On November 18, 19, and 20 and November 25, 26, and 27, 2022, artists in Scottsdale, Cave Creek, and Carefree will once again open their studios to create art, in live demonstrations, as well as to exhibit and sell their fine art. As the name of the event suggests, art lovers and patrons take a self-guided tour, at their own pace, of the artists’ studios or homes, located in the hills of Carefree or Cave Creek, or around the bend in Scottsdale. It’s a fun event of discovery. You may get more information at the Sonoran Arts League website. https://www.sonoranartsleague.org. Either before or after Thanksgiving, stop by and enjoy the company while viewing art.
Author: Sarah Curley Fine Art
Update re Exhibitions
I have recently been juried into “Light Sensitive,” an international exhibition of alternative processes used in creating photographs. The Exhibition opens on July 16, 2022, with an artists’ reception, and closes September 1, 2022. I have several cyanotype-on-paper, abstract images in the show. The juror is Elizabeth Opalenik, world-traveling photographer, educator, and artist. She engages in humanitarian projects, and is an expert in the Mordancage process.
I am also continuing on as a juried, exhibiting artist at The Finer Arts Gallery, Cave Creek, AZ through June 2023. My works currently on exhibit are mixed media pieces, that include pastels, water color, and/or colored pencil to enhance the photographs created from cyanotype on paper or silk.
I am now exhibiting at The Finer Arts Gallery, Cave Creek, Arizona.
I am honored to be a juried artist at The Finer Arts Gallery, 6137 E. Cave Creek Rd., Cave Creek, Arizona 85331. The Gallery opened on September 1, 2021, followed by a grand opening celebration on September 18, 2021. My work will be on exhibit at the Gallery through Midyear 2022. The mix of media at the Gallery is exceptional from acrylic painting, to woodworking, and everything in between! I am exhibiting inkjet prints of cyanotype-on-silk fabric and mixed media pieces with colored pencil and pastels on photographic prints of fine art and rice paper. The Gallery is open every day except Monday, from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. For more information, check the website https://thefinerartsgallery.com.
New Work At The End Of 2019
I continue with my exploration of cyanotype-on-silk fabric, with a recent showing of new pieces at the “No Strangers’ Exhibition,” Art Intersection Gallery, Gilbert, AZ, with the closing of that show in October 2019.
I have also started a new series of digital images printed on photographic paper on which I have hand-applied pastels or colored pencil. Those images are currently on exhibit at El Pedregal Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ, through February 2020.
November 2017
I have been continuing to add to my body of work known as “Blue Renewal,” which I started several years ago. There are about 25 or more pieces that are currently a part of this alternative photographic processes project, and I will continue to add pieces at the end of this year or next year as I focus more on completing the project.
The first pieces in the series have a murky, ocean feel, with the blue-green color of the inkjet prints of cyanotype-on-silk fabric enhancing the feeling of loss that anyone experiences. Over time, I have expanded on the theme, recognizing that over time, I have learned from the losses in life, with the pieces having a richer blue color, and reflecting abstract images of hope or renewal that I have experienced with the passage of time.
I have been juried into The Gallery at el Pedregal, Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ. A number of pieces in my series, “Blue Renewal,” are now on display and for sale at The Gallery. The work will be on exhibit from November 2017 through February 2018. One of the pieces from the exhibit is a part of this post. 
January 2016 And Beyond
In 2016, I hope to exhibit more frequently a completed body of work entitled “Blue Renewal.” In this photographic project, I explore the multiple losses in life: death of a loved one, the ending of a long-term relationship, and the loss of a career and sense of self, using abstract designs to redefine these losses. The color blue serves as the unifying element in the expression of loss and the renewal of life or hope that is attained, in time, after loss.
I have also continued to add to my portfolio of landscape photographs, and I am exploring a new body of work in the alternative photographic process of platinum/palladium printing.
In 2015, I exhibited at the Art Intersection Gallery, Gilbert, Arizona, for the third year in a row, as a part of Light Sensitive, the National Juried Exhibition of traditional and alternative photographic processes. My work was also exhibited at Art Intersection Gallery in July 2015, as a part of the No Strangers Exhibition, and in December 2015-January 2016, in the Next Level Juried Exhibition. In 2015, my work was also part of the “Force of Nature” Juried Show at the Shemer Art Center, Phoenix, Arizona.
Contemplating 2015 And What It May Bring
I have renewed energy in 2015, focusing on inkjet prints of new cyanotype pieces. This new artwork has a botanical theme, with more complex compositions. I am hoping to exhibit the new pieces, as a body of work, in one or more national juried shows in the upcoming year. In the meantime, one of my cyanotype-on-silk pieces has been selected to be exhibited in Light Sensitive 2015, the annual juried exhibition of traditional and alternative photographic processes, at Art Intersection Gallery, Gilbert, Arizona. The juror for the show is Robert Hirsch, a well-known artist, curator, and author. The Exhibition is from March 7 through April 18, 2015. This is the third year in a row that my work has been selected to be exhibited in the Light Sensitive juried exhibitions. As noted previously, certain inkjet prints of my cyanotype-on-cotton pieces were exhibited, from November 1 through November 16, 2014, in the 18th Annual “Lines Into Shapes” National Juried Art Show & Sale, at the Art Center of Estes Park, Estes Park, Colorado.
Arizona Fine Artist, Sarah Curley, To Be In National Juried Show in Colorado
The Art Center of Estes Park in Estes Park, Colorado, is sponsoring its 18th Annual Lines Into Shapes Art Competition & Sale with a festive opening reception on Saturday, November 1, 2014, between 4 and 8 PM. The art work of Sarah Curley has been selected by the juror for this national juried art show. Sarah Curley focuses on cyanotype, an analog photograhic process, to create patterns on silk and cotton fabric. She then photographs the fabric to accentuate its texture, allowing the viewer to explore what is being displayed; is it the fabric, or something else? Her pieces, “Moon Flowers” and “Spring I,” will be shown at the Gallery and are for sale. Her works will be on display at the Art Center Gallery, 517 Big Thompson Avenue, Estes Park, Colorado, between November 1 and November 16, 10 am to 5 pm daily.
Jeanne Mackenzie, from Fort Collins, Colorado, where she is one of the founding members of the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters, has selected approximately 150 original works of art by 86 national artists for the Juried Show. Graduating with Bachelor of Fine Arts and teaching Credentials from San Diego State University, she eventually fell in love with, and devoted herself to, oils. Jeanne shares her love of art by teaching national and international painting workshops. She has been on staff at the Denver Art Museum, teaching color theory, composition, and painting.
During the opening reception on November 1, 2014, commencing at 5 pm, Jeanne Mackenzie, the juror, will announce the show awards and comment on the prize-winning work that she has selected. In addition, Mayor Bill Pinkham will present the the Mayor’s Award, an award sponsored by the Town of Estes Park. Featured media in the show include the categories of oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, pencil, scratchboard, ink, original printmaking, photography, sculpture, and assembled art, such as jewelry, fiber, woodwork, stained glass, and collage.
All of the artwork, either displayed at the Gallery or on-line, is for sale. The artwork may be viewed and purchased on the Art Center’s website at http://www.artcenterofestes.com.
Sarah Curley Art 