A sculptor deals directly with the elements, from clay to precious metals to the fire that gives them form, and her finished work will eternally interact with them. When winter’s chill creeps up Canyon Road, familiar sculptures are transformed by sequins of frost or snowy white coats.

The art in our sculpture garden may seem at rest in the cool air, but the sculptors in our stable are hardly hibernating. For our “Holiday Aglow” show, they’ve wielded the elements to imbue a frigid season with the holiday warmth we feel in our hearts.

Chris Turri

Story Totem Moon Guide – Chris Turri

New Mexico artist Chris Turri uses the motifs of Native cultures to help keep their legends alive. The storyteller creates totems and masks, revealing a way of life that is closely tied to nature in symbolism and material.

“I love to work with metal,” says Chris. “I like how it changes with the seasons, how it gets better with age and weather.”

Chris uses patinas on steel and copper to mirror nature’s brilliance, giving abstracted faces and figures the rusty red tone of New Mexico clay or the bright glow of a turquoise stone. He’s sure to spin resilient color into his works, even in the dead of winter.

Suzanne Donazetti

Ocean Star- Suzanne Donazetti

Suzanne Donazetti lives in Maryland, but her art plays out on a considerably bumpier landscape. After dabbling in many mediums, she developed a unique process of painting and weaving copper and has been constructing billowing, distorted grids ever since. Though they look like the stuff of dreams, these abstract color landscapes are inspired by real-world observation.

“My vision is to communicate with color, through the refractive lens of weaving, brief moments of light in the natural environment,” Suzanne says.

The sculptor always amazes with her rose-colored, kaleidoscopic glasses. Can you imagine her dazzling interpretation of a winter flurry?

Josiane Childers and Justin West

Spectrum VI- Childers-West

Josiane Childers and Justin West are a husband and wife team who combined their mediums and created something inseparable. She’s a painter and he’s a metalworker with a fascination for old cars and trucks.

The duo’s steel and plexiglass works skirt the line between sculpture and painting. Abstract color fields bend outward from the wall, forcing the viewer to move about the gallery in order to catch every angle. It’s a dynamic experience that echoes their philosophy about their materials.

Justin is inspired by steel’s strength and versatility, and the fact that each piece was “forged of fire from the center of the earth.” If you come to the reception, make sure to linger in the glow of Josiane and Justin’s works, prepared in our planet’s core and finished at their family hearthside.

Laurel Peterson Gregory

Lindy Lo – Laurel Peterson Gregory

Laurel Peterson Gregory is a sculptor with a very lively process. She starts by carefully studying a particular dance and matching it with a favorite animal, sketching out beautifully symmetrical movements that are enhanced by her subjects’ angular bodies. Bulls waltz, beagles “bump”, a pair of scotties engages in a graceful ballet lift and a horse jumps for joy. Laurel captures these moments in bronze and colors them with rich patinas.

Though Laurel focuses mostly on fauna in her work, the flora that surrounds her is just as important to her creative process. She tends ten large gardens that encircle her home outside Denver, which is a full-time job in itself. While she might be harvesting the very last of her fall crop, there’s no end to this artist’s inspiration.

Waxlander’s “Holiday Aglow” show features new work from all of Waxlander’s artists. Come explore dynamic sculpture and painted winter wonderlands starting November 20. The artists’ reception is Friday, November 23 from 5-7 pm.

If purchasing a piece off the blog, mention that you found the piece on the blog and get a special discount!

Sunset in the Canyon

There are times when Suzanne Donazetti literally bleeds for her art. She has the extraordinary ability to weave and paint strips of copper into soft grassy fields or glowing sunsets, but that doesn’t take away from the hard reality of working with the material.

“It’s just the little tiny edges on the copper,” says Suzanne. “When I first started, I would tear my fingers up.”

By the time her painted weavings are hung on the wall, all danger is smoothed away. Rolling peaks and valleys beautifully distort complex copper grids, and colorful abstract paintings dance at the will of the warps and wefts. In her upcoming show “Woven Dreams,” Suzanne plays an alchemist, turning solid metal into liquid windows that frame other worlds.

Suzanne, who lives in Maryland, started weaving sheet silver 23 years ago. She’d been creating jewelry but her concepts kept pushing her somewhere else.

“I just wanted to weave and warp it, and do things that are hard to do with jewelry,” she said. “That’s when the adventure began.” Over the next few years she switched from silver to copper and from dull patinas to a rich array of liquid acrylics, airbrush inks and powdered pigments. “It just kind of evolved,” she says.

