Artini Facetime Auction Photos!

Meet: The Montana Photobooth Company

FACETIME Live Auction Special Opportunity: The Montana Photobooth Company

The Montana Photobooth Co., purveyors of old-school good times and keepsake memories for your wedding, party or corporate event. They provide the on-the-spot photobooth prints for you and your guests, you provide the grins.

Unlimited Photobooth Use

Free Prints for your guests

Unlimited downloads of photos

Free use of the prop box

Full-time attendant for your event

 themtphotobooth.com

 406-396-0988

FACETIME Preview

Today, we are proud to present the preview of the Artini Auction: FACETIME. Stop in to view this absolutely stunning show, place your bid on Silent Auction pieces, and purchase your ticket for what will be an unforgettable night of music by Secret Powers, photobooth by the Montana Photobooth Co., portraits by LadyPajama, facepainting by Jazmine and Saquoia Raymond, and food by James Bar.

Meet: Andy Smetanka

FACETIME Live Auction Artist Andy Smetanka

Andy Smetanka's silhouette animations have appeared in numerous feature films and music videos. More recently he has started making night lights and light boxes. He lives on the Moon-Randolph Homestead in Missoula, Montana with his wife and two sons.

Meet: Sam Bolt

 FACETIME Silent Auction Artist Sam Bolt

Samuel August Bolt is an Eighteen year old Citizen of Missoula, MT who sometimes likes to refer to himself as an artist. A Great Falls native, he was unwillingly moved to Missoula by his parents at the age of approximately five and a half, and after much deep emotional turmoil and introspective conflict was eventually able to accept his fate and his new surroundings. Almost immediately after this, he answered a knock at the front door in his pajamas and made a new friend. As he grew up in his new home, he continued to come into contact with many great people throughout the years who introduced him to such marvelous aspects of life as skateboarding, street art, rock and roll, and many others. These people, although very different from each other, collectively fueled his creative spirit and inspired him throughout the years. They planted and watered a seed inside of him that grew into the artist he is now, so really, he feels like he owes anything he has accomplished in art to them. These days, he tries his best to create imagery that is heavily representational of human emotion and personal experience. Covering anything from humor to sorrow, from true love to hopeless depression, he attempts to capture a full spectrum of feeling in his art, in hopes that it is reflected onto the viewer. He desires to share his view of the world and its impact on him in ways that he could never attempt to describe with the use of words, and therefore can only hope that when people view his work, they take away a smidgen of the emotion that was put into it, even if it is just a fraction ever so small. . . And if they just think that it is a nice picture to look at for a little while, that is just fine with him too. Although his love for Missoula and the people within it is unbreakable, he will be moving in a couple weeks to Bellingham, Washington, where he will attend Western Washington University and pursue his desire for a somewhat successful career in the field of graphic design. He hopes to go forth from there and someday make some sort of name for himself as an artist. However . . . his one true dream in life is to be a rock star.

Meet: Michael deMeng

FACETIME Live Auction Artist Michael deMeng
 

Michael deMeng is an assemblage artist who travels the world teaching and creating mixed media shrines. He has exhibited throughout the world with is unique style of “shrinalism”. His book, “Secrets of Rusty Things”, released in 2007. His second book, "Dusty Diablos" explores Mexican culture through his artistic vision and was releases in 2010.

Meet: C.Cordelia Raymond

FACETIME Silent Auction Artist C.Cordelia Raymond

C.Cordelia Raymond is currently completing the last year of her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at The University of Montana. She has been showing her work regionally around Missoula, MT since 2008; and serves as the president of the Universities ceramics club UMECA (University of Montana Emerging Ceramic Artists). Her work was accepted into the both the First and Second Biannual University of Montana and Montana State University Faculty and Student Exhibitions at the Archie Bray Clay Center. She has received two awards at UMT ceramics exhibitions, and in 2010 she received an educational scholarship from The President’s Excellence Fund to attend an Archie Bray workshop. This past January she completed a short-term residency at the Medalta International Artist in Residence Center in Medicine Hat, Canada. Her work can be found in the sales gallery of The Clay Studio of Missoula.

