12 Artists: Monique Kleinhans

Hello all! My name is Monique Kleinhans and I'm the 12th Elf in our 12 Artists of Christmas this year.

My work at the gallery is made mostly of fibers and fabric. I combine traditional quilting with art techniques to create both pictorial and abstract pieces that can hang on your wall, dress your table or even wrap you up in a warm hug while your read in your favorite chair or are nestled all snug in your bed. Always looking for ways to use each and every ounce of fabric and accoutrements, I also make quilted greeting cards and Christmas ornaments that are miniature thread paintings placed on old wooden spools.

My love for working in the medium as well as experimenting within the craft, came directly from one of the most wonderful people on this planet....My Mother! She is still one of my favorite people to experiment new ideas or techniques with and an inspiration to always keep learning and dreaming.

You'll find me at the gallery tomorrow morning, or if you're not able to swing by, you can always visit me at my website: www.ladybugscabin.com

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, wonderful holidays, and a New Year full of art!

12 Artists: Linda Sole

Hello there! I'm Linda Sole, another of the 12 artists of Christmas here at Paint Metal &  Mud. 
Along with the jewelry making I have done to get ready for the Christmas season, I have been dabbling with air drying (two to three days depending on the temp and humidity) enamel over wood products. The ones I like doing the most are the wood cutout ornaments or wall plaques. I have been buying commercial made colors, but find they are discontinued or the formulas change which makes consistency tough. So, I began experimenting with making the liquid colors myself to make my own fanciful colors. Sometimes I come back to the studio to check on the pieces' progress after the drying process (which takes about eight hours to show the true colors) are looking and find a yuck - :( well that didn't work to WOW! :))) how cool is that? I also have been surfacing carved pieces and find the three-D color working out pretty well. I get to play with found objects like buttons and feathers to enhance the pieces. I have several of these unique pieces at Paint Metal and Mud and on my website mooncradlestudio.com. 

Hope you all have a happy holiday season filled with love and family.

12 Artists: Pia Eaves

I'm Pia Eaves, jewelry artist and co-founder of Paint, Metal, and Mud which has been a part of Kalispell for 17 years now. While I've been in Montana for almost 35 years, I was born and raised in Germany.

From an early age, I learned to reuse and recycle everything and to value craftsmanship in what I make. To this day I love making something new out of old. Sometimes I'll upcycle a cymbal from a drum set to make some fun earrings, or using a bit of leftover electrical wiring to make a bracelet. When you give my work as a gift, you're also giving a gift to the environment as well as supporting a local artist.

For my day, Thursday, December 20, I'm offering a deal to help with your last minute Christmas shopping. Buy one pair of earrings and get a second half price. And while you enjoy picking out a special gift or two, or maybe one for yourself, enjoy some hot cider and cookies made by yours truly. 

See you in the shop, and as we say in Germany, Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas)!

12 Artists: Larry Phan

Seasons Greeting!

I live and work in the Flathead valley. As a potter my work is focused on food and drink. My forms range from coffee mugs to large serving bowls. All my work is made with high fire stoneware that will last a life time of use.

Come in and receive 10% off your entire purchase. Only a couple of days left for this discount.

12 Artists: Judy Petterson

Judy is a photographer with a twist.
Using filters and post work on her images she creates the look of paintings from photos.

Check out some of her work here:

12 Artists: Raette Meredith

Featured artist, December 15, 2018, Raette Meredith! 

Check out these tiny little gems! Original palette knife oil paintings on canvas, measuring 2"x2", ready to hang!

Exclusively at Paint Metal and Mud Gallery through the month of December!

Enjoy work from our local talented artists! We are offering 10% off through Christmas, you are sure to find that little handmade something special!

Open M-Sa, 10am - 6pm
16 1st St W, Kalispell

12 Artists: Joanna Griffin

Elf #3 of 12 from Paint Metal & Mud Artists' Coop..here to give you a look behind the scenes of my pottery ....JOANNA GRIFFIN, Pomegranate Clay Studio.

3:45 am and through the window, past the bright flame of fir and balsam candles burning, my fingers slide through the creamy clay as I pull 13 handles for mugs to answer customer's dreams. Montana mugs...mugs with tall pines and words of peace, bold big black & white mugs for somebody's grown son, rainbowed mugs of joy, dinnerware mugs with "Stacy's Kitchen" scrawled purposefully for a husband's gift to his wife. And as I work I am whistling the Magnificat.

I see my work as both a prayer and its answer revealed. Sometimes it is mine...other times it is the relationship or dance I do with my customers. Words of hope, celebration, comfort and joy are woven with color and design. I often see my work as a line of functional greeting cards...dishwasher safe and ready to embrace your coffee, bring joy under your salad or a smile just when you need it.

Peruse the pics and swing by our coop...I will be behind the desk today..painting Montana on Christmas ornaments .

12 Artists: Kay Lynn

I am Kay Lynn, next of the Paint Metal and Mud's 12 Artists Of Christmas! 

