This series of artist-led workshops will be taught by Open AIR Alumni, artist, and seasoned educator Amanda Beilby.

When: Fridays, July 17th, 24th, 31st from 10am-1pm

• Session One: July 17th - Water ripples in watercolor

• Session Two: July 24th- Colorful stones water study

• Session Three: July 31st- Combining above skills for Plein Air on the Lake!

Session Time: 10am - 1pm 

Workshop Description:
Join us for three days of artistic discovery where science, nature, and creativity meet—let your brush flow with the mixed media of watercolor with soft pastels, and take home not just paintings, but memories of Montana’s Flathead Biological Station. All materials are provided

Day one invites you to unlock the art of painting life like lake ripples, capturing the tranquil movement and shimmering reflections unique to these crystal waters. On day two, you’ll learn to recreate water as it flows and pools over vibrant stones. On the final day, you’ll take your easel out into nature for a plein air painting experience on the lakeshore, combining your new skills to bring Flathead Lake to life on paper.

Place: Varying locations along Flathead Lake Biological Station in Yellow Bay. Workshops can be taught from inside the station if the weather isn't suitable for outdoors. 

Audience: This workshop is suitable for individuals 18+.

What to bring: Camp chair, water bottle, sunscreen, all workshop materials will be provided!

Cost: The workshop is free, but a suggested donation is appreciated!

Registration: Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the workshop begins.

Register: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261375343418155

Cancellation: If you are registered and cannot attend the workshop, please let us know so we can open the spot for another participant! 

Questions? Email susie@openairmt.org

About the Artist:
Amanda is a versatile jack-of-all-trades painter known in Missoula for painting and restoring murals and faux finishes. She enjoys therapy-based art and plein-air painting to soothe the soul. She shares her expertise with both adults and children.

When: Tuesday, July 28, 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Where: Garden City Harvest
Cost: Free

Join us at the Garden City Harvest for an artist presentation and conversation with Open AIR's Summer Artist-in-Residence Jim Diamondidis. All are welcome! Snacks will be provided. Let us know if you'll be joining us with the optional registration form.

Topics Covered: tbd

Register for the event here: https://form.jotform.com/261244498893168

About the Artist: 

Jim Diamondidis is an oil painter whose work explores issues of access, sustainability, and human-environment relationships. Jim applies a contemporary conceptual framework to the traditional practice of realism painting. His painting practice is rooted in the observation of local ecology, and his most recent work centers around community gardens. Jim’s interest in environmental systems developed during time spent working on a permaculture farm in Guatemala and leading backpacking trips in New Hampshire. Jim studied painting at Anne Arundel Community College, the Washington Studio School, and Harvard University, and his paintings have been exhibited throughout the Washington, DC area.

Website: jimdiamondidisart.com 

UPDATE:
Unfortunately, Addie Palin's summer residency with the Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation had to be rescheduled for this fall. Due to weather and road conditions, Addie’s wilderness site is inaccessible this summer, but we're excited for what's ahead and look forward to sharing Addie's experience later this year. Stay tuned for updated Artist Presentation dates and residency news.

———-

About the Artist: 

Addie Palin received her MFA in Poetry from the University of Montana, where she was the Richard Hugo Scholar. After fifteen years in the Chicago advertising community, she returned to western Montana, where she continues her work in that field.

Currently informed by the rural valley in which she lives, her writing attempts to blur the boundaries between human and other—the urgency of animals, the change of hands, and the shifting of seasons on lands that retain—to varying degrees—their wildness. While in part a commentary on the tension between humans and their environments, she uses this blurring primarily to describe relationships between people: love, disappointment, desire, neglect. Her poems value complex emotional landscapes over clear interpretation, with the intent to evoke specific feelings rather than deliver logical conclusions. Her first manuscript was a finalist for the Tupelo Press Dorset Prize, the Colorado Prize, and the National Poetry Series, among others.

This series of artist-led workshops will be taught by Open AIR Alumni, artist, and seasoned educator Amanda Beilby. Participants may register for all 3 Fridays workshops or just one or two.

When: Fridays, July 17th, 24th, 31st from 10am-1pm

• Session One: July 17th - Water ripples in watercolor

• Session Two: July 24th- Colorful stones water study

• Session Three: July 31st- Combining above skills for Plein Air on the Lake!

Session Time: 10am - 1pm 

Workshop Description:
Join us for three days of artistic discovery where science, nature, and creativity meet—let your brush flow with the mixed media of watercolor with soft pastels, and take home not just paintings, but memories of Montana’s Flathead Biological Station. All materials are provided

Day one invites you to unlock the art of painting life like lake ripples, capturing the tranquil movement and shimmering reflections unique to these crystal waters. On day two, you’ll learn to recreate water as it flows and pools over vibrant stones. On the final day, you’ll take your easel out into nature for a plein air painting experience on the lakeshore, combining your new skills to bring Flathead Lake to life on paper.

Place: Varying locations along Flathead Lake Biological Station in Yellow Bay. Workshops can be taught from inside the station if the weather isn't suitable for outdoors. 

Audience: This workshop is suitable for individuals 18+.

What to bring: Camp chair, water bottle, sunscreen, all workshop materials will be provided!

Cost: The workshop is free, but a suggested donation is appreciated!

Registration: Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the workshop begins.

