by Julia Wright, Festival Coordinator
Commonwheel Artists Labor Day Art Festival is a three-day weekend event filled with exceptionally high quality artwork, talented musicians and fabulous food. For 43 years Commonwheel Artists Co-op has helped create an awareness of American-made original fine arts and contemporary crafts by bringing quality artists to this art festival. These artists and local musicians converge upon Manitou Springs Memorial Park to create an incredible art focused festival over this holiday weekend. A jury of professional artists chooses the artists that be showing this year. Only the finest handcrafted work created by the artists are accepted to be present at Commonwheel’s Art Festival. About 30% of the artists are new each year. Come meet the creator of the artwork you will fall in love with and want to purchase to grace your home or body. The line-up of original music by local performers who are showcased on our stage offers a variety of music styles that will fit everyone’s musical tastes. Art and music patrons can sit and listen to their favorite entertainer while enjoying a tasty treat and a cold drink or listen as they wander the booths filled with fine art and contemporary crafts. Eco-friendly food service and delicious treats make this a great place to meet friends for lunch before exploring the art booths. Enjoy a wide variety of exotic and familiar fun foods at the 10 food booths you will find in a tree-shaded food court. The food booths are diverse and offer some tasty treats rarely found at other festivals. This will be the eighth year that our food vendors, sponsors and many community volunteers have worked with Commonwheel to create a Waste-Wise Event. The 2016 Arts Festival was 80% Waste-Free. Learn more about sustainable life practices at the Pikes Peak Permaculture’s Sustainable Booth. Stimulate your child’s imagination by encouraging them to experience various kid-friendly art-related activities around Memorial Park. At our Kid’s Art Activities Booth children are invited to express their creative side with a hands-on art projects. Here kids of all ages can also have their faces painted. Kids of all ages will enjoy watching Dwayne Faux twist up some fun balloon creatures and hats to wear. Jim Jackson from the Millibo Art Theatre helps children add color to the air by creating giant soap bubbles. These activities introduce children to art in fun and exciting ways that encourages them to make art a part of their lives forever. Local patrons all along the Front Range describe the Commonwheel Art Festival as their favorite place to find high quality art and fine crafts for themselves to wear and display in their. Savvy art patrons arrive early on Saturday morning to purchase the best artwork or craft items offered by their favorite artists each year. This is also a great time to discover new artists showing in Manitou Springs for the first time. Many visitors come to purchase Holiday gifts that they know will be unique and please their art appreciating friends and family. Local businesses have donated art, entertainment or dining prizes for a free prize drawing. Sign up to win a dinner in Manitou Springs or in Cripple Creek, a 10-person wine tasting, free soaks, theatrical performances or artwork at the Commonwheel Information Booth. The Commonwheel Art Festival starts at 10 a.m., which makes it ideal for people attending the Colorado Springs Balloon Classic to make a day of it. We invite art patrons to come over after the last balloon has disappeared in the blue Colorado sky and enjoy our live music, have lunch at a table in the food court, then stroll among the beautiful art filled booths in Manitou Springs’ Memorial Park. Put it on your calendar to take a trip to historic Manitou Springs this Labor Day Weekend. This would be a great way to support American artists as you experience a day filled with high quality artwork, fabulous food, art projects for kids and talented local music performers. Check out our website at: www.commonwheel.com/festival to discover which artists will be displaying, what prizes are offered and the schedule of musicians who will be playing at Commonwheel Artists 43rd Annual Labor Day Weekend Art Festival.