The hand-made vessel is an intimate and powerful object. When I create pottery I am endlessly drawn to embellishing the surface with rich decoration. As intrigue and the relationship between the user and the vessel are increased by intense decoration and function, so too are the viewer’s relationships with food and the act of consumption elevated.

The hors d’ oeuvres towers have been wonderful objects to create. I reference architecture, ritual and tradition in these forms which have been assembled of thrown, carved and altered cylinders. Tiny chambers with windows take shape in these towers, each meant to hold only one variety of food, and in turn they become individual throne rooms or shrines to their inhabitants. The precision in making the towers accompanied by the specificity the user must access to use them causes a sense of play or role-play that I love.

By displaying food in such regal ways, I intend for it to be given the attention and appreciation that sustenance deserves. The circular visual pull of these pots causes viewers to search and to slow their pace; making users view the food inside the vessels not only as precious, but as another element working to complete the visual and functional elements of the artworks.

For 'Facetime', this year's Artini Auction theme, I created a Vanity made within this same mindset. Getting ready for the day can be something that we rush through so we can run out the door. We look at our faces in the mirror to make sure everything its in its proper style, but we don't really take this time to just 'be' with and really see ourselves. Looking into the mirror of my Vanity will be like looking at one's own portrait. Hopefully the beauty of the Vanity will transcend to the viewer so that they see and feel their own beauty framed in the mirror. The intention of this piece to really make the user feel special and to encourage them to take the time to appreciate them self.

Meet: Sean Kochel

FACETIME Live Auction Artist Sean Kochel

Montana native, Sean Kochel. Fell in love with old images as a young child. Through his passion for days gone by, he found him self working in wet plate photography.

"I enjoy taking ambro and tintypes. They evoke a feeling of mystery and a time forgotten."

Sean is an artist who runs and owns his own guitar company. When he isn't building custom guitars, he spends his time working in wet plate photography crafting images.

Meet: Athena Lonsdale

FACETIME Live Auction Artist Athena Lonsdale
 

Athena, me...

In the beginning, I enjoyed picking the sap filled pinon nuts out of the trees in my New Mexican back yard, playing tag with our goats, and eating my mothers organic lentils and rice…then I found an interest in having eclectic blue hair while getting A’s at my California school…then I started following boys down snowboard runs and competing with girls in big air jumps around the world…and now, I like acquiring vintage items, photographing strong people, rollerskating, and eating brown rice with avocados sprinkled with salt and pepper.

Athena, photography…

In 2008, Athena Photography got serious. I started doing commercial photography for local organizations like the Office of Public Instruction and Montana Community Development Corporation.  After bringing home an ADDY for Salt Studios I was hooked. Since then I’ve expanded my clients, but never let go of my love for the personal portrait or my own self-portraits. Whether in work or play, I reach for the feeling of happenstance, cinematic imagery, exploring ones identity, strong characteristics, and curious moments. My world is positive and full of hope. Each day I’m energized by the challenge of navigating through my career…and p.s. I’m a big Hellgate Rollergirl fan!

 

me-- joyful, creative, spontaneous looking for the curious, timeless, confident, and uninhibited. What do you love-- your long hair, your big belly, your father or daughter, your off road truck? I love my ambition, attraction to contrast, pops of color, old items, avocados, and photographing on location. I hope to meet you over a healthy donation followed by collaborative drinks. Find me at MAM on September 15th for a close look;)

 

Meet: Gretel Stoudt

FACETIME Live Auction Artist Gretel Stoudt 

 Gretel Stoudt was born in Adamstown, Pennsylvania, the "Antiques Capitol of the U.S.A." Gretel is the youngest of five, born into an eccentric and creative family. After high school, Gretel moved out West and eventually settled in Missoula, where she studied History at The University of Montana. Gretel continues to express the importance of history as well as contemporary culture in her work, drawing close ties between the past and the present through iconic imagery from everyday life. Gretel enjoys collecting records, antiquing, skiing, and playing pinochle.