Register: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261375343418155

Cancellation: If you are registered and cannot attend the workshop, please let us know so we can open the spot for another participant! 

Questions? Email susie@openairmt.org

About the Artist:
Amanda is a versatile jack-of-all-trades painter known in Missoula for painting and restoring murals and faux finishes. She enjoys therapy-based art and plein-air painting to soothe the soul. She shares her expertise with both adults and children.

When: Thursday, July 23, 6 pm
Where: Please, Poetry Library: 801 sherwood st, Missoula, MT 59802
Cost: Free

Join us for a Poetry reading and multi-media event with Jory Mickelson and Addie Palin at the Please, Poetry Building.
Aria Peters and Bill Kautz will be playing some jazz tunes.

Jory Mickelson is an award-winning writer and storyteller living in Xwotʼqom / Whatcom / Bellingham on the homelands of the Lummi and Nooksack peoples.
They are the author of three books of poetry: Picturing (2025, End of the Line Press), All This Divide (2024, Spuyten Duyvil Press), and Wilderness//Kingdom (2019, Floating Bridge Press), which won a 2020 High Plains Book Award. Their work has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Poetry Northwest, the Rumpus, Mid-American Review, and other journals in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. They have received fellowships from Dear Butte, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, The Sitka Center of Art and Ecology, the Jack Straw Writers Program and the Lambda Literary Foundation.
A fourth-generation Montanan, they love the state's beautiful people and the land which they share.

Addie Palin received her MFA in Poetry from the University of Montana, where she was the Richard Hugo Scholar. After fifteen years in the Chicago advertising community, she returned to western Montana, where she continues her work in that field.

In this workshop, participants will explore how contemporary figurative painters use motif, personification, and color to build narrative within a composition. Through guided analysis of current artists' work, participants will develop their own narrative concept and compositional approach before applying these ideas in a small acrylic painting on paper. Students will work with a limited duo-chrome palette to discover how deliberate color choices reinforce emotional tone and storytelling.

All materials and supplies are included.

Audience: This workshop is suitable for all ages

What to bring: no preparation is necessary!

Cost: The workshop is free, but a donation is appreciated!

Registration: Registration is required.
This workshop is limited to 10 participants

Register Here: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261596311422150

Questions? Email: susie@openairmt.org 

About the Artist:
April Werle (b. 1995, Helena, Montana) is a narrative painter depicting mixed-race identity, memory, and diaspora through magical realism and intimate domestic scenes. Her recent solo exhibitions include Our Sometimes Home, Glacier Art Museum; I Live With a Ghost, PlatteForum; and My Other Half, The Chase Gallery. Her work has also been exhibited at Brea Gallery and the Montana Museum of Art and Culture. Werle completed a residency at PlatteForum and the Emerging Artist Residency at Centrum Foundation. She was awarded the Creative West Artist Fund Award, as well as the ARPA Grant and the Strategic Investment Grant from the Montana Arts Council. Her work has been featured in New American Paintings and Create! Magazine.

When: Wednesday, July 22, 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Where: Home ReSource
Cost: Free

Join us at Home ReSource for an artist presentation and conversation with Open AIR's Summer Artist-in-Residence April Werle.
All are welcome! Snacks will be provided. Let us know if you'll be joining us with the optional registration form.

Topics Covered: tbd

Register for the event here: https://form.jotform.com/261244498893168.

April Werle (b. 1995) is a narrative painter exploring mixed-race identity, memory, and diaspora through scenes of intimate domestic life and American pop culture. Her recent solo exhibitions include I Live With a Ghost, PlatteForum; My Other Half, The Chase Gallery; and Secret Life of a Multicultural Couple, Bell Projects. Her work has also been featured in the Montana Museum of Art and Culture, The Holter Museum of Art, and Missoula Art Museum. Werle was selected as a PlatteForum Artist-in-Residence and for the Emerging Artist Residency at Centrum Foundation. She was honored with the Creative West Artist Fund Award, as well as the ARPA Grant and Strategic Investment Grant from the Montana Arts Council. Werle’s work has been published in Create! Magazine, New Visionary Magazine, and Mahalaya.

Website: www.aprilwerle.com

When: Tues, July 21, Doors Open: 6:00p | Presentation begins at 6:30p
Where: The Historic Clark Chateau Museum & Gallery
Cost: Free
Join us at the Clark Chateau for an artist presentation, performance, and conversation with Open AIR's Summer Artist-in-Residence Jory Mickelson. All are welcome!

Topics Covered: tbd
Snacks & refreshments will be provided.

Let us know if you'll be joining us with the optional registration form.

Register for the event here: https://form.jotform.com/261244498893168

About the Artist:
Jory Mickelson is an award-winning writer and storyteller living in Xwotʼqom / Whatcom / Bellingham on the homelands of the Lummi and Nooksack peoples.

They are the author of three books of poetry: Picturing (2025, End of the Line Press), All This Divide (2024, Spuyten Duyvil Press), and Wilderness//Kingdom (2019, Floating Bridge Press), which won a 2020 High Plains Book Award. Their work has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Poetry Northwest, the Rumpus, Mid-American Review, and other journals in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. They have received fellowships from Dear Butte, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, The Sitka Center of Art, and Ecology, the Jack Straw Writers Program, and the Lambda Literary Foundation.

A fourth-generation Montanan, they love the state's beautiful people and the land which they share.

