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The Gunnison Country Times invites local artists to participate in our first ever

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ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

Holly Kozlowski 4

AiN round one For ten plus years I've been kicking around the Gunnison Valley. During that time I have participated in group and solo exhibitions, spouted out prose on stage during Wild Word - I have even put on a one man Memorial Day parade complete with float, candy throwing and at one Stephen J. Pierotti point a police escort.

I am excited to find myself Publisher exploring a new type of artistic endeavor - publishing. The Artists in Newspapers project provides a venue to showcase the work of a handful of artists, as well as highlight some of the great events that keep folks coming back summer after summer.

For 13 weeks the Gunnison Country Times featured original pieces of art on the second section cover. The mediums varied from print-making, ceramic sculpture, oil paint, graphic design and even some computer animation and music.

I couldn't be happier with the turn out from the valley's art community. I also couldn't be happier with the turn out from the art viewing community. Newspapers are typically a disposable medium - a story is read and off it goes to the recycling bin. It was delightful to see stacks of second section covers on coffee tables and in waiting rooms all over town.

I have always believed that art is an essential part of a healthy community; and by my diagnosis our little mountain valley is quite healthy. We have not reached the sound vigor of Santa Fe or even the hidden power status of Salida, but we have a strong pulse that is beating on its own.

This AiN catalog is the collection of the original art, bios written by the artists and short descriptions of the featured Gunnison Valley event. Almost all the artists have included contact information. I encourage our readers to get online, or pick up the phone and ask for a studio tour.

Art - the displaying, participating and creating of - is one of the constants this valley has to offer. The Times is proud to play its part. This is just round one for the AiN. We'll be back next June with a fresh 13 weeks and 13 pieces of original art. ■

Aimee Jacoby 6 Nina Peacock 8 Donna Rozman 10 LeAnne Canty 12 Stephen J. Pierotti 14 Al Caniff 16 Delaney Keating 18 Laura Cooper Elm 20 Erin Vokoun-Tomlin 22

John-Marc Ventimiglia 24 Todd Murray 26 Joe Bob Merritt 28

For more information regarding this publication or other special publications of the Gunnison Country Times, call 970.641.1414, or email production@gunnisontimes.com No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Copyright© 2006. No part may be transmitted in any form by any means including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without permission of the publisher.

Any work (written, photographic or graphic) which the publisher “hired-out” becomes the property of the publisher. Publisher accepts no liability for solicited or unsolicited materials lost, damaged or otherwise.

The early bird... gets the worm

Holly Kozlowski My name is Holly Kozlowski, I am a working artist in Gunnison. I was born in Maracay, Venezuela, then raised in Seattle, Washington. I have my BFA in printmaking from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and my MFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I have two fantastic kids and a wonderful husband. I have a studio at 513 S. Main in Gunnison, where I have been most recently making prints.

I am currently working on a series of 9x9 black-and-white drypoint etchings involving babies, birds, and small animals in precarious situations involving imbalance, speed or danger. Each scenario captures a moment where the creature is at a place where there is tension. Either at the top or the bottom, sliding or slipping, the ground is not stable.

I am working on the feeling created by the absence of certainty, or sure-footedness. This series is a study for me of what it means to be vulnerable. The babies and animals may at first may appear cute, but when you really look at the piece, it can be disconcerting. I have always been fascinated when things are not as they seem. Actually, I am terrified of it.

I also work on an ongoing series of prints of houses. Houses have always affected me. I love the form, shape, and meaning of a house.

They are a basic shelter, but they also are used to define people. I do commissions, generally - working in the piece aspects of people’s life or personality.

You can always call 970-275-1621 for a studio tour. ■

Wildlife watching is one of the most popular outdoor activities in the country, and the same is true in the Gunnison Valley.

But wildlife isn’t just made up of deer and elk and bighorn sheep. By far the most numerous, the most colorful and the easiest to observe species of wildlife around are our feathered friends.

For some folks, bird-watching (also known as birding) is a sidelight while they do other activities, but for others it is the primary reason for the trip. Whatever your motivation, birding gives you an excuse to look at the natural world a little closer; always an interesting experience. When you go slow enough to look and listen for birds, you end up seeing, hearing and learning a whole lot more.

June is the month to catch breeding birds in action. Each year, for the past seven years, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) has facilitated a “breeding bird census” for all bird watchers, feeders, lovers and counters. Counters will see what’s common and uncommon in species, as well as review the census to take stock of what RMBL sees every year.

Dr. Chris Floyd, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, is the bird expert on hand who leads the early4

morning groups out to identify local bird species.

Each person is provided with a bird list and a pencil, to keep a tally of which birds he or she sees and hears, and where he or she saw or heard them. And you don’t have to be a birding expert; if you’re a beginner, you’ll be teamed up with with an experienced bird watcher, and will come to learn the songs, calls and other characteristics used to identify bird species.

You can expect to find a myriad of bird species. RMBL’s “current bird list numbers 168 birds,” says Operations Manager, Mel Dean.

“That list varies, as some birds are migratory,” she says. But even still - to see and hear over 100 different types of birds in a morning is all in a day’s work.

When the birding concludes, everyone is invited back to RMBL, where lunch is provided. Next year’s census date will be specified in January.

Call 970-349-7231 for reservations or email enviro-ed@rmbl.org to assure your place in the program. Reservations are taken on a first come, first served basis.

Costs are $25 for adults and $7 for children under 12.

Until next year, here are some tips on

birding: • Since birds are so mobile it helps to have binoculars to see them from a distance.

• You often hear birds before you see them, so it is best to walk quietly so you can hear that faint chirp that alerts you that something is nearby.

• Look for unusual movement in the vegetation. Gravity will draw a falling leaf or branch downward, but if you see movement to the side or up you know it is something moving under its own power.

• Just like all wildlife, birds are tied to habitats that provide them good opportunities for food, water, shelter and nesting. If you want to see a variety of birds, it helps to visit a variety of habitats. Some of the major habitat types you can visit around Gunnison are sagebrush hills, cottonwood riparian, aspen, ponderosa pine, spruce/fir and alpine.

• As a rule, higher elevation areas tend to support fewer species of birds than lowland areas. But Gunnison’s mountains and valleys support species that aren’t commonly seen elsewhere. These include Gunnison Sage Grouse, Dippers, White Tailed Ptarmigan, and all three varieties of Rosy Finches. ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

Fast Baby 9” x 9” Dry Point Etching

Untitled 9” x 9” Dry Point Etching

We Watch TV Together Photocollagraph

See Saw 9” x 9” Dry Point Etching

Where beer gardens and kayaks meet

Aimee Jacoby Aimee Jacoby originally started exploring photography because she is fascinated by how an “experience can be summed up and recorded in a single image.” She’s been taking the bulk of those types of photos for the Gunnison Country Times for more than two years.

Originally from Maryland, Jacoby went to school at Iowa State in Ames, Ia. There she earned a B.F.A. in visual studies in 1998.

She moved to Jackson Hole, Wyo, taking pictures for a dude ranch, shooting weddings, skiing and other “resort” photos. In December of 2000, she took her talents to Crested Butte.

In 2005 Jacoby moved to Gunnison to pursue a change in paths. She enrolled at Western State, began working for Gunnison’s Emergency Medical Services team and focused primarily on becoming a physician’s assistant.

“Although I am currently focused in other areas, I will always love recognizing and capturing contrast and movement,” she said.

