Cowgirls Rule!

Artist cowgirls are on display at the Heart of the West exhibit at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. The big gala reception and auction is happening October 16. The museum and hall of fame celebrate all things cowgirl. Being a Western native with roots in both Texas and Colorado (and pioneering roots at that!) I’ve come to realize that the spirit of the cowgirl lives on. Some of us may not wear hats and spurs (or even ride horses) but we are cowgirls nonetheless.

2009 Inductees include: sculptor, Deborah Copenhaver Fellows; barrel-racing guru Kay Whitaker Young; Harvey house architect Mary Jane Colter; and rancher Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie. (Kudos to her for putting the entire JA Ranch holdings near Larkspur, Colorado in a conservation easement.)

Former first lady Laura Bush will receive the Gloria Lupton Tennison Pioneer Award for her dedication to the cause of literacy.

The Heart of the West exhibit includes 42 artists. Here’s a few of my favorites:

• Denver gal Carrie  Fell whom I’ve watched blossom from her WestFest days in Copper Mountain to gallery staple.
• Internationally acclaimed pueblo potter Tammy Garcia who has taken ancient symbols and ideas and made them fully contemporary in a way no one else had dared ventured. The only Native American woman included.
• The iconic Glenna Goodacre, a Colorado College graduate.
• Sculptor Veryl Goodnight who recently relocated to Mancos, Colorado (close enough in SW Colorado to call her a neighbor!)
• Donna Howell Sickles whose work just makes me smile.
• Louisa McElwain, one of my most favorite interviews for Cowboys & Indians magazine. I love her bold use of color. And she lives just north of Santa Fe and loves to paint Ghost Ranch one of my favorite places.
• New Mexico based sculptor Star Liana York who is just one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Charming, beautiful, down-to-earth.

Judith Dobrzynski mentions a few of these and some great historic painters on her blog Real Clear Arts.