 I like to draw and print imagery that create dialogues through iconic imagery and personal histories. I primarily work with various printmaking techniques and photographic transfers, graphite, beeswax, crayons, and paint. I have a growing inventory of images that I put together to make collective pieces, using symbols like planes, gramophones, and animals. My interest in history and culture has given me an ever-growing number of subjects that I like to put on wood blocks or paper and assort them accordingly, creating a collection of stories.

Meet: Courtney Blazon

FACETIME Silent Auction Artist Courtney Blazon

Courtney Blazon is a graduate of Parsons School of Design, where she received a BFA in illustration. She is working as an artist and freelance illustrator in Missoula, MT. Her work has been featured at various local and regional art galleries and venues, at the Missoula Art Museum, on Juxtapoz.com, as well as the Western edition of New American Paintings in October 2007 and Studio Visit Magazine in 2010. She was a featured artist on Google's artistaday.com in July 2010 and on the art blog My love for you is a stampede of horses, as well being featured in the online arts journal hoboeye.com. She has illustrated for Slumgullion, Montana Lyric Opera, Shakespeare and Co., Missoula Oblongata, CutBank Literary Magazine, the Missoula Independent, as well as a variety of magazines and publications. She has had been in numerous regional group shows and has had solo shows at Pony Club Gallery in Portland, OR, Victrola Coffee and Art in Seattle, WA, and most recently, Dana Gallery in Missoula, MT.

I have a deep interest in the natural world, exploration into the unknown, and history. Much of my work refers to, or is influenced by, myths, fables, and fairytales, and I combine the imaginary and natural together to create my pen and marker drawings on paper. It is in the union of these two disparate elements that I feel the true magic and mystery of the world lies.

Meet: Tim Thornton

FACETIME Live Auction Artist Tim Thornton

 

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where I began drawing at an early age. I was encouraged by my grade school and high school art teachers to pursue my interest in the arts. I left southern California for the San Francisco Bay Area, when I was eighteen, and attended The California College of the Arts, where I graduated with a BFA in 1984. Upon leaving Art School, I was confronted with  the financial demands of making a living, and after working a string of non-art related jobs, I eventually landed back in southern California, where I found full time employment as a scene painter in Hollywood, painting sets, and backdrops for film and television. Los Angeles had little appeal for me, though, and I returned once again to the Bay area, where I was hired by the University of California at Berkeley, as the scenic artist for the Theater program. While there,  I met Patricia, a kindred spirit, fellow artist, and "soul mate". We were married in 2002, and three years later, we relocated to Missoula Montana, where we happily continue to pursue our interests in a vital and supportive art community.

Tim T. Thornton

2011

 

I was an unruly child. Or maybe I was just stuck with that reputation  -  deservedly or not. This could have had something to do with an incident that happened one Sunday morning a long time ago. I  was a three year old in family of good church-going Catholics, which meant that every Sunday without fail, you'd find us  at Mass, sitting in one of the front pews of the church.  On this particular Sunday though, my dad and brother were away, and my mom had the sole burden of dragging an unruly, and unwilling child to church by herself -  a thankless task.

    The priest had just commenced his sermon. I had no interest in being there, and  I was growing restless. The Catholic Mass confused my three year old sensibilities, and I found it profoundly boring. My mom had tried in vain to keep me in line, and finally,  in a last desperate bid -  a "Hail Mary" -  so to speak, she rummaged through her purse, eventually coming up with pencil and paper,  which she then prophetically placed in my hands, and encouraged me to draw. It was a defining moment for me. For her, it was only temporary salvation.

    I remember sitting in that pew, scrawling away at a drawing of an immense battlefield scene. ( The inspiration,  I  suspect , came from the

WW II  movie, " The Longest Day" with John Wayne, which ambitiously depicts the events of D-Day, and the allied effort at Normandy. in 1944. My brother and I had recently seen it on t.v. ).

    My rendering of the invasion was reaching its culmination, and my mom's ploy had been successful.  My drawing was now complete and I saw that  it was a good thing. Yet, there was still some element missing.  It suddenly dawned on me that what was so desperately needed, what the situation cried out for, was the requisite sound effects, which I  then enthusiastically inserted during a pause in the pastor's sermon, replete with  machine-gun fire, hand grenades, mortars, dive bombers, etc.,  much to the distraction of the priest, the amusement of the congregation, and the embarrassment of my poor mother. Sorry Mom. The seeds were sown. Art won out over religion  as my central preoccupation.