In addition to her photography for the Times, Jacoby remains active in freelance work - events, weddings, sports, races, portraits, etc. You can see more of her photographs at www.aimeesphotography.com and reach her at aimeejacoby4547@aol.com, or 970-596-4547. ■

Three years ago, High Country Citizen’s Alliance (HCCA) opted to collaborate with the annual Colorado Adventure Sports Festival and run a “River Awareness Week” since both organizations had an interest in water. This year, the Sports Festival participants kayaked the Gunnison River and in conjunction, HCCA set up an informational booth to help people learn more about the state of the river and the issues concerning Gunnison’s watershed.

The first part of the week included various River Awareness Week (RAW) events, such as hikes, films, workshops, bluegrass music and other evening presentations. In 2006, RAW had everything from a Dutch oven cook-off to kayak demos to a river clean-up. The weekend concludes at Gunnison’s Whitewater Park, where the Sports Festival takes place. Along with the informational booth, HCCA also invited New Belgium Brewing Company to sponsor a beer garden as a fund raising event to protect and restore the waters of the Upper Gunnison River Basin.

Each year, more and more businesses are sponsoring RAW, which means more 6

fun for attendees. Some businesses even offer free or discounted workshops in fly fishing and fly tying.

HCCA encourages anyone and everyone to participate at any event held throughout the week to recognize the important role rivers play in the local environment and economy.

River Awareness Week is slated to be held around the same time again next year. If not the same week as the Colorado Adventure Sports Festival, it will be within a couple weeks of it.

To volunteer, purchase tickets, or register for any of the RAW events, contact Mary Mahoney or Wendy McDermott at High Country Citizen’s Alliance at 970349-7104 or email office@hccaonline. org.

Previously known as the Gunnison Whitewater Festival, the Colorado Adventure Sports Festival diversified in 2005 to highlight the full range of outdoor recreation available in Gunnison Valley, located in south central Colorado. Held June 23 - 25, 2006, the event continued to host the final stop of the Colorado Cup kayaking point series.

Held at Gunnison Whitewater Park and various locations in the Gunnison Valley, the Colorado Adventure Sports Festival featured opening and closing ceremonies, a TEVA Adventure Race (kayaking, mountain biking and trail running), costume party concert, trail run, mountain bike trials competition, community and competitive raft races, rock climbing,, and kayak demonstrations, clinics, racing and freestyle competition.

For kids, event organizers once again presented the popular foamy boat races, an aquatic version of the old pine wood derby. Participants carve boats out of foam then race them on the mini river created at the Gunnison Whitewater Park.

Colorado Adventure Sports Festival is presented by Western State College’s Todd Crane Center for Outdoor Leadership. The Center is designed to give realworld opportunities to students studying recreation. Students are involved in the development, planning and implementation of the entire Colorado Adventure Sports Festival. For more information call (970) 943-7131 or visit www.whitewaterpark.org. ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

Small waters run deep

The Taylor Park Marina Fishing Derby is held each year and offers cash prizes for longest northern pike, largest pike by weight, most pike caught, and largest trout caught in the Taylor Park Reservoir. Registration begins at 6 a.m. the morning of the Derby, with eligible fishing times between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is an entry fee per person. Registration for the kids division is free, with non-cash prizes available. Next year’s Fishing Derby is slated for June 23.

Taylor Park Marina sits on the southern edge of Taylor Park Reservoir. At an elevation of 9300 feet the skies are blue, the air is light, crisp and best of all clear.

The north end of the lake is surrounded by the magnificent beauty of the Saguache Range also know as the Collegiate Peaks.

The undiscovered beauty of Taylor Park makes your vacation experience more adventurous since fancy amenities are not an option. Taylor Park Marina, however, can eliminate the need to bring your own equipment along for your ultimate fishing experience. The Marina rents fishing boats, pontoons, and rents or sells all your fishing equipment needs. Taylor Park Marina carries a full line of fishing lures and bait as well as beverages and snacks for the “people needs.”

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Nina Peacock My father is an athlete and my mother is an artist. Growing up within that dichotomy I was faced with the conflict between physical exertion and creative reflection.

In an attempt to connect with both parents, I often struggled to avoid dualistic behavior. I literally wrestled to understand the value of art as a legitimate mode of communication. Throughout the persistent struggle to unite these dueling ideologies, painting has become the very medium that I employ in searching for resolve. I now see the importance of art and value it as a universal language that communicates directly with the human spirit.

Currently, my artistic study is focused on presenting the square as a metaphor for the human experience. I am exploring the human form as wholly physical, intellectual, and spiritual. The imagery portrayed in this body of work represents the play between mania and the calculated maneuver. Each piece presents itself as an opportunity for achieving balance between my dualities, allowing them to complement one another.

When I am able to surrender to my subconscious and let go of my “sense of self,” I feel able to communicate a deeper level of truth and achieve a greater understanding of the power of dualism. In order to allow the subconscious to fully emerge, granting my dualities permission to speak equally, I use a set of rituals to quiet the mind. This practice enables me to experience moments of intense artistic flow. During these moments I feel that my artistic content is at the hands of the Divine or something greater than the self.

As a painter, I must recognize the traditional forms that guide my artistic style beyond my state of consciousness. In my most recent body of work I see the influence of the vibrant expressionistic forms of the fauves, the progressive forms of the modernists and the spirit of revolt and freedom upheld by the abstract expressionists. I also relate to the impressionistic notion of “capturing a moment”; however, unlike the impressionist’s use of light, color, and pictorial accuracy, I find myself capturing the transient effects of a moment of thought or feeling.

The further development of my artistic content and style is dependent upon criticism and I am fortunate to have studio mates that critique my work from start to finish. Through this process I have come to challenge myself more fully and am able to recognize areas of weakness. I am very critical of my work and seek outside critique whenever possible.

I also seek to challenge my artistic ability through further education. My formal art education began at the Pennsylvania School of Art and Design in 1991, and that formed the basis for my foundation in art. I later transferred to the University of Utah in 1993 and then received a B.A. from Westminster College in Salt Lake City in 1999.

I am on the continual path of self-discovery and have found that through painting I am able to create a platform for my voice and my dualities. Painting also enables me to refine and validate many of my philosophies surrounding life, death, mythological structuring and the universal flow of energy that guides me as I carve my way through the midst of it all. ■

The new owners, Coy and Diane Marriott, purchased the “boathouse” from J.D. and Rosie Herman with plans for expanding the services previously offered, but with the promise to never lose the unique charm of the lake and the friendly family atmosphere that so inspired them to purchase the business in 1998. With over 2000 surface acres of water, Taylor Reservoir is small enough to be quaint, deep enough to house lots of “big lunkers” and

large enough to accommodate lots of fishing boats and still have room for other water sports; that is if you can handle the frigid water. Taylor Reservoir is the home of mackinaws, rainbow trout, brown trout, cutthroats, northern pike and kokanee salmon.

For more information or to register for the Derby, call Taylor Park Marina at 970641-2922 (spring/summer) or 719-3956484 (winter). ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

Untitled 48” x 48” Oil Paint on Masonite

Untitled 48” x 48” Oil Paint on Masonite

Untitled 48” x 48” Oil Paint on Masonite

Fishing Derby 48” x 48” Oil Paint on Masonite

A walk to inspire

ArtWalk Evenings in Crested Butte are gaining more enthusiasm from people with each season. Seven galleries participated in this summer’s ArtWalk series with new and different featured artists each month.

