Treasure Valley Artists' Alliance

Christine Barrietua

I have lived in Idaho all my life. The unique natural beauties found within our state have become very much a part of who I am and are reflected in the ceramics and paintings I create.

Living in Idaho provides me with artistic inspiration, which in turn is closely related to nature.

I use multimedia painting techniques on my large ceramic sculptures as well as in my paintings.

Barbara Louise Bowling

Barbara is a Boise artist who specializes in vitreous enameling and metalsmithing. Barbara’s education in these fields began as a sophomore in college in the 70’s. After a 30 year hiatus, which she spent as a plant science student and professor, she restarted her enameling and metalsmithing education via workshops, classes, and experimentation in her studio.

Barbara’s 15 years as a professor of horticulture are reflected in the plant forms and the natural textures and flowing lines of her designs. Her intellectual and emotional inspiration is, first and foremost, plant life.

Melissa "Sasi" Chambers

Sasi is an artist who paints everything. Click here to see her website.

Marilyn Cosho

My art provides a window into the world of Asperger's Syndrome, a condition on the autistic spectrum. My work consists primarily of mixed media collages, drawings and photographs.

I am particularly fond of string and much of my work deals with fragility and the feeling of becoming entangled and/or unraveled. I also make fairy chairs out of twigs.

Click here to see my string fairy on NewScientist.com

John Dosch

I am new to Idaho. I recently moved to Boise from Watertown, South Dakota. I have a bachelor of Science Degree in Art from Northern State College, Aberdeen, South Dakota.

In many of my pieces I use heavy hand-made paper attached to hardboard or stretched canvas. I work with natural textures and elements such as sisal, seeds, twigs, sand and gravel, copper and brass. I make contemporary and abstract landscapes, relief portraits and scenes. See my website here.

Belinda Isley

Once precious toys and well-loved game pieces, vintage wood, fragile ancient letters and maps€”these artifacts are my raw materials. As I work I am reminded that these objects were once owned by real people, used by real people and were in many cases cherished items. Sorting, selecting, and finding the story that brings order to these discarded treasures is magical.

View my website by clicking here or contact me at belindaisley@msn.com

Sue Latta

I am a mixed media sculptor. I make things. I have made things for as long as I can remember. I can't not make things. I use such materials as steel, rubber, resin, rawhide, cast aluminum, wood, glass, found objects, photographs, paper, and iron. The exploration of material possibilities and the discovery of what a given material will do are a big part of my working process but the goal of the work is to create sculptural forms that are emotive as well as visceral, work that pulls you in, asks more than it answers and requires something of you.

Sue's website is at suelatta.com 

Lauren T. Kistner

Lauren T. Kistner focuses on creating bright and unusual textural experimentations in oil paint, making use of a process that allows the works to oxidize and change over time, as well as polaroid manipulations, pinhole photograpy, and verging on surrealist ink drawings.

Lauren's website is at LaurentKistner.com 

Rachel Linquist

I have always loved creating. From playing flute as a music education major to sewing my bridesmaids' dresses for my wedding, life feels richer in the midst of making something beautiful. I find my inspiration in traditional domestic arts, vintage fabrics, literature, films, and nature. Sewing dolls and creatures gives life to different aspects of myself, those I know, and the little stories weaving through my mind.

My work has been featured in the Trey McIntyre Project's 9+1 event in 2010, We Art Women 2011, and the Totoman Toy Museum in Seoul, South Korea.

Nancy Lokmor

I took my first ceramics class in 1993, and am still fascinated by the possibilities of what you can create with clay. I am drawn to the sculptural capabilities of clay, but also like functionality, so I try to merge the two.

Functionality does not mean you can't employ some whimsy, so often my pieces are of mix of texture and patterns. There are almost limitless possibilities of what can be created from a slab of clay, which for me is the most challenging aspect of working in this medium.

Cyndy Lounsbury

My hope is to inspire, to prod others to look at everyday objects in new ways, to see potential in broken and played out items, to admire the beauty of objects from days gone by.

