BOUNTIFUL ó Itís not just men who are at home on the range, or in transforming that world into art. This month, Lamplight Art Gallery in Bountiful is exploring the world of the modern cowgirl, mixing art and photography by Nichole Kamanski ó along with guest artists Dixie Mitchell, Valerie Taylor and Alixanne Taylor ó with more candid snapshots and artifacts of a life lived mostly on horseback. Kamanski, the featured artist of the month, has spent the last several years taking on rodeos as a barrel racer and most of her life around horses. Her winning buckles are among those that decorate the exhibit, but when it comes to her art the rider is barely mentioned. ##M:MORE##

Her love, clearly, is for the horses themselves, with her careful, soft pastels perfectly capturing the animalsí sleek lines and inner strength. Best of all, however, are her horsesí eyes, which radiate the sort of patient majesty that seem to be a part of all the best horses that people dream of.

Not that cowgirls (and the occasional cowboy) are ignored, however. Mitchell offers up cross-hatched pen and ink drawings of cowboys caught in mid-ride, the curves of their bodies seeming both solid and in motion at the same time. The Taylors focus on photography, with clear, sun-drenched shots of western animals and the cowboys who choose to live among them.

Even more fascinating than the art works, however, may be the mementos that surround them. Gleaming, trophy-like buckles seem like a rodeo fantasy made real, while the two real leather saddles (proclaiming the rider to be the USHRAís 2007 and 2008 all-around cowgirl) give some weight to the reality of actually riding a horse.

Then there are the photographs, capturing dozens of Utah cowgirls from all across the decades. They cover one wall and fill two different photo albums, reminding guests that a life well-lived is its own kind of art.

jwardell@davisclipper.com