ArtWalks are about community members and visitors, artists and art admirers, friends and family, touring Crested Butte’s local galleries, viewing art work, meeting the artists and feeling inspired. For local gallery owners and artists, ArtWalk Evenings are a time to reach out to the community and draw them into their art world in a fun and sociable atmosphere.

“We love the opportunity for our artists to interact with their collectors as well as with fellow artists and patrons of the arts,” said gallery owner Teresa Rijks. “I love the energy and enthusiasm being exchanged.”

The following galleries participated in this summer’s ArtWalk Evenings: Creekside Pottery, Ice Mountain Jewelry, Lucille Lucas Gallery and Frame Shop, Paragon Gallery, Rendezvous Gallery and Framing, Rijks Family Gallery, and Wolfotography. ArtWalk Evenings takes place June - Sept. and Dec. - April, on the last Thursday of each month, from 5-8 p.m. Light appetizers and beverages are served as well as motivating conversations and occasional live music.

Artists of the West Elks encourages artists who are interested in showing their work to contact galleries about being a featured artist or to find other venues, such as local resturants, storefronts, and church lobbies to show their work and join the ArtWalk tour. For more information contact Luisa Naughton at luisa@kclay.com or call 970901-9988. To join AWE or for more information visit www.awearts.org or e-mail info@awearts.org.

Gunnison’s local art scene came together for a new event this summer, the Gallery 10

Donna Rozman Shortly after graduation from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., with a B.F.A. in ceramics, Donna Rozman followed her love of adventure to the small mountain town of Crested Butte. She never dreamed she would marry a mountain man and raise a family there.

After Donna and her husband Richard started their family, she focused on raising her two sons, but always found ways to express her artistry. In 1986 she purchased a wheel and kiln and got reacquainted with clay by making small wheel-thrown green-ware for a local potter.

Donna’s career in art began in earnest in 1995, when the family built a home with studio space. At a majolica workshop held in conjunction with the Valley Folk Arts program at Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, she discovered that the majolica glazing technique allowed her to combine two loves: drawing and clay.

Newly committed to ceramics, she began work as a studio potter, selling her work at the Rijks Family Gallery in Crested Butte. She continued to study ceramics at workshops with well known potters and each year attended the National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts. The stimulation and interaction with other artists inspired her to further her education.

In 2003, Donna completed course work for a Masters of Fine Arts in ceramics at Kansas State University. As a graduate student, she experimented with and explored new ideas in form and technique on both functional and sculptural pieces. In the summer of 2001 she went to Faenze, Italy, with the Kansas State International Studies Program to study majolica ceramics for two weeks. To enhance her education further, she studied ceramics, weaving and Spanish in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, during the fall semester of 2001.

Her studies abroad strongly impacted her ceramic work. She now incorporates more brilliant color and uses intricate patterns to enhance the surfaces on her wheel-thrown and altered forms. Influenced by multicultural spirituality, Donna investigates the tantalizing relationship between spirituality and sexuality. Her work includes niche-like sanctuaries that house abstract, sensual statuettes.

Donna is now represented in these Colorado galleries: Rijks Family Gallery, Crested Butte; Pinon Hill Pottery, La Veta; Cultureclash, Salida. Selected exhibitions include: The 3rd World Ceramic Biennale 2005 Korea International Competition, Icheon, Korea; Concordia Continental Ceramics Competition, Saint Paul, Minn.; Ink & Clay 32, Kellogg University Art Gallery, Pomona, Calif.; Regionalism, University Memorial Center Art Gallery, Boulder; Contemporary Clay 2006, The Art Center, Grand Junction.

Donna was recently awarded a grant from the Lighton International Artist Exchange Program, a project of the Kansas City Artists Coalition, to participate in a six-week artist residency at the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet, Hungary.

See more of her work at: http://www.awearts.org/rozman.html ■

Crawl of Gunnison. From May through September, on the first Friday evening of each month, participating businesses showcased the works of Gunnison’s talented local artists, and provided delicious food and beverages for all. Many locations had a featured artist on site to discuss his or her artwork and the local art scene.

The participating galleries in 2006 included the Gunnison Arts Center, Gunnison

Gallery, Horsefeathers, Johnson Building Gallery, Rather Be Creative, Rocky Mountain Frames and Stone Cold Tattoo & Gallery.

The event is sponsored by the Gunnison Chamber of Commerce and the listed businesses involved. Mark this exciting Gunnison event on your calendar. If you would like more information contact Sally Palmer at 970-641-1501. ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

Keep Me In Your Dreams 10” x 7” x 4” Majolica, Terra-cotta

Protected Jewel 8” x 5” x 3” Majolica, Terra-cotta

Teapot with Stand 14” x 10” x 6” Majolica, Terra-cotta Artwalk Evenings 14” bowl Majolica, Terra-cotta

The mountain in full bloom

Crested Butte Wildflower Festival was created in 1986 when a local businessman, Terry Hamlin, suggested the idea after witnessing flower festivals in Europe. With the help of the Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce, a volunteer committee was formed to make the idea a reality.

In 1989, the mayors of Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte and the town manager of Mt. Crested Butte approached the General Assembly of the Colorado State Senate and achieved the official designation of “Wildflower Capital of Colorado” for Crested Butte. The festival continued briefly under the Chamber of Commerce umbrella and in 1996, the volunteer committee organizing the festival secured its nonprofit status.

With the success and growth of the festival, a director was hired in 1999.

The festival began as a weekend event and has evolved into a weeklong celebration that begins the first Sunday after the Fourth of July. Glacier lilies are among the first to appear in May, literally forcing their way through remaining layers of snow. By mid-July and well into the month of August, the entire area is painted with dramatic floral displays.

Workshop leaders come from around the country and include experts in botany, photography, gardening, art, flower arranging, cooking, crafts and more. In 2005, approximately 65 workshop leaders made more than 180 events possible, and nearly 80 volunteers provided their time and talents.

Visit Crested Butte this summer for a week of botanical celebration. Bring your family and together you will have an unforgettable experience: enjoy breathtaking mountain landscapes and magnificent native flora that prompted the 1989 desig12

Leanne Canty Leanne Canty attended Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver, where she earned a degree in art. During her studies at RMCAD, she explored all mediums, which she uses at will to achieve different effects or to capture specific subject matter.

Besides specializing in paintings of native botanicals of Colorado, Leanne also is an accomplished calligrapher and has exhibited with The Colorado Calligraphers Guild.

At the present, Leanne is enjoying the expressiveness of her recent paintings and is continually challenging herself with her artwork.

Over the years, her involvement in art has increased to include being an active member of Artists of the West Elks.

Since 1988, Leanne has been co-owner of Rendezvous Gallery and Framing in Crested Butte, which has allowed her to keep current in the local art scene while protecting and enhancing valuable works of art for her clients. ■

nation by the Colorado Legislature as the Wildflower Capital of Colorado.

Walk or hike under bluest Colorado skies through mountain meadows, national forests or the narrow alleys of the old historic district in Crested Butte to view an abundant natural display of pastoral wildflowers. Learn to identify, photograph, paint, draw, heal with, plant, cook and enjoy wildflowers through one of the various workshops, tours, lectures, slide shows or exhibits for all ages.

Tour the numerous beautiful gardens that surround Crested Butte’s quaint Victorian village. The week of the Festival, enjoy the incredible wildflower renderings of artists on exhibit and for sale in the Registration Center at the Community School, 818 Red Lady Avenue. Wine, dine, shop, hike, bike, stroll or just meander through the Wildflower Capital of Colorado.

