32nd Anniversary Season 2018—2019
The Placitas Artists Series is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
This project is made possible in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs,
February Visual Artists
Visual Artists Reception
February 17, 2019 at 2 pm
All artist images are copyright protected and may not be duplicated or shared
without the express consent of the artist.
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Barb Belknap majored in Animation/Design at Carnegie-Mellon University
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Following college, she worked for several
animation studios and an ecclesiastical art studio where she learned to
make stained glass panels. Barb opened an art glass studio in Pittsburgh in
1981, and again at El Zócalo in Bernalillo, New Mexico, after a move to
Placitas in 1986. In 1993, she and her husband Ty became owner-publisher
of the Signpost newspaper. In 1997, they founded and published
Albuquerque Arts magazine. The Belknaps still publish the Signpost to
date. Throughout their publishing career, Barb has continued her glass art
venture by creating multiple private and public commissions as Placitas
Art Glass.
Barb says: “I love the way stained glass comes alive with the changing light
of a day. The sparkle and twinkle of glass with light add magic to the world
and make me smile. There's something about glass that I find mysterious and
wonderful, perhaps the naturalness and simplicity of the material itself, like
sand on a beach, ageless crystals fused together, beautifully earthy. Add a
meaningful design to that and you create a precious jewel, radiant with color
and life."
DyeFusion began on a summer’s day in 2005 and is a group of seven
women - Donna Barnitz, Elizabeth Dawson, Colleen Konetzni, Anita
McSorley, Mary Moya, Lynn Rogers, and Brenda Williams - who are
committed to making art using beautiful fabrics. They all have many years
of quilting experience and maintain a high standard of technical skill.
They share a love for the outdoors and the unique culture that is New
Mexico. The land impacts their daily lives, inspiring them through the
colors found in the panoramas of earth and sky. Designs found in pottery,
jewelry, petroglyphs, and architecture also influence their work. They have
dyed, painted, silk screened, discharged, and batiked many yards of
cotton, silk, rayon, linen, and bamboo.
DyeFusion says: “Art cloth and art quilts are the evolutionary cousins of the
classic calicos and quilted bed covers. We welcome the opportunity to educate
the public about art quilts and give viewers a chance to contemplate nature
as seen through an artist’s eye using cloth instead of paint, tile, or clay.”
Connie Falk retired from her academic career at New Mexico State
University (NMSU) in 2013 from the Department of Agricultural
Economics and Agricultural Business. For 25 years she taught classes and
conducted research in sustainable agriculture and development. She began
taking drawing and painting classes at NMSU about 10 years prior to
retirement. Falk’s initial plan was to improve her color, composition, and
design skills to use them in quilt making. But the joy of mixing paints
became so great she has not returned to quilting and now pursues oil
painting full time. The treasure trove of quilt block designs she created in
the early years of quilt enthusiasm has now brought her full circle in this
show.
Connie says: “The chaos in our country has created in me a certain need for
orderliness and symmetry. The paintings in this show reflect a desire for
balance and equilibrium. These paintings are based on designs created using
a quilt design software. Some of the colors were selected on the computer and
then mixed to match what I wanted to achieve, while many of the colors were
more spontaneously mixed. In addition, many of the design and color choices
were based on an effort to create a pulsing effect or vibrations, to contrast
with the balance of the orderly designs.”
Carol Ordogne always meant to be an artist when she left her native
California to study art in Hawaii. After earning a degree she, like many
artists, took a new direction. She moved to Louisiana and studied
landscape architecture. After graduating she started her own practice
designing ‘living sculptures,’ otherwise known as gardens, for her
customers.
Ordogne now enjoys once again being passionately involved in fine art.
She is one of 14 artists at Wild Hearts Gallery in Placitas. She paints
weekly with fellow plein air artists in the Albuquerque area.
Carol says, “I am in love with painting the rugged Southwest landscape and
all the wildlife I am privileged to see every day in New Mexico.”