Meet: Leslie Van Stavern Millar

FACETIME Live Auction Artist Leslie Van Stavern Millar

 

Leslie is a resident of Missoula and Arlee.  A graduate of Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Studio Art and Biology, she has considered herself an ”Independent” artist since moving to Montana in the early 1970’s.

Leslie likes to work in a variety of 2-D media that include painting and photography.  She shows actively and her work is included in many private and public art collections. 

 

Leslie’s portrait work on display was inspired by her exposure to, and admiration for the tradition of Ghanaian painted wooden portrait heads. Artists such as Nana Elvis of Kumasi sell depictions of beautiful Ghanaian women to local seamstresses to display their dresses in the shops and markets.  Leslie was inspired to adapt this idea to contemporary representations of her friends and family.  Her portrait heads are composed of thin plywood painted with highly permanent acrylic paint.  They are intended for wall display.

Meet: Holly Castor

FACETIME Silent Auction Artist Holly Castor

Holly Castor is an artist, chef, gardener, volunteer and an active community member.

She grew up and studied art in Dayton, Ohio in a family of architects and sculptors.

The mother of three grown daughters, she and her husband, a veterinarian, raised their children on the family ranch in St. Ignatius, Montana.

Her love of travel provides inspiration and takes her around the world to collect shells, pearls and semi-precious stones to incorporate in her jewelry designs.

 

Meet: Caitlin Finley

FACETIME Silent Auction Artist Caitlin Finley

 

I am interested in the mark that mankind makes on the natural world, and how it in turn adapts, grows, and flourishes.

Meet: Patricia Thornton

FACETIME Silent Auction Artist Patricia Thornton

 

 Art is the instrument through which my ideas, life stories and observations take form. I work in a wide range of two and three dimensional media, including installation, painting, drawing, printmaking, collage and photography depending on the needs of the piece. My approach to making art is process based, experimental and playful. While working and creating iconography, I enjoy scribbling, scratching and erasing as well as delicately rendered lines and shapes. 

  For the past five years I have been working on a series I’ve  titled “Misfits, Monsters and Pretty Things”. The characters from this series live in everywhere USA. In a world, very much like my own, full of love and violence, confusion and clarity and many other contradictions. The pieces mirror my life. I am a daydreamer a pacifist and an optimist, a combination of characteristics that are not particularly appreciated in our society. If you want to learn more visit my blog @ patriciathornton.blogspot.com

Witch, Whitch or Which

Meet: Stella Latwinski

FACETIME Live Auction Artist Stella Latwinski

 

Stella Latwinski is a self taught artist and illustrator who comes to Montana from a tiny lake town in northeastern Pennsylvania. Stella has been drawing since she could pick up a pencil, but it was not until 2007 that she decided to share her work with the public.  Primarily working with ink and colored pencil on wooden panels, her illustrations have been described as both sweet and unsettling.  Stella strives to create a fairytale land that is inspired by nature, dreams, and daily life~ sometimes dark, other times full of whimsy.

Elliot Granthal, ink & colored pencil on cherry panel

Creating is my breath.  When I am formulating new characters or storylines, I feel at home, confident. When working on wood, I am reminded that I will never be fully in control of the piece.  Soft pine soaks up my ink, and mutes the colored pencil.  Hickory takes control of my pen with its striations and grain. Each piece is a new adventure, a test of patience and skill.

When creating a piece for the Unconventional Ida storyline, I work as organically as possible.  Characters are not sketched out or planned.  My pen hits the wood, and someone~ or something~ new is born.  Their background then comes to life in the form of a short story, written by me.

Currently, I am exploring the beauty of melancholia. My new characters are wistful and pensive~ tied together in a quiet and strange world.  Inspired by the fluidity of art nouveau and the beauty of people, I am excited to delve deeper into this study.

