Art Beat
June 2007

North Country Artist Trails Opens Its Season
by Gloria J. Geary

Amid the pristine countryside of Colville and its environs is a very city-like idea, a gallery walk. But in this case, it's done country style, with each gallery five or more miles from the next as the crow flies. No walking here, but a delightful and stress-free ride through the forested and winding roads that caress the Kettle River, anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 1/2 hours from Spokane.

The North Country Artist Trails is an open-ended tour of resident artists' workshops and galleries formed by artists from the non-profit organization Colville Arts Foundation. Visiting the trail is an art lover's idea of a perfect day.

To begin the tour, Loon Lake might be the logical place. Turn off Hwy 395 one mile to the WiseCrafters Studio, home to the Lost Arts Guild. As the name implies, you'll find a group of artisans who value time-honored methods of creating. On June 30th, Dana Canning will demonstrate weaving on several kinds of lap looms. On July 28th Sandy Morris will demonstrate how to make a drum, and on August 25th, Kathy Elliott of the WiseCrafter in Loon Lake will demonstrate making ceramics.

In Colville, off Main Street at 121 East Astor, you'll find the Colville Chamber of Commerce office, where art abounds. There are always local artists represented on their walls, including photography, alternative contemporary works, and, until the end of June, Shop the Frontier artists. Be sure to visit the Keller Heritage Center, located at 700 N. Wynne Street also in Colville.

Shop the Frontier in Republic is also on the trail, along with Charlene Payton-Holt's Eagle Ridge Studio. At the small shop located at 600 S Clark Ave. in Republic, you'll find a myriad of items for sale by local artisans from three counties: jewelry, ceramics, drawings, paintings, and hand-crafted hats, bags, and Native American beaded and leather goods. Another way to visit is online at: www.shopthefrontier.org.

On the trail this year is the Grand Forks Art Gallery, located in Grand Forks, B.C., Canada, a short hop over the border. The only professional art gallery in a 100-mile radius, Grand Forks Art Gallery regularly exhibits high quality art shows.

In the lush Kettle River Valley artist Gloria de los Santos maintains her workshop and gallery, high atop a mountain at the end of a half-mile long driveway. Driving north of Kettle Falls to the Boulder Creek Road turnoff, you'll end up in Curlew. Be sure and visit Talitha Cumi's River's Edge Studio on the Main Street. There is a fresh air market every second and fourth Saturday, and workshops galore in basket-making, wire-wrapping jewelry and fiber arts. Call Tiffany Reynolds at 509-779-4828 for more information.

North Country Artist Trails includes the Kettle River studio of Crutchfield Pottery, a husband-and-wife team that offers Saggar-fired pottery, raku, and ceramic garden art. This team has over thirty years of experience in crafting wonderful utilitarian jars, platters, pots, and other items in clay. Call 684-6510 for more information.

Download this year's NCAT brochure and map at www.northcountryartisttrails.com or email ncat@hughes.net. Call 684-3002 for more information.

Illustrations from top: Mask by Harry Wolf. "Neck" by Gloria de los Santos. Sculpture by David Govedare (courtesy of 49 Degrees North). Drum by Sandy Morris. Angel by Char Payton Holt.

Care to comment? Please direct your comments to editor@ncmonthly.com.

The North Columbia Monthly provides news, views, humor and a calendar of events for an area that stretches from Nelson in British Columbia south to Spokane in Washington State and covers all points in between. A free (and free-thinking, progressive) magazine, The Monthly is available at several hundred spots throughout the region and now is also available on-line at www.ncmonthly.com. Published once a month since 1994, The Monthly is an independent magazine that often challenges contemporary wisdom by encouraging critical thinking about issues and attitudes in the region and beyond.

Featuring our one-of-a-kind "What's Happening" department, The Monthly provides the region's only all-inclusive, free listing of community events and is the first place many people check to find out about area arts, crafts, music, fairs, services and events of all kinds. Our free listing policy for the "What's Happening" department promotes diversity, cultural interaction, and the exchange of ideas and free expression. Also featured in the magazine are people, food, health, humor, and feature articles that keep readers coming back for more each month.

We can be reached by mail at The North Columbia Monthly, PO Box 541, Colville, WA 99114; by phone or fax at 509-684-3109; by email at editor@ncmonthly.com; and on the Web at www.ncmonthly.com.

©2007. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the contents or use in whole or part without written permission from the publishers is strictly prohibited. Views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publishers.