"Not Just Another Tie: The Art of Giving"

SEDONA, Ariz. - Dec. 4, 2015 - PRLog -- “Not Just Another Tie:  The Art of Giving”, opens Friday, December 4, and continues through December 31^st, at James Ratliff Gallery, Hillside Sedona, 671 State Route 179, Suites A1 & A-2, Sedona, AZ.  There will be an opening reception from 5 – 8 PM Friday, December 4.

Giving illuminates the spirit of the holiday season!  Remember when Dylan Thomas wrote “A Child’s Christmas in Wales”? Thomas wrote:  “I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find.”  James and Patricia Ratliff have “brought out” a cornucopia of one of-a-kind gifts, many small in size and price points.

Patricia Ratliff says, “We will be showing Ying Muncy with decorative realistic clay women’s purses, Kay Hill’s saggar-fired pottery, and award-winning Sumi-e style watercolors of Kay Stratman.  Greg Heil, with his lovely inspired AZ landscape oil paintings, encourages travel to the actual sites he paints.  A great gift would be to combine one of Heil’s paintings with a gift certificate for a trip to the actual setting! Judy Choate’s smaller paintings have all the magical vibrancy of her large works. Although Louis De Mayo often works on very large canvasses depicting strong but isolated Native Americans, his smaller pieces also communicate powerful messages.  Award- winning Navajo artist David K. John’s clay masks and small paintings tell stories regarding the Yei spirit and ceremonies.  William Crook’s small whimsical and brightly painted houses arouse smiles all around.  All of our December show’s art pieces will be of a small/medium scale so will fit into intimate spaces or great for grouping to create another look altogether.  Many of our artists’ works can be packaged with an actual travel gift relevant to the cultural motif on which the work of art is based.”

Price points will range beginning from below $100 for Adrianna’s handcrafted jewelry to high hundreds for a Reno Carollo bronze sculpture.  Local jeweler, Sally Peck, will offer one-of- a- kind handmade intricately beaded necklaces beginning around $100.  Cary Henrie’s butterfly wall pieces and sculptures begin in the low hundreds.  Other innovative wall pieces by Henrie have no butterflies.

Patricia Ratliff comments:  “Here’s what’s really fun:   Buy a gift for someone who had admired a certain art piece or jewelry but didn’t buy it. Then, we’ll place the piece where that “someone” cannot miss seeing it when the time is right!   JRG’s very happy to store the gift for you until you want to pick it up or have it shipped.  Added joy all the way around!”

The Ratliffs have carefully assembled a mélange of gifts for giving, sharing or adorning the home.  They believe the spirit of joy and creativity displayed by the gallery’s artists can be perfectly partnered with discerning shoppers who recognize a unique gift for those they love and appreciate. ‘Tis the season, and this year James Ratliff Gallery invites one and all to enjoy the holidays with their whimsy,nostalgia, and memory making gifts to others.

While you’re at it, don’t forget yourself!

There is so much to discover, to enjoy, to share.  Dylan Thomas might have felt “One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices. . .”. but this Christmas rings now and its voices speak to you from the James Ratliff Gallery. For further information, contact the James Ratliff Gallery: 928-282-1404, e-mail:  FineArt@jamesratliffgallery.com, visitwww.jamesratliffgallery.com.