Crested Butte Wildflower Festival spans the peak of wildflower season in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains and is dedicated to the conservation, preservation and appreciation of wildflowers through education and celebration. More than 190 individual events were planned for the 2006 Wildflower Festival, focusing on the magnificent sight of miles and miles of wildflower fields abloom in the Crested Butte area.

In 2002, Crested Butte Wildflower Festival and the Town of Mt. Crested Butte partnered to create the Mountain Garden, located next to Town Hall. A Garden Committee oversees the garden, which is

a popular location for weddings and other events. Eighteen weddings were held in the garden in 2005, and 21 weddings already were scheduled for 2006.

A commemorative Wildflower Festival book debuted during the 2006 celebration.

Published in honor of the festival’s 20th anniversary, the book features event highlights, festival posters, articles by workshop leaders and board members, sketches by local students, and much more.

Schedules of events and other information about the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival may be obtained by visiting www. crestedbuttewildflowerfestival.com or by calling 970-349-2571.

The Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, Inc. is a Colorado 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to the conservation, preservation and appreciation of wildflowers through education and celebration. It is committed to protecting the natural botanical heritage for future generations and promoting sound stewardship of this priceless resource.

The goal of the Wildflower Festival is to educate interested persons about natural flora, to teach, share, promote and appreciate the natural beauty of the GunnisonCrested Butte region. Further, it seeks to promote natural landscaping, gardening and preservation of native plants through special events, educational programs and publications, including but not limited to the annual Crested Butte Wildflower Festival. ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

Holiday Card Calligraphy

Iris Watercolor

Wildflower Festival Oil Paint/Gouache/ Digital Collage

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The Gunnison Valley community came together in a unanimous show of support to set the national record for the largest amount of money ever raised during the Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign.

Through the massive efforts of local volunteers, businesses and the Cattlemen’s Days Rodeo Committee, more than $90,000 was raised.

Tough Enough to Wear Pink (TETWP) is a national fund-raiser and cancer awareness campaign centered around professional rodeos. All funds raised by the efforts stay locally to benefit community members.

Terry Wheatley of Hughson, Calif., started the national effort in 2004 after becoming a breast cancer survivor.

Wheatly said because of the amount of participation and money raised, Gunnison’s first TETWP effort will pave the way for future communities trying to hold their own fund-raising campaigns. “I think this provides a great road map for the other (communities),� Wheatly said. “This will serve as a great service to (Gunnison’s) own community, but in terms of what it can provide to other groups — it should be invaluable.�

Jim Swaim, second vice president of Cattlemen’s Days and member of Gunnison’s TETWP campaign, said they exceeded their goal by more than $40,000.

Swain said after the effort concluded, people came up to him and asked if the effort was worth it. “I got to thinking about it and ‘hell yes,’�

Swain said. “We had 300 people treated for cancer in Gunnison county in the last year.� “We are all affected and cancer knows no boundaries ... ‘Hell yes,’ when you have 5,000 people at the rodeo supporting it.�

Linda Lewis, owner of Palisades Restaurant and Saloon, said she’s always amazed at the way the Gunnison community can come together. “Something like this absolutely amazes me,� Lewis said. “People just come together, they give and they serve and it brings them such a great joy to give. I hope we keep doing this and things like this.�

Kevin Coblentz, business owner and local TETWP committee member, said the fund-raising event went well above and beyond what they expected.

Stephen J. Pierotti

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Community sets national fund-raising record

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“We thought that $50,000 was a very lofty goal,� Coblentz said. “The community of Gunnison met and exceeded that goal easily. “It’s an absolutely amazing community ... (but) without Cattlemen’s Days we would (have been) dead in the water.�

Cattlemen’s Days Rodeo donated $2 from every ticket sold from Thursday’s opening night rodeo.

Sally Palmer, the new event development coordinator for the city, said she was surprised by the total support TETWP received. “I was blown away by how successful this was,� she said. “I never thought it wouldn’t be successful, but just how many people jumped on to help out ... it just amazed me.�

The committee, which began meeting in February, took a terrible loss when a member and beloved local businessman Jimmy Clark died while volunteering at a high school rodeo near Denver. “This campaign, I think I speak for everybody, took over our lives,� Coblentz said. “I really admire the courage of this committee — we lost a real significant guy and everybody backed up said, ... ‘Jimmy is gone. Let’s do our mourning, let’s do what we need to do to get through that.’ And in the next breath they regrouped and said, ‘Okay where do we fill in behind him? How do we do what he was doing?’�

According to Swaim, nearly all of the rodeo competitors were wearing pink

6

somewhere in their clothing and many of those who won donated part of their winnings to TETWP. Besides private donations, children selling lemonade, restaurants challenging each other to sell the most pink clothing (with proceeds going to TETWP) — there was also an auction at Palisades Restaurant, which added over $27,000 to the campaign.

Swaim said at the auction many people returned the item they won, so that it could be bid on again by others.

The next stage for TETWP is to sit down with members of the community and the Gunnison Valley Hospital (GVH) to decide how the funding can best be appropriated. “We were just delighted to see the community support for breast cancer awareness and treatment, which is just phenomenal and we were happy to be a part of that,� said Randy Phelps, CEO of Gunnison Valley Hospital, which served as a title sponsor for the effort.

Swaim couldn’t stress how much he wanted to thank the community for all their help and involvement. “Thanks to the 5,000 fans in support of this thing. Thank you to the kids who sold lemonade. Thanks to the restaurants that stood up and challenged each other ... thank you to the adults who made cookie jars and sold bandannas. Thank you for Gunnison Valley Hospital and thank you to the Cattlemen’s Days committee, and all our neighbors.â€? â– ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

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Eastwall & Southwall Maps Digital Drawings

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P00029 24" x 24" Oil on Canvass

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ID00029 Mixed Media

TETWP Hat 4-color Newsprint

Water water everywhere

The Colorado Water Workshop began in 1976 as a collaborative effort between a Western State College history professor and “Gunnison Country” historian, Dr. Duane Vandenbusche, and a Gunnison water lawyer and Western graduate, Richard “Dick” Bratton. They felt that Colorado needed a place — high up near the Continental Divide, which divides the state in ways more than geographically — where various factions and interests involved in water issues could convene to explore options “off the record” in the milder environment for which Gunnison is famous (in the summer).

1976 was right on the cusp of the dawning of the age of a general environmental awareness — a time when water quality issues began to become as important as water quantity issues, and when a western consensus about the positive nature of resource development and growth began to fragment. In the years since, the Colorado Water Workshop has gained a reputation throughout the West as a place where all parties can come and be heard, and hear as much as they are willing to listen to. In Dick Bratton’s words: “Every responsible position will be adequately represented.”

2006’s water workshop asked the question, “Is water in the southern Rockies ‘a developed resource?’”

“We are no longer developing a (water resource),” Justice Greg Hobbs said. “We are learning how to share a developed resource.”

This year’s Colorado Water Workshop conference, “The Developed Resource,” held July 26 to 28, examined the challenges and possible opportunities of that observation.

The workshop was preceded by two 16

Al Caniff In addition to my degree work in the fine arts, I am an experienced artist and teacher in many specialty areas in the arts and humanities. Some of the classes I teach fall within my area of concentration: ceramics, sculpture, three-dimensional and two-dimensional courses.

