Opening Reception: Flora and Fauna of Northern Idaho

I must admit I'm a little stunned at the response to "Willow" at last night's opening reception for POAC's Flora and Fauna Of Northern Idaho exhibit at Panhandle State Bank. It got more than polite comments or that one person really taken with it. Many viewers verged on gushing over it, spending time pointing out to me all the things that worked well, what they liked about it. Oh my - several people called it a show stopper. One felt it was the best piece in the exhibit. I'm just happy that the things I hoped I was getting across actually did, like the branches swayed in a breeze. And it was especially fun to have a woman point out something I had not noticed: faces in the sky. It took me a bit to see what she was seeing, but by golly, she was right. Think cartoon clouds that are faces screwed up ready to blow a big wind.


Well, if mine really was a show stopper, it wasn't the only one. I didn't get many pictures as it would be better to go back during the day and take advantage of the natural light, but there were some spectacular photographs and paintings of wildflowers. The flash is really not helping here - this is a large and stunning piece.


And of course, moose and mountain lions were represented. I particularly like this cat.


No opening reception would be complete without good food and wine. And since it's Idaho, that big urn of punch has huckleberries in it. This is Carol Deaner who coordinates the exhibits at the bank. I affectionately refer to her as my handler - she does a great job of herding us sometimes unruly artists.