“Woven Dreams” shows an exploratory process perfected. The originality of Suzanne’s techniques makes the effortless, natural quality of the finished products almost shocking to the uninitiated eye. It’s a bit like diving into Wonderland, the eye a curious Alice traversing billowing checkerboards.

Fire and Ice

To create the works, Suzanne applies metallic leaf on two sets of 36 gauge copper—a warp and a weft—and sands them. Then she paints abstract designs or “two-dimensional landscapes” on them, carefully planning her brushstrokes so that they’ll fit together in the final weaving. After waxing over the pigments she cuts the warps and wefts and fits them together, ready to be surprised by how everything meshes.

“It never turns out the way I plan it, but it’s always interesting in the end,” she says.

Suzanne lived in New Mexico for a while in the 1980’s, so her journey to Santa Fe for the August 3rd artist’s reception is something of a homecoming. This time she’ll be accompanied by her daughter, son-in-law and two important collaborators: her grandsons.

The artist has taken to hiding motivational messages and prayers under the leaf of most of her paintings. When one of her grandsons took an Arabic class, Suzanne began weaving his old homework into her compositions. Her other grandson is a violinist, and his music homework soon caught her eye as well.

“I’m letting the words show,” she says. It’s a new direction, an experiment with the abstract symbols that turn into speech or beautiful music. Suzanne’s violinist grandson will be playing at the event—an aural landscape to accompany her visual ones.

Suzanne says viewers also see her shows as tactile adventures. It’s hard to keep gallery goers from sliding their fingers across the works. Perhaps they hold the memory of those hardworking fingertips.

“It’s very touchable, but you have to be gentle,” she says. “Sometimes you make little nicks in the copper.”

Come see Suzanne Donazetti’s “Woven Dreams” from July 31st to August 13th, or come to the reception on August 3rd and ask the artist if you can reach out and feel. Just don’t hurt the work—or vice versa!

Canyons and Mesas

If purchasing a piece off the blog, mention that you found the piece on the blog and get a special discount!

The 3rd Annual Waxlander Gallery Art Auction is in full swing! The auction runs through next Saturday, February 4th with bidding coming to a close at 4:00 p.m. MST.

With the first two installments of the event available just to Waxlander collectors, we have opened this year’s event to all bidders to allow as many people possible the opportunity to add beautiful pieces of art to their collections. With the works set at the lowest prices of the year, it is a great chance for you to add them to your home or office at a great value.

There are close to 200 pieces up for auction this year featuring the work of many of our artists. We are very happy that this year’s participating artists includes many who have been with us for some time, such as Bruce King, Matthew Higginbotham, and Andree Hudson. We are also very pleased that some of our newest artists, including Christopher Owen Nelson and Phyllis Randall, are taking part as well!

Here is a full list of the participating artists: Lori Faye Bock, Childers-West, Jim Cohen, Paul Cunningham, Suzanne Donazetti, Michael Ethridge, Georgia Gerber, Sandy Graves, Higginbotham, Walter Horak, Hudson, Tony Jojola, King, Ana Lazovsky, Bernard Marks, Sharon Markwardt, Nelson, Marshall Noice, Sangita Phadke, Richard Pankratz, Linda Prokop, Randall, Slava TCH, Jono Tew, Chris Turri.

Additionally, we are happy to announce that special works from artist and gallery owner Phyllis Kapps’ personal collection will also be available!

A few tidbits about the bidding process: The opening bid for paintings has been set at 40% off the retail price. For sculptures, the opening bids have been marked at 25% off. If the opening bid for a piece has started at less than $1,000, then the bids increase in $50 increments. With pieces starting at $1,000 or more, the bidding increases in increments of $100. If there is a piece you absolutely must have and you do not want to take the chance of losing it to another bidder, you can purchase it at our ‘Buy It Now’ price which is set at 10% off retail.

For information on the artists and which of their pieces are available, please visit their artist page at http://www.waxlander.com/artists-santa-fe-art-gallery. Auction Items will be marked in red and will be the first images on each of the participating artists’ page.

For questions on the auction you can call the gallery at 505-984-2202 or email us at art@waxlander.com. To make a bid, the same telephone number and email address apply. The winning bidders for each piece will be notified by phone following the conclusion of the event.

Once again, we are very excited for this year’s auction. It gives us great joy to be able to offer so many great pieces and such great prices.

Happy bidding!!