Of course with these teaching assignments come the responsibilities of maintaining lab and shop equipment. I have been the curator for school and community art galleries and established an art center for the city of Three Rivers, Mich. I have also been the art program director of cultural campus activities, and the chair of a Fine Arts Department.

My curriculum development and student advising has been favorably documented by yearly evaluation. I have been practicing art and teaching art for close to 37 years.

Many of my students have gone on to become professional artists and/or teachers of art. My students have been, at times, developmentally or physically challenged; they also have been culturally diverse. They have been traditional undergraduates, non-traditional students, and graduate students.

Whatever their origins or abilities, students respond to the sequential learning methods that I employ. They learn about art, creativity, teaching, and about themselves.

My goal as a ceramic artist is to enrich other people’s daily lives with quality work that is functional, enjoyable, and aesthetically pleasing. Each piece of pottery reflects its own energy with a persona of the creative spirit.

As my knowledge of clay art evolved into my desire … it matured into my life’s aspiration. ■

other water-related events. Monday and Tuesday, July 24 and 25, a consortium of Colorado resource and conservation organizations presented a “Water Conservation Workshop.” Tuesday afternoon, July 25, and Wednesday morning, July 26, Delta water attorney Aaron Clay offered his renowned eight-hour “Colorado Water Law in a Nutshell.” The cost for this course was $30, with attendance limited to 40. Continuing education credit for lawyers and realtors was also available.

The Water Workshop began Wednesday afternoon with a panel of presenters.

Hobbs introduced and moderated the session, which included San Luis valley rancher and county commissioner Joseph Gallegos, a law professor from Israel, regional forester Rick Cables, Aurora utilities director Peter Binney, CU economist Chuck Howe and environmental advocate Melinda Kassen.

Thursday morning kicked off with a tribute to Zebulon Pike from regional writer and publisher Ed Quillen, on the 200th anniversary of Pike’s epic journey through the southern Rockies.

Randy Udall, coordinator of the Roaring Fork Community Office of Resource Efficiency, was a featured speaker in a discus-

sion on the “water-energy-food equation” that ranges from current circumstances to what might happen if we were to launch a massive oil shale development.

That afternoon, the conferees explored predictable supply and predicted demand for water in coming years, with featured speakers Brad Udall of the CU-NOAA Western Water Assessment and Kay Brothers, deputy general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

Thursday evening, western historian Patrick Limerick gave a public keynote address, open to the community, on “Our Suddenly More Finite West,” examining the broader implications of “buildout” in the West with other resources, too.

Friday morning, the conference turned its attention to Colorado’s recent effort to add public input to the water allocation and distribution process, through passage last year of the “Colorado Water for the Future Act.” Russell George, executive director of Colorado’s Department of Natural Resources led this session.

For more information go to http://www. western.edu/water, or call Water Workshop director George Sibley at 970-9432055. All events were held in the College Union at Western State College. ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

CO Co3 / Nio / Fe2O3 / Zno / Ti O2

Nio / Fe2O3 / Zno / Ti O2

Nio / Zno / Ti O2

Cu Co3 / CO Co3 / Zno / Tio2

Gunsmoke -nGunnison

Delaney Keating My name is Delaney Keating and I am a freelance graphic designer based in Gunnison.

I have lived in Gunnison for more than 10 years and, like so many, originally moved here to attend Western State College.

During college everything about my life seemed to direct me toward a career as a writer, editor or educator. What I didn’t know then was that my production internships and jobs at newspapers were already charting me on a course as a graphic designer.

I was born in Denver and actually chose Western State over other colleges throughout Colorado, because at that time, no one else from my high school was coming to Gunnison. I was ready for a fresh start and apparently a nice place to call home someday.

I now have a wonderful husband and daughter. I began my freelance career and left the newspaper business as a means to stay home with my child and afford part-time daycare. It was a scary move to go out on my own, but this first year has been consistently busy and I feel very fortunate.

The important part of my work is to make sure that a client’s business vision is fully reflected within their marketing and design scheme. However, the real challenge is defining my personal business image.

I often have clients ask me why I don’t have a logo, when in actuality I have at least a dozen, but can’t commit to any of them.

Hazard of the trade, I suppose.

The AiN series has been a great creative opportunity and turned out to be more challenging than I anticipated, because I chose an event I knew nothing about - Gunsmoke-n-Gunnison. My goal was to draw attention to the event by using an artistic style unassociated with equestrian sports, so I aimed for a bold, comic book image. ■

The third annual GunSmoke-nGunnison roared into town the weekend of July 28-30, bringing what has been called the “fastest growing equestrian sport” back to Fred Field Arena.

The three days of cowboy mounted shooting showcased a variety of skill levels from across the country, demonstrating their ability to blend barrel racing in with marksmanship.

Competitors fired blanks from two 45caliber revolvers at targets, while navigating a timed course. The rounds are topped off with a corncob or ground walnut shells that when fired can break balloons at 15 feet.

Courses of fire are set in a variety of patterns. The first half (5 targets) of a course of fire will vary with each go and requires the horse and rider to stop, turn, change leads and accelerate rapidly. The second half (5 targets), called the “run down,” is a straight course with targets set at 36 foot intervals.

Typically, a competitor crosses the tim18

ing beam at a full gallop and engages the first pattern of five targets. After a shooter fires the fifth shot, he or she returns the empty revolver to a holster and proceeds to and turns around a barrel and then races to the far end of the arena while drawing a second revolver. At the far end the horse and rider turn another barrel and then engage the five remaining targets of the run down at full speed.

Scoring is based on elapsed time plus a five second penalty for each target missed or barrel knocked over. An average course of fire normally takes a contestant between 15 and 25 seconds to complete.

The event is hosted by the Gunnison Valley Mounted Shooting Association (GVMSA) — a nonprofit organization that donates its after-cost proceeds to local charities.

“I always like to ride, I’ve always liked

to shoot and being able to put the two of them together was a real rush,” said GVMSA president and founder Dennis Posluszny. “And I learned real quickly that it was a little more difficult than what it appeared.”

Posluszny believes the event this year drew close to 60 competitors.

“It is going to be better than last year, that I know just from the phone calls I’ve received,” Posluszny said. “... The first event that we had, there were 21 competitors. The second event there were over 40 — so we seem to be growing by 20 contestants each year.”

Next year GVMSA will be hosting the Mid-Mountain Regional Championships.

The event is free and spectators are welcome. For information about competing or anything else about GVMSA, call Posluszny at 641-4787 or 596-4936. ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

CD Sleeve

T-Shirt

Website

Gunsmoke-n-Gunnison Illustration

Passion for stitching: then and now

It’s hard to find a better place to showcase quilts, new and handed down, than the Gunnison Arts Center in Gunnison.

The historic stone building sits on a prominent corner in downtown and is the site of The Land of Rainbow Quilt Festival, Aug. 3 – 24, along with numerous art activities year round. Quilt exhibitions, lectures, workshops, documentation sessions, a quilt turning and camaraderie are woven into this annual festival.

90-year-old Anne Lumb submitted her hand-made quilt for display at the 14th annual Land of Rainbow Quilt Festival; the history of Lumb’s own quilt started in the late 60s when she was introduced to an 80year-old woman.

The woman grew up in a sod hut in Nebraska and probably learned to quilt by candle light. Lumb, who also was interested in learning the art form, asked the woman to show her, and she happily agreed.

“You learn from someone and then what goes around comes around,” said Lumb, originally from Yorkshire, England. “When I got used to her accent, I found it quite simple.”

