 
There is a love affair between artists and
this desert land that has culminated in thousands of paintings
and photographs being produced over the years from amateurs and
professionals alike. Perhaps the best known artist in Death Valley
territory is famed ballerina Marta Becket of the Amargosa Opera
House.
In March the DV Chamber of Commerce usually
sponsors an Art show at Furnace Creek Ranch during the heart of
the wildflower season. In April there is a weekend Arts and Crafts
show in Shoshone. The Death Valley 49ers encampment in November
brings artists from all over the West to participate in their
Western Art Show.
The Tecopa Basin Artist Group was started this year and the group has a gallery
at the historic Tecopa Hot Springs Resort, on Tecopa Hot Springs Road. It is
open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm and by appointment. Call 760-852-4420
or visit www.tecopaca.com for more information.
Our area is filled with quaint museums,
each one focusing on a different facet of our natural and cultural
history. At the Shoshone Museum, in Shoshone, the featured topics
are the mammoth and mastodon bones found locally, the geology,
contributions of women, the railroad, Shoshone and Tecopa history.
At Furnace Creek Ranch, the Borax Museum acquaints visitors with
their borax and ranching stories. The National Park Service Museum
at Furnace Creek provides an overview of the geology, Death Valley
plants and animals, Native American history and subsequent mining
chapters of the National Park. At the exhibit room in Scotty's
Castle you can glimpse the building of the Castle and its main
inhabitants, Albert and Bessie Johnson and Death Valley Scotty.
The Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest tells the story of the life
of the Mojave Desert people, plants and animals.
The past speaks to us from the ruins found
in our area too. Rhyolite was the most ambitious city that flourished
during the boomtown era of Death Valley. Called "the Queen
City of Death Valley" it boasted buildings made of stone,
concrete and bottles. Today in addition to the ruins, one can
find an outdoor sculpture garden in the popular ghost town. |
