Ostrom a natural when it comes to photography

Dave Ostrom never sleeps in late when he’s on vacation. In fact, he is always up and out well before the sun crests the horizon.

“Sunrise is when the animals are most active,” says the Pullman wildlife photographer, “and that’s also when the light is most dramatic.”

At least once a year Ostrom journeys to a different part of the globe in search of exotic wildlife to photograph in their natural habitat.

Opening July 8 in the Bank Left Gallery in Palouse, Wash., is a collection of Ostrom’s large color images selected from 20 years of photo safaris to continents stretching from the Antarctic to Australia and Africa.

One captivating, close-up photograph is “Lilac Breasted Roller,” taken just as the sun started rising on the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya, Africa.

“I knew what I was going for with that shot,” Ostrom says, “but I didn’t know that I got it until weeks later after I returned home and processed more than 100 rolls of film.”

He adds: “It really captures for me that moment of solitude and beauty on the Mara plains.”

Meet the photographer at a public reception July 8 from 1 to 5 p.m. John Elwood will play music between 1 and 3 p.m. The show runs through July 29.

The gallery, 100 S. Bridge St. in Palouse, is open Wednesday through Saturday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

“ Also on July 8, the Bank Left Gallery is expanding its exhibit space to include the second floor of the Old Bank Building.

“We wanted to show the work of more local artists,” says owner Nelson Duran, “so we are opening that space.”

The first Invitational Artist Exhibit includes a dozen artists from throughout the Palouse region. Look for the work of Ellen Vieth, Jennifer Rod, Michelle Carr, Ray Esparsen, Jim Gale, Louise Colson, Gina Murray, Tina Ochs, Caroline Doe, Dillon Ellefson, Jim Trivelpiece and Jerome Land.

“ The Palouse Arts Council is sponsoring its second annual Palouse Art Walk from July 7 to 9. More than 30 local artists will display their work in downtown businesses.

Carter’s ‘Colors’

Tinman Gallery kicks off its summer season with the whimsical ceramic work of Virginia Carter in “Terry Toucan Finds His Colors,” opening Friday.

The show includes both sculptural and functional pieces finished in Carter’s highly decorative style. Her ceramic pieces are based on the characters and situations from a children’s book she and her husband, Leon Sproule, have written and illustrated.

The book centers on a young bird’s quest to restore his bright hues.

Also on view are the “Mixed Media Assemblages” of Erin Crooks. Both shows run through July 29.

An opening reception is Friday between 5 and 8 p.m. Carter and Sproule will sign limited-edition copies of their book. There will be live music and light refreshments.

‘Oz’ visits Republic

A rainbow of vibrant glass objects will sparkle at the Gold Mountains Gallery in Republic, Wash., beginning Saturday.

“Oz Glass – Images in Glass from a Great American Classic” includes functional and decorative fused glass items by Roy Lammer of Danville, Wash.

All of the pieces feature the familiar “Wizard of Oz” characters.

“It’s my favorite children’s story,” said Lammer in an e-mail.

He remembers seeing the movie in 1939 when he was a young boy, the first Technicolor film he saw. “It made a lasting impression,” he says.

The show includes bowls, trays, clocks, pendants, pins and earrings.

There is an artist’s reception July 7 from 5 to 9 p.m. On July 15, Lammer will give a free, informal talk on the basics of fused glass between 2 and 4 p.m. next door to the gallery. The work is on display through July 30.

The gallery, 852 S. Clark Ave. No. 2 in Republic, is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Metals shine at Entrée

“Array of Metal – Making Memories,” a multimedia show by Post Falls artists Rolfe Hebert and Nicola McGowan, begins Saturday at the Entrée Gallery in Priest Lake, Idaho.

“This is Rolfe and Nicola’s first year in the gallery,” says gallery representative Kathleen Martin in an e-mail. “Their work ranges from whimsical to refined and beautiful.”

The collection features ornamental and functional metal sculptures.

An artists’ reception is Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. The gallery, open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., is on Reeder Bay Road, two miles east of Nordman near Elkins Resort.

Colfax mural unfolds

While it’s not exactly “performance” art, it should be fun to watch.

Over the next few weeks in Colfax a team of artists will be creating a large outdoor mural that will depict the historic downtown.

The design was adapted by Colfax artist Dick Gebhardt from an 1881 photograph. It will be painted in full color on the side of the former Sandbagger Tavern building on Main Street.

The 16-by-18-foot mural will be painted “primarily in the early morning and late afternoon hours,” says project coordinator Bill Reynolds of the Colfax Arts Council.

Work on the mural is scheduled to continue through the Colfax Concrete River Days, July 8 and 9.

Lord’s grand ‘tramp box’

For his closing reception Friday at Dean Davis Photography and Gallery, Tim Lord is bringing a grand finale of a tramp box.

“It’s ‘The Emperor’s Pearls,’ ” says Lord, “and it towers more than 6 feet.”

The show, “8 Box,” includes Lord’s adaptations of the tradition of hobo and tramp art carving of the late 1800s.

This form of folk art was introduced in the early 1860s by the German and Scandinavian Wanderbuersons, or wandering apprentices. It was widely produced by anonymous artisans, using primarily discarded wooden cigar boxes, in the hobo jungles of the United States.

The show is up through Friday at the gallery, 216 W. Pacific Ave. The closing reception runs from 5 to 10 p.m.

Rocket Bakery shows

“ “Botanical Landscapes,” featuring black-and-white botanical photographs by Shelly Murney, runs through July 31 at the Rocket Bakery, 903 W. Garland Ave.

Her style is reminiscent of the early 20th century photographer Edward Weston, says Sue Bradley of Tinman Gallery and coordinator of the Rocket Bakery exhibits.

Weston “was famed for his extremely close-up and detailed photographs of common objects which made them appear to be abstract sculptures,” says Bradley.

“ “Carnival 57,” a series of acrylic paintings by Ric Gendron, is hanging in the Rocket Bakery, 24 W. Main Ave, through July.