Flowers, Faces and Family Friends

Whitefish Goldsmiths is featuring Flowers, Faces and Friends by artist Jane Kleinschmidt. Jane's latest art project is the Northwest Montana Humane Society calender for 2010. Jane drew from many pets residing at the Humane Society. Camera for reference photos in hand, Jane spent time in the rooms where the pets lived. One day in the cat room, she had several loving cats giving all their attention to her. She would have loved to take them all home they were so sweet. Jane's cat Jose is a lifelong companion adopted from the Humane Society. Jane rendered the pets in pastel on sanded paper, a wonderful medium for capturing the expressions of the animals. Pastel and oil paintings of people, wildlife and flowers inspired by summer high country hikes are hanging for this evening of art wine and tasty appetizers. If you are not able to attend September 3rd's Gallery Night, Jane's artwork will be on display throughout the month.

September - John Rose - The Purple Pomegranate

The Purple Pomegranate, a fine craft specialty store, is featuring work by Columbia Falls metal artist John Rose during the month of September. John has been working with various types of metal since his teens and has many years experience as a fabricator/welder. Throughout his years of employment, he was always creating designs from scrap metal and selling those pieces as a hobby. When unable to find a job after moving to the area in 2001, John started making and selling his artwork at area farmers markets as well as doing custom orders.

John enjoys the outdoors, drawing inspiration from his surroundings to create wildlife in whimsical and traditional designs in heated copper. He starts with mostly reclaimed material, creating a variety of unique handcrafted designs that include jewelry, ornaments, garden art and wall art. By cutting the copper sheet, hammering by hand for texture and shape then heating each piece to various temperatures, his technique achieves unique colors that are individual to only that piece. John enjoys working with his hands and looks forward to each day in his workshop.

Meet John during Whitefish Gallery Night, Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 from 6-9 PM. John’s work will be displayed during the opening and throughout the month of September.

The Purple Pomegranate, located in downtown Whitefish, features handcrafted artware from artists across the United States. Representing more than 150 American artists, the store’s eclectic offerings include jewelry, ceramics, musical instruments, turned wood, glass art, fiber art, prints and paintings. Look for us on the web at www.purplepomegranate.com .

Stephen Isley Jewelry

Stephen Isley Jewelry will feature the work of Philip Pontillo at the Whitefish Gallery Nights open house on Thursday, August 6 from 6PM to 9PM. Philip combines art and function in his woodworking to create pieces from the traditional Arts & Crafts to the very modern and contemporary. He believes that every piece should be designed around the wood itself to highlight its natural color, grain and patterns. He uses a wide variety of exotic hardwoods that range in natural color from vivid yellow to bright purple, as well as domestic hardwoods such as cherry, maple, oak and black walnut.

All pieces are finished with hand rubbed oil and wax to bring out the beauty of the wood. His work includes jewelry boxes, fly boxes, and home furnishings