Adam Thomas

Adam Thomas is a sculptor and professor of art. His new exhibition, Creation, Expulsion, Redemption, is currently on view at the Jacob Spori Art Gallery at BYU Idaho. Exploring themes surrounding Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, and the subsequent relationship between God and man, the 27 works that make up the exhibition are the culmination of some 20 years of work from Thomas’ time as a graduate student in Texas to today.

For more information about the exhibition, go here.

To see more of Adam Thomas’ work, please visit his Instagram or personal website.

Adam Thomas. Celestial Navigation. Mixed media.

Eve's decision to partake of the fruit reveals a thoughtfulness and insight from a distinctly feminine point of view. She saw the great eternal purpose and cause in having seed. She took the commandment to multiply and replenish the Earth seriously and realized there was only one way- to obey. She is represented by a Three legged fruit ladder. Atop the ladder is a telescope from which to chart her course which is represented beneath her the constellations laid out in various seeds for each constellation. Other distinctly domestic objects denote both temporal and heavenly home.

Adam Thomas. The First Supper. Limestone, Travertine, Olivewood, Wheat, Grapes and Olives.

This work suggests a simple meal gathered from food immediately available following the expulsion. They are foods both physically sustaining and spiritually symbolic. Representing both a dining table and an altar, it addresses both the physical and spiritual sustenance we require in a fallen world.

Adam Thomas. A Protection. Sheepskin, harness, dye.

This piece symbolizes the coat of skins God made for Adam and Eve before expelling them out into the dark and dreary world. Depictions often show them in something like deerskin tunics. However, if an animal was to be sacrificed to physically and spiritually protect Adam and Eve, the Type and Shadow would be a sheepskin. A single Robe is hung on a harness. Often a symbol of labor and sin, but also a token of who and what we attach ourselves to and labor toward. This harness is a visual precursor of a cross beam and the single fleece a representation of the Lamb of God. The Savior has asked us to take his yoke upon us and bear our cross.

Adam Thomas. Rising Above. Wood, Hardware.

In a kneeling posture a 10’ ladder has lowered itself. An object often associated with up has humbly come down. Thoughts ascend heaven-ward when on knees in supplication. The ladders exterior is scarred, battered and beaten. However, its inside is cleaner and the damaged surface history is slowly being erased.

Rebekah Ryan Clark on Alice Merrill Horne

Today, we are broadcasting a lecture given by the scholar Rebekah Ryan Clark,  Historical Research Associate for Better Days 2020, an organization celebrating and educating the public on landmark moments in women’s suffrage. The subject of Rebekah Ryan Clark’s lecture is Alice Merrill Horne, a key figure in the suffrage movement and in the development of artistic institutions in the West, including several Museums, government programs, and the careers of artists like Minerva Teichert.  The lecture begins with an introduction by the CEO of Better Days 200, Neylan McBaine.

ABOUT REBEKAH RYAN CLARK

Rebekah Ryan Clark holds a law degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University and attended Harvard Law School as a visiting student. She earned  her bachelor’s degree in American history and literature from Harvard University, where she wrote her honors thesis on Utah’s post-statehood participation in the national women’s suffrage movement. She participated in a post-graduate research fellowship on Latter-day Saint women in the twentieth century at the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute of Church History. After practicing law for four years in Boston, she worked as a research historian at the Church History Department and taught the American Foundations course at BYU–Idaho as an online adjunct faculty member. She is currently a member of the Mormon Women’s History Initiative Team. Her upcoming book, Thinking Women: A Timeline of Utah Suffrage, which she co-authored with Katherine Kitterman, is being published by Deseret Book and will be available in stores by the end of December. 

Annette Whitaker Everett

An interview with Annette Everette , a nationally-award winning sculptor whose historical and religious works have been shown at the American Women Artists’ exhibition, the Springville Museum of Art’s Spring Salon and Spiritual & Religious shows, BYU Museum of Art and the Church’s International Exhibition, just to name a few. Annette Everette’s monuments of allegorical and historical figures can be found at universities, government memorials, and Church sites. She is one of the 90 artists invited to participate in the Certain Women Art Show.

Annette Whitaker Everett. Here’s My Heart, O Take and Seal It (2019) Bronze. 18 x 10 x 10 1/2 in. Currently on show as part of the Certain Women Art Show.

Annette Whitaker Everett. Duet (2017) Bronze. 22 x 10 x 8 1/2 in.

Annette Whitaker Everett. Gratitude (2018) 22 x 23 x 9 in.

You can see more of Annette Whitaker Everett’s work and upcoming events through her Facebook page here.