Find out more about Jory: https://jorymickelson.com/

When: July 18, 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Where: Moon Randolph Homestead
Cost: Free

Join us at the Moon Randolph Homestead for an artist presentation and conversation with Open AIR's Summer Artist-in-Residence Sarah McMurry. All are welcome! Snacks will be provided. Let us know if you'll be joining us with the optional registration form.

Topics Covered: natural dyeing processes, quilting, Montana quilts, sewing, and more.

Register for the event here: https://form.jotform.com/261244498893168

Sarah McMurryis a fiber artist based in Kansas City, MO, where she is pursuing a BFA in Fiber at the Kansas City Art Institute. Sarah's work combines a reverence for traditional craft methods with a playful approach to making. Using slow processes like quilting, stitching, knitting, and weaving in combination with natural dye, her work offers a contemporary take on the past that unites us together. She is the recipient of a Windgate Arrowmont Fellowship, a Susan B. Lordi Marker award for excellence in Fiber, and a Barbara Kuhlman Foundation Scholarship.

Website: smcmurry.com

This series of artist-led workshops will be taught by Open AIR Alumni, artist, and seasoned educator Amanda Beilby. Participants may register for all 3 Fridays workshops or just one or two.

When: Fridays, July 17th, 24th, 31st from 10am-1pm

• Session One: July 17th - Water ripples in watercolor

• Session Two: July 24th- Colorful stones water study

• Session Three: July 31st- Combining above skills for Plein Air on the Lake!

Session Time: 10am - 1pm 

Workshop Description:
Join us for three days of artistic discovery where science, nature, and creativity meet—let your brush flow with the mixed media of watercolor with soft pastels, and take home not just paintings, but memories of Montana’s Flathead Biological Station. All materials are provided

Day one invites you to unlock the art of painting life like lake ripples, capturing the tranquil movement and shimmering reflections unique to these crystal waters. On day two, you’ll learn to recreate water as it flows and pools over vibrant stones. On the final day, you’ll take your easel out into nature for a plein air painting experience on the lakeshore, combining your new skills to bring Flathead Lake to life on paper.

Place: Varying locations along Flathead Lake Biological Station in Yellow Bay. Workshops can be taught from inside the station if the weather isn't suitable for outdoors. 

Audience: This workshop is suitable for individuals 18+.

What to bring: Camp chair, water bottle, sunscreen, all workshop materials will be provided!

Cost: The workshop is free, but a suggested donation is appreciated!

Registration: Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the workshop begins.

Register:https://pci.jotform.com/form/261375343418155

Cancellation: If you are registered and cannot attend the workshop, please let us know so we can open the spot for another participant! 

Questions? Email susie@openairmt.org

About the Artist:
Amanda is a versatile jack-of-all-trades painter known in Missoula for painting and restoring murals and faux finishes. She enjoys therapy-based art and plein-air painting to soothe the soul. She shares her expertise with both adults and children.

When: Thurs July 16, Doors Open: 6:00p | Performance begins at 6:30p
Where: The Historic Clark Chateau, Music Room
Cost: Free

Join us at the Clark Chateau for an artist presentation, performance, and conversation with Open AIR's Summer Artist-in-Residence Megan Karls. All are welcome!

Topics Covered: Megan’s performance will take listeners across the expanse of the violin’s expressive potential - from Texas fiddle music and the masterworks of Bach to a live, audience-inspired improvisation of new work. Snacks & refreshments will be provided.

Let us know if you'll be joining us with the optional registration form.

Register for the event here: https://form.jotform.com/261244498893168

About the Artist:
Megan Karls is the Concertmaster of the Wyoming Symphony and a violinist with the Spokane Symphony. She has treasured ties to Montana from her 12 years as Co-Concertmaster of the Great Falls Symphony and with their resident ensemble, the Cascade Quartet. Megan is known throughout the state of Montana for championing new commissions by living and local composers and for her innovative programming in chamber music and solo engagements. In 2021, Megan became the first woman in classical music to ever receive the Montana Arts Council’s Artist Innovation Award and is a recipient of the Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award.

When: July 14, 12:00 - 1:00 pm 
Where: Rocky Mountain Gardens 
Cost: Free

Join us in the Lupine Lab at Rocky Mountain Gardens for an artist presentation and conversation with Open AIR's Summer Artist-in-Residence  Luna de Jesús Licea. All are welcome. Snacks will be provided. Let us know if you'll be joining us with the optional registration form.

Topics Covered: Luna will show some of his current oil paintings created during the session and share various steps in his process. He will share a bit about his background and inspiration as an artist and some common themes in his work.

Register for the event here: https://form.jotform.com/261244498893168

About the Artist: 

Born in 1996 in Guadalajara, Mexico, Luna de Jesús Licea is a self-taught Artist currently based in Los Angeles, California. Licea envisioned a career in culinary arts, one that later transitioned into graphic design, where freelance work opened the door to a deeper exploration of visual storytelling through Oil painting. Since committing to painting in 2021, Luna has continued to develop a practice rooted in Community, identity, and cultural preservation and development, His first collection, Growing Pains (2022), and I’m More of a Dreamer (2023–24) were independently exhibited in Los Angeles, and more currently his work was exhibited in a group exhibition at Plaza de la Raza Cultural and Art center in Los Angeles CA.

