see.”

Master Potter David Strong of Cedaredge is a “potter’s potter”. His work reflects the power of the potter’s wheel. Several of his pieces are 22 inches in diameter and many are over three feet tall. The work is beautifully glazed in earth tones with flecks and speckles of complementing colors. David has been a potter for over 40 years. He studied at Anderson Ranch in the 1970’s where he was the “Artist in Residence” and taught classes in ceramics. He also worked at the Sun Valley School for the Arts, in Sun Valley, Idaho as the Community School Director. In 1980 he and his wife Suki moved to Cedar Mesa near Cedaredge, CO, and built their studio: Brymstone Pottery. His work has sold throughout the region as well as nationally, and has been included in shows at the Foothills Art Center, Anderson Ranch Gallery and the Art Center in Grand Junction among others.

Picture Paonia Prospectus and Submission Form (1)

Celebrating the significance of the North Fork Valley, Blue Sage Center for the Arts presents Picture Paonia 2019

Photographers are asked  to catch an image depicting a story in the history of the North Fork Valley.
Submissions are being accepted now till Noon on Saturday, September 21 when pieces due at the Blue Sage Gallery.

early entry fee is $20. after Friday, September 20 entry fee is $25

An exhibition of the works created will be on display and available for purchase at the Blue Sage Gallery beginning September 26th at the opening reception. Prizes will be awarded that same day.
Thanks to the Kampe Foundation $600 in cash prizes will be available

Submitted pieces will have an opportunity to be juried for inclusion in a local exhibit alongside a traveling Smithsonian exhibit “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” in January 2021

The Blue Sage Center for the Arts is a charitable 501(c)(3) organization located in Paonia, CO providing education and expression in the arts and humanities in order to engage and enrich the North Fork community.  Founded in 1996 the Blue Sage serves about 10,000 residents of the North Fork Valley annually through classes, events, gallery exhibits, venue rentals and arts outreach into local schools.

Apply