The woman told Lumb how her family would make quilts from worn pieces of clothing.

“Thank goodness our ancestors were so resourceful, but then they had to be I guess, didn’t they?” Ann said. “She told me when they got the garments they washed them and they had to be absolutely past redemption for anything else, and the best pieces were saved for the quilting.

“They didn’t waste a thing. When I think of us today we are a throw-away society, 20

Laura Cooper Elm More than ever I find myself thinking three-dimensionally, even while working with digital collage. It’s been a considerable struggle to integrate sensibilities from two-dimensional figurative and narrative work into clay. Figuring out a way to reconcile the technical problems of drawing on ceramics without it feeling forced has taken quite some time.

Nowadays, I combine traditional disciplines with digital media; it seems so simple, but don’t let me fool you. A considerable amount of experimentation, along with confounded sassafrassin’, has gone into sufficiently working out these techniques interactively.

The act of throwing on a potter’s wheel literally keeps me in balance. The peaceful, meditative rhythm of the work is something that continually guides me. An underlying principle is the concept of circularity: what goes around comes around.

In the process of throwing, sculpting or painting, my subconscious just takes over; time dissolves. The three-dimensional aspects are sculpturally engaging, and undulating surfaces invite further spontaneity.

When throwing clay, I prefer porcelain for its extreme light weight and smooth sensibility. The bright white surface enhances bold designs. The surface of the clay itself becomes yet another form of canvas.

Balance and symmetry are an inherent aspect of each form. There is an intrinsic relevance to making a work of functional art completely from beginning to end. That which is an end can also be the beginning…

But the answer to an artistic question is sometimes so obvious that we just can’t see the forest through the trees. Language, gesture, metaphor and mythology all bring order out of chaos.

I have been greatly influenced by the modern notion of actively creating a personal mythology. Much of what sparks me comes from literature and medieval and renaissance art, with dash of modern culture. The influences of past cultures are a common denominator in determining our future.

The myriad connections are best understood as a symbolic language in which I strive passionately and somewhat desperately to blend the worlds of reason and imagination. The symbolic patterning throughout invokes spirituality, as well as aesthetics.

Word play, puns, bits of literature and snatches of song inspire and entertain me while I’m working, and are incorporated in a variety of ways. These words and images are meant to evoke certain emotions within the subconscious. My personal motto is “E Cosi Desio Me Mena” which I’m told is the Latin for “ and so desire carries me along.”

After earning a BFA degree in painting from Carnegie-Mellon University, I moved West and then kept on going – journeying to diverse regions such as Micronesia, Asia, Australia and Scandinavia. Now in the mountains of Colorado, I continue my personal quest. I’ve exhibited nationally through the American Craft Council. You can find my work locally at Rijks Family Gallery in Crested Butte and select galleries around the country. ■

but our ancestors surely were not. But they got along didn’t they?”

After a bit of trial and error, she figured out the process of sewing together a quilt by hand. Using that process, it took her more than a year to make her own quilt.

“Finally you get into it — it is just like everything else you learn to do in life, a rhythm comes to you and you proceed along those lines,” Anne said. “It was fun and it was a lot better than watching television — I can assure you.”

Pat Venturo, cofounder of the Quilt Festival, said oral histories like Anne’s are important to the over-all tradition of the art form.

“I think (it’s) an important part of the story,” Venturo said. “It is how quilts really get passed down, from person to person, not just the quilt itself, but the way to put it together and (that) tradition keeps moving forward.”

The Land of Rainbow Quilt Festival’s inaugural year was 1991, with the festival growing in size to occupy and enjoy the exhibit space at Gunnison Arts Center (GAC) quilts.

For more information or to see a photo gallery from the 2005 festival, visit www. gunnisonquiltfestival.com. The Gunnison Arts Center can be reached at (970) 6414029. ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

Platter Porcelain

Siren’s Conversation Porcelain

Siren with Snail Porcelain

Land of the Rainbow Digital Collage

Preserve and protect

Erin Vokoun-Tomlin We respond to our existence through many states of emotion and motivation. I feel connected when I explore these responses through various aesthetic qualities; qualities such as harmony, balance, rhythm and unity.

I identify these qualities not only through my visual senses but note them in every facet of my life. These primal senses are what drive our every second, carrying us through every stage in our lives, and further affecting everything we ever make contact with. They exist in every glance, even if never translated to thought.

This uniqueness in how and when we perceive these qualities is what identifies us. The appreciation of these responses exemplifies what living is to me, and this is where my work begins …

I often include wording in my work – words that surface when I think about the parts of what make the whole come together. I tend to think of words that communicate growth and change. I feel particularly connected to the everchanging self and often draw upon that for artistic motivation.

When I think of change I also reflect on the passage of time and feel driven to erode my work through the forces of water with my paintings and through sand with my ceramics. I want my work to feel handled, worn and used. I also like to create multiple layers – complimenting this desire to connect to what is fleeting.

I believe my attention to this aesthetic spirit is what has led me to be a lifelong student and, additionally, an educator in the arts. I currently prepare to enter into my third year teaching art at Gunnison High School. ■

For its third consecutive year, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) opens its doors to the public for a “Historic Preservation Gourmet Dinner.” Members of RMBL, as well as those wanting to be a part of RMBL are invited to enjoy a dinner followed by a tour of the current preservation/renovation projects underway at Gothic. This “walking history” of the town of Gothic shows supporters of RMBL what their money goes towards, and also gives the public an idea of what RMBL is all about.

The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory was founded in 1928 to facilitate research and education in the biological sciences. It is a non-profit organization that provides facilities for scientists and offers college-level courses for students.

Each year approximately 150 students and scientists from around the world spend a summer in Gothic, Colo.

The original inspiration to establish The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory at Gothic came from Dr. John C. Johnson, a Colorado native. Born in 1891 on a homestead in Yuma County, Johnson attended elementary and secondary schools in Sterling and Greeley. In 1911, upon graduation from the Colorado State Normal School at Greeley (now University of Northern Colorado), he was invited to become one of the original faculty at the new State Normal School at Gunnison (now Western State College) as instructor in biology and agriculture. He stayed for the next 17 22

years, with time out to earn the M. S. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Johnson became Dean at Western State College in 1919, the year he first saw Gothic. Over the following several years he regularly brought WSC biology students on field trips to Gothic. It was during those years that he conceived the idea and became convinced that a high-altitude field station was needed and that Gothic would be the ideal site. He persuaded other biologists from Colorado, Oklahoma, and Illinois to join him in forming the RMBL Corporation, chartered in 1928 by the State of Colorado.

Johnson had earlier purchased properties at Gothic (later selling them to the RMBL Corporation at his cost). Included were the dilapidated Gothic Hotel built in 1880, and a few other timeworn buildings from that era. When repaired, these served RMBL as laboratories, classrooms, living quarters, dining room, and utility buildings until replaced by new ones. Additional property, buildings, and modern facilities have since been added.

With the indispensable aid of family and many scientists from the nation’s colleges and universities, and with strong support from numerous persons in Crested Butte and Gunnison, Dr. Johnson, Director of RMBL for its first thirty-plus years, devel-

oped the Lab’s instructional and research programs. Prominent biologists from all over the United States and several other countries continue to come to study the biota of the unique ecosystems in the Gothic Area.

Now in its 75th year, RMBL has become the nation’s premier high-altitude biological field station.