Website: LunaJLicea.com

This workshop will cover indigo dyeing using an iron indigo vat, where we will learn how to dye fabric various shades of blue. Through historic folding methods called Shibori, we will learn how to create patterns on the cloth. By the end of the workshop, each person will have created their own indigo-dyed handkerchief to keep. If people have smaller items they would like over-dyed, there will be an opportunity to dye them as well. The vat used in this workshop will remain at OpenAIR for community use.

All materials and supplies are included.

Place: Moon Randolph Homestead

Audience: This workshop is suitable for all ages

What to bring: no preparation is necessary!

Cost: The workshop is free, but a donation is appreciated!

Registration: Registration is required

Register: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261624508998168

Questions? Email: susie@openairmt.org


About the Artist: 
Sarah McMurry is a fiber artist living in Columbia, MO, with a BFA in Fiber from the Kansas City Art Institute. Her work investigates the quilt as a means of exploring memory and familial ties. With an emphasis on natural materials, Sarah’s work revolves around the colors and pigments from natural dyes as they speak to both global history and personal lineage. In her work, she uses variations of mordant painting, stitching, nuno-felting, and knitting to deconstruct the quilt. She is the recipient of a Windgate-Arrowmont Fellowship, a Susan B. Lordi Marker award for excellence in Fiber, and a Barbara Kuhlman Foundation Scholarship. She has had work in shows in Kansas City and Columbia, MO, as well as Fort Collins, CO, and has been published in Bear Review. Sarah has interned for Kim Eichler-Messmer, as well as at MM Fiber Mill and Mana Meadows Alpaca Farm. In the summer of 2026, she will be an artist in residence at OpenAIR Montana and a resident at Access Arts in Columbia, MO for their year-long fiber residency.

When: July 1, 2026, 5-8 pm
Where: Rocky Mountain Gardens
Cost: Free

Workshop Information: New Life through embroidery

Learn the basics of hand embroidery in this beginner-friendly workshop. You’ll be introduced to essential tools and simple stitches, then create your own small design to take home or use your new skills to give new life to a T-shirt, jersey, or hat. No experience needed—just come ready to relax, get creative, and try something new.

Registration Required
Participant Cap: 10
Register Here for the online event: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261254820448154

About the Artist:
 Luna de Jesús Licea is a self-taught artist based in Los Angeles, with a dedicated focus on his studio practice since 2021. His work explores themes of community, identity, and cultural preservation through oil painting. While his primary practice is studio-based, it often extends into his everyday life through hands-on processes like embroidery, which he uses as a way to customize and personalize clothing.

You are warmly invited to a Listening Session hosted by the Open AIR Indigenous Initiatives program.

Please join us for an evening of food, connection, and community conversation as we come together to share ideas, stories, and visions for Indigenous art and creative spaces.

Family Friendly. Food will be provided.

Please rsvp or direct questions to:

Miah Chalfant,
Indigenous Initiatives Coordinator
indigenous.initiatives@openairmt.org

Monday, June 15
4-7:00pm
at Open AIR (the Blue House)
300 Evans Ave, Missoula

Discover the Joy of Junk Journaling with Taylor Stein

When: Saturday, June 6th, 1-4pm

Place: Drummond Community Library

About the workshop: 

Artfully create a unique snapshot of a day or a place in the company of fellow crafters. This relaxing, affordable hobby blends creative expression, memory preservation and whimsy into keepsakes to treasure or to share with your loved ones. For our workshop, please bring a journal and a few items you'd like to work with--pictures, recipes, notes, maps, tickets, receipts, candy wrappers, seed packets, the sky's the limit!

Audience: This workshop is suitable for adults

What to bring: For our workshop, please bring a journal and a few items you'd like to work with--pictures, recipes, notes, maps, tickets, receipts, candy wrappers, seed packets, the sky's the limit!

Cost: The workshop is free, but a suggested donation is appreciated! 

Registration: Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the workshop begins.
Register HERE: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261375520427152

About the Artist:  

Taylor Stein is a writer and mixed media artist. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. Her short stories have appeared in the Word Dog Quarterly and in Duplicitous: A WriteHive Compilation. In 2025, Taylor produced and directed a puppet theater production, Excuse Us, co-written with Bob Giordano, which closed a series of free sustainable arts workshops. In 2026, she produced The Moon and The Sea, an original shadow puppet show. Both are available to view on Missoula Community Access Television's (MCAT) YouTube channel. Her latest adventure is the Wonder-Gizmos, a Snail Mail Creative Writing Club and Whimsy Machine. Hop to her website to sign up: taylorwstein.wixsite.com/my-site

Cancellation: If you are registered and cannot attend the workshop, please let us know at susie@openairmt.org so we can open the spot for another participant! 

Questions? Email susie@openairmt.org

About the Workshop:

Using hand-sewing techniques and fun patch designs, participants can create unique, colorful pieces from scrap fabric. Using hand-sewing techniques, these patches can be sewn onto clothes to decorate them or mend holes, or sewn onto a felt backing to create a brooch! Participants are encouraged to bring old clothing to repair or give a new life. No sewing experience is required!

All materials and supplies are included.

Place: Explore the Arts, Hamilton, MT

Audience:  This workshop is suitable for young adults and up!

What to bring: The artist encourages you to bring an old article of clothing in need of mending, or to give life to something old!

