COEUR d’ALENE — The works of two longtime friends and colleagues are coming together in the Art Spirit Gallery for an exhibition fittingly titled "Confluence."

Together, regional artists Allie Kurtz Vogt and Michael Horswill were art instructors for a combined 53 years at North Idaho College. Their offices were right next to each other, and their Hayden homes happen to be only a few minutes apart.

"The show is about our exchange as artists and friends and the relationship we shared as teachers," said Vogt, who retired from NIC at the end of 2014.

The pieces in the exhibit include paintings, sculptures and drawings and range in medium from oil and pencil to glass and wax. Both artists draw inspiration from childhood memories, life experiences, history and nature to imagine the pieces that are created at their fingertips.

Vogt said they both tend to work in layers, but they do have their different ways of approaching their work.

"There's an underlying compatibility in the way we work and think," she said. "We share these commonalities, so when you discuss the differences it's energizing."

Horswill, who has been at NIC for 18 years, said he thinks Vogt's art and his really work well together. While they paint and sculpt in separate studios out of their homes, as they prepared for "Confluence" their proximity allowed them to drop by the other's workspace and peek in on each other's creative process.

"We'd periodically go to each other's house and look at what the other one was working on," Horswill said. "It's really interesting the parallels and the similar processes we employ in making the work. There are lots of things to discover in her work and in my work.

"We realized there's a lot of interesting things she's doing with her paintings and I'm doing with my sculptures," he continued. "I'm just really excited to see the work together. I'm honored and humbled by the whole thing."

Horswill and Vogt will showcase 64 new works during "Confluence," which opens with a reception today from 5-8 p.m. during ArtWalk. A conversation with the artists will be held in the gallery Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon. Both are free and open to the public.

The ArtSpirit Gallery is located at 415 Sherman Ave.

Info: www.theartspiritgallery.com