Geisha & Ginkgo, ink & colored pencil on cherry panel

Meet: Matt LaRubbio

 FACETIME Live Auction Artist Matt LaRubio

 Matthew LaRubbio was born in Houston, Texas - 1982.
In 2010, he began creating original work and poster art after years of backcountry trail construction, farm jobs, and generally staying away from art supplies. He is a screen printing artist - professionally.

My most recent work is hand drawn illustration and typography for gig posters.

I screen print these in my basement. I’m currently working on screen printed rifle and archery targets as a medium for design, criticism, and humor.

I have little work to represent myself. I am not prolific. Yet.

Meet: Marshall Hibbard

FACETIME Silent Auction Artist: Marshall Hibbard

Marshall Hibbard is an artist, photographer. Marshall Hibbard was born in 1981 in Helena, Montana.  Raised on his family ranch, Marshall has always drawn immense inspiration from the rich landscapes surrounding him; the animals and structures that have lived, died and decayed in it’s grasp.  Marshall’s work focuses on the passage of time, documenting the change and metamorphosis that time leaves in its wake.

Marshall is on the forefront of the urban exploration movement as it engulfs Montana in an elusive uproar of underground enthusiasm. His passion for abandoned spaces has always existed innately within him. Places that tell stories of generations who have lived and died have always fascinated him in intangible ways. His work speaks to the sense of connection that exists through the passage of time within a singular space. Layers upon layers of decomposition that construct amazing stories of life, death and everything in between.

"Once, Lost (Blankenbaker Road)"

Marshall’s works have been widely exhibited. They have been featured in solo exhibitions and have been included in juried, invitational and group shows at a variety of galleries and public art museums. His work has been purchased for numerous private and public collections and some of his works reside in the permanent collections of The University of Montana Permanent Art Collection.

He is proud to call Montana his home and continues to draw inspiration from this majestic landscape.

Meet: Chris Autio

FACETIME Live Auction Artist Chris Autio

 

When Leaves from Nowhere is part of a series of montage photographs that combine landscape with the nude figure.  They are made in the darkroom using two images, exposed separately onto one sheet of gelatin silver, and then sepia toned. Recent work includes oil colored mural-sized black and white landscapes.  Chris Autio is a photographer residing in Missoula, Montana.  He specializes in promotional photography for artists.

Meet: Shalene Valenzula

FACETIME Silent Auction Artist Shalene Valenzula 

Shalene Valenzuela was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. She received a BA in Art Practice at the University of California at Berkeley and an MFA in Ceramics from California College of Arts and Crafts. In June 2007, she moved from her longtime home of Oakland, CA to begin a two year residency at The Clay Studio of Missoula. She currently teaches classes in the School of Art at the University of Montana, and maintains a studio in Missoula.
Additionally, Shalene has participated in summer artist residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation (2006) and Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts (2004, 2011). In addition to U of M, she has taught at Oregon College of Art and Craft, The Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula Art Museum, Richmond Art Center (CA), ASUC Studios at UC Berkeley, and CCA Extended Education. She was interim director at the Clay Studio of Missoula August 2010-March 2011, and now serves as a member of the studio’s board of directors. Shalene has been a guest artist and speaker at a number of art centers, colleges, and universities and her work has been featured in several group and solo exhibitions nationally.

 
My body of ceramic work consists of quirky pieces that reflect upon a variety of issues with a thoughtful, yet humorous and ironic tone. I am inspired by the potential of everyday common objects. I reproduce these objects primarily through slipcasting, and illustrate the surfaces with a variety of handpainted and screenprinted imagery. My narratives explore topics ranging from fairytales, urban mythologies, consumer culture, societal expectations, etiquette, and coming-of-age issues. Stylistically, much of my imagery is pulled from somewhat "dated" sources that I find represent an idealized time in society and advertising. Such gems include instructional guides, cookbooks, old advertisements, and old family photos. Beneath the shiny veneer of these relics hides a complex and sometimes contradicting truth of what things seem to 
appear as upon first glance.
So one may ask "Why clay? Why not just draw these images on paper, or on the actual objects?" One way of explaining my building aesthetic would be a form of trompe l’oeil with a twist. The preciousness of clay as a medium helps transform my depicted common household/consumer item into something magical. I care about the object being referenced and recognizable while maintaining my illustrative quality that completes the narrative.
Sometimes my inspirations are just pure whimsy, and I find nothing wrong with that. Rules are sometimes meant to be broken. How else are we supposed to learn?

