This year the Festival’s Wildlife Art Show will materialize once again on the Refuge grounds beneath a fairy-tale tent. Painters, potters, carvers, and other artists have been chosen for their ability to transform an appreciation for nature into art. Let yourself be tempted by a wonderful selection of quality artwork. A visit to the tent is always fun and educational. And, this time of year, it is an opportunity to do some Christmas shopping.

Thursday 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM

Friday 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM

Saturday 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM

Sunday 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM

The following artists are participating this year:

Lou Adams “When I first learned to fold a peace crane, I thought I could fold enough to prevent the war. Later I realized folding was a way of holding peace in the moment.” Lou, a Sedona resident, holds a Master of Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate School (California). Her great love is painting. “I began a new body of work in my paintings and started offering peace cranes at craft fairs. Visiting the Sandhill cranes in New Mexico, where 19,000 cranes fill the skies, I witnessed a larger cycle of life and was transformed.”

Adabel Allen: Featured Cover Artist in 2006, and an Albuquerque native, sandhill cranes were always special visitors in her life Studying, photographing, painting and printing them has become her obsession A graphic designer and computer production artist, she holds a BFA in Printmaking from the University of New Mexico. Her current work focuses on birds and their environs. Adabel was the Festival of the Cranes. She has had several solo exhibits, participated in group shows around New Mexico and is also represented in Scottsdale, AZ.. Website: http://www.adabelallen.com

Patricia Amlin: Patricia paints from dreams and experience. Last snowy March many mountain blue birds outside her window created such a joyful vision that she painted two “BLUEBIRD BLAST” oil paintings to share with you at this show. She’ll also bring a frolicking Raven series, landscapes from the Jemez corridor and giclées of last year’s work. You can see her work in July and August at the Audubon Center and at InArt Gallery on Delgado in Santa Fe. For more information see http://www.patriciaamlin.com.

Vicki Bolen’s woven monotypes begin with chine collé, a collage technique in which thinner Japanese papers are fused to a thicker European paper, then images are layered transparent ink, gradually allowing the image to emerge. “Essentially, my work is about transformation and change. My intention is … to create a beautiful object that seemingly continues to shift in front of the viewer’s eye.” Vicky hails from Sacramento, California, and holds a degree in Interior Design from the University of California. She has participated in numerous exhibitions and is represented at Patrician Design, New Grounds Gallery, and Mariposa Gallery in Albuquerque.

Brummett Dillon: In 1986 Daniel Dillon Brummett met and married Linda Brummett Dillon in Boca Raton, Florida, where they began doing a unique style of wood art together. Linda created paintings, watercolors, and charcoals of the back bays, dockyard, fishing piers and boardwalk in Atlantic City. Inspired by his love for Linda, Daniel made wooden panels and boxes on which to express her vision and style. Soon they were designing intricate and uniquely shaped pieces such as triptych panels, folding screens and Frustum boxes. Daniel has developed the strength and structure of his woodwork using mortise and tenon, rabbet and dado joinery, with wooden dowels replacing screws and nails. Their studio is in Ft. Sumner, New Mexico.

Mary Cardin: “Mainly self-taught, painting has been my passion and career for over 40 years, first in oil, then also watercolor. Traveling throughout the U.S. to sell my work and teach workshops has been a wonderful and rewarding life experience. In 1983 I created Cardin Originals Pattern Co. to showcase my designs for machine appliqué fabric art, quilts and wearable art. Originally from Southern California, since 1995 Tom and I run Cardin’s Crossing Bed & Breakfast in the quaint narrow gauge railroad village of Chama in Northern New Mexico. Now, I can literally paint my own backyard!

Circle D Metal Art: The husband and wife team, Dolton and Debbie Roberts, moved to their beloved Capitan, NM, in 2004, where they are constantly inspired by the backdrop of the Sacramento and Capitan mountains. They combine their respective talents to create a special metal art. Debbie draws, details, and cuts out patterns, then transfers them to a sheet of steel. Dolton skillfully hand cuts each piece with a plasma arc, then grinds and polishes until it is shiny, also creating textures. His acetylene torch coaxes brilliant golds, deep reds, purple and blue out of the steel. Their pieces are coated on both sides with a waterproof, polished mirror-like finish.

