OPEN AIR
ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE
AT THE WESTERN MONTANA FAIR
AUG 6TH - 11TH
Meet the artist and see their artwork!
August 11th, 11 AM - 1 PM: Artist Studios Open to the Public
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Missoula, MT
Potter, Ceramicist, Sculptor
Chris Alveshere is an artist, educator, and co-owner of Workroom Montana, a community arts space in Missoula, MT, and Flecks + Specks, a ceramic grog business. He teaches adult and youth community education classes and maintains a full-time studio practice. Originally from North Dakota, Chris received undergraduate degrees in ceramics and art education from Minnesota State University in Moorhead, MN, and his MFA in ceramics from Alfred University.
Check Out Chris’s Website Here: www.chrisalveshere.com
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Missoula, MT
Digital Illustrator, Painter
Sarah Cook is the brainchild behind Trekkable Studios. She considers herself an artist, travel junkie, dreamer, word nerd, gamer and all-around human being. Her wild, whimsical, and sometimes weird art is inspired by the world around her, and boy-howdy, she is a big fan of life on this planet and beyond.
Check out Sarah’s website here: www.trekkablestudios.com
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Portland, OR
Painter, Animator, Illustrator, Weaver, Filmmaker, Muralist
Lori Damiano works and plays in the realms of animation, illustration, murals, surface design, filmmaking, fine art, fiber art, and education. She loves to tell stories in pictures made out of paint, yarn, or pixels. Many of the stories she draws are based on observing her fellow earthlings while aboard a skateboard, horse, or motorcycle. She grew up participating in 4H and FFA and considers herself a custodian of visual lore.Check out Lori’s website here: www.loridamiano.com
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Missoula, MT
Interactive Media Artist, Mixed Media
Kaisha Gerhardt, a recent BFA graduate from the University of Montana in Media Arts, specializes in digital art that merges humor with the macabre. With experience as a graphic designer for the Milwaukee Road Historical Association and a 3D asset creator for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, she now serves as a media specialist at Open AIR, an Artist-in-Residence program.
Check out Kaisha’s website here: www.kaishagerhardt.com
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Bronx, NY
Multidisciplinary Artist and Healing Arts practitioner
Chet Gold is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in the Bronx. He graduated from "Fame" LaGuardia High School of Art and Performing Arts and Pratt Institute with a BFA in Fine Arts. He is also a certified Yoga, Meditation, and SEL trainer.
Check out Chet’s website here: www.chetgold.com
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Missoula, MT
Musician, Field Recordings, Audio Engineer
Aaron Jennings is a musician, songwriter, and audio engineer. Aaron has been involved in the Fine Arts in Missoula for almost 20 years and performs regularly with several bands. Since 2022, Aaron has been making lathe-cut records and exploring handmade records as listenable artifacts.
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Great Falls, MT
Performing Violinist, Improviser
Violinist Megan Karls is the Concertmaster of the Wyoming Symphony, Co-Concertmaster of the Great Falls Symphony, and a highly sought-after guest leader for orchestras across the West. She has recorded two acclaimed solo albums and has received the Montana Arts Council Artist Innovation Award and the Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award.
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Missoula, MT
Mixed-media, textile, and Installation
Zola Kell (she/her) is a white settler currently living on the lands of the Bitterroot Salish (Séliš), Pend d’Oreille (Ql̓ispé), Nez Perce (Nimíipuu), Coeur d’Alene (Schi̲tsu’umsh), and Kootenai (Ktunʌ́χɑ̝) peoples. The child of a Butte belle and a Saskatchewan cowboy, she is delighted to finally call Missoula her home. Working in a variety of media, most recently rug-tufting, she loves to create immersive installations with her work.
Check out Zola’s website here: www.zolakell.com
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Lolo, MT
Painter
Stacey Klocke loves animals and color! She paints every day to learn more and is inspired by nature. Stacey is learning to do plein air painting.
