Back to nature: Placitas Garden Tour to feature seven artists creating in real time

Aug. 27—A bevy of artists will take brush to

canvas or lens to

landscape during the Placitas Garden Tour on Sunday, Sept. 8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The seven artists — Seung Youn, Dana Patterson Roth, Jay Leutwyler, Barbara Morrow, Karen Melody Shatar, Steve McKibbin and Dale Laitinen — will join the gardens, making new work along the tour. Their materials include sculpture, watercolor, pastel, photography and fused glass. They also will show their work at the Placitas Community Library, 453 New Mexico Highway 165, through Sept. 26.

Morrow creates whimsical creatures based on the New Mexico desert environment. She salvages Styrofoam trash from arroyos, designing and cutting out shapes. She experiments with materials such as clay, stucco, brushes and feathers to mimic roadrunners, fish, owls and rabbits.

Landscape painter Laitinen says he "chases shadows to find the light." He recently moved his home and studio to Placitas after spending most of his life in California.

Born and raised in New Mexico, the photographer Roth surfaces yearly in the Placitas Studio Tour. Beginning with black and white imagery, she concentrated on documentary, portraiture and event photography for years. She embraced color when she switched to digital cameras. She now works in both.

Watercolor artist Leutwyler grew up in Clovis. He depicts landscapes as a signature member of the New Mexico Watercolor Society.

Originally from Korea, Youn paints mainly landscapes with pastels, putting her emotions into color and strokes to capture the essence of what she sees.

McKibbin produces Southwest contemporary gourd art using materials such as driftwood, pottery sherds, antlers and horns, as well as native grasses. He uses a technique called Lichtenberg fractal wood burning to enhance his natural canvas.

Nurse midwife and fused glass artist Shatar has come to love the shapes, textures, colors and patterns in nature.

All the artists are working in collaboration with the Sandoval County Master Gardeners and the Placitas Community Library to raise funds for future landscape projects and educational programs.