Sharon Fullingim: Sharon’s memorial dedicated to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Biologist John Taylor may be seen on the promenade overlooking the Refuge. Sharon will be exhibiting in the Art Tent as well as at Socorro’s Fullingim-Isenhour-Leard Galleries. You can learn more about Sharon by turning to the article on page -.

Valerie Graves paints landscapes, birds and animals. She lives surrounded by mountains and animals in Taos, New Mexico and is passionate about protecting birds and wildlife and our fragile lands. Graves’ has exhibited at many prestigious juried shows nationwide; received numerous awards and grants including multiple Best In Show Awards and The Taos Lifetime Achievement Award in The Arts; is included in numerous museum and private collections. She has produced posters; illustrated a popular book on adobe architecture; and has been a featured artist in Southwest Art Magazine. A wonderful variety of original bird and wildlife paintings, prints, greeting cards, photographs, and the books “Finding Refuge” and “Magical Seasons of New Mexico- Paintings by Valerie Graves” will be available at the Festival and also at The Carson House Shop in Taos and online at www.ValerieGraves.com and www.BirdSongGallery.com.

Beth Kingsley Hawkins: Beth is an award-winning film-based fine art photographer whose cover image “Crane Choreography” graces the book Flying Lessons. Known for her intimate portraits of flowers and close-ups of hummingbirds, her work teaches that photography can be a ‘Doorway to Spirit’. Her background in the healing arts is revealed through the profusion of color and the quality of light in her work. Come experience her booth and visit her on-line at www.hummerlady.com or in her Arizona-based “Sedona Hummingbird Gallery”.

Gary Hutchinson: “After a career teaching metalworking, graphic arts, and photography, I retired and began honing my metalwork in Monterey, California, and now in Peralta, New Mexico. I started with sand casting pewter and aluminum. Seeing the beautiful cranes almost every winter day in California prompted me to make sculptures of them. I also make jewelry related to rock art. My first show was here at Bosque del Apache, and I was thrilled to be accepted by the jury. The show led me to Nebraska, Arizona, Colorado, and Washington where crane festivals are also held. The challenge of working with sheet copper along with my interest in petroglyphs has resulted in some new pieces which you can see this year.”

Skeeter Leard fell in love with the outdoors by way of horses. Beginning in 1953 with Hallmark, she has dozens of images in print with SAGA Card company and Skeeter’s Designs LLC. She won Magazine Week’s Award of Excellence for producing the New Mexico Horsebreeder; served as Art Director for three Folio 100 publications;created a Painted Pony as a fundraiser for the Friends of Bosque del Apache NWR. To celebrate the 100th birthday of the National Wildlife Refuge system, her “Wings of Morning” to grace the Friends’ limited edition collector plate in 2003. She is a member of the National League of American Penwomen and created the National Wildlife Refuge System’s Annual Poster for 2005. In Socorro her work is on display at Fullingim Isenhour Leard Galleries.

Caryl McHarney: As a teacher of The Book Arts, Caryl travels to distant corners of the world where she keeps her sketchbook and camera handy. At Three Crane Studio in Albuquerque her impressions become paintings and limited edition etchings and serigraphs. Caryl is particularly moved by cranes, which have been a recurring theme in her work ever since she first saw them at the Bosque del Apache. She has been the Featured Artist at the Festival of the Cranes twice. She has shown regularly at the Wings Over Willcox Wildlife Show and will be the featured artist next January 18 - 20. Caryl has begun to migrate with the birds, showing in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Nebraska where she is the Artist-in-Residence at the Rowe Audubon Sanctuary on the Platte River.