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Missoula, MT
Mixed Media
Ladypajama mixes paint, pencils, pens, and collage materials to create scenes that present ordinary objects and characters in a new dimension. Rather than working toward an end product, she tries to capture emotion and authenticity by jumping in without a plan. Ladypajama is part of the Voncommon artist collective and publishes a monthly zine that includes poetry and personal essays. In addition, she is a great mom to her kid, Jorge.
Check out Ladypajama’s website here: www.ladypajama.com
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Missoula, MT
Mixed-Media
Kia Liszak is a mixed-media fiber and alternative materials artist. She is intrigued by texture and driven by the idea of taking simple art forms to complex levels. Kia's primary motivation for making art is my desire to watch it unfold.
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Missoula, MT
Painter and Songwriter
Cindy Marshall loves to create and express herself through various mediums, including making art, writing songs, and writing stories. She enjoys collaboration and recently challenged herself to dance in the 40 over 40 show. She has a B.F.A from the University of Montana with a double emphasis in painting and drawing, and has taught art and music around Missoula for years. She lives in Missoula with her husband, Bob Marshall, and they have two teen daughters.
Check out Cindy work here:
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Rock Springs, WY
Mixed Media, Printmaker, Drawing, Painting
Ben Nathan was raised in South Western Wyoming, where he is now fortunate enough to be a Professor of Art at Western Wyoming Community College. Ben is inspired by our interactions with everyday objects, spaces, and places, and he depicts those intimate personal experiences with the quotidian in his art. Ben's works also feature heavy influences of the outdoors and the Western landscape tradition. In addition to teaching and practicing art, Ben is a husband and father, an avid disc golfer, and a guy who enjoys filling his pockets with rocks while on walks in the desert.
Check out Ben’s website here: www.bennathanart.com
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Hamilton, MT
Up-cycle collage
Jennifer Ogden is a collage artist and teacher in the Bitterroot Valley in rural western Montana. Her work is inspired by place, belonging, and examining what is there.
Check out Jennifer’s website here: yellowkitchenstudio.net
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Great Falls, MT
Mixed media
David Raba graduated with a degree in graphic design and worked professionally as a graphic design artist for about four years. He pulls inspiration from geometry and nature and likes to use repurposed materials like lumber, cardboard, and old magazines. Today, he may do a ballpoint pen drawing; tomorrow, he might make some sort of collage, and next week, he’ll probably do some landscaping or run some electrical outlets. It’s all art to him.
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Los Angeles, CA
Interdisciplinary, Social Practice
Renée Reizman is an interdisciplinary artist and writer. She coauthors dialogues in diverse communities to study the ways infrastructure shapes our culture, policy, and environment. She teaches graphic design and digital art at Pepperdine University and the University of Southern California. She is a 2023-24 California Arts Council individual artist fellow.
Check out Renée’s website here: www.reneereizman.com
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Missoula, MT
Mixed media
Sarisa Rodriguez moved back to Missoula a few years ago after many adventures. She loves to spend her days with her three children gardening, dancing, making art, and eating snacks.
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Butte, MT
Printmaker
Christine Martin is a printmaker in Butte, Montana. Her work focuses on the native wildlife of the American West and how industry affects local ecosystems, particularly the environmental effects of extraction on migrating bird species.
Check out Christine’s website here: www.lostornithology.com
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Fargo, ND
Painter
Matthew Wuorinen, AKA Hid, is a self-taught artist based in Fargo, ND. His art is influenced by clip art, street art, graffiti, and geometry.
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Los Angeles, CA
Mixed-Media
Ryn Stafford is a black multi-medium writer and actor from St. Paul, Minnesota. An alumnus of the Travelers’ Rest State Park Residency through Open AIR, Ryn has completed artist residencies across the country that showcase her playwriting and poetry. After relocating to Los Angeles, Ryn has been devoting her time to screen acting and puppet-making with Monkeybear Harmolodic Workshop.
