Contemporary Art

Joseph Anderson Biography:

Joseph Anderson’s journey as a photographer began long before he became a professional. From a young age, he always had a camera in his hands, capturing the moments of camping trips, fishing expeditions, and wildlife encounters. 

In 2015, Joseph took the step to turn his passion into a career. He immersed himself in various photography niches, including portraits, weddings, real estate, and wildlife photography. 

By 2024, Joseph saw an exciting opportunity to expand his career even further. A space became available for him to open his own photography gallery. This move marked a significant milestone in his journey, as he now had a platform to display his work and connect with the community in a deeper way. 

Now, as a gallery owner, Joseph is eager to give back and share the knowledge he has accumulated over his lifetime of photography.

Joseph Anderson Statement:

Photography has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Over the years, I’ve developed a style focused on the nature of wilderness and the contrast of light and shadow. While I appreciate a dramatic action shot or a striking image of a “trophy” animal, my true focus is creating art. 

When I photograph wildlife or landscapes, I’m not just documenting a moment, I’m envisioning the final piece. I think about how editing will help me bring that vision to life. I’m especially drawn to minimalist compositions. Animals or geographical features isolated against clean white backgrounds of snow and ice, or silhouetted in dramatic contrast against deep shadows, lit by natural sunlight. 

There’s something powerful about capturing a subject in such a pure, focused way. Sometimes, my goal is to make the viewer pause and wonder, is this a photograph or a painting? That quiet ambiguity, where the lines between photography and fine art blur, is where I find my creative satisfaction.

Jean Arnold Biography:

Jean Arnold is a visual artist residing in Lewiston, Idaho. She has exhibited her paintings and drawings in numerous solo and group shows, regionally and nationally. Her work is found in many public, corporate, and private collections.

In 2023, Jean had a solo show, Land Lines at the Lewis Clark Center for Arts and History, Lewis Clark State College, Lewiston, ID. In 2022, she had a two-person show with Ellen Vieth, Conversations, at Moscow Contemporary, in Moscow, ID. She was included in a 2021 exhibit at the Missoula Art Museum, Edge of the Abyss: Artists Picturing the Berkeley Pit. At the end of 2026, Arnold will have a solo show at the Northwest Museum of Arts & History in Spokane, WA.

Arnold earned an MFA in 1999 from Northern Vermont University in partnership with the Vermont Studio Center. She also studied at the International School of Art in Italy. In these programs, she received guidance from numerous artistic luminaries.

Jean Arnold Statement:

Northern Idaho is a landscape painter’s paradise – fields, forests, formations, rivers, hills, lakes — so many possibilities in all directions. I was raised in the Lewis Clark Valley. I first became enthralled with this terrain on summer breaks from Utah State University in the early-1980s, and did a whole Palouse series for class assignments back at school.

From the mid-1990s on (still living in Utah), I felt that the Palouse’s sinuous, graphic quality informed my shape-language and led me to combine abstraction and observation in my art.

In the late-1990s at the International School of Art in Italy, rendering the contours and patchwork fields there reminded me of the Palouse; I felt at home with that landscape.

After returning to the area in 2020, in both plein air and studio work I’m trying new things and weaving in earlier history. This land’s seasonal variations, plowed contours, and expansive skies provide an endless source of visual inspiration.

Erin Cassetto Biography:

Erin L. Cassetto earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Art History from Drury University and went on to earn Master of Fine Arts from Washington State University. Cassetto’s award-winning paintings have been recognized in The Art of Watercolour magazine, juried shows, and plein air competitions. Cassetto’s paintings are held in public and private collections, including the City of Moscow, Idaho. When she is not in her art studio in Clarkston, WA, Cassetto spends time with her family hiking and fly fishing. She’ll often carry both her fishing equipment and painting supplies with her into remote areas. On days when the fishing is slow, having a paintbrush handy is so rewarding. On days when the fishing is red-hot, she’ll remember the scenes and celebrate the day in her studio.

Erin Cassetto Statement:

As a landscape painter, I enjoy the challenge of capturing the energy of a place. I’m particularly drawn to how colors and quality of light influence our emotional connection to our environment. Painting en plein air offers the exhilaration of capturing that immediate impression of place. Back in the studio, I enjoy exploring variations on my initial impressions through new color choices or painting techniques. These studio insights invariably enrich my subsequent plein air works.

Whether in the studio or outdoors, my artistic commitment remains constant: to celebrate the unique spirit of each environment using pigment, water and paper.

Kelsey Grafton Biography:

Kelsey Grafton is an award-winning artist and illustrator whose work is rooted in the landscapes and rhythms of the Inland Northwest. Raised in the LC Valley and Palouse region, she carries the visual language of that place with her everywhere she goes.

After moving to the Pacific Northwest, Kelsey earned her BFA in Illustration from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. She went on to travel extensively, immersing herself in cultures and creative traditions beyond the American West. These experiences informed her visual language, perspective, and imagery.

She returned home to the LC Valley, where she spent five years as Exhibit & Programming Coordinator at Lewis-Clark State College, shaping public engagement with art and fostering local creative dialogue. Driven to push her own work further, she pursued a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Idaho.

Kelsey now serves as Professor of Art at Lewis-Clark State College, bringing her dual commitment to making and teaching back to the region that shaped her.

Kelsey Grafton Statement:

Texture is my visual language used to capture the memory of canyon walls, columnar basalt, and swallow’s nests — icons of the confluence region at the mouth of Hells Canyon, where I grew up. I examine the surrounding landscape that has been altered by wildfire — finding latent potential that lingers within the changed terrain. My work honors the beauty of the natural world and acknowledges the impact humans have on this beauty.

Michelle Schmidt Biography:

Michelle Schmidt studied Graphic Design as an undergraduate. In returning to school for Natural Resources in 2022, she took an Art & Ecology class and discovered papercutting art while researching an assignment. It perfectly fit what she wanted to represent in her work and she discovered the art form lent itself well to what she wanted to give expression to. She finds her papercut inspiration outside and enjoys drawing attention to ecological beauty, both visual and conceptual.

Michelle Schmidt Statement:

People say “awe” is big and broad — what we encounter from a mountain top — and “wonder” is small — what we encounter watching an insect visit a flower. I use paper and an x-acto blade to explore both in this collection.

One of the gifts of our drier ecosystem is that it allows us full view of the topographic and geologic forms present. The lines tell a story. The river-carved canyon vistas speak of time and persistence, while the riverside basalt columns create these gorgeous, miraculous walls. That natural laws and processes form this kind of beauty is absurd. We are so loved.

If the topography is bold, the vegetation here is quiet. It’s easy to miss, easy to take for granted. But grass is a wonder, holding the soil intact, providing habitat and food, reaching carbon-sequestering roots deep into the soil — all in an environment too harsh for many trees and shrubs. Both tough and delicate, these often unseen native grasses hold our ecosystem up. Each have their own forms and personalities — once you get to know them, you can’t help but become an adoring fan.

Beyond grasses, numerous native species grow and bloom throughout the year, from February through November. One local site, identified by its ecological classification as R008XY002ID, contains more than 16 native species which contribute both beauty and ecological function. Easily overlooked because they’re small, these species are being crowded out by invasive plants and human-use practices. We lose something precious when this happens.