---

The Bank Left Gallery featured artists for April are Pullman residents Nicole Taflinger and Valerie Boydo. Nicole's exhibit is a retrospective collection. It consists of over 40 years of various media paintings, inlcuding oil, watercolor and collage. Nicole Taflinger is well-known for co-founding the NICA Art Gallery in Pullman during the 1970s, and is responsible for starting an art revolution that fused Washington State University with the Pullman community. Valerie has been working with art for over 20 years. Her exhibit features her new Night Mare series of ceramic sculpture, "a herd of Night Mares, tails swishing, manes flying as they inhale the night – searching to stamp out bad dreams." The exhibit will run from April 14 through May 5, 2007 Opening reception with the artists April 14 from 1:00 - 5:00pm Music by the Camassia Woodwind Trio For over 25 years, Nicole Taflinger managed the NICA Gallery, encouraged new artists, and exposed the community to a wide diversity of art from the Northwest and throughout the United States. Nicole was born in Vosges, France and came to this country in 1946. She studied at the Chicago Art Institute, and she received her BFA and MFA from Washington State University. Many of her works have been "motivated by nature, particularly wild flowers, representing the joys of growth in the world which surrounds us." Nicole's art is collected world-wide. Valerie Boydo grew up in Buffallo, NY and earned a BFA in graphic design at Daemen College and an MFA in graphic design at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Valerie currently works as a graphic designer at Washington State University in the Marketing Communications Department. Since moving to the Northwest in 2001, Valerie has been involved in the Palouse art community, and is a member of the Women's Caucus for Art, Palouse Chapter, and the Palouse Studio Potters Guild. Valerie's contemporary work is a mix of abstract, realism and fantasy. Her art is collected throughout the United States.