The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory is a private, non-profit corporation administered by a director and governed by an elected Board of Trustees. The RMBL’s principal means of support is income from use of their facilities, grants, endowment income, and membership dues. Approximately 700 individuals and businesses support the laboratory as members. Membership is open to the public and donations to support the mission of the RMBL are always welcome and are tax-deductible. Current fund-raising goals include raising scholarship money so that financial need does not preclude attending classes, restoration of RMBL’s historic buildings and the protection of land in the High Elk Corridor.

If you have questions about membership in RMBL or your membership status, contact the Director, Ian Billick at 970349-7231. For a complete schedule of membership events, or to donate online, visit RMBL’s Web site at www.rmbl.org. ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

Lone Home Oil Paint on Board

Electroformed and Sandblasted Stoneware

Live Vessel Family Ceramic

Gothic Oil Paint on Board

Puts the fun back in fungi

Mushroom connoisseur Roger Kahn and restauranteur Mac Bailey took over Crested Butte’s small mushroom festival six years ago and made a solemn vow “to put the fun back in fungi.” Under their direction, the Crested Butte Wild Mushroom Festival has grown (some would even say mushroomed) every year, focusing not on the science of ‘shrooms but on the delectable things humans can do with them.

The Crested Butte Wild Mushroom Festival, Aug. 17–20, emphasizes hands-on activities, nicely seasoned with lectures, slide shows, workshops and jazz. In 2003, festival participants found approximately 130 varieties of mushrooms, while last year netted 100 varieties. With excellent snowfall so far this year, festival organizers are expecting a bumper crop of mushrooms.

During six cooking workshop/luncheons held on Aug., 18, 19 and 20, participants learn from top Crested Butte chefs representing Timberline Restaurant, Buffalo Grille, Cucina, and Arrangements Catering & Events how to prepare imaginative wild mushroom dishes. The workshops conclude on a tasty note by dining on the delicacies, which are served with fine wines that complement each dish.

A sample menu from prior cooking workshops includes baked parmesan baskets with shitake and oyster mushrooms, calvatia (puffball) crusted salmon, Asian mixed mushroom stir-fry, portabella parmigiana with a local wild mushroom bread pudding, and white chocolate mousse topped with blackberry coulis and candied chanterelles.

Many Crested Butte restaurants get into the spirit of the Wild Mushroom Festival by creating wild mushroom dinner menus for their evening offerings during the weekend.

24

John-Marc Ventimiglia My training in Berklee College in Boston for Music Composition and a very bad job market opened me up to the brand new and exciting world of dishwashing! An art in itself! Consequently, this led to a world of culinary experience, which led me to Crested Butte in pursuit of a chef position at Soupcon, and ultimately the pursuit of exotic ingredients outside the realm of delivery trucks from Denver. Thus was born my fascination for fungi. Considered by some very sane scientists to be part animal, part plant, these potent chemical factories of life and, if you make a mistake, death, are artforms of their own, and a delightful treat to the art of the palate.

Thus it only makes sense that my coverage is of the Crested Butte Wild Mushroom Festival.

My media? Anything I can get my hands on. Electronic, or sautee-panwise.

For my Mushroom Festival inspiried art piece I have chosen to do a flash animation which can be viewed online at the gunnisontimes.com site in the “Artists in Newspapers” section ■

Both novice and expert fungiphiles alike also join experts on three wild mushroom forays into the local area’s woods, learning how to find and then identify the mushrooms they collect. Slide shows and workshops cover preparing, preserving and cultivating mushrooms and using mushrooms for medicinal purposes. New this year is a workshop about the fascinating array of amanita mushrooms that are found in the Western states.

Back by popular demand for the second year is an evening of jazz, with the Ken Walker Sextet performing on Aug. 18 from 8:45–10:30 p.m. Hailing from Denver, Ken Walker is the sextet’s leader and bassist and is on the faculty of the Mile High Jazz Camp at the University of Colorado in Boulder and the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. Others in the sextet include Peter Sommer, Al Hood, Dave Corbuson, Jeff Jenkins and Paul Romane. Earlier in the evening is a mushroom appetizers and fine wines event with Keely Murphy of Arrangements Catering & Events from 5:30–6:30 p.m.

Kahn considers his involvement in the festival a tribute to Crested Butte’s old-timers, who shared their know-how with him more than three decades ago when he first moved to the historic mining town.

“Long before Elk Avenue was even paved, our teachers were the old-timers.

They taught us how to polka, hunt, fish, garden and mushroom. When our neighbor and friend, Tony Gallowich, was getting ready to leave the area because of his

health, he took me to one of his favorite chanterelle spots. It was like the passing on of the lore to the next generation,” Kahn says. “In certain ways, this festival is the passing on of what was handed down to us. We’ve just taken it to the next level, to create an event and bring people into the area.”

Bailey admits he was a tad skeptical about mushrooming when he was first introduced to it years ago, wandering around the woods with a paper bag and a knife.

Then he found himself getting excited when he stumbled on a patch of chanterelles. “I was astonished,” he says. “Part of it was being out in the woods and making use of things that are indigenous to this area…and it’s not as frustrating as golf.”

The registration fee for the three-day festival is $115. The fee includes all forays, all workshops (except for the cooking workshops/luncheons), and the jazz concert. For the cooking workshops/luncheons ($39.50 each) and the mushroom appetizers/fine wines event ($25), separate registration is required. People interested in attending the festival for one or two days or selecting specific workshops and activities can register for individual events. Forays and educational workshops cost $35 each, and the evening of jazz is $15. There is no charge to attend the welcome, introductions and slideshow on the evening of Aug. 17.

For more information about Crested Butte Wild Mushroom Festival, call (800) 545-4505 or visit www.cbmushfest.com. ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

Biking on Acid Outdoor Installation

Wick Head - Sculpture Lost Wax & Solder

Illustrations from Sci-fi Stories Charcoal, pen & ink, & pastels

Still from Flash Animation Flash, Cakewalk, Morpheus Synthesizer & Magic Mushroom Spores

Great cars, great scenery, great music

Several hundred prime vintage and custom cars cruise the Gunnison Valley’s mountain roads during the Gunnison Car Show. The event, sponsored by the Gunnison Car Club, includes a cruise-in and free outdoor concert on Gunnison’s Main Street, an open car show, poker run, and breakfast cruise to Crested Butte.

“The theme for 2006 is ‘Cool Cars.

Cool Mountains.’ It doesn’t get any better than this – great cars, great times, great scenery and great music, all in one car-loving location,” says Mike Callihan, president of the Gunnison Car Club.

This year’s event opens with a cruisein and live music from 5 – 9 p.m., which takes place along three blocks of Main Street in downtown Gunnison. The Gunnison Car Club anticipates that more than 125 vehicles will participate in this huge block party, which is free and open to the public.

The club expects 250 to 300 cars for the open car show on Saturday, Aug. 26, filling Gunnison’s beautiful Jorgensen Park from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. There is something 26

Todd Murray It’s a common sight in the rural West. Rusting carcasses of old Detroit iron, surrounded by weeds, tucked behind barns, put out to pasture with other worn out machinery. Often riddled with bullet holes and stripped of any useful parts, what was once shiny paint and sparkling chrome has found its final resting place. Most people see these ironclad cemeteries as eyesores, but to an old car buff, these rotting hulks are hidden gems waiting to be reborn.