Meet: Steve Muhs

FACETIME Silent Auction Artist Steve Muhs

Bio:

Lives in Darby, MT with two dogs.

MA in Art from Eastern Illinois University has worked in Illinois, Ohio, Wyoming, Texas, Montana favorite job - Kettle Man in Dallas, TX currently working as a temp. writing poetry and making art. no plans for the future

Meet: Karen McAlister Shimoda

FACETIME Silent Auction Artist Karen McAlister Shimoda 

Karen McAlister Shimoda is an artist and freelance editor who has been living in Missoula, Montana since September 2007. Prior to Missoula, she spent many years in various locations and occupations. She grew up in Southern California; raised her two children in Connecticut; worked in New Jersey and New York City; and has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and Central America. She has been a teacher, writer, editor, sign painter, and fine artist. In Missoula, she has been able to create a balance in her work life, between editing and producing art. In both, she pays attention to the details yet strives to present the essence of the subject.

Karen has a BA degree in Art History from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, and MA degrees in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and in East Asian Studies from Columbia University in New York City. Over the years since childhood, she has also taken courses in oil painting, drawing, printmaking, book illustration, and photography.

Since moving to Montana, Karen has exhibited her artwork most notably in the Missoula Art Museum’s Annual Art Auction (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), and as one of 60 Montana artists chosen to exhibit in the inaugural Montana Triennial (2009). She has shown a series of her work, titled Specimens, in solo exhibitions at the University of Montana Center Art Gallery (December 2009) and The Frame Shop in Hamilton (September 2010). Karen’s work was included in the 11^th Anniversary Show at Turman Larison Contemporary in Helena (June 2011) and in a two-woman show, titled Mindscapes, with Pamela Caughey at the Brink Gallery in Missoula (September 2011).

Karen was awarded a one-month residency at the Jentel Artist Residency Program in Banner, Wyoming (April/May 2011). 

Yesterday

           

Yesterday. Of the past, but still in the present. Yes, the word, but more so the song.

McCartney’s voice awoke my passionate spirit, during my early teen years. And I played his melancholy song endlessly. I wasn’t so much focused on troubles as I was on the mood. And that mood told me the opposite – that yesterday was different from now, but that now could be better than then, not necessarily worse. McCartney actually gave me hope.

But I believe in yesterday. I have many yesterdays to remember, and my passionate spirit looks for their essence.

The appeal of creating art is to find and illustrate the essence of that which has great meaning for me. I don’t long for yesterday, but I carry that feeling of being a young dreamy adolescent girl with me. So I’ve delicately chipped away at the lyrics of McCartney’s song, creating a snippet of the past. The reminder isn’t transparent. It is an embodiment. Of this I strive as an artist.

Meet: Jack Metcalf

FACETIME Silent Auction Artist Jack Metcalf

A self-proclaimed honest portrait of an optimistic analogue
21st century gent looking right with only a promise of happiness, Ink on Paper

"Jack Metcalf spent his youth knee deep in the sweating swamps of the southeast smearing the line of where illusion ends and reality begins. His creations emulate a diary of sorts. The work balances draftsman precision with an  ambiguous blather of imagination, insight, and delight, presenting an internal conversation that is felt, but never fully comprehended. The work is playful, visually stimulating, and when tied to the stories behind each piece, also deeply personal. It may have humor, but it’s not to be taken lightly."

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Don't forget to pick-up your tickets for the auction. They are$10MAMbers// $15Non-MAMbers. You can purchase them over the phone 406.728.0447 or stop in at the MAM.

Under Construction

Welcome to our Artini Auction: FACETIME Blog page! We're currently under construction, but we'll soon have all the participating artists bio's & images up, as well as schedule of events and all the exciting updates leading-up to the auction on September 15th!

 Please check-back soon!

Artini Auction: Facetime Handbill