Each month, Creative Gateways chooses a theme to inspire our work and act as a focus for our events. Here is what’s coming up in August…
An Appropriate Aesthetic
Now that renovations are complete, Kuivato welcomes a new appearance and new artists for its grand re-opening. High quality art deserves to live in a beautiful, modern space, and Kuivato is now a home fit for masterpieces. The renovation includes new floors, display cases and pedestals, lighting, freshly painted walls, and a general reorganization of the store’s layout.
Angela Palmer, the gallery director, explains, “one of the things we wanted to accomplish was a strong but concise visual aesthetic. For the store, that meant continuity and flow between things like the floors, baseboards, wall colors, and so on. For the art, that meant making sure that it didn’t feel visually cluttered and overwhelming. Everything we have at Kuivato is beautiful, but if there are too many different pieces in one area, it can feel like a sensory overload. We love everything we have here, and don’t want anything to get lost amid other pieces!” The soft grey paint will work to gently frame the art, and modern display cases will harness the feel of their unique fine jewelry. Updated flooring and a modern color scheme will add to the pristine feel that Angela is working towards.
This became especially important as Kuivato took on new mediums, moving away from being a glass-only shop. The gallery is still majority glass but includes the mediums of the artists who have studios at sister gallery Creative Gateways Open Studios & Gallery. Currently, this means that ceramic, mixed media painting, illustration, watercolor, and bronze are all represented at Kuivato. Additionally, the jewelry at Kuivato has been rethought to carry mostly artists from Sedona and the Verde Valley as well as throughout Arizona.
This focus on Sedona is part of owner Pilisa Rainbow Lady’s and Angela’s long-term goals for Kuivato. An interaction with the local community will involve not only business support, but engagement with the artists themselves. “We represent extremely talented and renowned artists from around the world and are looking to invite many of them to be our guests for 1st Fridays. So start looking for lectures, demonstrations, and special guests in 2019.”
Commitment to Cultivation
“There is a fluency and an ease with which true mastery and expertise always expresses itself, whether it be in writing, whether it be in a mathematical proof, whether it be in a dance that you see on stage, really in every domain. But I think the question is, you know, where does that fluency and mastery come from?”
– Angela Duckworth
In conjunction with the grand re-opening, Kuivato celebrates a particular theme of mastery. Art is a wonderful venue for self-expression, experimentation, and human connection, but at the core of every great artist is dedication to craft. You must train tirelessly in techniques to know how to fully harness them, and you must understand the rules before you can properly break them. Dancers must often spend hours perfecting only one movement, and singers may spend weeks trying to hit one note perfectly. Glass artists spend years cultivating intricate techniques and understanding the medium’s reactivity. It is time and dedication to the acquisition of these skills that elevate one from a hobbyist to a professional.
Modern Day Mastery
“Dancing Leaves” by Pilisa Rainbow Lady
Creative Gateways and AMusinGlass owner Pilisa Rainbow Lady is an exemplary model for mastering craft. She has been a fused glass artist for twelve years, during which time she has consistently worked to expand her talent and technique. Pilisa creates a wide variety of glass pieces, including wall art, intention plates, light sconces, raindrop bowls, door inserts and jewelry.
She also explores many techniques, such as turning frit (crushed glass) into small spheres that she then uses to create glass bowls of intricate beauty. Whether considering her small, intricate pendants or large, stunning bowls, it is undeniable that Pilisa Rainbow Lady has mastered the art of glass working.
Much of her work involves experimenting with reactive glass, the unpredictability of which makes even the most seasoned of artists wary, but if done right, turns into stunning pieces of art. It is the understanding of her craft that allows Pilisa to go against the norm and guide this unstable medium into captivating, one-of-a-kind pieces. While she admits that she is not exempt from the never-ending process of learning and its resulting kiln disasters, her work is of the highest quality.
“Green Frit Bowl” by Pilisa Rainbow Lady
In Pilisa’s “Dancing Leaves” one can almost see the wind sweeping through the piece. She attains very clean lines and edges, a triumph in glass working. The patterns she has created are steady throughout this work, while also looking organically natural. In her “Green Frit Bowl”, Pilisa chooses to place the small balls of glass carefully in the bottom layer of the piece to ensure that the bottom feels smooth when fired in the kiln. The patterns that form with the various shades of green reflect a beautiful shadow onto the surface below.
Examining Excellence
Join Kuivato, Friday, August 3rd, from 5-8pm for their grand re-opening and reception of Mastering Craft. Experience the years of dedication that is evident in Pilisa’s work, as well as the work of all our represented artists. Take in the gallery’s new look, talk to local artists, and enjoy small bites and champagne.
Kuivato a Creative Gateways Gallery is a founding storefront in Tlaquepaque in Sedona. The gallery displays a wide variety of mediums, including fused, blown, and torchwork glass, jewelry, ceramic, mixed media, illustration, and bronze. Kuivato is a sister gallery to artist collective and public gallery space, Creative Gateways in West Sedona. Visit Kuivato 7 days a week from 10am-6pm. For more information, please visit www.kuivato.com or call 928-282-1212.
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