The artwork I create is also rooted on the premise of giving new life to old objects. The cowboy culture and traditions that shaped this landscape are changing with each generation. I piece together the flotsam and jetsam left behind to tell the story of a bygone era. Each bit of material contributes its own history to the tale. When a part from an old truck finds its way into one of my assemblages, I wonder who owned that truck and where did it take them? Was it driven to weddings?

Funerals? Saturday night dances? Who shot out the back window and how did it get that big dent in the passenger door? When I create one of these icons, the links to these stories become tangible and preserved.

The piece that appears on the cover was created entirely from found objects. The skeleton is made from driftwood, scrap metal, a garbage can lid and a crumpled bucket. I nabbed the tires and wheels when I was helping out with the local scrap metal cleanup day. The hubcaps were uncovered at a local junkyard. The rest car is resting peacefully in the hills outside of town, patiently waiting to be rescued.

For more information on Todd Murray’s work: Artists of the West Elks, http://www.awearts.org/; email, TDennisMurray@hotmail.com; or call, 970.642.0273 ■

for every car lover – street rods, customs, classics, antiques, 4x4s, and even English sports cars. Saturday’s car show draws car enthusiasts and spectators of all ages to Gunnison to admire the cars, enjoy the music, sample food and other goods from vendor booths, win prizes, and swap car tales and parts. Judges award trophies to the outstanding cars in each of the show categories. A poker run at 5 p.m. concludes the day.

The car show celebration continues Sunday morning with an 8 a.m. breakfast cruise to Crested Butte (28 miles away), where two restaurants will serve a full breakfast. Vintage cars typically line two full blocks of Elk Avenue, Crested Butte’s picturesque main street, for passersby to admire. Drivers can then explore Crested Butte’s shopping and surrounding mountain byways.

Car show proceeds are returned to the community, with a record amount of $8,000 donated to four local nonprofits in 2005. This year, proceeds will benefit the Gunnison Pioneer Museum’s exhibit

of 50 to 60 vintage cars, Hospice of the Gunnison Valley, Gunnison Hot Rodders, Gunnison Food Pantry and Gunnison Arts Center.

The Gunnison Car Club welcomes other car club members from across Colorado and around the country to attend the show. “Everyone is welcome; there are no restrictions. All kinds of cars show up,” Callihan says.

Over its 19-year history, the Gunnison Car Show has drawn a following of repeat participants, with some staying for a week or more to relax in the fresh air of the high country and to go fishing, boating, hiking, camping, RVing, or sightseeing.

The car show is free for spectators.

Weekend participants pay a $20 early registration fee before Aug. 12 or $25 if registering after this date. For more information and online registration, visit www.gunnisoncarclub.com. Information also is available at (970) 641-2249 or 641-1883. ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

La Luz 9”x 9” Mixed Media

Mustang Sally “31x 11” Mixed Media

Rodeo Rose 14”x 10” Mixed Media

Gunnison or Bust Mixed Media

Local talent a display of diversity

Joe Bob Merritt Born 1969.

As a child, I vacationed with my family in the Gunnison Valley. During our visits I spent many hours in the hills and in the river valleys making things of sticks and rocks... houses, tools, toys, and such. I reckon I was 6 or 7 when I decided I was going to figure out a way to live here when I grew up. I followed my interests in making things and earned the degree of Bachelor of Environmental Design at Texas A&M University in 1991 and the degree of Master of Architecture at The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-ARC) in 1996. Shortly after completing my studies, and realizing Los Angeles was no place for me, I moved to Gunnison and settled into work as a carpenter, and architectural designer. I currently operate Sol Space & Light Inc., a design, planning, and construction office specializing in original custom homes and additions.

I am often struck by the beauty of trees and wood. I am mesmerized by the way light moves in water. I am astounded by the forms of stones resting among others. I am nourished by these material manifestations and they are a source of inspiration in the work that I make. I work three dimensionally in steel, earth, wood, stone, and masonry. I work two dimensionally in various paint and drawing media as well as digital media and collage. My works are meditations concerning making and meaning, as well as being documents of being states. Many of my works are on-going, I change them as I change. My works are complete when they are natural. I have yet to learn how to do this. One thing I do know is that one must show up and make. Sometimes while being and making....with a certain degree of effort.... Judgment, ideals, and fear fall away.... joy and courage remain.... a sense of the mystery arises.... something natural happens.... and that is the art that I seek. ■

Because of its dedication to highlight, showcase and develop artists in the community, the Gunnison Arts Center implemented a special art show for local talent - the Gunnison Open.

This show is for any artist - professional, amateur, or hobbyist - to display his or her work in a simple, economical fashion.

Business and dance director, Leslie Channell explains, “To get a solo show (an artist) would have to come up with about 30 pieces. In the Open, the maximum number of pieces than can be showcased is four.”

Artists who create for recreation or pleasure don’t have the pressure of coming up with a solo exhibit; they can choose to submit one or two pieces and be a part of the show.

Channell says, “Family and friends often encourage (artists) to put their work in the show; it’s a neat way for people to display artwork who’ve never displayed it before.”

The Gunnison Open is one of Channell’s 28

“favorite shows” because it “features the work of many artists. It brings all different kinds of people into the building and lets some experience show.”

Held annually for the past seven years, the Gunnison Open draws approximately 20-30 artists each year. It takes place in both the upstairs and downstairs galleries of the Arts Center and runs Sept. - Oct. There is an opening reception for artists in September.

All artwork is original, and all mediums are accepted.

For more information on the Gunnison Open, or other Arts Center activities and events, call 970-641-4029 or email garts@gunnison.cc.

Located at the corner of Hwy. 50 and Main Street, the Gunnison Arts Center invites visitors and locals to experience the arts in the Gunnison Valley.

The Gunnison Council for the Arts (DBA

Gunnison Arts Center) was incorporated as a 501©(3) organization in 1984, and serves the mission of enhancing the cultural environment of the Gunnison Valley.

Featuring gallery spaces, theater and dance productions, arts programs for children and adults and literary clubs, this community arts center showcases local talent and offers cultural experiences for residents and visitors alike. Visitors can register for culinary programs, clay workshops, theater classes and much more.

Today at the Gunnison Arts Center, you will find two exhibition galleries, a gallery shop, a 75-seat theatre, a dance studio with classes and workshops, visual arts classrooms with classes and workshops for adults and children year-round, meeting room spaces, a clay center with low and high fire kilns and wheels, a set construction workshop, ADA accessability and friendly, smiling and helpful staff. ■ ARTISTS in NEWSPAPERS • 2006

The Value of Silence 3” Unfired Ceramic

This Is a Body of a Horse that Carried the One 16” x 36” Wood, Bone, Tar

Non-Typical Jack-A-Lope Dreaming a Child 24” x 40” Oil Paint Man Seeking a War 60” x 42” Oil Paint

Come in and see the exceptional quality from our EpsonPro7800 Digital Printer. The Epson features UltrachromeK3 archival inks, incorporating eight new color pigments, including a new three-level black technology. This state-of-the-art technology dramatically raises the bar for professional color and black and white prints. Paper stocks include photographic gloss and matte, canvas, vinyl, presentation board and many others. Finishing services include mounting and lamination.

int ing. r p l a t i g e for di c r u o s l a Your loc About us.

Visit our new website at www.theprintshop.com.

Photographers may submit digital photographs to be considered as a “Featured Artist of the Month.” If selected, you may display up to three photos with a hot link to your website or another page on our site, displaying your work. p://www

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102 S. Main Street | Gunnison CO | 970/641.4029 30

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