Patti & Phil McLain became rockhounds after retirement from New Mexico Tech. They set up a lapidary shop where Phil cuts rock slabs on which Patti sketches wild birds with a rapidograph pen. He cuts Plume, Onyx, Geodes from Mexico and Agate from several places. Phil is also an accomplished Scroll Sawyer and cuts out wood magnets from Patti’s designs. Patti also makes notecards in using hand painted watercolors, delicate origami representations of cranes and butterflies, or Scherenschnitte, a paper cutting technique. Their work is at Pepper’s in Magdalena NM and at the Bosque Gift Shop and at shows in Corrales, NM at the old San Ysidro Church.

A. Leon Miler, our Cover artist, is a resident of Socorro, New Mexico. Leon works in many different mediums including watercolor, oils, acrylic, pen and ink, pastel, colored pencil, photography, and occasionally, woodcarving. Craft, draftsmanship, composition, and knowledge of materials are important parts of his technique. You can find his work in many of these media in the Art Tent. To know more about Miler, see the inside front cover.

Marjorie Mullany’s Solar Blues is a unique synthesis of paper cutting and printmaking on fabric. Her intricate papercuts of human, animal, and plant images are duplicated on fabric using the blueprinting technique. The fabric is immersed in a solution of light reactive chemicals, then placed in the sun. Marjorie’s fabric prints are presented in hand made frames, or as beautiful bandanas and tote bags. Marjorie came to New Mexico in 1980 after earning a degree in ecology in upstate New York, and has lived in the Jemez and Sandia Mountains ever since. She plays fiddle with her husband and two children, and is a member of the all women swing band, the Estrotones.

Maren Phillips, a San Antonio, Texas artist, has been producing exceptional artwork professionally since 1977 in a variety of mediums: classic pencil drawing, watercolor, pen and ink, and oil. She specializes in portraits and botanicals. She received her BFA from Washington University School of Fine Arts in St. Louis, MO. In addition to art festivals, Maren attends dog, horse and cat shows, where she creates portraits from live sittings or photographs. Her wildlife art is in collections around the world, with clients often returning for new work. Her wildlife notecards can be found in retail shops across the United States.

Jeff Potter received degrees in both Fine Art and Biology at UNM in 1977. His first one-man exhibition was in Santa Fe, NM in 1984, and his second in 1985 at the University of Georgia Institute of Ecology. Jeff has received numerous awards including American Artist magazine, 1990; Pastel Society of NM National Pastel Exhibition, 1995; NM Art League, 2000; Ouray CO Art Guild; 2000; NM Watercolor Society, 2002. He has executed a range of painting commissions and his work hangs in private and public art collections and the 2005 PNM Calendar. He exhibits in Bernalillo at ArtGallery66 (http://artgallery66.net/) as well as at selected summer arts and crafts fairs in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. www.unm.edu/~jpotter/

Judith Roderick: A Painting and Design major in college, Judith has been working in oil and acrylic painting, lithography, photography, weaving, batik, silk painting, and watercolor ever since. Along the way, she raised a family; traveled widely; owned a fiber supply store; taught; created award-winning Wearable Art. She shows her silk clothing, scarves, and quilts in local and national galleries and shows. She volunteers at the Rio Grande Nature Center and Wildlife Rescue in Albuquerque and exhibited at the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Art Show for the first time in 2006. Her book, POEMS FROM THE SANDHILL CRANES, will be available at this year’s show, with part of the proceeds going to The Friends of Bosque del Apache.

David Rojas’ farmhouses, barns, landscapes, and florals reflect his architectural background as well as the years he spent in New England where he also discovered the Folk Art of the itinerate artists who painted interiors and portraits. Rojas’ has had numerous exhibitions is a rising star in the field of watercolor landscapes. He has exhibited at the national juried show of the Cincinnati Art Club, in San Francisco at Art Mart, and the Alvarado Gallery at the Monterey Conference Center. David is currently represented by Monterey Peninsula Art Foundation Gallery (Monterey, CA); Art on Symmes Gallery (Fairfield, OH); and his own Red Mill Studio/Gallery in Pacific Grove.

