September 25, 2024
“These are not ‘how-to’ paint sessions, but an opportunity to reflect on the amazing and diverse landscapes of the Bridger-Teton National Forest,” says artist Jess Moore, Friends of Bridger-Teton’s first Ambassador Artist-in-Residence, about the weekly Wednesday watercolor workshops she is leading through October 9. “I am passionate about public lands and helping people connect to them. These workshops are a different way to take in the Bridger-Teton National Forest than the more usual forest activities like hiking, biking, or running. This is introspective and observational.”
Margo Feingold, FBT’s program manager and an attendee of one of Moore’s August workshops, says, “I had no real background in the medium, but Jess is a very good guide and teacher. I felt that I had room to be as creative as I wanted, while getting solid direction from an experienced artist.”
A full-time RVer, Moore has owned her art business Simple & Sylvan since 2016 and has now spent three seasons on the BTNF. This is her first time leading free art workshops here. “I keep coming back to this place because it feels like home,” she says. Earlier this year, Moore did a two-week Artist Residency at Wyoming’s Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and was also an Artist-in-Residence at the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery & Archives in Spearfish, South Dakota. Moore says she is passionate about art residencies in public lands because they allow her to combine interpretation with art. (She has volunteered 2000+ hours in public lands over the last 7 years.) “Every wild place I go, I find I just want to learn more about it,” she says. “When I lead workshops on public lands, I think that’s an opportunity for me to share some of what I’ve learned with people in a fun and engaging way—through art.”
Moore, who has taught graphic design and art foundation courses since 2002 and who holds an MFA in Integrated Design from the University of Baltimore, is FBT’s first Ambassador Artist-in-Residence. “But this is a program we’d love to continue with,” Feingold says. “Our goal is to help the local community explore the connections between public lands, nature, our use of natural resources, and our emotional ties to natural beauty through self-expression.” This year’s program is funded with FBT with assistance from the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board and the Community Foundation of JH.
The workshops are from 3–6 p.m. Wednesdays through October 9. They are free and all supplies are provided. People do not need to stay the entire 3 hours. “It’s more like a drop-in experience,” Moore says. “People come when they can and filter out when they’ve had the experience they wanted to.”
The September 25 workshop is at the Toppings Lake Trailhead.