Art Gallery
Marie Taylor
Art & Events Coordinator
Marie is a Frame Hut Gallery represented artist from Montana with a history in healthcare. Large oil paintings and encaustic work are her most common forms. Marie enjoys being a lifelong learner and taking classes in many mediums. Her attraction to an encaustic piece led to a journey that has taken her to many unique places and have allowed her to meet many new friends and mentors.
Marie is moved by Jim Carrey and his short video on “Needing Color.” She is inspired by his quote –“You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.”
While in Ireland, Marie was introduced to the work of John O’Donahue & was moved by his blessing – “May I have the courage today to live the life I would love, to postpone my dream no longer, but to do at last what I came here for and waste my heart on fear no more.”
To view more of Marie's work and to contact her:
Are you an Artist who is interested in having your work displayed and sold at Roots?
Sadie Hilkemann
A young, 19 year old artist, Sadie has lived in Billings all her life.
For as long as she can remember she has always loved to draw, paint, or do anything that allows her to be creative.
Her dad has a background in graphic design and was the one to really get her into art.
Sadie just recently started oil painting and loves the texture she's able to achieve with it.
She gets most of her inspiration from the places she has traveled to and is thankful to live in a place that stirs her creativity as much as Montana does.
Lacie Tucker
Lacie was born and raised in Big Sky Country. Currently, she is the art teacher for Elysian school, teaching a range of students from kindergarten to 8th grade, fueled by her great love for education and a passion for art.
Most of her studio practice is inspired by her students' playfulness and willingness to experiment in material and technique. Typically using painting, printmaking, and installations as her vehicle of communication. She also practices and on rare occasions performs in both movement arts of belly dance and poi.
Her love of Pop Art shines through her current series as she uses still lifes of flowers and plants as a jumping off point. She experiments with bold colors and thick gestural lines. The graphic style dances a line between abstract and naturalistic as well as iconic and observation. Tucker uses her bold lined and expressively chromatic series to show a new perspective on still lifes and objects around us.
When not in the studio, Lacie can be found creating lessons for her students, cooking for her husband and loved ones, taking on commissions, all while continuing to paint and dance along the way.
Featured Artists
Randy Klapmeier
Randy is a local Montana artist living in the country, near Huntley.
He enjoys watercolor painting and pottery.
His interest in pottery began when he was a young boy. He would spend time with his uncle who was a potter in Columbus and then Absarokee.
Randy is still using the kick wheel that he bought from his uncle and now it's also motorized.
"I love Montana, but I think Montana loved me first."
Joe Booth
A professional artist since 1987, Joe's choice of medium ranges from charcoal to oils and the human figure is the subject matter closest to his heart. Trained as a comic book illustrator, he found the small boxes to be a hindrance to what he found most intriguing about the medium, the dynamic figure drawing. As a founding member of The Black Hand Group, he have been able to indulge in his passion for figure drawing with other local artists in the Billings area.
Joe's wife Stephanie & he took their passions of art and interior design and opened Gallery Interiors in 2011. A fusion of fine art and fine furnishings produced a unique store for eleven years. Gallery Interiors is where he first started showing Santa Claus drawings and it has become an annual labor of love.
Morgan Hofmann
- Holy Folk Designs -
Finally finished with college, Morgan found herself in need of a hobby, and remembered the fun she had making Shrinky Dinks as a kid.
She says that the only difference now is that she drinks while she dinks.
The first pair of earrings she made were inspired by her late great-grandma, who was a fiery red-headed Eastern MT cowgirl. The cowboy boots filled with flowers are named "The Mary" after her.
When she's not creating, Morgan teaches English, hence her love for puns.
The fat cat found in many of her designs is named Willow, a cat with a lot to say and even more love to give.