Teacher's Corner

This year we are proud to announce that we will have a "Teacher's Corner" at the auction.  Not only do our local art teachers support their students for this project, but they have created artwork of their own to be auctioned off as well.   Make sure you thank these two when you see them!

Matt Simms 

Loyola Sacred Heart High School

Ocean Bowl

Etched and painted glass light fixture with ceramic and spray paint base

I wanted to create an open ocean, deep water fishbowl with creatures that would never be in a fish bowl.  The deep blue sea is pretty foreign to us in Missoula, and might as well exist in our imaginations, trapped in a fishbowl.  My intention was to paint the inside blue and let the sea creatures show through, but the etching disappears with the inside paint.  I'm happy and honored to participate in the WOY project with my own creation rather than just by helping my students.

Maureen Ammondson 

Valley Christian School

My Soul Sings

Etched Acrylic Paint on Glass

I was inspired by my students’ artwork, so I decided to do a piece myself.  What a great project, raising money and awareness to encourage the kids in a tough place.

Student Musicians!

We are so excited to let you know about the addition of musicians to our auction this year.  We have four student volunteers that will be showcasing their talents for your enjoyment as you peruse the artwork that is up for auction.  Come out and enjoy a lovely evening this Friday at The Loft!

5:30 - 6:00 p.m. Scarlet and Claire Peterson will be featured on violins.

6:00 - 6:45 p.m.  Kendallynn Charging will be featured on the cello.

6:45 - 7:30 p.m. Isadora Shannon will be featured on the cello.

We are so thankful to have these talented students offering their time for such a good cause.

Big Sky High School - Finished Artwork

Take a look at our last set of finished artwork from the high schools.  This Friday all of the artwork will be up for sale in a silent auction at The Loft, 119 W. Main St., downtown Missoula.  Come on down and socialize while enjoying the variety of artwork up for auction.

Jett Steen

Big Sky High School

The Gift

Mixed Media-Wood, Glass, Plexiglas, Print Clippings, Tinted Clear Coat, Paint

Size 22” x 15”

Steve Prefontaine was quoted as saying, ‘A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding.’  Missoula is a community of art and running. My love of both came together for me with this project. Looking at this piece, one may have instant understanding or reflect in layers. The same could be said for those who look upon the youth in this town. I’ve seen how this event supports Youth Homes and this is my way of helping make a difference. Because, as Steve says, ‘To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.’

Rachel and Ashley Cohen

Big Sky High School

Untitled

Mixed Media

Allison Crepeau

Big Sky High School

Curiosity

Acrylic on etched Glass

Originally my piece was inspired by the rule of threes.  From there I came up with Goldilocks and the “three” bears. Unfortunately, due to an incident involving broken glass, Goldilocks was all that remained.  I then decided to focus on the “curiosity” that provoked Goldilocks into the forest.

Loyola Sacred Heart - Finished Artwork

More finished pieces!  Keep in mind that a few of Loyola's pieces were not able to make it.  Please see the previous post on "Lost Artwork".  Also, not pictured is Garrett Dutton who will be donating a piece that will be completed soon.  We are getting really excited as the time draws nearer to the auction on Friday, May 30th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Loft, 119 W. Main Street, downtown Missoula.  

Barbara Martinez

Loyola Sacred Heart

Londres

Etched Glass

26.5 x 23 inches

I did this with the purpose of looking through your window and being able to see not just the street, but London.

Sam Johnston

Loyola Sacred Heart High School

The Gnome of the World

Etched Glass

9” x 11”

Up the Rattlesnake trailhead there is a tree a mile down by the creek.  Its roots weave around rocks and it’s a dark, wise looking tree.  What inspired me to do this piece was a story I told him when we hiked to the tree as we often did.  I told him about an old gnome that protected the Rattlesnake Creek.  After this experience up the Rattlesnake trailhead, I knew what to do for this piece. 

Taylor Short

Loyola Sacred Heart High School

Pick Your Wizard

Etched Mirror

44” x 30”

It is a privilege to be involved in this project.  Youth Homes is a great program and I think it is awesome that the Missoula high schools get to be a part of it.  For my piece, I used a mirror and acid to burn (etch) the glass surface.  I chose the Harry Potter theme because it is commonly known and I love Harry Potter!  Who doesn’t?  I had a lot of fun with this project of youth helping youth!

Willard School - Finished Artwork

Come on down to the silent art auction on Friday, May 30th, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at The Loft, 119 W. Broadway, downtown Missoula!  Browse around and bid on your favorite pieces.

Maija, Harley, Courtney

Willard School

Day N’ Ight

Acrylic on Glass

We liked the idea of the sun and moon. They are complete opposites but they come together. They are combined as one. 

