Page 21 - the NOISE November 2014

BY SARAh GIANeLLI
the light infused, shadoW-draMatiC plein air oil landscapes of Carol Benally are featured this month at West of the Moon Gallery. Originally from Boston, Ms. Bena- lly cites her earliest influences as Sargent, Rembrandt, and Ruben, remembering brows- ing their paintings at the Elizabeth Gardner Museum and Museum of Fine Arts. She also remembers admiring Georgia O’Keefe early on for her large iconic Southwest images, and independent personality.
Ms. Benally moved to New Mexico in 1984, and her travels through the landscapes of the Southwest eventually led her to Arizona where she met her husband on the Navajo Reservation. “For over 25 years, I have embraced the culture, land, and cus- toms,” she says. “Everywhere I look there is a painting to be painted. I am inspired by land formations, the sky, light and shadow. When I paint, I create for myself a connec- tion to the land and sky that gives me my own peace and strength.
“I define my own sense of the Navajo phrase, ‘Walk in Beauty,’ which is more than a phrase, it is a way of life. I don’t look for details like a camera’s eye, but I strive for painting the impact of a scene — when you turn your head because something catches your eye. I want my paintings to demand attention from across the room and I strive to create a painting’s simplicity so that when you see the power of the shape, and angles and the shadows.”
Meet the artist during a First Friday ArtWalk reception from 6-9PM at West of the Moon Gallery, 14 N. San Francisco Street. WestoftheMoonGallery.com
the gallery in WilliaMs gets cozy with a November theme of hearth & home, with a focus on the Americana quilts of Gretchen Neil.
“I made my first quilt at about age 22,” says Ms. Neil. “Let’s just say it was serviceable. Not long after that I sold my first quilt at an arts festival to a lady from Australia who was looking for American folk art. Since then I’m sure I made hundreds of comforters and quilts from small to large. Quite a few pieces have been donated to churches, Project Linus, fundraisers for childhood cancer, school booster clubs, and hospice care.
“I’m inspired by my love of sewing and design, also by getting to see and receive quilts made by my grandmother when she was still a young girl. More inspiration came when I found it was okay to stray from the usual patterns, seek out more unusu- al ones, and create my own. The materials that I collect are the driving force in what will be created, as I use found, rescued, and recycled fabric and re-purpose them. Threads, yarns, buttons, embroidery floss, and bias tape may be used as well as hand and machine applique and embellishment.”
Ms. Neil has received first and second place ribbons in the Delta County Fair in Colo- rado, and in 2011 entered two pieces, which sold almost as soon as the doors opened, in Flagstaff’s Recycled Art Exhibition.
Enjoy the fabric art and wide variety of other forms of artistic expression (including handmade holiday ornaments) at the Gallery in Williams during the annual Williams Christmas tree lighting ceremony and Parade of Lights at 6:30PM Saturday November 29. The Gallery in Williams is open daily from 10AM-7PM with the exception of major holidays at 145 Historic Route 66 in Williams. thegalleryinwilliams.com
returning froM a suCCessful run at New York City’s International The- ater Fringe Festival, dramatist Giselle Suarez presents a revamped version of her one woman play The Death Monologues in celebration of the Day of the Dead at 4PM Saturday, November 1 at Westcott Funeral Home, 1013 E. Mingus Avenue; and at 4PM Sunday, November 2 at Main Stage Theater, 1 S. Main Street, both in Cot- tonwood. For details visit deathmonologues.com
have art? arts@thenoise.us
thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • november 2014 • 21