Gallery Moab, an artist-owned and operated cooperative gallery, was formed in 2014 to collectively support local artists and build community through the arts. In this spirit, our June Guest Artists are a perfect example of what can happen when creative friends get together to have fun with paint! Bruni Mason and Susan Rydman, long-time friends and painting partners, have over the years encouraged each other to create lively, colorful watercolors which will be shown at Gallery Moab during June.

Mason was a textile designer by trade, and describes her artistic path since retirement: “I am a ‘wanna be’ artist and mostly procrastinate. Yet sometimes I get together with friends and we paint or take an art class … so after a long time my friend Sue and I are going to show off some of our paintings. We both enjoy watercolors and are forever learning how versatile this medium is.”

Rydman has always loved watercolor paintings. After taking one class she decided painting was not her strength. She recounts, “Ten years later I was sitting on the front porch with my brother admiring the view of the Uintas and I told him I would really love to be able to paint that view but did not have the talent. He said, ‘Just do it, nobody has to see it, just have fun.’ So, that’s what I have been doing. Having fun, taking some more classes, and really, really enjoying myself sitting around the kitchen table in Moab, with cousin Nancy, good friend Bruni and other friends and family, encouraging me and painting our brains out. My brother was right!”

And now, fortunately, we all get to see the delightful results of this collaboration! Come enjoy their display of imaginative watercolors that exude fun and joy.

Featured Artist Carolyn Tibbetts is a lifelong Utah resident. Growing up among the majestic mountains of Northern Utah inspired a love of nature’s beauty and stirred the creativity that she continues to express through paintings of her adopted hometown of Moab. She moved here in the early 1970’s and with her family explores southeastern Utah, finding “some truly hidden and wonderful places” that have inspired her most recent paintings. The color, texture and symbolism of the desert surrounding Moab and her love of place shines through in each painting she finishes.

Although mostly self-taught, Tibbetts has taken several classes and workshops and has worked in several mediums. Oils are by far her favorite for reflecting the intense, brilliant colors of the landscape she loves. Her 3 children and 7 grandchildren keep her busy. All of her grandchildren have a special request painting from Grandma, and she is currently teaching each of them the joy and skill of painting and drawing.

Join our creative community during at Art Walk, Saturday, June 11, 5:00 -8:00 p.m. Mason, Rydman, Tibbetts and other gallery artists will be there. We’d love to meet you and show you the wide selection of original art and artisan crafts locally made by our co-op members.

Open Sunday and Monday 12 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.; Tuesday through Saturday 12 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Call 435-220-0891 and we will gladly open by appointment during other hours.


Be sure to mention that you read about Gallery Moab in Moab Happenings.

Gallery Moab LCA 59 South Main Street #1, Moab, Utah 84532 • 435-355-0024
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The Moab Arts Re-Use Residency (MARR) is excited to welcome its second artist in residence, installation artist Justin Tyler Tate, for four weeks this July.

Justin Tyler Tate received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from NSCAD University in Nova Scotia and a Master of Fine Arts from Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts in Finland. His work combines elements of sculpture, installation, media, performance, and social art. Architecture, carpentry, botany, cooking, electronics, chemistry, new-media, and more are all merged under a single umbrella of researched-based artistic production in response to contemporary problems. He has exhibited more than 100 projects in 20+ countries on 4 continents throughout the last decade as a professional artist!

While in Moab, Justin will be working on constructing playground equipment out of waste materials such as steel, wood, tires, DC motors, LEDs, Li-ion batteries, and USB devices. The work will emphasize play as a source of power—the installation created during the residency will illuminate the night and charge devices.

MARR began in 2020 with the mission of providing an alternative option for waste management and challenging the perception of waste culture. The residency provides a unique platform for artists at the intersection of art, community, and waste systems. Through partnerships with the Solid Waste Special Service District #1 and WabiSabi Thrift Store, artists source their materials directly from Moab valley’s waste stream. Resident artists are asked to provide opportunities for community engagement, whether they be open studio events, workshops, or otherwise, in addition to the donation of one work of art created during the duration of the residency. Upcoming events and the location of Tate’s installation will be announced in June.

Subscribe to the Moab Arts newsletter at www.moabarts.org and follow @moabarts on Instagram to receive notice of upcoming events. For more information about the residency, contact Melisa Morgan, Associate Director of Moab Arts, mmorgan@moabcity.org or (435) 259-6272. To see more of Justin Tyler Tate’s work, visit his website at www.justintylertate.weebly.com