BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.0.1//EN TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:VEVENT UID:1873@lcvalleyartcenter.org DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260710T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260729T000000 DTSTAMP:20260619T201811Z URL:https://lcvalleyartcenter.org/events/creative-confluence-show/ SUMMARY:Creative Confluence Show DESCRIPTION:\nContemporary Art\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoseph Anderson Biogr aphy:\n\n\n\nJoseph Anderson’s journey as a photographer began long befo re 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. \n\n\n\nIn 2015\, Joseph took the step to turn his passion into a career. He immersed himself in various photography nich es\, including portraits\, weddings\, real estate\, and wildlife photograp hy. \n\n\n\nBy 2024\, Joseph saw an exciting opportunity to expand his ca reer even further. A space became available for him to open his own photog raphy gallery. This move marked a significant milestone in his journey\, a s he now had a platform to display his work and connect with the community in a deeper way. \n\n\n\nNow\, as a gallery owner\, Joseph is eager to g ive back and share the knowledge he has accumulated over his lifetime of p hotography.\n\n\n\nJoseph Anderson Statement:\n\n\n\nPhotography has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Over the years\, I've dev eloped a style focused on the nature of wilderness and the contrast of lig ht and shadow. While I appreciate a dramatic action shot or a striking ima ge of a “trophy” animal\, my true focus is creating art. \n\n\n\nWhen 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 composi tions. Animals or geographical features isolated against clean white backg rounds of snow and ice\, or silhouetted in dramatic contrast against deep shadows\, lit by natural sunlight. \n\n\n\nThere’s something powerful a bout 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 painti ng? That quiet ambiguity\, where the lines between photography and fine ar t blur\, is where I find my creative satisfaction.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJean Arn old Biography:\n\n\n\nJean 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.\n\n\n\nIn 2023\, Jean had a solo s how\, Land Lines at the Lewis Clark Center for Arts and History\, Lewis Cl ark State College\, Lewiston\, ID. In 2022\, she had a two-person show wit h Ellen Vieth\, Conversations\, at Moscow Contemporary\, in Moscow\, ID. S he 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 wi ll have a solo show at the Northwest Museum of Arts &\; History in Spok ane\, WA.\n\n\n\nArnold earned an MFA in 1999 from Northern Vermont Univer sity in partnership with the Vermont Studio Center. She also studied at th e International School of Art in Italy. In these programs\, she received g uidance from numerous artistic luminaries.\n\n\n\nJean Arnold Statement:\n \n\n\nNorthern Idaho is a landscape painter’s paradise – fields\, fore sts\, formations\, rivers\, hills\, lakes — so many possibilities in all directions. I was raised in the Lewis Clark Valley. I first became enthra lled 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.\n\n\n\nFrom 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.\n\n\n\nIn the lat e-1990s at the International School of Art in Italy\, rendering the contou rs and patchwork fields there reminded me of the Palouse\; I felt at home with that landscape.\n\n\n\nAfter returning to the area in 2020\, in both plein air and studio work I’m trying new things and weaving in earlier h istory. This land’s seasonal variations\, plowed contours\, and expansiv e skies provide an endless source of visual inspiration.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEr in Cassetto Biography:\n\n\n\nErin L. Cassetto earned a Bachelor of Arts i n Art and Art History from Drury University and went on to earn Master of Fine Arts from Washington State University. Cassetto’s award-winning pai ntings have been recognized in The Art of Watercolour magazine\, juried sh ows\, and plein air competitions. Cassetto’s paintings are held in publi c and private collections\, including the City of Moscow\, Idaho. When she is not in her art studio in Clarkston\, WA\, Cassetto spends time with he r family hiking and fly fishing. She'll often carry both her fishing equip ment and painting supplies with her into remote areas. On days when the fi shing is slow\, having a paintbrush handy is so rewarding. On days when th e fishing is red-hot\, she'll remember the scenes and celebrate the day in her studio.\n\n\n\nErin Cassetto Statement:\n\n\n\nAs a landscape painter \, I enjoy the challenge of capturing the energy of a place. I’m particu larly drawn to how colors and quality of light influence our emotional con nection to our environment. Painting en plein air offers the exhilaration of capturing that immediate impression of place. Back in the studio\, I en joy exploring variations on my initial impressions through new color choic es or painting techniques. These studio insights invariably enrich my subs equent plein air works.\n\n\n\nWhether in the studio or outdoors\, my arti stic commitment remains constant: to celebrate the unique spirit of each e nvironment using pigment\, water and paper.\n\n\n\nKelsey’s pick\n\n\n\n Kelsey Grafton Biography:\n\n\n\nKelsey 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 carrie s the visual language of that place with her everywhere she goes.\n\n\n\nA fter moving to the Pacific Northwest\, Kelsey earned her BFA in Illustrati on from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. She went on to travel exte nsively\, immersing herself in cultures and creative traditions beyond the American West. These experiences informed her visual language\, perspecti ve\, and imagery.\n\n\n\nShe returned home to the LC Valley\, where she sp ent five years as Exhibit &\; Programming Coordinator at Lewis-Clark St ate College\, shaping public engagement with art and fostering local creat ive dialogue. Driven to push her own work further\, she pursued a Master o f Fine Arts at the University of Idaho.\n\n\n\nKelsey now serves as Profes sor of Art at Lewis-Clark State College\, bringing her dual commitment to making and teaching back to the region that shaped her.\n\n\n\nKelsey Graf ton Statement:\n\n\n\nTexture is my visual language used to capture the me mory 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 ex amine the surrounding landscape that has been altered by wildfire — find ing latent potential that lingers within the changed terrain. My work hono rs the beauty of the natural world and acknowledges the impact humans have on this beauty.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMichelle Schmidt Biography:\n\n\n\nMichell e Schmidt studied Graphic Design as an undergraduate. In returning to scho ol for Natural Resources in 2022\, she took an Art &\; Ecology class an d discovered papercutting art while researching an assignment. It perfectl y 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 ecologica l beauty\, both visual and conceptual.\n\n\n\nMichelle Schmidt Statement:\ n\n\n\nPeople say “awe” is big and broad -- what we encounter from a m ountain 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.\n\n\n\nOne of the gifts of our drier ecosystem is that it allows us full view of the topographic and geologic forms present. The li nes tell a story. The river-carved canyon vistas speak of time and persist ence\, while the riverside basalt columns create these gorgeous\, miraculo us walls. That natural laws and processes form this kind of beauty is absu rd. We are so loved.\n\n\n\nIf the topography is bold\, the vegetation her e 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 uns een native grasses hold our ecosystem up. Each have their own forms and pe rsonalities -- once you get to know them\, you can’t help but become an adoring fan.\n\n\n\nBeyond grasses\, numerous native species grow and bloo m throughout the year\, from February through November. One local site\, i dentified by its ecological classification as R008XY002ID\, contains more than 16 native species which contribute both beauty and ecological functio n. Easily overlooked because they’re small\, these species are being cro wded out by invasive plants and human-use practices. We lose something pre cious when this happens.\n ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lcvalleyartcenter.org/wp-content/uploads /2025/11/Creative-Confluence-Group-Art-Image.jpg CATEGORIES:Show LOCATION:Valley Art Center\, 842 6th St\, Clarkston\, WA\, 99403\, United S tates X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=842 6th St\, Clarkston\, WA \, 99403\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Valley Art Center:geo: 0,0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR