Paradise exhibit features region’s top artists

Cool in every sense of the word.

Cool and skilled crafts on display. Cool facility in which to stage such an exhibition. And, cool as in a break in the weeks long hot spell that had settled over the region.

Even cool descriptions of the event, otherwise known as “Artists in Paradise”, a two-day exhibit and sale featuring many of the region’s top painters, potters, wood carvers and more.

“There is a passion here to keep this kind of thing alive,” said woodcarver Darrell Sorrenson, who is part of the Wild Horse Plains Wood Carvers group who had several intricately crafted pieces on display and for sale in the beautifully, cooly, preserved and highly used Paradise Center on a hill overlooking the town below. “It’s important we keep these things going.”

When asked how long the beautifully detailed walking stick he had on display took to produce, Sorrenson said, “It’s still a work in progress. As far as how many hours we put into things like this, I can’t count that high.”

Not only did club members display their crafts, they demonstrated the art of wood carving in the process.

“I’ve been doing this for several years,” said Janet Brandon. “We come here and usually go to a craft fair in Missoula each year.”

Under the leadership of Instructor/coordinator Tom Collins (cool name) the group has 14 regular members. Collins also conducts a weekly wood carving class at the Wild Horse Plains VFW in Plains every Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. Those classes typically attract between 10 and 20 carvers of all ages and abilities.

A club flyer described the craft and learning how to do it as something “each interested carver from beginning to accomplished artist is encouraged to create his or her dreams individually.”

That could be the theme of this year’s exhibit, which is held in what used to be the gym of the old Paradise school and has now become a crucial part of the Center’s work. The building and gym have both been part of the Paradise Center’s growth and popularity.

Karrie Baldwin, a skilled painter who had several examples of landscape scenery she has created, said her work is a reflection of following an inner voice that directed her to being an artist.

“This is something I’ve wanted to do all my life,” she said as visitors to the center stopped to admire her paintings. “I went back to school 25 years ago to get an art degree and follow that dream.”

Baldwin, who lives in the Thompson Falls area after moving to Montana from Utah, said she likes to paint landscapes because of the emotions they can evoke from viewers.

“Landscapes can remind people of places they’ve been and recreate good memories,” she said.

More than a dozen craftsmen attended the exhibit this past Friday and Saturday, displaying a wide range of crafts from rock painting to pottery to photography. The event attracted a significant number of local art fans and tourists passing by on busy Highway 200.

Collins, who had on display some recent carvings on which he has been working for area churches, praised the support of the Center and the community for helping keep the arts alive in this area.

“This is a great community and the Center is a great place to display these arts,” Collins said.