12 wild artists joined us this year for our annual Artown gallery. This year’s “REFUGE” gallery went virtual for the first time and we are so excited to have had the opportunity to share it with so many more people than ever before.
A huge thank you to all of the artists whose talent and vision helped share the unique stories of wild Nevada, the teachers who put new tools in our artistic toolboxes, as well as to all of you who joined in the fun! We hope you enjoyed the gallery and were able to use the links to find out more about these wonderful places represented in loving detail by the artists.
While the gallery run has come to an end, there are a few Artown items that will remain in Friends’ online shop! The stunning Massacre Rim Dark Sky Sanctuary poster created by Dr. Tyler Nordgren and unveiled in the Artown gallery will still be available. We are also pleased to have lots of Peter Bradley’s beautiful block print greeting cards to share with you as we head toward the holidays.
We were thrilled that we were able to adapt and offer two social distanced events. Richie Bednarski hosted an astrophotography workshop in Dixie Valley, just outside of the Stillwater National Wildlife refuge on July 11th. Our small group caravaned to this starry location to set up our cameras and we all captured astounding starry sky shots under the expert instruction of Richie, who you may remember from when he was a stewardship coordinator with Friends of Nevada Wilderness! I, lacking in photographic skill and equipment, did some light readings instead and was stunned to see a reading of 21.883, this valley is as dark as a dark sky sanctuary! There were shooting stars, the milky way was visible across the sky, and we learned a lot about constellations, light pollution, and our public lands.
Our final Artown event, Plein Air Painting with Dana Childs, met at the Mt Rose Summit and took a short hike to our painting setting last weekend. Dana led a demonstration on wildflower and landscape painting techniques and we eagerly painted from our scenic spot (Don’t worry we brought drop cloths! Remember, when recreating [including making art] in the outdoors to practice Leave No Trace.
