Sedona Arts Center update for May 2 — New Exhibitions, Call to Artists, Special events. Plus, visit Sedona Arts Center on Friday, May 3 from 5 to 8 pm for a First Friday artist reception!

FINE ART GALLERY
Patricia Caldwell, Bill Cramer, Chikako Myers, and Dennis Ott
Artists Reception May 3, from 5 to 8pm

Visit Sedona Arts Center this May and indulge in the creative wonders of featured artists Patricia Caldwell, Bill Cramer, Chikako Myers, and Dennis Ott. An opening reception will take place on First Friday, May 3 from 4 to 8pm, where you can meet and mingle with the artists, art lovers, and like-minded patrons! The exhibit will be showing through July 2, 2019 along-side works by over 100 local artists represented by the Arts Center.

“Our spring selection of featured artists are a must see on your calendar of activities for May,” says Gallery Director Cyndi Thau, “From the well-executed Impressionistic Landscapes by oil painter Bill Cramer to the finely designed artistic quilts by Patricia Caldwell, to the Twisted Lid Series of ceramic ware by Sedona Arts Center’s very own Dennis Ott, complemented by the dichroic glass jewelry and metalwork of Chikako Myers, there’s something for everyone!”

Growing up in southern California, Bill always had an interest in exploring nature and creating art.  As an experienced rock climber, he spent much of his youth enjoying the more vertical places of the American west.  This gave him a perspective of the world that few others would ever experience. He received a fine arts degree from California State University Long Beach and later moved to Prescott, Arizona where Bill discovered the joys and challenges of landscape painting, his outdoor experiences providing much of the insight and inspiration expressed in his art. The opportunity to experience and paint some of the most scenic places in America has contributed greatly to his artistic growth.

“Any landscape worth painting is more than the obvious visual elements. The push of an evening breeze, the feel of sun baked sandstone, the scent of sagebrush or the sound of a raven suddenly overhead are examples of the many unseen elements that inform my work. I’m satisfied when a painting is as rich as the landscape that inspired it. My goals are to keep exploring the Southwest’s wild.”

Patricia Caldwell is an award-winning fiber artist designing her own patterns since the 1990’s. Nature has always been an inspiration to her work since the beginning so she often includes many natural elements. These can include various stones and dyes originating from nature. Patricia dreams about her designs and puts them down on paper before she begins the process. Sometimes this works and other times she just lets it flow. She is learning that when she allows the inspiration to flow and she goes with it that her art speaks to her on a much deeper level.

Dennis Ott’s pottery career began many years ago after enrolling in his first pottery class at the Sedona Arts Center.  Since then Dennis has taken numerous classes and workshops from many notable and inspirational ceramic artists.  Dennis is currently head of the ceramic department at the Sedona Arts Center, teaching beginning and intermediate pottery classes as well as workshops in alternative firings. Dennis was honored with the Sedona Mayors Arts Award in Arts Education in 2017 and in 2018 was awarded the Governors Arts Award for an individual Arts Educator.

“Clay is my window that allows me to see the creativity that is within me,” says Dennis Ott, “I’ll start with an idea and make changes along the way as new possibilities occur.  The end result is a captured moment of spontaneous creativity, with clay being the catalyst.  Each piece represents its own moment and therefore is one of a kind.”