With the new year upon us we are busy putting the finishing touches on what was a great 2011. And as we move into 2012 there is a great deal that we are looking forward to.

There is much from the last year that we are very grateful for. From all of the wonderful artist shows, to our many events such as the Canyon Road Paint Out, to welcoming new artists to the Waxlander family, the past year was successful and fulfilling in so many ways. And, of course, we are very thankful for the support of our friends and families. We certainly couldn’t do what we love without all of you!

Looking ahead to 2012, we cannot help but be excited about what we have in store to share with everyone. In just a few weeks we have one of the jewels of the winter art season with ArtFeast. It is always a great weekend filled with food, fine art, fun, and more food. For information on this treasured event, visit http://artfeast.com/.

We are also looking forward to further introducing everyone to our newest artists, Phyllis Randall and Christopher Nelson. A self-described ‘East coast girl’, Randall is an accomplished and highly regarded pastel painter who focuses her efforts on capturing the beauty of what she calls her ‘home away from home’, the Southwest.

In a short period of time, Nelson has established himself as one of the top young talents to emerge from the vibrant Denver art community. His natural abilities and intense desire to explore the artistic nature within have given rise to an entirely new approach to traditional landscape, figurative and abstract work.

Christopher Nelson - Depth Perception

Phyllis Randall - After the Rain

Along with being one of our new artists, we are also pleased to announce that Nelson will be kicking off the 2012 summer art season with his one-man show which runs from May 22nd to June 4th. We could not be more delighted to showcase his talent and his new and refreshing style at the beginning of this summer.

Following Nelson we are pleased to share that we will be having our first ever group pastel show, featuring the works of Sangita Phadke, Marshall Noice, and our matriarch, Phyllis Kapp. After our group pastel show, we will be bringing you individual shows featuring Noice, Andree Hudson, Suzanne Donazetti, Bruce King, and Matthew Higginbotham.

Black and Red Grapes - Sangita Phadke

Marshall Noice - River View Maples

"One Wonderful Day" Watercolor by Phyllis Kapp!

The unofficial end to the summer art season comes with this year’s edition of the Canyon Road Paint Out. The Paint Out gets better each and every year, and this year is sure to be no different. And to finish out the year we will be hosting our annual holiday show featuring new works by many of our artists!

We are certainly going to be keeping ourselves on our toes this year, making sure to bring you the very best in vibrant, fine art. To keep abreast of everything going on at Waxlander this year, come back and visit us weekly.  As always, please feel free to call the gallery, as well, at 505-984-2022.

Andree Hudson - Show Time

Suzanne Donzanetti - Flames of Nim

Bruce King - Unveiling the War Lance

Matthew Higgenbotham - Last Hour on Canyon Mesa

We are very excited to announce Deck the Halls, a group exhibition of new works by Waxlander artists Phyllis Kapp, Matthew Higginbotham, Marshall Noice, Suzanne Donazetti, Andree Hudson, and Bruce King.

Phyllis Kapp - Love Came

Marshall Noice - Moonrise

With the holidays being such a special time, our artists have created new work for Deck the Halls. You will see works of all sizes from the artists- large, small, and even miniatures, perfect for gift giving during the holidays. Being our biggest winter event, it is our way of celebrating the holidays.

Andree Hudson - Blue

Suzanne Donazetti - Winter Wind

It has been a wonderful year here at Waxlander Gallery and Sculpture Garden. We had a terrific and successful summer season with all of our featured artists, including those featured in Deck the Halls. We met many new people and made new friends, and got closer to our old friends. Art is our passion and excellence our commitment, and it has been a pleasure having been able to share these with so many this year.

Matthew Higginbotham - Ghost Ranch, Canyon Series III

Bruce King - On the Ridge of Golden Trees

The word vibrant is used often to describe Waxlander art. The colors, the subjects, and our artist’s visions, help our art stand out. Our holiday show will be an opportunity to see why our gallery is described so, as well as a way for us to close out a successful 2011 and get ready for an even more vibrant 2012!

We hope that you will be able to join us during the holidays It will be a great opportunity to see the latest in new arrivals from not only featured artists but all of our wonderful Waxlander Gallery artists. There will also be music and caroling, and additional voices are very much welcome!

We invite you to join us for Deck the Halls from November 20th through January 1st, with an artist’s reception on Friday, November 25th, from 5 – 7pm

If purchasing a piece off the blog, mention that you found the piece on the blog and get a special discount!