Foyer Exhibits

Fly-fisherwomen of the Wood River Valley

Library Foyer Exhibit
January-April 2022
Part of the 2022 Winter Read

“A river, though, has so many things to say that it is hard to know what is says to each of us.” ~Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

To an angler, each bend in the river reveals new riffles and pools, glimmering with hope. The pebbles and rocks underfoot are more than a complex geology. They are pockets of opportunity. An emergence of insects near the bank becomes a call to rise as hardly perceptible rings hint of feeding trout.  

When we step into the river to fly-fish, we become one with this natural flow, reading water like an ever changing book.  With senses attuned, we cast the fly line back and forth above the water before settling it in just the spot we aimed for. A perfect cast is an act of grace.  

Is it any wonder that women have joined the legions of those who are called to water in this wonderous ritual that is fly-fishing?  Through word, object, and image, this exhibit celebrates four Wood River Valley Women who have earned the badge of Reel Legends on our local waters.  

• Amamda Bauman is an elementary school teacher at The Community School and spends her summers working as a fly-fishing guide.  
• Morgan Buckert has worked for almost two decades in recreation and conservation in the Wood River Valley.   
• Juliette Guiterrez lives steps from the river in Ketchum and might be found styling hair in the morning and casting a fly on the Big Wood that evening.  
• Susanne Connor once flew gliders over the Valley and now guides fly-fishing year around and co-operates a local outfitter. 

In March of 2022, the Library hosted a screening of The Rocky Mountain Fly Highway (2014), followed by a Panel Discussion with the Reel Legends—four fly-fisherwomen of the Wood River Valley, whose fishing lives were featured in the Library’s foyer exhibit as part of the 2022 Winter Read.

The Wide Eye Productions Film, narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Tom Skerritt, follows a 500-mile stretch of Highway 20 from Wyoming and Montana, across Idaho and into Oregon, as it connects the West’s most renowned blue-ribbon trout streams. More/link to watch on Vimeo here:
“Rocky Mountain Fly Highway” Film Screening & Reel Legends Panel Discussion

Library Foyer Exhibit
February 2023 – Spring 2023
Part of the 2023 Winter Read

“Las Catrinas” featured the delightful papier-mâché art of Carlos Lecanda. Crafted with intricate detail and expert technique, the exhibit showcased a variety of traditional characters with an exclusive art piece inspired by the 2023 Winter Read, Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s Sabrina & Corina: Stories.

A Guide to Las Primas in the foyer exhibit at The Community Library 

Las Primas – created by the papier-mâché artist Carlos Lecanda – represents the title characters of The Community Library’s 2023 Winter Read, Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine.  
 
Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s magnetic story collection breathes life into her Latina characters of indigenous ancestry and the land they inhabit in the American West.  

Artist Carlos Lecanda wove symbols, details, and colors into “Las Primas” that represent specific aspects of the characters—from the heart-shaped pillow under Sabrina’s bare foot, to the bee on Corina’s hand.  

Corina. Standing in a blue dress – which depicts her work as a cosmetologist – Corina’s position suggests a certain distance from Sabrina’s life journey.  

Sabrina. Described in the story as a stunning girl with round, wide blue eyes and lustrous black hair, Sabrina, is seated. She is depicted with bare feet and an exposed chest, suggesting a vulnerability that her counterpart does not share.   

Heart Pillows. The pillow on the sofa represents the love Sabrina receives from men. Sabrina’s bare foot rests on the other heart-shaped pillow, symbolizing a struggle with her self-esteem. As her grandmother puts it in the story: “…how men loved her too much, how little she loved herself, how in the end it killed her.” 

The Heart-shaped Sunglasses. In the story, Sabrina steals the sunglasses from a dollar store when she is in junior high. They hold a significant memory for Sabrina, and they remind us that she had dreams of moving to “Cali” one day and becoming a big star. 

The Pink Sofa. The sofa serves as a representation of one found in the receiving area of a mortuary, which Sabrina and Corina saw years before when their grandfather passed away. The artist places Sabrina on the pink sofa to symbolize her tragic destiny. 