Cost: The workshop is free, but a suggested donation is appreciated!

Registration: Registration is required. Register here: https://www.explorethearts.art/teen-adult/mending-with-applique

Questions? Email susie@openairmt.org

About the Artist: Susie Elliott is an artist, sewist, and friend. After moving from South Carolina to attend the University of Montana, Susie put down roots in Missoula. With a BFA in painting and a lover of fiber arts, she currently runs Morning Star, an upcycled clothing brand specializing in raw-edge appliqué patch designs. You can find her goods in Clutterbug Collective, Missoula Maker Collective, and various craft fairs around Western Montana!

Indigenous Art, Indigenous Minds Speaker Series

Title: Stories from the Plains: Painted Hides, Ledger, and Cowboy Culture

Speaker: Miah Chalfant

Join Miah Chalfant, Open AIR Indigenous Initiatives Coordinator and artist, for a virtual discussion about the connections between cowboy culture and indigenous arts.

When: Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at Noon
Where: Online
Cost: Free

Register Here for the online event: https://form.jotform.com/252436280155050
Upon registration, a meeting link will be sent to you.

About the Artist:
Miah Chalfant— also known as Heóvá’é’e (Yellow Hair Woman) — is a contemporary artist, storyteller, and rancher whose work bridges the worlds of her ancestors and the present day. An enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, she was raised in the rolling plains and Wolf Mountains of her southeastern Montana homelands.

She studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she deepened her knowledge of traditional designs rooted in ledger art and painted hides. Through her work, she carries forward these visual traditions, blending them with contemporary color and ideas to create a dialogue between past and present.

Drawing inspiration from ranch life, cowboying, kinship, and the strength of her culture, Chalfant’s work honors her ancestors while sharing the lived experiences of a young Indigenous woman. Through each piece, she uplifts her community and explores new possibilities for Indigenous art in the contemporary world.

SPRING ARTIST PRESENTATION: M.D. Schaffer

Where: Missoula Public Library
When: 4:00-5:00pm

Join us on Weds, April 29, for an artist presentation and conversation with Open AIR's Spring Artist-in-Residence M.D. Schaffer. All are welcome. Snacks will be provided. Let us know if you'll be joining us with the optional registration form:

Register:https://form.jotform.com/260265014944151



ABOUT THE ARTIST:
M.D. Schaffer (They/He) is a Non-Binary, Ashkenazi, African-American playwright, librettist, and lyricist born in Houston, Texas, and residing in New York City. Their previous works include “Southern Seeds: An Americana Story” with the Ensemble Theatre’s New Voices Fest, “A Rodeo Clown” with the Obsidian Theatre Festival, & “Drapetomania: A Negro Carol” with the We Will Dream Festival. Their dramatic works have developed with Art House Productions, The Workshop Theatre, National Queer Theatre, Ghost Light Theatre Company, The Tank Theater, and the Obie Award winning Harlem9. They’re a 2023 recipient of the Pine Meadow Ranch for Arts & Agriculture Residency program with Roundhouse Foundation and a finalist for the 2022-2023 and 2024-2025 Dramatist Guild Fellowship. They look to represent cultures honestly to create spaces for all people to speak, connect, and form a solidified resistance to damaging and oppressive structures.

When: Monday, April 13, 20, and 27 from 10 am - 3:00 pm

Place: Travelers' Rest State Park, 6717 US-12, Lolo, MT 59847

Audience: This workshop is suitable for ages 18+

What to bring: Attendees are welcome to bring their own designs, ideas, and sketchbooks. No preparation is necessary. 

Cost: The workshop is free, but a suggested donation is appreciated!

Registration: Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the workshop begins.
Register here: https://pci.jotform.com/form/260685096564165

Cancellation: If you are registered and cannot attend the workshop, please let us know at susie@openairmt.org so we can open the spot for another participant! 

Questions? Email susie@openairmt.org

About the Workshop:

WE KNOW THIS FOREST, led by Open AIR Spring artist-in-residence and educator Candace Garlock, is a community-based art project that uses the metaphor of a dense, shifting forest to explore the nonlinear, often unpredictable experience of living with chronic conditions and disability. It creates space for participants to share stories, images, and reflections that honor both the difficulty and resilience found in these lived landscapes while exploring shared ecological memory and identity through collaborative woodcut and casting workshops. While the project invites people with chronic conditions and disabilities to engage, participation does not require disclosing any diagnosis, disability status, or health information unless they personally choose to share it.For more information about this national project, visit www.weknowthisforest.com.

This workshop meets on 3 consecutive Mondays, and we hope to work with a consistent group of 5-8 individuals. Lunch will be provided.

Class schedule at Travelers' Rest State Park:

Day 1 Morning - Introduction of the entire project, including the timeline, brainstorming, journal drawing, and cohort trust-building activities. Take a walk in the park activity and sketch some ideas to combine and add to the tree.

Day 1 Afternoon - Collaboratively drawing the "tree" woodcut with sharpies onto the wood panel. Woodcutting demo using traditional and power tools.

Day 2 - Carving the woodcut

Day 3 - Introduction to the feet part of the project and then plaster casting our feet. Participant homework - designing and creating the part of the sculpture base where your feet will rest. The tree base will be given to everyone with a shipping box. Participants will need to ship their finished piece to Candace.

