Planet walk Colorado springs

​Planet Walk Colorado Springs has submitted space-themed, student artwork to the Commonwheel Artist Coop juried art show called Space “an exploration of out of this world art”.  The Commonwheel, located in Manitou Springs will display and sell this art as part of its current gallery event.  With the help of Academy Art & Frame who donated all of the beautiful, professional framing, Planet Walk worked with its partners, the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region (COPPeR) and the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs to solicit and submit these amazing works of art.
 
These artistic works were originally part of the Space Art contest and free solar system tour, sponsored in part by COPPeR.  The contest was held this past October as part of the annual Planet Walk event in America the Beautiful Park during Arts Month. 
 
The student artists ranged in age from 10 to 17 and represented schools from Fountain to Monument.  The artists hail from: Howbert Elementary, Lewis Palmer Middle School, The da Vinci Academy, Taylor Elementary, Lewis Palmer High School, and Fountain Fort Carson High School in addition to one home-schooled student.   Planet Walk’s Artistic director, Elli Collette was impressed with the quality of the art submitted by the students.  “The amount of talent and dedication shown in these works gives me great optimism for the future of art and the creative process” If you would like to view these youthful interpretations of space along with work by many other artists, simply visit the Commonwheel Artist Co-op at 101 Canon Avenue in Manitou Springs.  The Space Art show will continue through the end of March.
 
For further information call 719-649-9550 or visit https://www.commonwheel.com/space.html and www.planetwalkcs.org.
 

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Here are comments by the students involved in the show, along with their artwork.

"​Carter Grizzle, age 13
My name is Carter Grizzle and I am a 13-year old student at Lewis Palmer Middle School in Monument, Colorado.  My painting "Planet in Dark Space" took first place in my age group at the Planet Walk Art contest sponsored by Planet Walk Colorado Springs, the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs and the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region’s Art Month initiative

Adelie Tillman, age 10
Adelie Tillman has loved creating art since she could put fingerpaint to paper, but she has been taking formal art lessons from Adrienne Sommers for the last three years, since third grade. Her current interests include drawing still lifes, splatter art, and abstract styles. She feels that art is a way of expressing ideas in visual form, and Adelie draws inspiration from the world around her, other artists, and listening to music. She particularly enjoyed making this piece for the Planet Walk art contest, in hopes of bringing awareness to this exciting local project.
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Andres Sanchez age 10
My name is Andres and I was born in Colorado’s second biggest city. Colorado Springs and I am loved by my family and went on numerous trips to California to Utah and maybe some day Mexico. I am ten now and have five brothers and two sisters. We have some good times and some times some bad times.
 
The reason why I came into art was. Because in fifth grade I was entered in my school’s gifted and talented program. For a project we did the Colorado Springs planet walk. Our assignment was to create a poem or 3 d art or a painting all about space. I did my work and submitted my work and named it “Earth’s Reflection.” Why I like art is because I enjoy creating art and do it for a hobby. Maybe in the future make art for a job. That is why I like art and came across making art.
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Ember Higgins, age 11
When I was 4 years old, I used to sit and watch my dad do spray painting art. I wanted to do spray painting art with him but my hands were too small to hold the can. I have always loved art and my favorite kind of art is to draw animated art. Art makes me feel good about myself and confident in my talents. For this piece, I chose to work with acrylics. I like how acrylics glide smoothly on paper and mix well together. I hope people see the beauty of the colors in space in my “Two Universes” and feel at peace when looking at my painting. ~Ember Higgins, 11 years old, Howbert Elementary School.​

Tieler Turner age 10,
​Howbert Elementary School
I started to do art projects about two years ago. Being an artist runs in my family. My grandmother gave me drawing materials for Christmas one year and she always helped me with my drawing. I find myself drawing things when I need to calm down and it helps me to concentrate. I was inspired to do “Space Cake” by all the colors that I have seen of pictures of space. I chose to use acrylics, colored markers, and colored pencils. When people look at this art piece, I want them to think of Earth as a happy place, like a cherry on top of a cake, and to think about the bigger picture of who we are in the universe, especially during this difficult time we are going through.
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Grace Kohl, 1981 Shuttle Bear, Age 14,
I like art because I can create my own characters, outfits and designs.  I have been doing art for a really long time.
 
I like making art because I can express myself and it is fun to do.
 
For this show I make a bear in space.  I used water colors, posca pen, construction paper, holographic paper and colored pencils.
 
I wanted to draw a bear so I found some inspirational pictures of bears in the wild.  I also found an older original astronaut suit that I drew the bear in.
 
I want people to wonder how the bear got in space.
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Rylee Elmore, age 12
My name is Rylee Elmore, I am 12 years old and am from Colorado. I have always been interested in art, but found my passion after going to art camp when I was 10. Since then, I have enjoyed painting on canvas and drawing. Art to me is a way of expressing my imagination and emotions. Art has become a calming and soothing distraction when I become overwhelmed. My inspiration for this piece was my love for Colorado. I love spending time in the mountains, and on the lake.
 
I started this piece by outlining the mountains, and then moved on to the lake and trees. For the trees I chose a unique pattern, for the lake I blended colors and added white stripes for the waves. I then moved back to the mountains, where I chose to finger paint, I added glitter to the snow caps to make them glitter. Planet Walk of Colorado Springs inspired me to do the galaxy theme in the sky, where I blended colors and added texture.
 
With this piece I am hoping the public sees a piece of Colorado and how calming and serene it can be. My work is not currently for sale anywhere else, but I am hoping to have my work in local shops and my own website one day.

Jocelyn Heer, age 17
My name is Jocelyn Heer, I am 17 years old, and I have been painting for 1 year. I have always loved art, but when I tried watercolors I fell in love! Creating art is a way to express myself and is my creative outlet. Space was a new theme and challenge for me. I was trying to come up with an idea involving space, and I didn't want to just do a normal painting of the galaxy. I had many ideas run through my head like an astronaut looking back at earth, constellations making the shape of a woman, etc. While I was thinking about this piece the song Cassiopeia by Sara Bareilles started playing and the idea for my painting came to me. I imagined a woman whose head was full of thoughts of space. My mind went through different hairstyles and an afro stood out to me as the perfect image. I hope when people look at this piece they see the beauty in space as well as the woman. This is one of my favorite paintings I have created thus far. I hope someone enjoys it as much as I do. My work can be found on my Instagram account @artandbtsiguess. ​

Andrew Bailey, age 16
A good photo in my opinion is the most powerful form of art. It has the power to show reality in its most raw and powerful state. This rawness can come from anything such as the candid that captures the emotion and plight of some tired and lonely man walking down the street, all the way to a pristine landscape void of people that, but still full of soul and story. In my short time as a student photographer I have always tried to capture the soul of what was in front of my camera and present my pieces with a story that is apparent and clear to the viewer. 
 
My piece “Starscape” on display here was meant to show the serenity of the night and evoke a calming feeling in the viewer. I arrived at the Paint Mines down in Calhan when it was already dark with a dim half-moon above on a crisp autumn night. I stumbled through the park looking for any natural composition that looked appealing. I came upon these small cliff sides and knew immediately that this was the spot to capture the stars at.

“Starscape” by Andrew Bailey