There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people. ― Vincent Van Gogh

This month’s welcome — just like the month of February itself — will be short and sweet. Since the installation of a new roof required us to be closed to the public for the sake of safety this month, we’ve capitalized on the opportunity to organize engaging programming for the remainder of the year.

You’ll discover that we’ve redesigned our website with you in mind — our goal was ease of access and intuitive navigation to art instruction, events, and details about our organization. We hope you’ll browse through its pages and mark your calendars for our upcoming First Friday and Second Saturday @ FAC community events.

Also new this year is a plein air series intended to take advantage of our region’s abundant natural beauty through organized excursions to area state parks, vineyards, and private estates. This programming will culminate with our first annual plein air festival on the front lawn at the Foothills Arts Center in October, following a weekend of activities developed for artists and enthusiasts. If you’re unfamiliar with plein air — the art of painting or drawing outdoors — please consider joining one of our upcoming technique classes where we’ll help you understand how to approach a landscape through a variety of art media. We’ve included a ticket to one of our excursions in the price of the class, and we are eager to welcome new members!

Speaking of tickets, if you haven’t yet purchased your tickets to the upcoming Foothills Theatre dinner theatre performance of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, reservations are still available! This classic murder mystery hosted at Coley Hall in The Liberty on March 11 and 12 is sure to captivate the audience. Debuting in 1952, The Mousetrap is the longest-running play in the history of London’s West End.

The scene is set when a group of people gathered in a country house cut off by the snow discover, to their horror, that there is a murderer in their midst. Who can it be? One by one the suspicious characters reveal their sordid pasts until at the last, nerve-shredding moment the identity and the motive are finally revealed.

— AgathaChristie.com

Finally, appropriate for the month of February, we wish you love. As you embark on creative endeavors, whether polished or unrefined, please remember these wise words from the late post-impressionist (and plein air!) artist Vincent Van Gogh. “It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.”

Sydney Sieviec, Assistant Director

(Correction to the January 2022 edition of Footnotes: In January, I stated “An endowment gift from Jeff and Natalie Eidson at G&B Energy enabled us to open our Eidson Craft Gallery early in the summer, in honor of Jane Boyles Eidson and Fred Greene Eidson.” The information should instead read “An endowment gift from Jeff and Kristi Eidson…”)