NOTE: The tree prints won't be printed at the State Park due to drying time needed and space. Candace will print them in her studio when she returns back to Reno.

SPRING ARTIST PRESENTATION: ELIZA REDMANN

Where: Missoula Public Library
When: 4:00-5:00pm

Join us on Weds, April 24, for an artist presentation and conversation with Open AIR's Spring Artist-in-Residence Eliza Redmann. All are welcome. Snacks will be provided. Let us know if you'll be joining us with the optional registration form.

Register: https://form.jotform.com/260265014944151

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Eliza Redmann is a sculptural artist and founder of Folded Poetry design studio based in Durham, North Carolina. Eliza’s work is informed by experiencing disability after a car crash and traumatic brain injury upended her health, personal life, and career in architecture. Art has been the primary driver behind the recreation of Eliza’s health and the reimagining of her life’s purpose. Folded Poetry explores form, light, color and shadow through innovation and material study. The work challenges the viewer to perceive outside of what is normal or traditional, just as Eliza herself must now live, adapt, and navigate the world in new ways.

Scarabic Serenades chronicles two artists’ collaboration inspired by the mating songs and dances of the Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle. Part documentary, part art-film, this film braids together researchers from the Emlen Biology Lab at the University of Montana, music by composer Jessi Harvey and dance by choreographer Julynn Wildman into a story as captivating as the beetle itself.

With their oversized, pitchforked horns and an enigmatic mating ritual that includes both battle and a courtship song/dance, the Japanese Rhino Beetle captures hearts and  imaginations alike. Scarabic Serenades is a tongue-in-cheek film featuring over 20 Montana artists and researchers exploring the quirks of and questions about these charismatic critters.

This feature documentary came out of Wildman and Harvey’s experience as Open AIR Artists-in-Residence and was produced in collaboration with the University of Montana Emlen Evolutionary Biology Lab and Open AIR.

—
SCARABIC SERENADES credits

Directed by Julynn Wildman and Lenny Eckhardt
Conceived and Created by Julynn Wildman and Jessi Harvey
Produced in part by the University of Montana Emlen Evolutionary Biology Lab and Open AIR.

Featuring:
Doug Emlen
Julynn Wildman
Jessi Harvey
Sophie Fitzgerald
Oren Jaffe
Stoney Samsoe

Cinematography: Lenny Eckhardt
Audio: Lenny Eckhardt
Editors: Julynn Wildman and Lenny Eckhardt

SPRING ARTIST PRESENTATION: KELLYANN MARIE

Where: Home ReSource
When: 12-1:00pm

Join us on Weds, April 22, for an artist presentation and conversation with Open AIR's Spring Artist-in-Residence Kellyann Marie. All are welcome. Snacks will be provided. Let us know if you'll be joining us with the optional registration form.

They'll cover bike polo, Missoula hand-made culture, grief, DIY, bike adventures, and some adult topics.
Snacks will be provided.

Register:https://form.jotform.com/260265014944151



ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Kellyann Marie is a queer transient responding to poverty and seeking a life in the in-between by creating pockets of home, through community, and through honoring the ephemera found there. By celebrating the second hand (second hand in that there is a proverbial hand to hold in objects from having been held), they work to connect queer life-art-home-godliness. They embrace oversharing and tenderness to honor the handmade skills that make life in poverty possible. The resulting work is paintings and textiles layered with personal narrative, meeting functional objects glorious in their usefulness –always centering the mark of the hand (to be thankful to have hands and that they would be so sweet as to leave a kiss on everything they might touch).

They are currently completing a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies at Queen’s University, hold an SSHRC-funded MFA from Memorial University of Newfoundland, a BFA from Florida State University, have presented at the University Arts Association of Canada (UAAC), and have exhibited nationally and internationally.

When: Monday, April 13, 20, and 27 from 10 am - 3:00 pm

Place: Travelers' Rest State Park, 6717 US-12, Lolo, MT 59847

Audience: This workshop is suitable for ages 18+

What to bring: Attendees are welcome to bring their own designs, ideas, and sketchbooks. No preparation is necessary. 

Cost: The workshop is free, but a suggested donation is appreciated!

Registration: Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the workshop begins.
Register here: https://pci.jotform.com/form/260685096564165

Cancellation: If you are registered and cannot attend the workshop, please let us know at susie@openairmt.org so we can open the spot for another participant! 

Questions? Email susie@openairmt.org

About the Workshop:

WE KNOW THIS FOREST, led by Open AIR Spring artist-in-residence and educator Candace Garlock, is a community-based art project that uses the metaphor of a dense, shifting forest to explore the nonlinear, often unpredictable experience of living with chronic conditions and disability. It creates space for participants to share stories, images, and reflections that honor both the difficulty and resilience found in these lived landscapes while exploring shared ecological memory and identity through collaborative woodcut and casting workshops. While the project invites people with chronic conditions and disabilities to engage, participation does not require disclosing any diagnosis, disability status, or health information unless they personally choose to share it.For more information about this national project, visit www.weknowthisforest.com.

This workshop meets on 3 consecutive Mondays, and we hope to work with a consistent group of 5-8 individuals. Lunch will be provided.

Class schedule at Travelers' Rest State Park:

Day 1 Morning - Introduction of the entire project, including the timeline, brainstorming, journal drawing, and cohort trust-building activities. Take a walk in the park activity and sketch some ideas to combine and add to the tree.

