Cowgirl Up!

Every year Wickenberg, Arizona, home of the Western Desert Museum (Smithsonian Affiliate Museum), prepares and displays a juried exhibition of Western women artists.  The title of these exhibitions is "Cowgirl Up".  We've been at least twice, if not three times over the years to the exhibition.  It's about an hour's drive from the house, so it's a nice little day trip which we usually take with some friends.  

Women artists, no matter their location, are woefully underrepresented in galleries and museums.  That's what makes this exhibition so special.  It's a chance to see new artists.  As always, the pictures are the proof.  My favorite is a bronze called "Distant Thunder".  It's a 3/4th life sized bronze which is beautifully cast.  It shows emotion as well as movement.  It depicts a native women who has been out gathering with her young child.  She's running to beat the storm - thus the name of the piece.

Another one of my faves uses found objects paired with ceramics:

Drake's favorite was also a bronze by Rebecca Tobey.  I also really liked this one.

This is called "Holding up the Sky".

Here's the best in show mixed media piece which is an interpretation of a totem.

It's called "High Country Totem" by Rosetta.

The two dimensional on paper best in show was this one:  

It's "Jicarilla Apache" by Stephanie Campos.

This is the kind of exhibition where I wish I had an extra 15K in my pocket. There were more than a dozen pieces I would happily display in my home. Here are my favorite paintings, both by the same artist - Linda Glover Gooch.  Her clouds were amazing as well as her understanding of the Arizona landscape.

"Out Wickenberg Way"

"Song of Sunset"

Now, that you've seen all our our favorites, check out the rest of the pictures:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3ryYnxVS6W737nLbA

FYI - the 'red dots' are the pieces that have sold.