Linda Shannon-Hills
On a pleasant Saturday afternoon in November, over a hundred neighbors of SaddleBrooke Ranch were out and about touring the open studios as well as displays in their homes and casitas by many talented artists in our community. The SaddleBrooke Ranch ARTwalk has become an annual event, and the increase of artists participating this year added to the great success. Unlike typical arts and craft shows, the SBR ARTwalk provides artists an opportunity to show and even some to sell their work from their homes to the neighborhood visitors. The talents ranged from oil and water color painting, local area landscape photography, jewelry and beading, wood bowl turning, paper crafting, gourd design, pottery, model building, couture Santas, glazed ceramics, glass designs and fiber arts, which included needlepoint, crocheting, knitting, sewing, quilting and clothing designs.
This year’s event featured 33 artists displayed in 20 locations. While some artists had a large amount of artwork in their own home, several other artists combined their work at one location. Many artists were showing their work to the community while several other artists were selling their work. This gave residents a chance to purchase special gifts for family and friends and also find additions to their new homes at the Ranch. The ARTwalk also provides an avenue to meet more neighbors in our wonderful community.
This year two artists that don’t normally sell their work decided to allow visitors to donate $1 for a chance to win in a raffle for a small quilt especially made for the winner by Kathleen Morgan Squires and a special handmade doll by Barb Martin. The group collected $200 donated to Impact of Southern Arizona Food Bank.
It was required that all items displayed must be made or created by a SaddleBrooke Ranch resident only.
Some artists have been doing their craft for many years while others are relative neophytes. All were very talented in their craft. The following artists participated in this year’s SBR ARTwalk: Cathleen Morgan Squires, Fiber Arts Quilt Trunk Show; Barbara Marting, Fiber Arts and Jewelry; Bev Reiman, Quilts and Basketry; Joe Reiman, Models of ships and airplanes from Civil War, WWII and current; Sharon Morey, Watercolor Painting; Bill Harant, Pottery and Sculptures; Fay Farquhar, Kumihimo Necklaces; Steve and Mary Schneck, Gourd Designs; Sharon Groth, Santas and Painting; Sandra Boulter, Jewelry; Larry Strugala, Wood Turned bowls; Linda Strugala, Jewelry; Carole Ericksen, Hobby Horses, Fiber Arts and Decoupage; Sharon Olivia Marchant, Sewing and Jewelry; Larry Marchant, Fused Glass Art; Martha Sampson, Kumihimo Jewelry; Lisa Witham, Oil Painting; Priscilla Kramer, Fiber Arts, Jewelry and Clothes Designs; Jane Lockett, Oil Painting; Don and Leslie Fore, Photography on infused aluminum; Sue Drengler, Oil Painting; Lydia Reichard, Jewelry, Sewing, Needlework, Paper crafting; Linda Gorman, Pet Photography on canvas; Peter Bratz, Photography with water abstracts and landscape; Lee Rinke, Needlepoint; Diane Fuller, Painting and Knitting; Kerstin Seifert, Sewing custom garments; Carol Andrews, Knitting and Fiber Arts; Bob Hills, Photography of Arizona landscapes on tiles and canvas; Pat Kanitz, Watercolor Painting; Priscilla Meier, Gourd Designs.
Thank you to everyone for this year’s successful ARTWalk. As with any event of this size, it takes volunteers to make it run smoothly. A special thanks goes out to Bob Johnson and Gene Lawrence for volunteering their help with signs; Sally Carstens for helping with putting up house tags and balloons; all the many volunteers that helped the artists in their homes during the ARTwalk. To Alex Baker and Andrea Marchus for office assistance and to ARTwalk director, Linda Shannon-Hills. The photographs are by Steve Weiss.
This event was promoted to only SaddleBrooke Ranch residents.