Sandpoint becomes artists’ open gallery

Looking for places to view art in Sandpoint during the holiday season?

The Pend Oreille Arts Council coordinates free exhibitions in several public spaces in the Sandpoint/Sagle area. All displays feature regional artists and run through Jan. 9.

For details, call the council’s executive director, Lizzy Hughes, at (208) 263-6139.

“The exotic paintings of Kami Blood are hanging in Sandpoint City Hall, 1123 Lake St. (9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday).

Sandpoint artist Blood works with pencils, oils and watercolors. Her subjects include meditative self-portraits, mythology, animal portraits, flora, sailing scenes and still lifes. More of her work can be found at www.kamibloodart.com.

“Curtis Kitchen is showing his nature photography at the University of Idaho Extension Office, 4205 N. Boyer Ave., Sandpoint (9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday).

Curtis, formerly a photojournalist, developed a passion for nature photography using a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera growing up near Walden Pond in Massachusetts. The images in this exhibit reflect his early fascination with nature.

“The quilted objects of Jan Stoltz and Terrie Kralik fill the Bonner County Commissioners’ Office in the County Courthouse, 215 S. First St. in Sandpoint (9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday).

Stoltz has quilted for a number of years in a variety of styles and has exhibited her work in various venues.

Sagle’s Kralik is a fiber artist, quilt teacher and quilt book author. The beauty of the Pacific Northwest has inspired her wildlife and outdoor designs.

“Her fabric choices set her projects apart, combining textures and surprises throughout,” said the Arts Council’s Hughes in an e-mail, “but the designs themselves are truly unique – they capture the details of animals like no other.”

Read more about Kralik on her Web site: www.MooseCountryQuilts.com.

“Lou Baribault’s photography lines the walls of the US Bank, 201 Main St. in Sandpoint (9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

Baribault has been interested in art and photography for most of his adult life. In 2001 he decided to pursue his long-held dream of nature and shadowed black-and-white photography.

“The scenic watercolors of Karen Robinson decorate Ivano’s Ristorante, 105 S. First Ave. in Sandpoint (10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday).

Robinson’s deep love of nature and the outdoors is reflected in her artwork. She specializes in landscapes, local scenes, sailboats and animals. Water and light are recurring themes in her work.

Her mediums include watercolors, pen and ink, acrylics and pencil.

“Fiber artist Joylyn McChesnie is showing a variety of works at Northern Lights, Inc., 421 Chevy Road off Highway 95 in Sagle (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday).

McChesnie chooses a variety of materials – including birch bark, cedar roots and antlers – to create baskets, angels and mosaics. She takes on the challenge of coming up with new ideas and processes to achieve a certain aesthetic result.

Other galleries

“North Idaho College’s Art Students’ Christmas Pottery Sale is today between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the Boswell Hall Corner Gallery on the Coeur d’Alene campus. A percentage of each sale goes to the NIC Ceramics Department. For information call (208) 769-3276.

“”Just in the ‘Nick’ of Time,” a last-minute holiday crafts and bake sale, runs this weekend at the Unity Church, 2900 S. Bernard St. Among the hand-crafted items will be jewelry, quilts and paintings.

The holiday show runs Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For information call 838-3717.