Day 1 Afternoon - Collaboratively drawing the "tree" woodcut with sharpies onto the wood panel. Woodcutting demo using traditional and power tools.

Day 2 - Carving the woodcut

Day 3 - Introduction to the feet part of the project and then plaster casting our feet. Participant homework - designing and creating the part of the sculpture base where your feet will rest. The tree base will be given to everyone with a shipping box. Participants will need to ship their finished piece to Candace.

NOTE: The tree prints won't be printed at the State Park due to drying time needed and space. Candace will print them in her studio when she returns back to Reno.

SPRING ARTIST PRESENTATION: CANDACE GARLOCK

Where: Travelers’ Rest State Park
When: 5:30-6:30 pm

Join us on Weds, April 15, for an artist presentation and conversation with Open AIR's Spring Artist-in-Residence Candace Garlock. All are welcome. Snacks will be provided. Let us know if you'll be joining us with the optional registration form:

Register:https://form.jotform.com/260265014944151


ABOUT THE ARTIST:
As an artist, Candace Nicol Garlock uses an array of mediums in her work. The coalescence of printmaking techniques, painting, photography (and sculpture, too!) overlap and converge with color, texture, and line in a collaboration of mixed, experimental beauty. With her appreciation of the interconnectedness of everything, she elevates relationships: human and environment, human and animal, human and human. She writes, “My multilayered compositions posit engaging questions to viewers regarding relationships, social identities, and societal issues surrounding the female gaze.”

Garlock's artistic and professional mentorship in student advancement, as well as her engagement and participation in community events, makes her a true ambassador of art and to the developing artist. She draws inspiration from the collaboration of those around her, through the interplay with students, and has several ongoing projects. Garlock is a member of Southern Graphics Council International and is a board member for Rocky Mountain Print Alliance and Tuscarora Pottery School. A renown printmaker whose work has been shown nationally and internationally, she has received multiple awards including the Reno Tahoe Artist Best in Sculpture/3-D Artworks and Finalist in Fine Art and Digital Media in 2022, the Nevada Arts Council Artist Fellowship in 2009 and an honorable mention in Printmaking Today, a review of fine art printmaking in Abruzzo, Italy. Nicol’s work can also be seen in 100 Artists of the Male Figure by E.Gibbons. Website: candacenicolgarlock.com

When: This 3-Day Workshop series meets on Monday, April 13, 20, and 27 from 10 am - 3:00 pm

Place: Travelers' Rest State Park

Audience: This workshop is suitable for ages 18+

What to bring: Attendees are welcome to bring their own designs, ideas, and sketchbooks. No preparation is necessary. 

Cost: The workshop is free, but a suggested donation is appreciated!

Registration: Registration is required and is limited to 8 people. Registration will close 24 hours before the workshop begins.

Register here: https://pci.jotform.com/form/260685096564165

Cancellation: If you are registered and cannot attend the workshop, please let us know at susie@openairmt.org so we can open the spot for another participant! 

Questions? Email susie@openairmt.org

About the Workshop:

WE KNOW THIS FOREST, led by Open AIR Spring artist-in-residence and educator Candace Garlock, is a community-based art project that uses the metaphor of a dense, shifting forest to explore the nonlinear, often unpredictable experience of living with chronic conditions and disability. It creates space for participants to share stories, images, and reflections that honor both the difficulty and resilience found in these lived landscapes while exploring shared ecological memory and identity through collaborative woodcut and casting workshops. While the project invites people with chronic conditions and disabilities to engage, participation does not require disclosing any diagnosis, disability status, or health information unless they personally choose to share it. For more information about this national project, visit www.weknowthisforest.com.

This workshop meets on 3 consecutive Mondays, and we hope to work with a consistent group of 5-8 individuals. Lunch will be provided.

Class schedule at Travelers' Rest State Park:

Day 1 Morning - Introduction of the entire project, including the timeline, brainstorming, journal drawing, and cohort trust-building activities. Take a walk in the park activity and sketch some ideas to combine and add to the tree.

Day 1 Afternoon - Collaboratively drawing the "tree" woodcut with sharpies onto the wood panel. Woodcutting demo using traditional and power tools.

Day 2 - Carving the woodcut

Day 3 - Introduction to the feet part of the project and then plaster casting our feet. Participant homework - designing and creating the part of the sculpture base where your feet will rest. The tree base will be given to everyone with a shipping box. Participants will need to ship their finished piece to Candace.

NOTE: The tree prints won't be printed at the State Park due to drying time needed and space. Candace will print them in her studio when she returns back to Reno.

Wild Impressions: Nature Gelli Monotypes
Open Studio with Candace Garlock
AT TRAVELERS’ REST STATE PARK

When: Saturday, April 11, 11am - 2pm

Audience:  This workshop is suitable for all ages

What to bring: no preparation is necessary!

Cost: The workshop is free, but a suggested donation is appreciated!

Registration: Registration is required, but hours are flexible. Plan to spend at least 45 minutes on your print. 

Register here: https://pci.jotform.com/form/260685468572167

Questions? Email susie@openairmt.org

About the open studio: 

Visitors are invited to join resident artist Candace Nicol Garlock in an intimate printmaking session, where they can watch her build rich layers of color and texture on a gelli plate before pulling a nature-inspired monotype print. Guided step-by-step through rolling ink, adding stencils and textures, and making that first exciting “pull,” each guest then creates a one-of-a-kind gelli monotype of their own to take home as a tangible reminder of their studio experience with the artist.

