GV Artists on Exhibit Now!

   Andrea Mirville Metos (Andrea de St. Amour) is a singer, songwriter, pianist, guitar player, banjo picker, linguist, activist, actress, car racer or, for this exhibit, call her an artist. Her life is often described as the "E Ticket Ride" at Disney.                           

  

  She started painting seriously when in her teens, in Nice, France, where she was born. While studying in France, she started painting highly colorful paintings of desert cactus and portraits of native Caribbeans. French art dealers only accepted paintings from male artists so she adopted the nom de “plume” of A. de St. Amour.

   Metos’ paintings have been featured in several art shows in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her trademark is vividly colored large canvases portraying the De Anza Desert landscape of California. Locally, Andrea's art work has been exhibited at two Crouch grand openings: Wild Bill's Bistro and Garden Valley Market Grill Room.                                                                

    Nicknamed "Andretti" by friends, because of her pedal to the metal style of racing, Andrea has amassed over thirty-five first place trophies during her career. Let’s hope you can catch her at the three-woman artist exhibit, which opens at the Garden Valley Center for the Arts this Friday, July 12.

   Freelance artist and computer illustrator, Gail White, does painting in various mediums and sculpture in wood, metal and stone, but her emphasis at the Center is pottery. As the new head of the pottery studio at the gallery, she is holding numerous classes this summer. Learn to form slouch bowls, garden lanterns, leaf sconces, coil and pinch pots, and try your hands at throwing on the wheel.

   Gallery curator, Lois Heffernan, says, “Gail has done a lot of teaching. We got all of those kilns and wheels from Treasure Valley Community College and Gail is a whiz at repairing them. We wanted to show off her pottery in this exhibit.”

   Painter Kellie Cosho says she paints things that interest her, in acrylic, pastel and ink. “Past experiences often appear!” she says. Cosho has been in juried shows in the Sun Valley Invitational Art Festival, Boise State University Gallery, University of Idaho, Boise Gallery Festival in the Park and more. Though her studio is on Warm Springs in Boise, she owns a cabin in Garden Valley and says, “I’m just so excited at what they are doing up here—I’m happy to be a part of it.”

   Lois Heffernan explains that all the shows are juried: “Three of us choose what will show in the gallery. This is quality work.”

   The opening wine and cheese reception will be on July 12, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and the show will run through July 30. The Center for the Arts is open Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from noon til 4 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays. For information, call 462-6860.