A Very Green Gallery: Saranac

The Saranac this month is featuring the works by artists Ben Tobin and Margot Casstevens, who both bring very different forms of art to the table. Ben Tobin , a professional photographer, features multiple pictures of a morning worthy of envy. Ben's photos tend to consist of the things he enjoys the most:sports. From cycling to snowboarding, most of Ben's photos capture the greatest moments of sportsman doing what they do best.
Although he says he does tend to do the occasional landscape or classic boardwalk/sunset feature for those who contract it. Being a freelance photographer Ben has also done a lot of work with magazines such as the Spokane Metro. All the photos featured at the gallery, however, are of several days he and some cyclists spent in Moscow, Idaho. While there the cyclists would perform amazing jumps and tricks, while Ben would stand off to the side and photograph them.
Most all of his photos were taken using a high end Canon-brand camera, which gives amazing depth of field in each of the pictures. The photos themselves are extremely vibrant with the cyclists being the center piece complimented by a lush forest background, creating truly beautiful pictures.
Moving from one side of the gallery to the next you would think you had moved from a sports magazine showing, to a garden as Margot mixes up the gallery with her very unique and beautiful art. The first thing that really stands out the most to an attendant of the gallery when they enter Margot's hall is probably the grass layed out in the middle of the space. Just regular grass, with a bit of a twist. This worked , named "In the Garden", has what appear to be the lower abdomen and upper thighs of a human in the sitting position jutting out of the grass. Moving on to her next piece called "Venus on the Half-Shell" is a figure of a female made out of Hydrocal plaster curled up in the fetal position with grass coming out from underneath her, while she herself rests on a piece of flat metal.
Not only did she have sculptures present but also drawing, huge drawings of what appears to be nothing but streaks of darkness lead the lookers' eyes to the bottom of the sheet revealing a full grown human with the appearance of a child in the mothers womb. Many of her works present, Margot explains, have yet to fully develop their meaning. She states that overtime each peace will develop its own purpose and meaning.
Truly an amazing gallery with such a wide diversity of media, and meaning for the artists themselves and the people who attend, this months gallery is extremely unique. If you have any free time on the weekends I encourage you to come and check out these artists work so you can experience them for yourselves.