I hope you find time to enjoy visiting our unique gallery this season and that you take a moment to check out my work.

With my mixed media/mosaic wall pieces I celebrate the vitality of color and texture from glass, ceramic, minerals, fossils and other assorted and delightful little objects that create meaning for me within my designs. There is a hard edge quality to these works because of the materials I use but this is a design choice as well. I definitely come from the "Less is more" school with my landscapes, be they representational or abstract. 

The power and beauty of the metaphysical force behind nature is my recurrent theme , as well as its presence through millennia. Thus the use of fossils to remind the viewer that our feet are only wading in a wonderous river of time. Each of my works represents a frozen moment of that flow; a moment to experience deeply and to enjoy!

12 Artists of Christmas: Phil Granrud

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Hi. I'm Philip Granrud, a local photographer here in the Flathead Valley, and I'm the first artist to start PM&M's 12 Artists of Christmas for this years holidays. Everyday we will be featuring one of our talented artists from the gallery and there just happens to be 12 of us, so it works out perfectly. 

So a couple fun facts about me: I've lived here my entire life except for college in Bozeman. I love Montana and I've always enjoyed the outdoors. But in 2008 I developed an even greater appreciation for nature and exploring, and I wanted to capture all the neat things I was seeing on my adventures, so I started doing photography for fun. I'm probably best known for my night sky photography. I almost immediately got into night photography because I've always been a bit of a night owl, my knowledge of photography grew quickly, and before I knew it, many Universities across the Western United States were using some of my photos as examples for two things: Art/Photography Professors were using my night photos to teach their students about long exposures and night photography. And Science Professors and Astronomers were using my photos to teach their students about the night sky and science. It all happened so fast and that's when I realized I should be doing photography professionally. I've been lucky enough to do a few firsts and I'm also known for some my photojournalism. Currently I do just about every type of photography. Portraits, Weddings, Night Photography, Wildlife, Landscapes, Real Estate, Photojournalism, Abstract, Events, etc. I'm currently trying to restructure my business(s) because I've grown so much, so I'm spending all my time trying to catch up with that. I do have a big project relating to Glacier National Park starting this month that will continue indefinitely so that's exciting. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me. 

Stay tuned every day as each of our artists introduce themselves and their work!

What makes our gallery special?...

The chance to chat with the artists while you shop! We are staffed entirely by the artist who show their work at Paint Metal and Mud so you will always have at least one expert in the gallery every day we're open! 

 



And if you come visit us during our evening artist receptions or other events you'll get to enjoy the fact that our members are almost as good at cooking and baking as they are in their chosen medium!

Stop in to see what's new in the gallery this month and thank you as always for supporting your local artists!

First Friday, Bigfork Festival of the Arts and New Artist in the Gallery!

There is a lot going on at the galley! Tomorrow night we are part of the First Friday Scavenger Hunt (from 5-7) and a chance to win a gift certificate. We're going to be serving sliders and other goodies, Monique's offering 20% her bed quilts and you'll have the opportunity to welcome our newest member of our gallery: Larry Phan! Be sure to stop by!

And this weekend you'll find a number of our member artists at the Bigfork Festival of the Arts. Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 to 4:30

Preview some of Larry's beautiful work:https://www.facebook.com/LarryPhanCeramics/…

Guest Artist for February: Jill Cate of WildWood

Jill Cate is the maker and creator of WildWood. 

"WildWood was brought to life from a love of wood at a young age.  I would find myself drawn to the garage with my dad who has always inspired me to pick up a saw and hammer. Besides the smell of freshly cut wood, I enjoy searching and finding a purpose for pieces that would otherwise be tossed into a landfill.  This love of wood has grown into creating one of a kind, Montana inspired, wood art. It is a passion of mine to bring new life to old reclaimed wood. Every piece is original. Has a story to be told. From the nail holes, worming, knots, layers of color, grains, textures, saw lines, charring; all of these natural and man-made imperfections give it its character and beauty that can be encapsulated into one piece of art. There is something inspiring about transforming wood that is old, weathered and “rescued” and pairing it with some new mediums to create a piece where the old and new mesh as one. So with each hand cut piece, board by board, nail by nail a unique piece is created just for you." 

Stop by the gallery this month and find the perfect piece for your home!

Guest Artist for January: Kim from Corvidae Designs and Drawings

Happy New Year! 

And Happy New Guest Artist for the month of January! 

Paint Metal & Mud is excited to welcome Kim from Corvidae Drawings and Designs. 

Kim offers hand crafted and printed home goods, gifts, and paper products with designs for every day or remembrance of the fun places you've visited. All of her screen printed products are hand crafted in her local studio and all of her paper products are printed in the USA and assembled locally too! 

To see more of her work visit her facebook page or website at: http://www.corvidaedrawingsanddesigns.com/ 


But to enjoy her work in person stop in at Paint Metal and Mud this month!