The Marigolds. Marigolds line the cement path leading to the entrance of the mortuary, creating a decorative border. Marigolds, also known as cempasúchil in Nahuatl, have a meaningful cultural significance during Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), as they are often used as an offering to honor and celebrate the lives of loved ones who have passed away. 

The Bee. Carina recalls her earliest memory of the world, when, laying on “a blanket the color of marigolds,” a bee landed on her cheek and stung her. Sabrina claims the incident with the bee happened to her, and that Corina is taking Sabrina’s memory as her own. We are reminded that Sabrina once claimed of Corina in anger: “All you’ve done your entire life is follow me around.” The artist places the bee on Corina’s hand, signifying that the memory belongs to – or at least lives on with – her.  
 

The Exhibit. Las Catrinas: A Celebration of Mexican Culture will be on display in the Library foyer through spring. You’ll also find a special display of Lecanda’s papier-mâché art in the Children’s Library. 

The Artist. Carlos Lecanda, a native of Guanajuato, Mexico, has made a name for himself as a master of traditional Mexican papier-mâché art. Growing up in Mexico City, Lecanda was heavily influenced by his father’s artisanal work and honed his craft at art schools throughout the city.  
  
Lecanda’s studio is now based in Mazatlán. He specializes in creating intricate and vibrant catrinas, piñatas, paper flowers, and quilling art, a form of paper craft that involves rolling, shaping, and gluing strips of paper to create mesmerizing designs. Lecanda’s catrinas are particularly noteworthy, as they are imbued with the energy, action, and fashion style of their own personalities, while remaining true to the authenticity of Mexican traditions.  

The Winter Read. Every winter, we read a story together. A series of events are slated, including programs, speakers, a film screening, book groups, and discussions. The Winter Read culminates on March 9, 2023, with a keynote by Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of Sabrina & Corina. 

The Community Library and Chihuly Studio Present:
Dale Chihuly: Blanket Cylinders 1975-2016

Library Foyer Exhibit: July 2022 – January 2023

The Foyer of Community Library in Ketchum housed 21 exquisite art glass cylinders from renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. With this extraordinary body of work, Chihuly aims to convey his appreciation and respect for the histories, cultures, and arts of the Indigenous tribes of North America, and to recognize the influence of Native cultures on contemporary arts.

To develop his Blanket Cylinders, Chihuly researched blankets made by members of the Diné (Navajo) tribe after being exposed to rugs and blankets handloomed by Diné artists, which he saw while spending time in New Mexico in 1974. In this Cylinder series, Chihuly initially experimented with drawings on glass vessels, using what is known as a “pick-up” technique.  Colorful glass threads were laid out in intricate designs inspired by the Navajo textiles, before being fused to the vessel in its molten state in a process informed by the artist’s background in weaving.

Glass and textiles have been intertwined for Chihuly since the beginning of his career.  He was introduced to working with glass and natural fiber while studying interior design at the University of Washington, where are as a young artist, he literally wove the two mediums together in unexpected dialogue.

Chihuly’s experimentation with each during this time marks the beginning of his bold innovations in glassmaking:

My first serious use of glass was weaving small parts of it into tapestries. I did this quite seriously during my junior and senior years at the University of Washington in 1963-65. During this period, I studied all kinds of weaving and textiles and fell in love with Navajo blankets and Pendleton blankets. . .It was the beginning of my love of Native American design. ~Dale Chihuly

A decade later, Chihuly was drawn to Santa Fe, New Mexico. There, he helped build a glass hotshop for the Institute of American Indian Art, inaugurating the school’s glassmaking program. This proved to be a powerful synergy for the studio glass art movement, the contemporary Native art movement, and for Chihuly’s development as an artist.

Chihuly’s Inspirations

Like so many artists, Dale Chihuly draws inspiration from the world around him. Chihuly was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington and has spent much of his life immersed in the cultures and natural environs of Washington State.  He has been inspired by the waters of Puget Sound, his mother’s gardens in Tacoma, and the art of dozens of Indigenous tribes, particularly those who reside along the Pacific Northwest Coast and in the Southwestern US, where he has spent time.

