Arts News

BOX CANYON BOOKSHELF

This winter, be sure to check out these new titles by uber-talented Telluriders. The perfect holiday gift? A page-turner for the plane? One to curl up with on a snowy day? We’ll let you decide. All are available at Between the Covers bookstore on Main Street.

TELLURIDE UNVEILED

Telluride Unveiled is a collection of photos by highly regarded local photographer and Guide contributor Ryan Bonneau of Telluride and its surroundings. Through the medium of black and white photography and captured over 20 years exploring every nook and cranny of this corner of the San Juans, Bonneau unveils a raw and peaceful beauty made even more stunning by the contrasting light, dramatic contours and striking textures unique to this region. Says Bonneau, “I moved to Telluride on a youthful whim in search of light, fluffy powder and long vertical ski descents. What I didn’t realize was that this transition would change my life forever and ultimately satiate my soul with the richness of an unrivaled tiny mountain town surrounded by a truly dramatic and seemingly endless landscape.” Also available at Slate Gray Gallery.

TANDEM ROWING

Author Susan Kees, well known for local hikers’ bible The Telluride Hiking Guide, has penned a memoir, Tandem Rowing: More Than a River (A Long Way to Row for a Taco). The book recounts Kees’ and husband Bill’s 2001 adventure rafting 1,800 miles from the headwaters of the Colorado River in Wyoming to its terminus in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. The pair, who travelled in a customized raft with two sets of oars so they could row in tandem, had been married 30 years at the time. (Kees, who reflects in the book on relationships, quips that when comparing the journals each kept on the trip, Bill asked “were we on the same trip?”) With Bill now battling terminal cancer, Kees says she was motivated to write the book for him to read, as well as “to inspire the average person to step out of his comfort zone.”

MARINA & THE MERMAIDS

Telluride might be a long way from any coast, but this children’s book by local writer Linne Halpern will bring the sea a little closer for young readers. Marina and the Mermaids tells the tale of Marina, who lives near the ocean and yearns to swim in the sea like a mermaid. Marina’s fear of the ocean, however, keeps her feet firmly on dry land. When her lucky bracelet ends up in the water, Marina realizes it’s time to face her fears and dive in. Charming and beautifully illustrated by the very creative Halpern, Marina teaches “young explorers the value of diving into new experiences,” according to Halpern. “I was a child who was afraid of a lot of things. I liked my comfort zone and often needed coaxing to challenge myself outside of it. Since moving to Telluride, the book’s lessons of gaining confidence through adventuring and learning to feel comfortable in the unknown feel truer than ever.”

ECOQUEEN

Has local activist and environmentalist Joanna Measer Kanow created the perfect superhero for our time? We think so. Her name is EcoQueen, otherwise known as Kora, a 17-year-old biracial teenager with the power to reverse the effects of climate change. In EcoQueen, Kanow’s wonderful work of teen fiction, we follow Kora, who, empowered by her abilities and accompanied by her autistic twin brother, Rio, sets out to protect the people and ecosystems threatened by rising sea levels, catastrophic weather events, droughts and wildfires across the globe. As young Kora learns to control her gifts, she realizes the impact of environmental changes caused by humans, fossil fuels and pollution. “I wrote the book to get kids inspired to start taking bold climate action now, since us adults have been dragging our feet,” says Kanow. “I want readers to feel that they can become part of solutions to the climate change problems we all currently face.”

It’s a wrap

Last winter, refurbished Gondola cabins dotted around the center of Mountain Village made for unique dining pods. This year, the Town of Mountain Village, the Telluride Mountain Village Owners’ Association and Telluride Arts have collaborated on a unique project. The trio of entities invited local artists to design vinyl wraps for a number of the cabins, turning a Covid-era solution for safe dining into a stunning, wildly inventive public art installation that will outlive the pandemic.

‘Charlie’ at TEX

There’s a new piece of artwork gracing the entrance to the terminal at the Telluride Regional Airport. The piece, a bronze sculpture Ryan Bonneau titled “Charlie”, was created by local artist Richard Arnold, who also sculpted the Sofia statue at the bus stop beside the Telluride Intermediate School. It was commissioned by the Telluride Regional Airport Authority, a tribute “to the youthful passion for aviation shared by all pilots,” according to current airport manager Kenny Maenpa. It’s a passion shared by the artist himself; Arnold served as the airport’s manager from 1988 to 1992 and is widely considered the visionary responsible for what the airport is today.

Photos Melissa Plantz

Nugget news

Bill and Katrine Formby, longtime owners of the Nugget Building, have sold the 129-year-old structure, bringing to a close the couple’s 21-year effort to restore this grand dame of Telluride’s main street to its former grandeur. The sale, to the Telluride Film Festival for an undisclosed amount, was completed in March and included a $2.5 million donation by the couple to help the festival acquire the building. Shortly after that, work finished on the final phase — restoration of a tower that stood on the southeast corner of the building from its original construction in 1892 until sometime in the early 1900s — when workers installed the tower’s finishing touches, including an 8-foot finial covered in gold leaf. Last summer, the Formbys were recognized with the first-ever Historic Landmark Award. Given by Telluride’s Historic and Architectural Review Commission, the commendation recognizes outstanding contribution to the preservation of a local landmark. While preservation awards are handed out bi-annually, Historic Preservation Director Jonna Wensel explains that this time around the commission opted to create something new to stress the couple’s herculean and sympathetic efforts to save and restore the Nugget Building. “This is really unlike any other preservation project we’ve seen in Telluride,” she says of the work that Katrine and Bill Formby have described as a “labor of love”.