It All Started with a Magical Barn

››This is the story of an art movement started by a barn.

The structure stands alongside County Road 129 in North Routt County, looking invitingly rustic, Western and authentic. While passersby might imagine it filled with tack, saddles and Western gear, in truth the barn belongs to renowned international sculptor David Marshall, who lives part-time in Northwest Colorado. His principal studio is in Benahavis, Spain, but his art also has a strong foothold in Steamboat Springs, where his sculpture graces downtown bus stops, galleries and private residences.

Over the years, he has collaborated with local artists, especially Jennifer Baker, whose medium is fused glass. In 2021, Baker shared her concern with him that she didn’t really have a studio, per se. “I need a space to bring clients,” she recalls telling him. Marshall suggested his barn. “We worked all winter converting that space,” she says. “It was frigid, but we got it done. It’s a magical place. My creative mind gets opened when I’m there.”

Last summer, Steamboat artist Suzi Mitchell, who shares her Scottish roots with Marshall, and a handful of local artists came on board. Mitchell planned a pop-up exhibit in September at the barn. The idea was based in part on an annual event held each fall in Scotland called North East Open Studios. Award-winning Scottish artists, designers and artisans open their studios to visitors, who have the opportunity to meet them in their working environs.

Mitchell and Baker wondered if people would make the 22-mile scenic drive to see the exhibit. “They did,” Mitchell recalls. “They came in the hundreds.”

A second event was held last October, honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Local high school students with You Out Loud, a youth art program that fosters mental wellbeing and self-esteem, were invited to showcase sculptures the group dubbed “Boobs in the Barn.”

From those two weekend events, an ongoing collaboration of Art Barn participants has formed. “We’ve kind of just kept rolling with it,” Baker says. Among the core group are some of the area’s top artists, including Gregory Block, Chula Beauregard, Missy Borden, Brian Bonebrake and Jace Romick, plus Marshall, Baker and Mitchell.

It’s no longer just about the Marshall barn. Last December the group held a one-day event at Alpine Mountain Ranch & Club, where 10 percent of sales went to support youth arts. “We have people calling us offering their barns,” Mitchell says. “But we want to keep it seasonal, keep it special.”

To learn more about future Art Barn exhibits, follow the participating artists on social media. ■

OLD TOWN STEAMBOAT GALLERIES & FIRST FRIDAY VENUES

Steamboat CreateS 1001 13th St., 970-879-9008 riverwalk ColleCtive at the Depot art Center 1001 13th St., 970-879-9008

SChoonover Gallery Fine art 929 LincoLn Ave., 817-891-0200

StanDarD Gallery anD wine bar 907 LincoLn Ave., 970-761-2644 ohana 843 LincoLn Ave., 970-367-3008

JaCe romiCk Gallery 837 LincoLn Ave., 970-819-9384

Steamboat art muSeum 807 LincoLn Ave., 970-870-1755

Solar Flare GlaSSwork & DeSiGn 635 LincoLn Ave., Suite M 970-875-3420 wilD

Howelsen Parkway

treaD oF pioneerS muSeum

800 oAk St., 970-879-221 pine moon Fine art

117 ninth St., 970-879-2787 w Gallery 115 ninth St., 970-846-1783 rumor DeSiGn & reDeSiGn

912 LincoLn Ave., 970-819-9721

ZanDee Gallery (See MountAin inSet)

StrinGS muSiC FeStival 900 StringS roAd, 970-879-5056 ext. 105

Map Key: Museums and galleries

Other First Friday art venues

1855 Ski tiMe SquAre dr., 720-470-1610

All of Steamboat is a Stage

››Vivienne Luthin has seen her share of magic in Steamboat Springs.

Luthin, a professional actor, came to Steamboat Springs in summer 2019 when a friend invited her to join Piknik Theatre. a professional, nonprofit theater company that has been presenting plays in the Yampa Valley since 2008. Most of the company’s productions are staged outdoors.

“The community in Steamboat is really unparalleled in their generosity and enthusiasm,” Luthin says. “I kind of fell in love with Steamboat and the community – and the botanic park is so magical, so it was a great summer.”

Recently named Piknik Theatre’s artistic director, as well as its director of educational outreach, Luthin is well prepared for the job. She holds a BFA in acting from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. After her first stint in Steamboat, she spent seven months performing and directing choreography in the fellowship program for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

One day in 2021, she got a phone call from Stewart Handloff, executive director of Piknik Theatre. He invited her back to Steamboat to act, as well as to take control of the educational aspect of Piknik Theatre’s summer program. She took him up on his offer and when summer turned to fall, she stayed to direct plays and put on workshops with students at Steamboat Springs High School, Middle School and Montessori school.

“I absolutely love teaching. I’ve been doing it since I was a junior in high school. It’s something that has become a calling for me. Watching students discover their own imagination and voice (really inspires me),” Luthin says.