Laura Koch from the Lander Art Center stopped by Coffee Time this month to chat with Vincent Tropea about all of the LAC happenings going on right now, like the Snowed In exhibit.
With the winter we haven’t been having, it’s great that the Snowed In exhibit got snowed in.
LAURA: We did, and we were really happy that that’s when the snow showed up! Because of course in November and December we were talking about an art show called ‘Snowed In’ and there was no snow.
Snowed In is now open at the Lander Art Center until February 1st.
LAURA: It’s a wonderful show with people’s images of what they feel like when they’re Snowed In, and how they view their town and surrounding nature when they’re snowed in. It’s a lot of fun and is gorgeous.
Come February, the newest exhibit will be entitled “I Love Lander.” The opening reception is February 6th from 6 to 8 p.m.
LAURA: It’s our valentine to the town of Lander for all the support over the last year. We wanted to celebrate the heart of our community through art.
“I Love Lander” runs until March 1st, and then “Impressions of Lander” begins March 7th.
LAURA: We’re gonna do three shows in a row! March is pottery and clay creations that gives you the feeling of Lander. What that means, I don’t really know yet, but we’re going to see what our potters come up with. We decided to book a show with them since we have a lot of new potters at the Lander Art Center Open Clay Studio.
“Impressions of Lander” will showcase ceramic and pottery works from local artisans across Fremont County. The submission deadline for interested creators is February 28th, 2025.
A photography-based show will debut in April called “Lander through the Lens” that captures the beauty of Lander. Artists are encouraged to submit up to three pieces per show, showcasing their current passions and styles.
LAURA: We hope everyone will have time to figure out something to submit. We’re putting out a call for artists so that everybody can fit into pottery, photography, or whatever they’d like to create that represents Lander. Every show we have a themed show, but we’re not saying it needs to be paintings, or photography exclusive. Whatever you bring to us, your interpretation of art, we would love to see that. The more unique and creative it is, we just gobble it up.
For submission guidelines and entry forms, visit landerartcenter.com.
LAURA: The website is a really helpful way to communicate all the things we’re doing so you can cherry pick what your interest in art is and plug into it.
Every Saturday in February from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. the Lander Art Center is hosting classes about hand-built ceramics. Whether you’re new to clay or looking to expand your skills, this class offers structured yet flexible instruction to help you create functional and artistic pieces, with a new project every week: Coffee Dripper, Butter Dish, Abstract Vase and To-Go Cup.
LAURA: We also have our friend Jenny Reeves Johnson from Sweetwater Studio, who is supporting and sponsoring life drawing sessions. We provide class space at the Lander Art Center, the models arrive, and then people can pay a drop-in fee to draw humans. It’s a life drawing class and a guided session, but it’s not really a class where you’re taught how to draw a hand or an anatomy class. It is really casual, you can attend one week and then not the next. So if your schedule flexes really crazy this time of year with all these outdoor activities, you can pop in when it when it suits you. It’s on Monday nights.
There are also 12-week classes, like “The Art of Watercolor with Lander Burton,” that still have spaces available. Their oil-painting classes are so full, this year there will be an art students art show.
LAURA: So the folks that painted paintings over 12 weeks are going to show their art, and at the same time, the kids that have been in the winter/spring semester of Art After School will have a kids art show. Our Art After School teacher, Pamela Sipe, has taught art for a very long time and the kids love her.
We have a couple of kids that are in the older age group, 9 to 14, that have had classes with Miss Sipe probably from the beginning of their art education. We did a student art show in December featuring the work that the kids had done in the fall, and it was tons of fun! It’s the same topic across all age groups, so you can really see what the kids are learning through time, and you get to see how their work evolves. It’s one of the things that we really come to learn this last year is that it’s extra fun showcasing the student art that way.
There’s lots of other things to teach artists as you do an art show, like how to hang their artwork, how to put the hardware on the back of the painting, what it look likes when it’s matted. Artists struggle with how to price it, what to call it. We just work through all those things until we get the answers and figure it out. And it’s tons of fun.
The art school art show will be at the Lander Art Center in May. For more of of Laura’s interview on Coffee Time, you can listen for free right here.
Help Lander Art Center make 2025 a celebration of creativity! Don’t miss the chance to have your work displayed or to experience the artistry of Lander’s vibrant community. Visit landerartcenter.com for more information, or stop by 258 Main Street in Lander Tuesdays through Saturday.
Post sponsored by the Lander Art Center.