The exhibit will be on display in the Library’s foyer through January 2023. Exhibition Sponsored by Michael and Alexis Rowell.

In January 2023, the Library hosted “Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass” with Dr. Letitia Chambers.”

Dr. Letitia Chambers presented a program discussing glass art created by American Indian artists. Chambers is the curator of the exhibit Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass, which is slated to travel to ten major museums around the U.S. over the next four years. She also authored the beautifully illustrated book of the same name, which is now in its third printing. The exhibit includes 120 glass art creations and tells the story of how glass art came to Indian Country. 

Influenced by Native arts, leading glass artist Dale Chihuly created his first Native-inspired glassworks in 1975. He also created and taught a glass art curriculum to students at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. The reciprocal nature of this relationship led to the creation of an exceptional body of work over the past 50 years.  Chihuly’s first Native-inspired works in glass incorporated glass threads fused onto the surface of blown cylinders to create designs based on patterns in Navajo weaving. Chihuly art currently on exhibition at The Community Library features a series of these blown glass cylinders. 

The glass art created by American Indian artists not only is a personal expression of each artist but also is imbued with their cultural heritage. Whether reinterpreting traditional stories and designs in the medium of glass or expressing contemporary issues affecting tribal societies, Native glass artists have created a content-laden body of work. These artists have melded the aesthetics and properties inherent in glass art with their cultural ways of knowing. The result is a stunning collection of artworks. Dr. Chambers’ presentation on Native glass art will include slides with images from the book she authored, Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass, as well as from the exhibit of the same name. 

The program was livestreamed and is available to view here: Click here to watch online.

Dr. Letitia Chambers is a former chief executive officer of the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ. In positions in government, Dr. Chambers served as Staff Director of two U.S. Senate Committees and as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations General Assembly. She also headed the state system of higher education in New Mexico. Her private sector experience includes serving for twenty years as President of a Washington, DC, based public policy consulting firm. Dr. Chambers retired from the Heard Museum in 2012 and now lives in Santa Fe, NM, where she maintains a part-time consulting practice. She has served on over 25 boards of directors over her career, including the Vermont College of Fine Arts, the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, the Adams National Bank in Washington DC, Board Chair of the Santa Fe Botanical Garden, and Board Chair of the National Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums.

Library Foyer Exhibit
May – June 2022

Creating and Conserving the Constitution is a touring exhibition that illustrates the historical context of Idaho’s Constitution and recent conservation efforts.

Following a successful fundraising campaign by the Idaho State Historical Society and the Foundation for Idaho History, the Idaho State Archives worked with the Preservation Lab at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library to conserve the Idaho State Constitution in a multi-year project. The process included paper conservation, removing laminate from two of the pages, surface cleaning, tear mending, tape removal, humidifying and flattening the document, and attaching a new custom binding.

ISHS partnered with Idaho Public Television (Idaho PTV) to document the history of the Idaho State Constitution and the conservation work, as part of the Idaho Experience documentary series, titled Idaho Constitution Revealed.

By partnering with public libraries across the state, the Idaho State Archives now seeks to provide access to this important government record. Beginning in Spring 2022, the exhibit will travel between host libraries with installations lasting two months in each community. The exhibit consists of four display banners, a replica of the State Constitution with display case, QR codes linked to related
documents made digitally accessible through the Idaho State Archives’ online platform, and a copy of Idaho PTV’s documentary.

Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS) and Idaho constitution expert and ISHS board of trustees member, Ernie Hoidal, came to the Library for the opening of Creating and Conserving the Constitution.

He and other panelists discussed the multi-year conservation effort and the history of Idaho’s Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1889. Learn about the delegates from Alturas County (which includes present day Blaine County) who contributed and debated ideas to be drafted into the constitution and discover how you can access this vital piece of Idaho history and many others in your own home. 

Watch the replay of the Panel Discussion on Vimeo here.