Gallery Night event Thursday features variety of artwork

The art community of Whitefish comes together during the summer to host an evening of featured artist exhibitions, entertainment, and light refreshments on the first Thursday of the month.

The next Whitefish Gallery Nights is Thursday, Aug. 1. The event includes 15 participating art specialty shops and galleries with events taking place from 6 to 9 p.m.

Participating galleries are Dick Idol Signature Gallery, Frame of Reference Fine Art, Going To The Sun Gallery, Group B Galleries, McGough & Company, Nancy Cawdrey Studios and Gallery, MudMan Gallery, Samarah Fine Art, Stephen Isley Jewelry, Stumptown Art Studio, Sunti World Art Gallery, The Purple Pomegranate, The Walking Man Frame Shop & Gallery, Underscore Art, and Whitefish Pottery & Stillwater Gallery.

For more information, visit https://whitefishgallerynights.org/about/

Special events at galleries include:

- The Purple Pomegranate is featuring work by Trego artist Casie Fuson during the month of August. In an old homestead cabin in Trego, Fuson creates handbuilt pottery inspired by a love for the outdoors and Montana’s rich natural history. Originally looking for a career in forestry, Fuson moved to Montana and met her ceramics mentor at a folk music gathering. From there, she apprenticed and eventually took over the line of Earthstones pottery in January 2019. She continues to build slab pottery the way her mentor did for two decades, while also creating new designs and pieces that reflect her own spirit.

Fuson’s hope as an artist is to connect people to the mountains and wildlife, and tell a story through the clay. “Each piece is mindfully crafted to reflect a simpler time, and bring joy to the homes of people who have connected with Montana’s wild places.”

Meet Fuson during Whitefish Gallery Night and her work will be displayed during the opening and throughout the month of August.

For more information, visit www.purplepomegranate.com.

- Whitefish Pottery and Stillwater Gallery presents Kinfolk Spirits, an exhibition of work from ceramic artist Erin Williams.

Williams is the current apprentice for Whitefish Pottery. Williams is originally from Mayville, Kentucky, and in 2017 she earned her undergraduate degree in Pre-Art Therapy and Studio Art with a concentration in ceramics from the University of Indianapolis. While in school, Williams discovered a passion for pottery and throwing on the wheel. This show is from her time apprenticing for Whitefish Pottery, in which she has focused on the connections she has had with her environment and the people who have made an impact on her.

Kinfolk Spirits is the result of those connections that she has reflected on while being away from home. Her Kentucky roots directly influence most of the work with special attention to the functionality form.

This show will run through the month of August.

- Heidi Marie Faessel’s art exhibit “Sensing the Wild” will be on display for the month of August at The Walking Man Frame Shop and Gallery.

Faessel’s organic abstractions weave together her background in textile and graphic design with her passion for nature and her deep curiosity about the experience of life.

“I see the world we live in, filled with mystery, magic and higher intelligence. My work is born from this place of deep reverence. By synthesizing organic shapes, energetic brushwork, expressive line, and movement, my intention is to reflect the life-force energy that I experience in nature.”

Faessel unites experimentation, imperfection, and exploration, with deliberate and considered editing. “I am driven by the spirit of discovery and find deep satisfaction and unlimited potential in the creative process.”

She grew up in Southern California and lived in New York City for a decade, where she earned a bachelor of fine arts in textile/surface design from the Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY.

Since moving to Montana in 2002, she has continued her education studying a diverse range of visual arts. Locally, she attended the graphic design program at Flathead Valley Community College, and studied with Hamilton artist Pamela Caughey.

Currently, she is focusing on developing her fine art.