Art in the Desert

On paper, jewelry, and bottles; through a lens and under the water

Honing art skills paid off to produce some truly mesmerizing pieces of art in the desert just outside of Las Vegas, each telling a story of its own.

ANGELINA GALINDO | UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY

Angelina Galindo lives at the intersection of grit and curiosity: “I shoot underwater in the deep blue seas all over the world,” she said, adding, “I’ve always loved photography; capturing images underwater is challenging and creative!”

She began diving in 1997 and has since logged more than 2,000 dives. Many of them have been with her 38-pound underwater photography gear made up of a DSLR camera and powerful strobes. Angelina became a scuba instructor in 2005 and taught underwater photography along the way. In 2008, she was one of four instructors chosen to be a dive-with guide at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef.

“A love of the water and the sea critters that make it magical drives my passion,” she said. “Every single dive reveals the most amazing underwater life, from brilliant colors to unbelievable reef and sea critters.”

For 10 years she routinely donned chain mail and took divers into the 1.3-million-gallon tank inhabited by 13 shark species. During this time, she shot photographs and video for Shark Reef that are still displayed on billboards and during tours of the Shark Reef.

For open-water excursions, however, the “process literally starts with booking a dive trip to a destination specially for capturing underwater critters. And then preparing the gear for the decent into the deep blue atmosphere and scouting for critters,” she said. “Being ready and having excellent buoyancy is paramount in capturing the sea critters.”

SANDY DEGIORGIO | OIL PAINTING

For as long as I can remember, I have been drawing and coloring. But my passion for art didn’t take off until my friendship developed with Betty Moffett, Billie Jean King's mother, who lived across the street from me when I was growing up. When I was in my early teens, I took an oil painting class with her. We both had a blast and enjoyed getting lost watching our pieces of art materialize into beautiful pictures right in front of our eyes.

I haven't been able to paint much since moving here, between squaring away our home and traveling with my wonder-lust-bitten husband. Since his retirement from the Navy and airlines, we have traveled all over the world. During those trips, I’ve snapped a bunch of pictures of the places we have visited, and once I set up my art corner, I’ll start painting again.

Our children all have a picture or two of mine in their homes. Over the years, I’ve presented my art in several shows, mostly in New Mexico, selling several pictures along the way. A bit out of the box, I also used a friend’s jig saw, stored in my garage at the time, to cut out and paint various fi gures of people and animals. I was in an art show around the holidays and painted with Thanksgiving and Christmas themes. They all sold! I just love the process of creating!

REBECCA GOODELL | REPURPOSING BOTTLES

Since childhood, I remember drawing on various things and always being on the lookout for my next coloring book. It’s a lifetime love that came to good use during the lockdown of 2020. I decided to turn my love of art into something that would also keep me busy.

My art form incorporates painting, drawing, mixed media, and modern art elements, with empty wine and liquor bottles serving as the basis. I created a collection of decorated bottles using acrylic paint, rice, beans, beads, thread, wire, and glue. Since each bottle features a unique design, the work is very time consuming, but the effort is rewarding. It’s also my way of relaxing and having a good time!

I finish them off with beautiful wine stoppers to fit each design. Once completed, they’re a lot of fun to look at, and most of all, I enjoy the way they make people smile. What I don’t giveaway is on display in my home, in addition to sharing them on our first art walk here at Trilogy in Summerlin.

LINDA RUBIN | JEWELRY MAKING

I started making jewelry after taking a few different classes, with no particular style in mind, mostly giving away my creations as gifts. When people started saying “why don't you sell your jewelry?” I found that one special interest, beyond volunteering, which developed over the past 22 years. During that time, I explored various ways to make jewelry from incorporating rubber stamping to using different mediums such as clay Then, I started making pendants using photograph s and ice resin inside bezels. Primarily making Judaic jewelry at the time, I started selling it in Judaic Temple gift shops.

After moving to Las Vegas, I started going to bead shows including the biggest in Tucson, Arizona. I decided, if I was going to be buying all these supplies, I needed an outlet to sell what I made. So, I started selling in craft shows, at First Friday, and then opening an Etsy shop, branching out to earrings, necklaces, bracelets and more. Now back to spiritual jewelry, my Etsy shop primarily features Buddhist jewelry.

Equipped with a large craft room in my Trilogy home with tons of supplies, Joyce Kang, who I found out also made jewelry, and I decided to teach a jewelry class at Trilogy. We now mostly focus things we can teach others, including my favorite part: creating one-of-a-kind pieces for others to wear. n