SVMoA Blog
Idaho Rivers / Idaho Artists: 5 Artists. 5 Questions.
Ava Scanlan (Communications & PR Manager)
This week, Sun Valley Museum of Art is pleased to present Idaho Rivers / Idaho Artists, a juried exhibition, to the public September 12-28, 2024. The exhibition is the result of SVMoA's open call to Idaho artists for work engaging with Idaho rivers. Katie Lee-Koven, Executive Director and Chief Curator for the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum at Utah State University, juried the show, selecting artwork by thirty-three Idaho artists from over 150 submissions. The artwork comprises a range of media and styles, reflecting Idahoans’ diverse experiences of riverscapes as sites of leisure and labor, contemplation and community. The artists included in the exhibition hail from diverse regions and cities across Idaho, spanning from Boise to Burley and Mackay to Moscow.
Running more than 100,000 miles, Idaho’s rivers shape our landscapes, lives, and culture. For this week's SVMoA Voices, we asked five of the artists featured in the exhibition five questions with the rivers of Idaho as their muse. Here is what they had to say.
AARON CORDELL JOHNSON
How do Idaho rivers shape your landscape?
Living on the Idaho Palouse our rivers are small and often seasonal. As a plein air painter, the rivers either full or dry provide visual variety to the landscape and endless inspiration.
What is your favorite spot on the river? Which river?
My favorite spot on the South Fork of the Palouse River is a small pull out on Sand Road South West of Moscow at sunset.
What is your favorite sound on or off the river?
I love the sounds of life, birds, animals, wind, or the endless rapid.
How do the rivers of Idaho support and inspire your artistic practice?
Living in North Idaho I am continually inspired by my surroundings. As I search for what it means to experience a 'place' often rivers have and continue to influence the landscape and my experience of those surroundings. Rivers are givers of life, and their continual flow inspires me to continue in my efforts. The Snake and Salmon River to my south, the Clark Fork to my North and the wildness of the Lochsa and Selway rivers like their waters provide everflowing inspiration.
If you were a river, who would be your best friend?
Hmmm... If I were a river, I would hope that mankind would be my best friend.
BEX WILKINSON
How do Idaho rivers shape your landscape?
Idaho rivers give me a respite from the craziness of the world. They are places I go to paint and regroup in the calmness of the tone of the water. Howard Preserve, Draper and a small spot on the Big Wood River off Broadford Road are some of my favorite spots, but I definitely frequent Redfish Lake and Galena Lodge for plein-air painting as well. Plus my dogs love it!
What is your favorite spot on the river? Which river?
My very favorite spot is the bend in the river off Broadford Road. It is on the way to my studio and I frequently go there to paint. It is always changing. It is never the same. Sometimes people are fishing there, or playing in the water. It is a happy place for all...
What is your favorite sound on or off the river?
Almost every morning I walk my dogs at Draper Preserve in Hailey. The rush of the river as you cross the Bow Bridge is literally like heaven. It is calm and helps me start my day in a sort of meditative space. I frequently will go there at the end of the day to have river "book ends" to the start and finish of the day.
How do the rivers of Idaho support and inspire your artistic practice?
Oh gosh, I paint at the rivers at least once a week. I call the pieces I do "Lil' Ditties" and I usually give these away as gifts. They are small- no larger than 10 inches, and sometimes just a few inches high. People love to receive them as gifts. Who doesn't like a little reminder of the beauty of life? I currently have 4 at the hospital - a healing place, and 7 up at Triangle C Lodge owned by Redfish Lake. It is a far cry from the other work that I do, so I need to do it consistently to keep up my technique and also to calm my brain.
If you were a river, who would be your best friend?
The moose that my dogs chase in the fall down the river! YIKES! They are so large and majestic. (That's when the shock collar comes out!) But I know it is Fall when the moose return to the river. Sometimes they wander down the river in the spring as well... in any case, it's the clock of nature saying we are entering a new season.
