Artist exhibit highlights Native American influences at new gallery in Lava Hot Springs

“The push here is to represent art and cultivate an interest in art,” said Susan Thomas, the owner of the Dragonfly Gallery in Lava Hot Springs. The Dragonfly Gallery opened just after Thanksgiving and has been representing artists from as far as Malad to Idaho Falls ever since. “We have 20 different artists within that small mount of space. We have a very talented local group,” Thomas said. For the month of August, artist Ramon Murillo‘s work will be on display as the gallery’s third featured artist exhibit. The work displayed represents a 30 year career in art and is pulled from four different series. “I just knew from day one that I was going to be an artist, no matter what,” Murillo said. Murillo grew up in Southeast Idaho as a member of the Shoshone-Bannock tribes and has been featured in galleries across the Northwest. Having his work displayed in Lava Hot Springs, which is sacred land to Native American Tribes, is empowering. “I’ve been coming here my whole life, since I was young, five years old. When I come here, I always pray to the Creator and give thanks for these hot springs,” Murillo said. His connection with art and water is clear in his work. Some pieces in the display focus on the health of sockeye salmon living in the Northwest, which are in danger of extinction in the Snake River system, according to the U.S. Department of Interior. “When I did this series like, maybe 20 years ago, there was only three or four salmon making it the Red Fish Lake in Northern Idaho. Mow there’s a dozen or so that made it through this year,” Murillo said. He hopes his work will inspire others to find a balance between what people take from the earth and what they give back. On Saturday, Aug. 24, Murillo will host a workshop for people to learn how to build and paint their own tribal hand drums. For information about the workshop, click here.