"Common ground is essential to all of us. It ties us all together," Tom Sellars said about his new exhibit, "Common Soil," at The Sun Valley Center for the Arts in Hailey. "Personally for me to show in Sun Valley and Idaho is coming back to my common ground."
Sellars makes his living as a carpenter based in Seattle, but his passion for carving and building has allowed him to pursue his interest in architecture. "Last year I focused on agricultural architecture having grown up in Boise, Spokane and Moscow," Sellars said.
For Sellars, the barn is a structure that resonates most to him as a builder. Although he has not always worked so large, Sellars' suspended barn is a piece that has been on his mind for many years.
"I had seen the Gus Van Sant movie, 'My Own Private Idaho,' and there was a scene where there is a barn falling out of the sky, and it always stuck with me—this thing hovering above the ground," Sellars said. "When people stood inside my barn and saw the light, I did not expect their reaction."
The decline of rural life is almost synonymous with the decaying barn structures that dot the countryside. Sellars believes these artifacts of the past hold a certain type of significance for people.
"Standing there watching the light come through the barn, it's about memory," Sellars said.
He admits he created his floating barn for visual impact, but it's mainly about connection.
Sellars will also exhibit smaller pieces such as his leaning barns and wood grain silos, which are carved pieces. These sculptures are another example of Sellars' ability to reveal the past as part of the present.
"These buildings represent our own paths in life as we get old and get ploughed around," he said.
The silos are more of a comment on our lifestyles, which Sellars sees as our need to stockpile in association with our need to survive.
The Center will hold a free family day "Barn Raising," which will tour Sellars' show. After the tour, art teacher Bob Dix will assist families and groups on creating a mockup barn.
Busy with a new exhibition and new classes, The Center in Hailey will also feature workshops by encaustic painter Shawna Moore, who will hold a class for teens as well as a weekend of classes for adults.
Encaustic painting is a medium that involves the use of wax. It is a process that demands patience and technique.
"It really opens up the doors with a solid liquid hot and cold," Moore said. "There are rules with encaustic painting, and you can come up with spectacular things."
Moore has been teaching classes for several years and recognizes that students cannot dive blindly into the class. "My theory as a teacher is that I give people a lot of information and quickly show the technical and safety aspects and then let people start painting and, of course, I'm around for support," Moore said. "It's very frustrating and inspiring at the same time. It puts you in a position where you are not so connected to outcome. You move forward with your own interests and visual ideas."
For Moore's children's workshops she believes it may be one of the only times they might participate in the medium and will conduct experiments for them to understand layering and depth. In her adult classes Moore recognizes that most people have some artistic background and some people want a weekend of art.
"People get jazzed from what other people are doing," Moore said. "It's a supportive class."
In addition, The Center in Hailey will offer workshops in the basics of watercolor with Susan Perin in four sessions at the new Hailey classroom. Perin, a native of England, moved to the U.S. in 1960 and graduated from the Parsons School of Design. She has had many solo, group and juried shows and has also received many awards for her watercolor and acrylic paintings.
Exhibits and workshops at The Center
The Sun Valley Center for the Arts in Hailey will present "Common Soil" from Friday, Jan. 19, through Friday, March 16. There will be an opening night party on Friday, Jan. 19, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at The Center in Hailey. Common Soil is an installation by Seattle-based sculptor Matt Sellar. It is part of The Center's latest exhibition, "Subversive Moves" in Ketchum.
On Sunday, Jan. 28, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., a free family day in Hailey will tour "Common Soil" and create mockup barns.
Shawna Moore will hold two encaustic painting workshops. The workshop for teens will be Friday, Jan. 19, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and is sponsored by YAK! The weekend workshop will be Saturday, Jan. 20, and Sunday, Jan. 21, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at The Center, Hailey. The cost for the class is $195 for The Center members and $245 for non-members. There is a $30 supply fee for all workshop attendees.
The Basics of Watercolor with Susan Perin workshop will meet Monday and Wednesday, Jan. 22, 24, 29 and 31, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at The Center in Hailey. The cost for the class is $190 for The Center members and $240 for non-members. There is a $30 supply fee for all workshop attendees.
The Center in Hailey is located at 314 S. Second Ave. and is open from Wednesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. For more details, call 726-9491 or visit sunvalleycenter.org.
Shawna Moore engaged in the encaustic painting process at her studio in Whitefish, Mont.