See more of my work at cyndylounsbury.com

Tracie McBride

Creating mixed-media mosaics has been a smooth transition and complement to my 20 years of working with collage. It gives me rich depth with metallic colors, texture, and the joy of incorporating three-dimensional objects into each piece. I am inspired by the Renaissance, European history, travel, old world maps, ancient calligraphy, postal imagery, and orphaned jewelry. I enjoy the free-form nature of working in mixed-media.

J. "Sam" McGinnis

Sam is a mixed media fiber artist who references the eternal cycles of nature and spirit, reflecting the meditative harmony found in a creative reaction between the artist and the natural world.

Sam's work is represented by R. Grey Gallery in Boise.

Click here to email Sam.

Pam McKnight

I have been painting and making art all my life. As a collector of miniatures and quirky found objects, my current passion is combining those objects into fun and whimsical works, thereby upcycling and giving them a second life.

Barbara Michener

The urge to produce with my hands reared its head and demanded freedom in my fifties. Life teaches me, while experience furnishes a picture’s emotion. My passion for living is reflected in my paintings.

Paintings stand in line in my mind waiting for my hands to give them life. As the brush spreads color across the board the image immerges into a life of its own. The rich colors and textures of my paintings reflect my close ties to nature and Idaho’s varied landscapes.

Angela Kelly Neiwert

I am a native Idahoan and farm girl. The last fourteen years I have lived in the mountains up toward Idaho City. My art is influenced by nature which I connect with on a daily basis. My current work explores memory and collections.

I have a Master of Fine Arts degree from BSU and have been teaching at art camps and private lessons.

My web site is angelakn.com

Lisa Pisano

Lisa Pisano received a BFA from Boise State University. She has been a visual artist in Idaho for twenty years. She exhibited at J Crist Gallery and studied Traditional Byzantine Mosaic under Felice Nittolo at Pilchuk Glass School.

Lisa's work is in the collections of Federal Reserve Bank of Salt Lake City and the Boise Art Museum. Commissions include Saint Alphonsus Center for Advanced Healing, White Cloud Coffee, and Eagle River Development.

David Schwartz

David Schwartz has been an artist since he was a child, when he had a painting selected in a world wide competition to be shown in the Children’s Art Museum of Jerusalem, Israel.

Since then David has continued designing and creating in a multitude of mediums, while refining his eye through a wide range of award winning projects in the landscape architecture profession, including concrete, rubber, plastic, stone, water, and vegetation.

David's current artwork is inspired by the essence of the eye. His medium is epoxy resin mixed with metallic pigments, layered to give extraordinary depth. He has shown in galleries and shows in both Maui and Boise.

View more at www.davidmathewschwartz.com

Angela Kathleen Stout

Angela specializes in creating highly textured, mixed media paintings using out-of-the-ordinary techniques. She has more than 300 paintings in homes all over the United States and several in Europe. Angela has participated in three one-woman shows and in Treasure Valley art shows and festivals including: Art in the Bar, Hasbrouck House Art & Music Festival, and the Meridian Art Festival. She has exhibited at St. Luke's Eagle and Eagle City Hall and is a member of the Artistblue Gallery in Nampa ID.

Angela's website is paintingsbyaks.com.

Patricia Sadler Trainor

Patricia is a ceramicist who lives and works in Boise's north end. She was first introduced to clay by accident, and has been with it ever since. Previously, she earned a certificate in pattern drafting (women's clothing), did batik, painted, and many other art forms. She has lived in Utah, New Mexico, Ecuador, Colorado, and now Idaho. She finished her BFA at Boise State University in Art Education and Ceramics, studying under John Takehara. She loves the tactile qualities of clay.

Patricia's website is mudpiearts.com

Martin Wilke

I have always drawn. At an early age drawing supplies were generally available when painting or sculpting supplies were not. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Wayne State College in 1968. I then taught art in the Michigan Public School system.

After 6 years in northern Colorado, I moved to Idaho and I have lived in Boise ever since.

Click here to visit Martin's website.

Charles Winkel

Art has always been a part of my life. I thought painting was the only way to express my self until I enrolled in a painting class taught by John Killmaster. That's when he introduced me to enameling, and now I have tried to take this media to a different level. Enameling has now become my passion. Working with 22 gauge cold rolled steel, forming it into a desired shape, and enameling the final piece is frustrating and rewarding at the same time.