Charolette Welty

Willard School

Going to the Sun Road

Acrylic on Glass

I was inspired by the Glacier National Park’s "Going to the Sun Road."  I wanted everyone to be able to relate to it.  My vision was to show the "Good Path" to let people know that there is always a way to get back to good.

Keara Ring

Willard School

Wonderwall

Acrylic on Glass

What inspired me to do this painting is my love, my "WonderWall".  My Love that makes me feel as if I have flowers in my heart and through out my whole body.  The picture makes me feel free, as a flower that grows in the ground.

Tyler Vaneps

Willard School

The Big Blue

Acrylic on Glass

Alaska and water inspired me. I like water and the picture was just too empty to have water so I put a light house on it because they are cool.   In Alaska I sit out on the boat after work and look out at the mountains and I sketched mountains. Spending time in Alaska made me like water and landscapes.

More Benefactors!

Yes, we have great news, the addition of more Benefactors! We are so thankful for the support of all of our Benefactors including our most recent additions:

Allegiance

Renee and Mark Garnaas

Hellgate Canyon Storage, LLC

The following completes our list of Benefactors to date:

Randy and Theresa Cox

Datsopoulous MacDonald & Lind P.C.

http://dmllaw.com

Diane Dawson

D J & A, P.C. Engineers. Planners. Surveryors.

Please visit their website at:  www.djanda.com

Larry and Dee Dee Gianchetta

Olsen and Peters Family Dental

www.missoulafamilydental.com

Tim and Theresa Strauch

Warren and Betsy Wilcox


Other Donors

Dr. Phillip Schrumpf, DPM General Podiatrist

Lost Art Pieces

During the process of working on projects for the 2014 Windows of Youth Project, several Loyola Sacred Heart High School students saw their projects meet with untimely demises.  While heartbroken, these students have regretfully moved on and are looking forward to participating next year.  Here is a description of their work, in memorium:

Whitney Bowditch took a vintage glass jug and etched "Gone Fishing" onto one side, with images of a silhouetted fisherman on the other side.  She placed the bottle outside to dry and two hours later it had disappeared.

Bobby Hardy etched text and images from V for Vendetta onto a small piece of framed glass, and painted a black and red abstract background to sit behind the glass.  He sadly placed his glass on the Art 1 work shelf, and as an Art 1 student pulled out his folder, the glass fell and shattered on the floor. 

Finally, Takeshi Yamamoto painstakingly cut a city skyline stencil onto a lantern globe, spending at least four hours on his intricate stencil work.  When the acit was applied, it revealed not his skyline, but the word pyrex, teaching us that pyrex surfaces, as well as being heat resistant, are resistant to acid.

We mourn the loss of these projects and will remember them fondly.  We also want to thank these students for their hard work and dedication to this project.

Sentinel High School - Finished Artwork

Lindsey Davenport

Sentinel High School

Stream of Thought

Acrylic on Glass

I was first inspired by my art teacher, Tim Nielson.  I have always liked the patterns in the skin that he does.  I named it ‘Stream of Thought’ because I thought a lot in this piece. You can see it in the brush stroked skin.

Zoe Tate

Sentinel High School

Big Sky

Acrylic on Glass

This project has been really fun and I am glad I could participate!  Nothing in particular inspired this painting.  I based it off of a smaller painting I had done one day just out of boredom.  I really love nature and bright colors and birds.

Ashley Laing

Sentinel High School

Branch of Seasons

Acrylic on Glass

It has always been hard for me to draw trees or their branches, so I decided, ‘practice makes perfect’, right?  And so my picture was created.  I used a previous design of mine to ‘map out’ my picture to paint.  I am glad I have my piece go toward helping others, but my mom is sad to see it go.  I have always been a little uncomfortable about showing, much less selling my art.  Having this opportunity is really great for helping my timidness in the art world!

Jacquelyne Eileraas

Sentinel High School

Peace Is What You Make It

Acrylic on Glass

When I first started the window I was going to have it be a storm scene.  I changed my mind when I was looking at the window and daydreaming.  I was thinking of the Missoula peace sign and I decided to paint it.  I’ve heard too much love and too much hatred over this one thing.  I just wanted to see what would happen if I painted it. 

Rachel Gehman

Sentinel High 

Untitled

Acrylic on Glass

Local Artist Donates Paintings to Auction

A local Missoula artist has generously donated a pair of his paintings to the Windows of Youth Auction benefiting Youth Homes.  Thank you so much Brendan!!!  Come on down to the Auction on May 30th, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at The Loft, downtown Missoula.  Bid on some amazing artwork!

Brendan Stewart

Local Artist

Untitled

Oil on Canvas

Born and raised in Nederland, Colorado, Stewart moved to Missoula after living in Alaska. Stewart is a wood worker and a ceramicist and has been painting with oils since he arrived to Montana in 2007. Most works are left untitled so that the viewer is left to their own interpretations of the work. 