Certain Women Panel Discussion

A panel discussion — held as part of the Certain Women Art Show — with Dr. Rita Wright (Director of the Springville Museum of Art), Ashlee Whitaker (Roy and Carol Christensen Curator of Religious Art at BYU Museum of Art), Dr. Heather Belnap (Associate Professor and European Studies at Brigham Young University), and Hannah Miller (Temple Art Historian for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

Dr. Rita Wright: Director of the Springville Museum of Art

Ashlee Whitaker: Roy and Carol Christensen Curator of Religious Art at BYU Museum of Art

Heather Belnap, Ph.D: Associate Professor and European Studies at BYU Museum of Art

Hannah Miller: Temple Art Historian for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Shari Lyon

Pioneering new approaches to the ancient technique of encaustic, Shari Lyon is an artist who has spent much of her life nurturing the careers of others as much as her own. Dr. Micah Christensen talks to Shari about her many projects, travels, and latest work for the Certain Women Art Show (http://certainwomenartshow.com).

Below are images described in the interview. You can see more of Shari Lyon’s work at http://sharilyon.com

Shari Lyon. Mio Christo. Encaustic.

A collaboration between Shari & Howard Lyon.

Shari Lyon. “Io Sono” Encaustic 48 x 72 in. Courtesy of the Certain Women Art Show.

Anne Marie Oborn

Anne Marie Oborn's still life, landscape, figurative and religious paintings have gained national attention as a Signature Member of the Oil Painters’ of America and the American Academy of Women Artists. Locally, Oborn is a founding member of the Inspirational At Association and the Plein Air Painters of Utah. She is also a prolific illustrator for dozens of books and publications including, the Ensign, Liahona, His Gift — a collaboration with Richard Paul Evans — and numerous instructional materials for emerging artists.

Anne Marie Oborn. Yearn to Learn (2019) Certain Women Art Show.

Anne Marie Oborn. Backyard Sunflowers.

Anne Marie Oborn. Children of Light.

Anne Marie Oborn with some of the 250 portraits she has painted for the families of fallen members of the military. (Photo courtesy of the Standard Examiner)

You can see more of Anne Marie Oborn’s work on her website anneoborn.com. This episode is part of a series of interviews for the Certain Woman Art Show, an invitational exhibition featuring the work of 90 Latter-day Saint Women Artists. For more information, visit certainwomenartshow.com.

Cassandra Barney & Emily McPhie

Cassandra Barney and Emily McPhie are sisters and painters who each have thriving careers. They are also the daughters of the late James C. Christensen, an influential and pioneering artist who taught at Brigham Young University. In the interview, they discuss what it meant to grow up with an artist, how each developed her own separate aesthetics and working practices, and their works for the Church International Competition and Certain Women Art Show.

Cassandra Barney | Cassandra Barney.com

Cassandra Barney. Thistles & Lilies (2018) Oil and antique wallpaper on panel. On view at the International Church Art Competition, Church History Museum. Salt Lake City.

Cassandra Barney. “I do not wish to be a drone in the hive of Deseret" (2019) Certain Women Art Show on view at Anthony’s Fine Art, Salt Lake City.

Emily McPhie | emilycmcphie.com

Emily McPhie. Sorrow & Hope (2018) Oil on panel. On view at the International Church Art Competition, Church History Museum. Salt Lake City.

Emily McPhie. Sisters in Zion (2019) Oil on panel. On view at the Certain Women Art Show, on view at Anthony’s Fine Art, Salt Lake City.

Tonya Vistaunet

Tonya Vistaunet is an artist, entrepreneur, community organizer, and overall doyenne of joyful color, who makes work on her own and sometimes in partnership with her husband Steve. Tonya works — seen in the most recent Church International Exhibition and Springville Museum’s Annual Spring Salon — range from fine art to coloring books, and murals. She is an advocate and organizer, playing a major role in teaching, supporting, and promoting artists and their work. For her latest work, Tonya is participating in the Certain Women Art Show.

Below are images of the works Tonya and the interviewer, Micah Christensen, discussed in the podcast interview.

Tonya Vistaunet. There Is No End to Love (2019), pictured from its first stage (upper left) to final version (lower right).

Tonya Vistaunet. Are you Experienced (2018)

Tonya & Steve Vistaunet. Not Today (2016)

You can keep up to date with Tonya Vistaunet and see more work on her website.

Annie Poon

Annie Poon works in a huge array of media, from painting to sculpture, etching, and film. Her work has been shown on Nickelodeon, PBS, and at the National Gallery, Brooklyn Museum, New Museum, and Museum of Arts and Design.   She is one of the 90 artists invited to participate in the Certain Women Art Show, opening October 3 in Salt Lake City.

In this interview, we discuss her latest work, along with her book Draw You Way through the Book of Mormon.

The Certain Women Art Show

In 2018, the Certain Women Art Show was the first exhibition held and dedicated exclusively to Latter-Day Saint Women artists. This year’s artist-organizers — Mary Brickey Cole, Laura Erekson Atkinson, and Nicole Woodbury — have more than doubled the size of the show by inviting 90 artists to create original works. In this interview, they discuss the process and intent behind the show.

For more information about dates and locations, please visit certainwomenartshow.com, where you can also RSVP.