This Open Studio setting allows for interested participants to arrive anytime between 10 and 2:00. Plan on leaving 45 minutes to make your print or longer if you are with a group. All are welcome.

About the Artist:

Candace Nicol Garlock is an interdisciplinary artist and educator based in Nevada whose work intertwines printmaking, painting, photography, and sculpture into richly layered, mixed-media compositions. A professor of art at Truckee Meadows Community College, she is known for exploring relationships between people, their bodies, and the environments they inhabit, often engaging questions of identity, the female gaze, and social narratives through experimental print processes.
To see her work visit https://candacenicolgarlock.com/.

Questions? Email susie@openairmt.org

Join Valentina LaPier for a virtual discussion about the inspiration and experience that have brought her to this point.

When: Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at Noon
Where: Online
Cost: Free

Register Here for the online event: https://form.jotform.com/252436280155050
Upon registration, a meeting link will be sent to you.

About the Artist:

Valentina LaPier is a master painter and a prominent voice in contemporary Indigenous art, with a career spanning nearly four decades. Born in Browning, Montana, Valentina is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation and a descendant of the Little Shell Tribe. Her work is a rhythmic bridge between the ancient and the modern, rooted in 38 years of dedicated study of traditional Blackfeet and Cree patterns.

Valentina’s signature style involves a meticulous accumulation of historical research and abstract design. She draws inspiration from the "aged and muted" beauty of petroglyphs, lodge designs, and utilitarian objects, viewing these symbols as living reflections of our own lifespans. By blending acrylics, water-soluble oils, and collage with a disciplined, minimalist palette of five to seven colors, she creates "simplistic forms" that carry immense spiritual and historical weight.

For Valentina, the act of painting is a "peaceful place"—a meditative process where she proves that everything created by her ancestors was, and still is, of profound purpose and beauty. Beyond her studio, she is a dedicated educator, sharing the traditional art of the Par Flech and painting with the next generation through workshops in schools.

A lifelong advocate for Indigenous visibility, Valentina’s work has been featured in major exhibitions at the Northwest Montana History Museum and the Hockaday Museum of Art. She has also served as a prestigious Artist-in-Residence for Glacier National Park, where she uses her art as a vehicle for education and reconciliation. Her paintings are not only aesthetic treasures but are also deeply purposeful, frequently used to raise national awareness for critical social issues like the MMIP (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples) crisis.

Indigenous Art, Indigenous Minds is a project of Open AIR’s Indigenous Initiatives Committee, established to elevate Indigenous Leadership and creative practices in Montana and beyond. All presentations are available onOpen AIR’s YouTube Channel.

When: Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at Noon

Where: Online

Cost: Free

Courtney Little Axe will discuss her inspiration and experiences that have led her to this point. She is the primary creative voice behind ALTRn8v - AlterNative fashion. There will be questions and conversation following Courtney’s presentation.

Register Here for the online event: https://form.jotform.com/252436280155050
Upon registration, a meeting link will be sent to you.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Founder Courtney Little Axe (Northern Cheyenne, Absentee Shawnee, and Seminole) transforms traditional art into alternative fashion that commands attention. Her work channels generations of family legacy, ancestral knowledge, and traditional craft and pairs it with alternative styles, creating one-of-a-kind pieces that break boundaries. Each garment and accessory is more than clothing, it’s a declaration. A wearable act of resistance that stands tall against the invisibility of alternative Native people. ALTRN8V is made for the rebels, the outcasts, the ones who don’t just reject society’s idea of “normal,” they redefine it on their own terms. We represent those that are tired of being perceived as a relic of the past or a page in a history book. We are not here to please. We are here to exist; loudly, fiercely, and without apology.

The Indigenous Art, Indigenous Minds Speaker Series is a project of Open AIR’s Indigenous Initiatives Committee, established to elevate Indigenous Leadership and creative practices in Montana and beyond. All presentations are available on Open AIR’s YouTube Channel.

Winter Workshop Series:
Writing Fiction for Fun with Tess Fahlgren

When: Thursday, Feb. 26th + Thursday, March. 5th, 2026 

Place: Glasgow City County Public Library 

About the workshop: 

This two-week course offers a beginner-friendly introduction to fiction writing. We'll discuss the basics of story structure, character creation, and vivid description. By the end of the second class, each student will have written a short story. Students should bring a writing utensil and paper.

Audience: This workshop is suitable for all ages. Please bring your grown-up if you are under 16.

What to bring: Please bring your own writing tools. Some materials will be provided. 

Cost: The workshop is free, but a suggested donation is appreciated! 

Registration: Registration is required and will close 24 hours before the workshop begins.
Register here: https://form.jotform.com/Samsoe_Stoney/tess-fahlgren-workshop-registration

About the Artist:  

Tess Fahlgren is a writer and artist with ten years of teaching experience. She loves introducing people to the joy of writing and aims to help each student develop their creative practice. Find her essays in Montana Quarterly Magazine, Joyland, and elsewhere. Find her at www.tess.cool.

Cancellation: If you are registered and cannot attend the workshop, please let us know at program@openairmt.org so we can open the spot for another participant! 

Questions? Email program@openairmt.org