These paintings were done after spending time hiking and backpacking in the Bitterroot mountains. They seem like landscape pictures, but they also lose any recognizable image. The colors used offer a warm and happy feeling inspired by the vast ranges of the Bitterroot valley.

You can see more of Brendan's artwork at:  http://www.brendanstewart.net/

First Friday!!!

We had a beautiful evening for our First Friday event.  We were downtown promoting the auction that will take place at The Loft on May 30th.

Many thanks to all of the volunteers who helped out including Theresa and Miles Strauch, David, Danika, and Jason Firth, Leslie Wustrack and her dog, Ella!  Also, a great big Thank You to Home Depot for providing the beautiful greenery.

Spread the word and get your friends and family over to The Loft at the end of the month and support Youth Homes by bidding on our local high school student artwork.

Hellgate High School - Finished Artwork

Halle Smith

Hellgate High School

Memories

Acrylic on Glass, Paper Collage

28" x 36"

The inspiration for my piece came from my desire to portray how my memories are to me, and I tried to do that through a series of photos of flowers that I planted with my dad when I was younger.  I also used photos of members of my family.  I’m so excited to be part of this great fundraiser and I enjoyed every minute I spent creating my piece.

Natalie Linn

Hellgate High School

Jackaline

Acrylic Paint, Colored Pencil, Paper, Copper wire

28" x 36"

A lot of people seem to picture their anger, sadness, or anxiety as something dark or scary.  I didn’t want to fear my emotions so much as make friends with them and whatnot, so I decided to picture my negative emotions as a cuddly rabbit.  Thusly, here is a window to my psyche.  This piece was a lot of fun and I am so glad to have been a part of this fundraiser.

Briana Thornton
Hellgate High School

The Lake

Ceramic, Clay, String, Acrylic on Glass

I grew up on a lake until I was ten.  It had beautiful night skies and sunsets.  In summer there were daisies covering all of the ground.  I wanted to capture that memory in this piece.

Kasey Chambers

Hellgate High School

Evolution

Acrylic on Glass

This project gave me the chance to create something for a greater good.  Through this, I was able to feel good about my work, not for its aesthetics, but for the community benefit.  For inspiration, I thought about all of my life hurdles and how I felt during and after them.  Through this thought process, I developed the theme of light and dark.  In my piece, black and navy blue fades and evolved into pink and white.  This shift in color symbolizes the change in emotion, etc., through difficulties.  Paraphrasing this concept, "Out of darkness, comes the light."  I feel that this theme coincides with the charitable and life-changing work that Windows of Youth helps to support.  To me, this work is meaningful not only symbolically, but it is also beneficial to the community.  Thank you, Windows of Youth, for this opportunity.

Morgan Elrod

Hellgate High School

Nature Girl

Mixed Media

24" x 30"

I wanted to create a piece encompassing how hard it can be to live an ecofriendly lifestyle in our country.  I used the iconic female bathroom symbol formed by constrained leaves to embody this idea.  The jail bars nod towards the unrealistic expectations of society in our fight to live a greener lifestyle.

Aria Robinson

Hellgate High School

Seeping Through

Acrylic, Oil, and Sharpie on Glass

You can always see through to the other side.  No matter how rough things are, there is a window of opportunity.  I chose to display plants and wildlife.  When I am in nature, I feel calm and peaceful.

Katie DeCan

Hellgate High School

State of Dreaming

Oil on Canvas with Mirror Shards

20" x 24"

I created this piece with the hope of depicting the abrupt transition from a ‘state of dreaming’ to an unfortunate awakening.  Not shattered dreams, per se, but the realization that reality is never as perfect as we might hope or imagine.

Indigo Ryan

Hellgate High School

Butterfly Free

Mixed Media

It is spring!  Time to get free.

Molly Gray

Hellgate High School

Hemispherium

Marker, Card Stock, Acrylic on Glass

Following traditional moral concept, the contrast of black and white is intended to represent a battle of right versus wrong, in this case, a personal moral conflict.  However, the use of images that contradict their given color morality is with the intent to show how we wrongly categorize the actions or thoughts of ourselves and others as right or wrong, through the warped process of moral justification.

Payton Cox

Hellgate High School

Growth

Newspaper, Sharpie, Glitter,  Acrylic Gel and Acrylic Paint on Glass

Check out the Merc Windows!!!

If you are in downtown Missoula, check out the Merc windows.  Jed Dennison has generously offered us space to feature some of the student artwork during the month of May. So go downtown and have a peek at some of the finished artwork that is on display.

Remember this Friday, May 2, we will be down by the Merc during the First Friday Event to tell you all about our auction happening Friday, May 30th, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at The Loft, 119 W. Main Street, downtown Missoula!  All proceeds go to Youth Homes.  If you can't make the event, consider making a donation.