Tuesday night’s City Council meeting ushered in two new eras for the Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission, as a pair of art lovers joined the governing body.

Mayor Steve Widmyer appointed Lindsey Sichelstiel and Dr. Priscilla Bell to the Arts Commission Tuesday, filling two vacant positions with appointees possessing unique backgrounds.

LINDSEY SICHELSTIEL

Sichelstiel, a Coeur d’Alene acupuncturist, said her love of art started with a passion for the pencil.

“I started drawing and painting when I was young,” Sichelstiel said. “I’ve always loved it. I’ve done a lot of art in high school and college. Since then, I’ve kind of veered away from that. Now I express my art through human relations through acupuncture.”

The White Cypress Natural Health co-founder said the opportunity to join the commission was a good way to get back into the Coeur d’Alene art scene, a world she said she’s never really left.

“I grew up here,” she said. “I do know the population and variety of people in Coeur d’Alene really well. I feel like, as an active community member, I know the kind of perspective of what people want in art that maybe has been lacking or hasn’t been around lately.”

When asked what that missing art perspective might envision, Sichelstiel said a different idea might work in the proper controlled environment.

“I’d love to see graffiti art here in Coeur d’Alene,” she said. “Boise has a great graffiti alley. That’s something we could consider with a call to artists in a planned area. It’s something that could highlight graffiti art types of pieces.”

Sichelstiel added that the recent controversy surrounding Marker #11 — an anti-coal sculpture that critiqued Russia in part by displaying a Soviet hammer and sickle along the loop around Riverstone Park, a piece that was promptly removed by Widmyer upon its public discovery — demonstrates that not all Coeur d’Alene residents appreciate public art equally. She said that’s a challenge she’s ready to face.

“Our community has always had unique artists,” she said, “and not every city has that. I think that variety in art is an important detail: Different people appreciate art in different ways. The most recent stuff going on with the Riverstone piece has put the Arts Commission in the spotlight, but I think — overall — people really appreciate art. They recognize public art is important.”

Ali Shute, vice-chair of the Arts Commission, said having fresh perspectives like Sichelstiel’s can add a new voice during uncertain times.

“I think the Marker #11 piece and the city’s rapid removal of it has raised some questions about how we may better serve the community,” Shute said, “so perhaps new voices will mean this kind of misunderstanding [will] happen less. I think new commissioners are coming in with an objective viewpoint, not having been part of the upset or the process, so they’ll give a fresh perspective on what happened and how to move forward.”

Sichelstiel’s husband, Jerry, said Lindsey’s decision to apply for the commission was a long time coming.

“I am super-excited for her,” he said. “She’s been an artist her entire life. I keep encouraging her to join. I think her voice will be valuable to the commission, and I’m proud she was able and willing to lend her voice to help promote arts in the area.”

PRISCILLA BELL

Bell, meanwhile, shares Sichelstiel’s passion for art, saying she’s been fortunate to encourage public art through her involvement with community pillars and artists alike. She said Coeur d’Alene has a busy and thriving art scene, one that can grow even further through public art.

“Knowing people in our region who are involved in the arts,” the former president of North Idaho College said, “public art is able to draw some of those artists out into Coeur d’Alene’s art scene. There are a lot of people in our city who are great contributors to art here in town. We all need to be involved and working together to promote and enhance our city’s culture.”

Besides her five-plus years at NIC, Bell also served three terms as president of the Inland Northwest Opera Board. These qualifications, Shute said, make Bell an exceptional addition to the commission.

“She’s got a lot of experience in our community,” Shute said. “She has been on the Inland Northwest Opera Board. I think she’ll bring a nice perspective to the commission and some invaluable experience.”

But Bell’s history on boards and presence among local artists did not originally give birth to her love of art.

“Before I was president at NIC, I was president of an upstate New York college,” she said. “I used to visit New York, Boston and Washington, D.C., and I started going to museums there. I began to really fall in love with it back in those days.”

Her heavy involvement in the public eye took a pause, however, when her husband, Jim Reitan, was diagnosed with ALS. After grieving her husband’s March passing, Bell said the Arts Commission was a way she could re-introduce herself into the community.

“I love art,” she said. “Jim and I collect art. We would go to the museums all the time. We love the public art in this community, so I was naturally drawn to the commission.”

Bell added that the display of public art is critical to the vitality of any community, something that cannot always be measured but can always be appreciated.

“I think public art adds depth, meaning and variety to Coeur d’Alene,” she said. “I think it provides a way of understanding different points of view and perspectives. It’s important to the community.

“You know, people move to a town for education, for opportunities. But public art is a statement about our values.”