Itty Bitty…and Oh, So Pretty”

 Good things come in small packages, and that holds true for art, too. Whether your collection is bursting at the seams and space is limited or you’re just dipping your toes into the realm of collecting art or you’re shopping for holiday gifts, Rowe Fine Art Gallery’s November miniatures show, Itty, Bitty…and Oh, So Pretty!, is your one-stop-shop. The show opens Friday, November 6, at 4 p.m. and continues through the entire month. 

Monica Rowe, who co-owns the gallery with her husband, bronze wildlife sculptor Ken Rowe, says she’s excited about the gallery’s first small-works exhibit because of the necessity of art right now. “Given the year everyone has had, I think the holidays have taken on a special significance in 2020,” says Monica. “People want to give gifts that will bring a smile to the recipient and brighten up their home because let’s face it, we’re all spending more time in our homes these days. A small work of art will be cherished – it’s the thoughtfulness that’s easy to display! Our artists understand the importance of art’s accessibility, so everyone has contributed something to the show.”

Participating artists include sculptors Shirley Eichten Albrecht, Kim Kori, Alvin Marshall, Erik Petersen, Ken Rowe, and Joshua Tobey. Painters Julie T. Chapman, Dane Chinnock, Kim Diment, Jen Farnsworth, Lynn Heil, Sue Krzyston, John Rasberry, and Amy Ringholz all have artwork in the show, too. So will jewelers Liam Herbert and Jennifer Inge.

 Of course, for those who want to go all out this holiday, the gallery will still display full-size artwork, and commissions are always available.

 Rowe Fine Art Gallery represents traditional and contemporary southwestern artists. The gallery, located under the bell tower in Patio de las Campanas at Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  For more information, call 928-282-8877, visit rowegallery.com, or find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

3D-Escape to a different dimension at Rowe Fine Art Gallery

Unlike two-dimensional artwork, there’s something about a three-dimensional sculpture that makes the viewer want to reach out and touch it, interact with it. Perhaps it’s because the process of sculpting is so tactile or maybe it’s due to the fact that sculptures exist in the same dimension as we do. Rowe Fine Art Gallery invites you to explore this compelling medium in its bronze, stone, and textile forms during 3D, taking place the entire month of October. The show opens during the 1st Friday Gallery Tour on Friday, October 2, at 4 p.m.

Participating artists include the gallery’s newest addition, basket weaver Shirley Eichten Albrecht (locals know her fondly as The Basket Lady). Shirley has re-imagined her medium by interpreting multimedia baskets as sculptural works of art. Her sculptures incorporate gourds, raku pottery she creates herself, stones and antlers, all intertwined with natural fibers in ways that are new, fresh and delightfully colorful.

One of Sedona’s most treasured artists, sculptor Kim Kori, has made an award-winning career out of celebrating nature’s oft-forgotten creatures, giving each one a fantastical life and capturing it in bronze. This month, Kim will introduce her newest bronze, Luna, featuring the majestic Luna moth. “This sculpture is life-size with a bit of artistic license in the beautiful iridescent patina,” says Kim. “It’s on my bucket list to be walking in the country some day and see one in the wild.”

Navajo sculptor Alvin Marshall, on the other hand, has chosen stone as his medium and the Navajo traditions and way of life as his subject matter. Alvin’s newest work, Guides of the Holy People, will be on exhibit in October. Alvin says the yellow-gold alabaster piece depicts three young girls and tells the story of their roles in a healing ceremony. “These girls are in charge of the ceremonial water, corn and herbs, and the pots that contain them,” Alvin explains. “The girls call on different Holy People as they are needed for different purposes to help a patient or to heal a whole family or a tribe.”

Erik Petersen, wildlife sculptor and master patina artist, owns a business in Prescott where he and his team do finishing and patina work for prominent western artists. His signature sculpture, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, now available in two different sizes, tells a story of resiliency and perseverance. (There’s a hidden secret in the artwork – make sure you ask one of Rowe Fine Art Gallery’s associates to let you in on it.)

Gallery owner and award-winning bronze wildlife sculptor Ken Rowe will be on hand for the opening of 3D. Ken has two precasts to share with collectors. “Home on the Horizon” features a wolf with three cubs while “Molly” is Ken’s much-anticipated first snow leopard. Ken hopes that by experiencing a sculpture in the precast phase, art lovers will gain a better understanding of the sculpting process. “It is difficult to explain the exhilarating feeling I experience when I have an image in my mind and, with every application of clay and every flick of my palette knife, a 3D likeness of this mental image takes shape right before my eyes,” says Ken. “This is my reward for many years of hard work, and I relish it.”

Jason Scull, member of the Cowboy Artists of America, which was founded in Sedona in 1965, takes his inspiration from the working cowboys and cowgirls in his native Texas, where his family has been farming and ranching for nearly 200 years. The realism in Jason’s bronze sculptures relays his experience working with horses, cattle and livestock and those who care for these animals.

And finally, impressionistic wildlife sculptor Joshua Tobey, whose expressive animals often mirror human emotions, will have new works in the show, including a family of waddling ducklings sure to make everyone who walks through the door smile. “Free Spirit” depicts a very regal bobcat while “The Hangover" with it’s sleepy subject matter perfectly sums up how we’re all feeling about 2020!

3D will be up the entire month of October – come “fall” in love with sculpture!