{"id":24522,"date":"2024-12-09T01:05:52","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T08:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-long-standing-artist-group-in-cortez-creates-converses\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:55:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:55:25","slug":"a-long-standing-artist-group-in-cortez-creates-converses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-long-standing-artist-group-in-cortez-creates-converses\/","title":{"rendered":"A long-standing artist group in Cortez creates, converses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jann
Jann Margeson (left) and Laurie Hampton socialize and craft beside one another on Tuesdays when the Southwest Art League meets. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Every Tuesday, a group called the Southwest Art League meets in Cortez from 10 a.m. to noon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe group is about 50 years old,\u201d said Frances Wisner, the League\u2019s president. \u201cWe\u2019re a diverse group of transplants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paintings and drawings made by the group\u2019s members decorate the senior center where they convene. Their art is also hung up at the Recreation Center in Cortez, and rotates monthly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure who started it,\u201d said Wisner. \u201cWe\u2019ve lost a lot of members over the years, whether they move away or pass on, so that history is kind of lost. There\u2019s no accurate history.\u201d<\/p>\n

An artist member named Joe Slaughenhoupt joined the group 20 years ago when it was called the Ute Mountain Artist League. He remembers upward of 35 members in the group at that time, and there\u2019s 16 now.<\/p>\n

In those days, the group met at the Cultural Center. A member named Saralynn Risenhoover who died this year had been part of it even before Slaughenhoupt joined, and recalled meeting in others\u2019 homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe bring our own art, work at our own pace, and ask for advice to get unstuck,\u201d said Wisner. \u201cThere\u2019s no politics here, we all like each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few of the 16 members were there the sunny Tuesday The Journal<\/em> stopped by.<\/p>\n

The artists\u2019 styles and mediums were all unique, but a common thread a few members mentioned was how they had started creating art years prior, but life got in the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to put my art on hold for the last 50 years,\u201d said Theresa Goldstrand, a photographer, romance novelist and new artist in the group. \u201cIt\u2019s so nice to sit and play with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of Goldstrand\u2019s pieces is displayed in the senior center, and was inspired by M.C. Escher, a famous graphic artist known for his realistic, detailed pieces.<\/p>\n

\"Theresa
Theresa Goldstrand poses beside her drawing, which she said M.C. Escher inspired. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Goldstrand\u2019s creation is called \u201cTime\u2019s Up,\u201d with a small alarm clock beside a vase with dead flowers that her boyfriend at the time had gifted her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kept them until they died and decided to make a still life,\u201d said Goldstrand. \u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity here, joining a group with collective talent, getting back to my roots.\u201d<\/p>\n

MercyStar Cochran, a multimedia artist at the next table over, echoed that point.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe group is a way for me to socialize. Otherwise, I\u2019d be at home as a hermit,\u201d Cochran said.<\/p>\n

That day, Cochran was working on a card for the group\u2019s treasurer who was out that day with a bad back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess the chiropractor cracked her wrong,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"MercyStar
MercyStar Cochran, a multimedia artist member of the Southwest Art League, paints a hummingbird. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Cochran was painting a scene of a hummingbird suspended in the air, presumably enjoying nectar from a violet flower. She said she was starting with watercolor \u2013 a paint choice that dries substantially faster than oil \u2013 and would use acrylic next, and then outline it with gel pens and glitter to make it sparkle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love glitter. I\u2019ve got gypsy in me,\u201d Cochran said.<\/p>\n

When it comes to watercolor, a few artists in the group referred to Susan Gallagher a master.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned to paint with watercolor when I was 12 years old,\u201d Gallagher said.<\/p>\n

She got her start in Washington, where her aunt and uncle owned a motel. One visit, she participated in a watercolor workshop, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n

Gallagher moved to the Four Corners recently, which is home to a landscape she said she\u2019s still trying to figure out how to capture.<\/p>\n

\"Susan
Susan Gallagher poses beside a few of her creations, which are mostly watercolor paintings. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Some
Some of Susan Gallagher\u2019s watercolor paintings. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s hard. The colors here are completely different than Washington,\u201d Gallagher said.<\/p>\n

The Pacific Northwest requires greens, and dark colors that \u201cdon\u2019t exist here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you mix a lot of colors together, you\u2019ll get mud. Which is good if you\u2019re trying to paint mud, but not if you aren\u2019t,\u201d Gallagher laughed.<\/p>\n

She said in Washington she had painted in a group, and found one in California, too, to paint with when she lived there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first moved here, I wasn\u2019t painting with anyone. I\u2019m grateful to have this group,\u201d said Gallagher. \u201cThey\u2019re friendly; it\u2019s good to meet other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said it\u2019s also fun to challenge herself and try to paint one photo per week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a limited amount of time, you\u2019re more likely to come out with something that looks fresh,\u201d Gallagher said.<\/p>\n

Other artist members use the time to fine tune existing skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a stickler for absolute accuracy,\u201d said Ginny Getts as she drew.<\/p>\n

Getts explained that she uses a technique called graphing to get the proportions right. She explained it as a ratio, and a sure way to get values right and to make sure the horse\u2019s ears and eyes are all in the right place.<\/p>\n

\"Ginny
Ginny Getts graphing a photo of horses onto a page before transferring the image to a larger canvas to paint. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cOnce that\u2019s done, I transfer it to a canvas,\u201d said Getts. \u201cThere\u2019s more freedom there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Horses are Getts\u2019 muse. She takes photos of them to then transform into artwork.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s horse heaven around here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a horse woman,\u201d added her brother, Richard Valentine.<\/p>\n

Jann Margeson, an artist member at another table, was painting a scene in Mesa Verde, where she recently went hiking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the boring part,\u201d said Margeson. \u201cI\u2019m just blocking in the color, there\u2019s no details yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she had moved to the area during the pandemic, and started coming to the group then since it was one of the few groups still meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt keeps me painting and it keeps me social,\u201d said Margeson. \u201cWhen I first came, I hadn\u2019t painted in 30 years, since college. I wondered if I could still do it; it was like riding a bike.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jann
Jann Margeson painting a scene of Mesa Verde at the Southwest Art League gathering on Tuesday, Dec. 3. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Margeson may have seized the opportunity to brush up on some old skills; Jane Wheeler saw the group as an opportunity to learn a whole new skill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started art when I came here back in 2019,\u201d said Wheeler. \u201cI encourage beginners to join.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wheeler said she appreciates how willing the members are to offer input and advice; she said she\u2019s learned a lot.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in joining \u2013 it\u2019s not just senior members \u2013 contact the League\u2019s President Frances Wisner at fkwisner1@gmail.com<\/a> or Susan Pernot, the treasurer, at pernotcorez@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sixteen members in the Southwest Art League craft and give one another \u2018unsolicited advice\u2019 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-24522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78565,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24522\/revisions\/78565"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24522"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=24522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}