Famous artist Bob Ross said, “All you need to paint is a few tools, a little instruction, and a vision in your mind.”
Moab ArtWalk is bringing the vision behind four new venues to life during this year’s Moab ArtWalk season, which kicks off on Saturday, April 13, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The new Rukkus Studio, Grand County Public Library, Moab Printworks and WabiSabi Thrift Store are joining longtime venues such as Gallery Moab, Moab Made, Tom Till Gallery, Moonflower Community Cooperative and the Moab Arts and Recreation Center in hosting art receptions that evening.
There will be opportunities to meet the artists whose work is featured and learn about film, photography, painting and other art.
In 2018, Sallie Hodges and Holli Zollinger founded Rukkus Studio, 354 N. Main St., and have since added three other professional artists to the working studio: photographer Emily Klarer, watercolor and ink artist Samantha Zim and welder Paige Stuart. Hodges is a filmmaker and photographer, while Zollinger is a textile designer.
The ArtWalk tour is an opportunity to introduce the community to the Rukkus Studio, where Hodges said she hopes people will choose to end their tour.
“We do have a really nice space to hang out,” Hodges said. “It’s an artistic cultural hub of Moab. It’s quite an inspiring space.”
People taking the ArtWalk stroll through downtown Moab might want to begin their walk at WabiSabi, 160 E. 100 South. Employees have been setting aside unique and “high-end” artwork donated to the store. A gallery will be set up outside in the parking lot where the pieces will be for sale. Moab Kitchen food truck, known by locals for its delicious curries, will be there selling food.
“We definitely get interesting items in, some of it high-quality,” WabiSabi Education and Sustainability Coordinator Megan Millar said. “ArtWalk is a nice event to showcase our nicer stuff.”
All artwork, both outside and inside the store, will be discounted at 50 percent at ArtWalk. The store’s “red tag” items and other donated materials will be discounted, Millar said.
Additionally, “each month we hope to feature a local artist who uses materials from WabiSabi to create their artwork,” Millar said. April’s featured artist is Wade Reynolds.
Reynolds makes small outdoor sculptures and decorations using scrap metal, which he calls “trash-to-treasure artwork.”
Also at WabiSabi, look for an activity each month for children. For April’s ArtWalk, the store is partnering with KZMU Community Radio and its “spin art bicycle.”
Kids will have the opportunity to take turns pedaling the bicycle to power a turntable while another child squirts paint on a spinning vinyl record. Children are encouraged to take home their artworks.
At the Grand County Public Library, the lobby and large meeting room will be open during ArtWalk to showcase artworks by Grand County High School students. The exhibit, which will be up for about a month, includes the works of students taking film, photography, digital photography, drawing, acrylic painting and advanced art classes.
Landscape photographers David L. Brown and Mark Brown aren’t relatives, but the two are the co-owners of Moab Printworks, 121 E. 100 South. They opened their business in January to make and sell their fine art prints, which will be on display during ArtWalk.
“We’re also offering picture framing services here. It’s something that’s needed after the frame shop closed a year ago,” David Brown said. “If someone buys a print (at ArtWalk), we will offer a discount on our custom framing.”
Adding to the ArtWalk festivities is the Fiery Furnace Marching Band. The band often attracts a following as it meanders along Main Street and to the various venues performing live music in front of downtown shops.
WabiSabi’s featured artist for April is ‘trash-to-treasure’ creator Wade Reynolds
When: Saturday, April 13, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Where: Various locations downtown
Info: www.moabartwalk.com
“We do have a really nice space to hang out. It’s an artistic cultural hub of Moab. It’s quite an inspiring space.”
