ArtStoll hits downtown

The Second Friday ArtStroll/Still Strolling Saturday in downtown Thermopolis takes place this Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from around 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Smoking Waters Art Guild invites you to come stroll and support the artists and the shops. 

Host business, Blue Bison Gallery, along with select retail businesses, will house artists showing and selling their creations, along with musicians. Themed as “YOUNG AT HeART,” this is an opportunity to see works by our high school and other students.

StillStrollingSaturday will include the Historical Society’s program celebrating the Wonderful Women of Wyoming as part of the Year of the Woman. 

Art teacher Jennifer Emery describes art as being “ . . . about our human response to the world around us. Art class encourages kids to explore their imaginations and make connections between art and their everyday life. Through the study of applied technique, basic art elements and principles, art history, exploration, and play, art education teaches 21st Century skills needed to be a creative thinker no matter one’s future occupation.” 

This weekend’s ArtStroll is a perfect opportunity to see the creativity of Emery’s art students.

Artists participating in this month’s Stroll include Marilyn Kohler, who returns to show and sell her paintings. 

Photographer Jeff Futter will show his work downtown as well. Futter was born and raised in Eastern Oregon and his interest in photography took off when his eighth birthday provided him with his first 35mm point and shoot camera. He took this “toy” and grew it into “a hobby that has come to define me”. Futter is now based out of Riverton and specializes in Fine Art nature photography, weddings, senior pictures, family portraits, events and photographing anything “he can make into a great subject”. Also be sure to look at the window display of the Darlington and Samelson families’ Sip N Paint Canvases.

Keep an eye out for the quilts that will be on display and see Douglas Nelson’s photographs. Nelson will donate 50 percent of the proceeds of his sales to cancer patients. 

Esther Marple will also have her paintings on display. Marple holds a degree in Botanical Anthropology. She has been painting for over 50 years. Look for high school students’ art on display also.

Enjoy art by Karyne Dunbar. Dunbar is a visual artist and educator and is a 2018 Governor’s Arts Awards Recipient. 

The Big Horn Basin Nature & Discovery Center Joint Powers Board’s silent auction of frames, prints, and posters will be at a location to be determined – check map for this information. This continues the fundraiser for the Children’s Outdoor Learning Area that will be built this summer at the entrance to Hot Springs State park.    

The pre-schoolers’ art, under the guidance of Amy Ready, the Early Childhood Liaison at Hot Springs County School District #1, will be on display in the windows at the east end of the block. 

Around the corner, on Arapahoe Street, Blue Bison Gallery, the host business, will be open, featuring the creative works of Sallie Weesaw.

StillStrollingSaturday is a good time to revisit the shops and artists from around 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Come to The Hot Springs County Museum and Cultural Center at 2 p.m. on Saturday for the Historical Society’s presentation. Racine Morgan, who was recently promoted to director of the Museum, will share anecdotes and facts about women of renown in Wyoming. Everyone is welcome to attend and the event is free. Strollers can also take the opportunity to explore the Museum and gift shop, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.