#BOSCO Boise Open Studios Weekend 2015

It occurred to me this morning that it is one month short of a year since Paul died. In this past year, I have found myself living life to the fullest. I went to every Idaho Shakespeare play with my friend, Jane Suggs. Jane even commented it was a special way for the two of us to see each other this summer. I went to every concert imaginable, at Idaho Botanical Gardens, BSU’s arena, or the Sapphire Room and afternoon or evening music the Sandbar. I attended a few Idaho Historic Preservation events, First Thursday, and so on.  A number of these events are things Paul would not have gone with me, but I wanted to go and I was determined to have a fun summer. And, I am determined to have a full life.

This past weekend was Boise Open Studios, or BOSCO, where local artists in Boise opened their studios for a three day tour. I am amazed I have not done this tour before – shame on me! The stories we heard, the art we pondered over, and the people we met. I started at Surel’s Place and ended at Surel’s Place, but mostly because I took Jacques Menache and his lovely, Mary, on the tour with me. Jacques is the artist in residence at Surel’s Place for the month of October. They hail from North Carolina and during their stay, they don’t have a vehicle. It was a pleasure to drive them around and have the company for our Sunday tour. A hearty thanks to the Boise Weekly and the Boise Art Museum!

 

Our first stop was to see Pam McKnight and her mixed media of tiny things

 

Next was Karen Eastman, beautiful expressionistic oil paintings of nature and how they relate to the human body

 

Karen Klinefelter showed us her beautiful jewelry and told us about the tagua seed from South America that she carves and incorporates in her pieces

 

Josh Udesen had amazing acrylic paintings of Idaho scenes including beautiful species of Idaho trout

Karen Bubb gave me the opportunity to learn more about the encaustic process in her work

 

 

Betsie Richardson displayed lovely oil paintings and her own note cards plus a super friendly house cat

 

 

Rachel Teannalach has tiny paintings in oil that I have actually purchased in the past at Modern at The Modern

 

 

Rick Jenkins uses carbon trap shino glazes.in his beautiful ceramics

 

Heather Bauer uses a wax encaustic process and her works incorporate my beloved birds

 

Lastly, we stopped at Samuel Payden’s and as he painted, we toured his walls of art

 

On my way to a barbecue later, I stopped at the backyard studio of Marianne Konvalinka, whose work I purchased years ago at Concert for a  Cause

 

Last stop was at Susan Rooke’s, and her ceramics tell a whimsical tale of life