3 minute read
Combining Passion with Purpose
Artist Jill Bergman’s ever-evolving art is as remarkable as her passion for Steamboat Springs.
Her willingness to give of her time and talent has brought her to the forefront of the Northwest Colorado art community again and again.
Among her most recent endeavors – yes, she has multiple community projects on her drawing board – is her participation in Mandala on the Yampa, the return of exiled Tibetan monks to Steamboat for the third time in the past 12 years.
The monks are scheduled to visit Tuesday-Sunday, Aug. 9-14, and the surrounding events include ceremonies, sacred dance, conversation, and at the center of their visit, the creation of a mandala sand painting in Library Hall at Bud Werner Memorial Library, 1289 Lincoln Ave. The public is invited to watch the monks at work throughout the week.
Alongside the monks’ mandala is a community sand painting. Locals and visitors are welcome to try their hand at filling in sand atop the design Bergman created.
“It’s kind of a weird challenge,” Bergman says about this unusual assignment: creating a table-sized geometric figure that is colorful, intricate and symbolic. “I tried to include things that make me think of our community – landmarks, activities that are special to Steamboat, wild animals – they are part of what makes our community special.”
The ski area, Howelsen, the Sleeping Giant and Fish Creek Falls are included in the design. “I just kept going,” Bergman says. “I wanted the mandala to combine local icons, with the Yampa River spiralling up out of it.”
Creating the pattern took Bergman a couple of months. “I am an illustrator at heart. I hear an idea and I get a mental image of it. It’s so exciting to get started from that point.”
The community mandala is four feet across. Bergman began by drawing it full-size with pencil, and then traced it with sharpie. After that was photographed, she had it printed on fine art paper 18 inches in diameter and painted the mandala design with watercolor.
Bergman's mandala outline, prior to being filled in with watercolor paint.
COURTESY OF JILL BERGMAN
Pattern for the 2022 community mandala, created by artist Jill Bergman.
The monks’ mandala is, by tradition, an impermanent work. In the closing ceremony of the monks’ visit to Steamboat, the colorful sands are swept up from the library table and spread into the Yampa River to carry a healing blessing to the ocean and the world.
Unlike that mandala, the community’s sand painting will have a lasting presence, as Bergman’s prints of the intricate design are available at Pine Moon Fine Art, 117 Ninth St, downtown, and at the Steamboat Art Museum store on the corner of Eighth Street and Lincoln Avenue.
– Jill Bergman
COURTESY OF JILL BERGMAN
Bergman used Steamboat-themed imagery for her mandala.
685 Marketplace Plaza #6 Steamboat Springs, CO 80487 970-875-3728 www.TheGlacierLily.com
COURTESY OF JILL BERGMAN
Artist Jill Bergman
Now that the sand painting design is well under way, Bergman is moving on to other community projects, including a long-term wildlife project, the details of which are still being sorted out.
Bergman combines passion and purpose in her pursuit of a career that is flourishing. “I really enjoy it. I’m happy when these opportunities come up,” she says.
To see more of Bergman's work, visit www.JillBergman.com. For more information about Mandala on the Yampa, visit www.SteamboatLibrary.org. w
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