Karen Schiltz developed a deep love of nature in the Missouri Ozarks where an art teacher aunt nurtured her creative skills. Karen received a B.S. in Art from Southwest Missouri State University. She has worked as an advertising artist, a naturalist, and with the Peregrine Return Program. She created numerous illustrations and T-shirts for state and local wildlife organizations and the Michigan Audubon Society. Karen paints and photographs near Pecos, NM. Birds, mammals, and wildflowers are her main subjects though colorful caterpillars, rainbows, and scenery find their way into her work. Karen shows at the Pecos Artist Tour, the Santa Fe Artist Market, and the Bosque del Apache Crane Festival.

Elli Sorensen Elli Sorensen gratefully spends her time between Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the Mimbres Valley of New Mexico. Working in several mediums, clay, paint, precious metals and glass you can count on her images to reflect her love of nature and wildlife, which she often depicts with colorful whimsy. Elli’s works are featured in shops and galleries throughout the west.

SpiritWare: Tillery Dingler and Regina Zavier-Dingler produce exquisite intricate pieces of true Italian marquetry. Each piece of wood/stone (turquoise) is cut by hand using jeweler’s tools. Using no stains, paints or dyes, they showcase the natural beauty of the wood. Featured items include buckles, barrettes, boxes, bolos, money clips, key rings, earrings, and frames. Each piece is extremely tough, and it takes only a drop of olive oil applied once or twice a year to restore luster. One long-time customer has worn his buckle daily for more than 25 years. SpiritWare has 130 copyrighted pieces and can do special orders.

Bill Strickler of Magdalena, New Mexico has been creating wood sculptures for 20 years. Born and raised in Kansas, he was inspired to bird as a child by his father. Along with his mother’s artistic ability this led Bill to his art. Bill’s bird sculptures are cut from basswood, textured with high speed carvers and wood-burned. Finally, acrylic paints produce the color, which combined with excellent carving skill, make his birds look so real. Your personal favorite can be commissioned

Marie Watkins- hitchhiked to NM after receiving an architecture degree from Pratt Institute in NY. She ended up in the then ghost town of Madrid [south of Santa Fe] where developed her own batik, dye and silk-screening combination. Her designs are based on animal themes and incorporate a southwest esthetic. Since each t-shirt is hand dyed by Marie, there are always variations and innovations that give them character. Recently the power of words to inspire has been steering her work in a new direction.

Maureen Wilks moved to New Mexico from Britain. Her husband Bob has been rescuing and relocating rattlesnakes from around Socorro for over 30 years. During the summer months they seek out local lizards and snakes in the desert. Marie creates digital art using her wildlife images. Such as a close up of a Bull snake, a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, a Box Turtle or wildflowers like Tufted Evening Primrose in full bloom. “In all my art pieces the original photograph still peeks out and I hope that each piece conjures up different forms and feelings to the viewer.”

Jean M. Williams of Radium Springs, New Mexico has been creating custom hand painted ceramic tile, murals and ceramics since 1974, and is the owner of Williams Tile Overture. Jean also paints in acrylics and watercolors and creates silver, ceramic and gemstone jewelry. Animals—especially rabbits—desert landscapes and Mimbres Indian designs are her most popular subjects. Jean’s work has been exhibited at the Hall of the Governors in Santa Fe, Dona Ana Arts Council shows, Deming Arts Council shows and can be found in many private homes and public venues worldwide. She participates in the Dona Ana Arts Council Renaissance Faire and the weekly Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market. Jean’s website www.williamstile.net, features many of her custom tile murals.

Joe Zinn: A working photographer for over 30 years, Joe produces and sells fine art prints of his images worldwide. His work has appeared in publications including High Country, Colorado Outdoors, Nature Magazine, and Ski Country. Last year his work about a regional historic district was included in a promotion produced for the Library of Congress. Joe makes his home in Monte Vista, Colorado.