MARY BALDASANO/ Special to the PVT Art & Sol Committee Chairman Dorothy Slikker addresses attendees at the opening reception for the event. Advertisement

Local band, Open Road, made sure that everyone attending the 2008 Art & Sol reception was wide awake.

Dorothy Slikker, chairman of the Art & Sol Committee, and members LuLu Brymer, Debra Wenk, Claudia Griffith and Jerry Garza attained complete success with this year's event.

The 14th annual Art & Sol was held at the Pahrump Nugget May 23-25. The event provides residents and visitors with the opportunity to review, appreciate and purchase paintings, fiber art, wood items (tables, chairs), molded candles, jewelry, unusual cigar boxes and dolls, to name just a few.

Gov. Jim Gibbons lauded the event in an April 18 letter, saying, "Please accept my congratulations and best wishes to each of you for your hard work in making the Art & Sol Event a reality for the fourteenth consecutive year.

Slikker said "I think everyone liked the event, especially the reception. They had a good time. Sales were slow, I would say due to the economy, not for lack of fine art and crafts. The small items sold, but larger items were very slow.

"All in all Art & Sol produced some extra money for the building fund and future events for the Pahrump Arts Council. We met some very interesting people."

Brymer, local artist and committee member, has a variety of talents. She is a float designer (Red Hat Fall Festival parade float which won the grand marshal award), as well as numerous awards in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

Brymer loves painting and uses all mediums (oil, acrylics, watercolor, pastels, etc). Mostly she does landscapes, but she also does still life scenes and Native American/western art on leather. She is just one of many multi-talented artists who shared her work at the event.

An artist from Las Vegas, David Porter, does a little bit different type of landscape. While the painting reflects a surrounding backdrop of various scenes, each painting has a focal point that is front and center.

One such painting is that of an old Farmall tractor (not really built these days), looking the worse for wear and forgotten, broken down and parked beside and old barn. It gives you the simplicity of the subject matter, but also reflects how things can be set aside and forgotten when they get old.

Porter uses all mediums except oils, which he considers hard to work with in his paintings. Of note, he uses the new computerized artist software, about which he said, "It gives the artist even more freedom to be creative."

As for Art & Sol, Porter stated "The turnout was very good. If they do the same next year, I shall certainly be here. I always enjoy doing Art & Sol and seem to do well with sales."

Artist Claudia Griffith prefers to do wildlife and animal portraits. She has placed work on both coasts and painted extensively throughout New England and the Southwest.

Another local artist, Judy Sampson, does landscapes with a twist. Architecture is her strong suit. Her depictions of small-town scenery, such as that of France, Italy and other places, is truly remarkable. Many of her pieces are done in oils, but she does work with other mediums.

Katreen Romanoff is a sculptor in that she creates western style bowls, vases of many shapes and sizes and plant holders. Kate Costello creates wonderfully elaborate candles. Mike Prettenhofer builds fine wood furniture by recycling discarded materials. Carol Bird designs special Barbie dolls to add to your collections. The list goes on and on.

There were so many artists and vendors at the show that your wallet would have to have been very deep to sample them all.

Judy Fitzgerald, a visitor and artist in her own right, said, "It's better than all that have come before. Having it indoors is the smartest thing that could have been done; I hope they continue to do it that way. It was really fantastic."

Raffles were held for a computer setup donated by Mike Erwin of Master Tech, an artist's easel donated by Dick Blick; as well as books, videos and art supplies.

Sponsors for the event included the Pahrump Arts Council, Don Trudeau (reception), Master Tech, Dick Blick, Mercy Air, Hafen and Hafen, The Welcome Frog, Interior Gardens (provided decorative plants around the floor), Ghetto Mart, Get Framed, Access Realty, Pahrump Bakery, Valley Electric, and Lois Layne's Deli and Ice Cream.

Are you interested in the arts, or have a child that is? Are you a new artist to the valley and would like to meet others? Would you like to know more about the event? If so, contact the Pahrump Arts Council office at 775-751-6776.