By CATHERINE ELLERTON
Moapa Valley Progress
An image is captured on a canvas or paper from the viewer’s perspective. Each tells its own story. These stories are shared with others when they are assembled together in a show.
The Lost City Museum in Overton shares these stories within the walls that contain the history of this piece of the Southwest. Their current museum exhibit tells the story of “The Proof is in the Pots.”
Through pictures and narrative they tell how a history of the area can be found in the cooking pots. The same can be said of an artist’s work. The proof of that story is captured in a painting.
For the month of April, the artists of the Moapa Valley Art Guild are sharing their stories with the inquisitive in a special exhibit at the Lost City Museum. Who are these artists and how did they come to tell their stories? Some magnificent flowers draw the viewer – so life like – so vibrant.
Susan Perez started drawing in the 3rd grade when she won a “Prevent Forest Fires” Poster Contest. But her first love was sculpting. Perhaps that is why her flowers look so real – so three dimensional.
Lynn Rigoni states laughingly that she didn’t get serious about art until she was in her late twenties. She attended UNLV in her thirties where she majored in Art. Her first painting that “Floated Her Boat” was of a Native American brave done in pastel and she has been hooked ever since.
While on a photo shoot with the Nevada Camera Club in the Mohave Desert, Phoebe Wrighter came upon an abandoned old car. After she retired she began painting and that old car came to life. She worked with watercolor and gouache. Even today, she states, she wants to ‘play with that car’ so it tells its story more clearly.
Annetta Romero (the current President of the MV Art Guild) and her daughters Marya and Josephina all dabble in the arts – either the visual arts or the performing arts.
Janet Trobough, the Hanging Committee Chairperson, is well-known for her southwest paintings and decorated Gourds. In her twenties she was a ‘weekend painter’ in addition to owning horses, owning her own business and being a single mother. In 1998 when she retired she became a full-time artist. Her favorite subjects are Native American women, cactus and a southwest theme. She stated that in hanging a show she and her assistants work tirelessly in making sure each work enhances the next from color to frames to size.
These are just a few of the stories of the artists of the MV Art Guild that are on view in this show. Some of these stories are captured in oil or watercolor or pencil or in the creative colors of stained glass.
In addition to their shows the Guild members are also preparing for the Student Art Program they conduct at the Library in July and August. The classes are Monday from 12 to 2 and the registration will begin in June.
Jackie Worthen the former President of the Guild and the Pomegranate Festival Chairperson, states that this coming Festival should be bigger than ever as the vendors are already signing up and the committees are set to go.