DEVIN FARRAND
How do Idaho rivers shape your landscape?
Living in the high desert of the Pioneer Mountains, rivers connect the high peaks with the valleys below. They shape and erode the landscape bringing snowmelt, trees, fish and other wildlife to the region.
What is your favorite spot on the river? Which river?
I have a favorite spot on the river about 8 minutes from my house and studio. It's on the East Fork of the Big Lost River, there is a section that dips down far away from the road and against a talus slope. In late September around 7pm when I look upstream, I see whitewater cascading over rocks and around a beaver lodge, while downstream, the sunlight dances on the rippling surface, transforming the water into shimmering gold.
What is your favorite sound on or off the river?
The sound of a fish rising
How do the rivers of Idaho support and inspire your artistic practice?
The rivers of Idaho deeply influence my artistic practice, I find a sense of stability and grounded-ness in the constant pushing of the current. Fly fishing in rivers like the Big Lost helps me reset and refocus, providing both mental clarity and creative inspiration through its sheer beauty. I’m often directly inspired by its beauty and use imagery taken from the landscape around me in my work.
If you were a river, who would be your best friend?
Warm days and cool nights
JOSH UDESEN
How do Idaho rivers shape your landscape?
If I am not on a river, I am thinking about rivers. Rivers shape much of what I consider joy in my life because the vast majority of things I love to do are connected to rivers. The anticipation of what they provide, the experience of being on or near them and the memories rivers build are, in many ways, what defines me.
What is your favorite spot on the river? Which river?
My favorite spot on the river is just a few feet from the boat launch. Any river, anywhere, the moment I push off from shore there is an awareness I am headed down river and there is always a smile on my face. Be it a day float or a week on the river, the anticipation, the joy, the flow, the erasing of time, the building of memories and all the reasons I love rivers are about to begin.
What is your favorite sound on or off the river?
The best sounds are balanced between quiet peace and a little bit of chaos. I love the murmur of the current when you are about to fall asleep next to a river but I also love the anticipation caused by the increasing roar of a rapid as you approach it from above.
How do the rivers of Idaho support and inspire your artistic practice?
The vast majority of my art is inspired by rivers, and most are derived from experiences on Idaho rivers. Be it the fish that swim in them, the mountains and canyons they cut, or the water they are made of, it is hard to find a piece of art I create that is not, in some ways, inspired by rivers. Ask anyone who knows me, any time I drive across a bridge that spans a river, I am likely to slow down, crane my neck, and look upstream and downstream because I cannot help myself, I am always curious what the river is doing.
If you were a river, who would be your best friend?
The salmon and steelhead, of course. Nothing better than seeing a good friend after a long absence. Every year I would know, without a doubt, they will be back and there is both anticipation and reverence for such a bond.
KIKA MACFARLANE
How do Idaho rivers shape your landscape?
Idaho rivers are a huge part of my life, I live very close to the Bigwood and visit it everyday to swim, fish, or just seek a moment of solitude. I’m also lucky enough to have taken a trip down the Salmon River every year for the last seven years, and this year led an art trip on the Main stem of the Salmon.
What is your favorite spot on the river?
My favorite spot on the Salmon River is Groundhog camp - the light lingers on the opposite hill for a long time, lighting up the trees with a soft orange glow. The river makes a sharp turn there, and the beach and eddy right at camp feel like a hidden paradise, tucked away.
What is your favorite sound on or off the river?
My favorite sound is the canyon wren singing, it echoes through the riverbed and feels like the soundtrack of the river to me.
How do the rivers of Idaho support and inspire your artistic practice?
The Salmon River and Bigwood rejuvenate me, inspire me, and remind me of the wildest parts of myself. Simply being near their moving water grounds me, but I always find something new I want to illustrate or capture in my work when I spend time on the river.
If you were a river, who would be your best friend?
My best friend would be the river otters! They play with me, protect me, and provide joy to my life.