0 Comments
by Julia Wright, Festival Coordinator
43 YEARS OF FINE ART, ORIGINAL MUSIC AND GREAT FOOD CHOICES Commonwheel Artists 43rd Labor Day Weekend Art Festival is held in historic Manitou Springs’ Memorial Park. Art patrons will discover a wide variety of high quality sensational artwork, talented musicians, fabulous food and local craft beer at this year’s art festival. Festival vistitors are invited to enjoy a variety of diverse and unique food booths located in a tree-shaded food court. Our food vendors will be firing up their grills and hot plates to create tasty treats that are sure to satisfy every art patron’s appetite. Everyone needs to have their hunger satisfied before or after they wander among the 100 plus artist booths at Commonwheel’s Art Festival. Kids will work up an apettite while having a fun day creating art at the Activity Booth, making giant bubbles or watching balloon creatures come to life before their marveling eyes. When hunger strikes, it is time to take a food break and enjoy the local live music. Quench your thirst with a fresh-squeezed lemonade or limeade. Add some strawberries to make it extra special. Or try pineapple smoothie to cool down a plate of homemade Tamales at Brenda’s Mexican Tamales booth. To satisfy our over 21 art patrons taste for something a bit stronger, a local brewery will be offering its craft brew across from the stage. Bring a smile to your child’s faces when you buy them a funnel cake, a candy treat or a bag of kettle korn to munch while you visit the artists’ booths. Whenerver someone orders “Monkey Balls” at the Thai Pepper booth a bell is rung. Discover why his food patrons return each year to indulge in this unusual food offering or fill their plate with his creative Thai Food offerings. More traditional festival food offerings can be found at Big Papa’s Grill where he offers traditional and veggie hot dogs with 25 different condiments to dress them up with. For a hearty meal try Island Style BBQ’s pulled pork or Teriyaki Chicken sandwiches. Pescatarians can enjoy a plate of Fried Fish. For over 30 years, the Ballas family has brought Greek Food to the art festival! Come enjoy a freshly made gyros or Greek Salad. Add Spanakopita or indulge in their heavenly baklava – but hurry, they sell out every day. Eco-friendly food service and delicious treats make this a great place to meet friends for brunch before exploring the art booths. Enjoy a wide variety of exotic and familiar fun foods at the 10 food booths you will find in a tree-shaded food court. This will be the ninth year that our food vendors, sponsors and many community volunteers have worked with Commonwheel to create a Waste-Wise Event. The 2016 Arts Festival was 80% Waste-Free. Learn more about sustainable life practices at the Pikes Peak Permaculture’s Sustainable Booth. There is a variety of foods available beyond what we mention here. Check the web site to discover more treats to tempt you while at the Art Festival. Invite your friends to meet you in the food court to enjoy an unusual food treat together. Then take some time to wander through the over 100 booths filled with artwork by juried artists showing in Manitou Springs Memorial Park. The Commonwheel Art Festival is anticipated by local patrons all along the Front Range as their favorite place to find high quality art and contemporary crafts for their homes and gifts. Art patrons will once again find many past favorite and new artists that bring their unique talents to add to the diversity of fine art and contemporary crafts found at this juried Festival. And don’t forget, the Holidays are coming soon. Purchasing gifts here is a great way to support and encourgage American artists to keep on creating. Check out our website to discover which artists will be displaying, menus describing what will be offered in the food court and the schedule of musicians playing at: www.commonwheel.com/festival --2017 Food Vendors-- -Big Papa’s Grill serves traditional and veggie hot dogs with 25 condiments to jazz them up. -Big Squeeze Lemonade creates cold, refreshing Fresh Squeezed Strawberry Lemonade and Limeade to order. -Brenda’s Mexican Tamales brings her Homemade Mexican Tamales for a South of the Border treat and Pineapple Smoothies to cool you down. -Cowgirl Kettle Corn has pops up traditonal Kettle Corn and Carmel Corn. -Dionysos Greek Food once again will be serving tasty Gyros, Spanakopita, Greek Salad, Dolmathes and his divine Baklava. -Island Style BBQ cooks up delicious Kahlua Pork & Teriyaki Chicken Sandwiches, Fried Fish, Rice Bowls and many vegetarian choices are available. -Goldminer’s Candy offers samples of Roasted Almonds, homemade fudge and a variety of candy treats. -Pemco Concessions helps keep children happy by offering Ribbon Fries and Twisted Taters. -Pikes Peak Brewery brings their craft beers or has glasses of wine for adults to sip while enjoying the live music on stage. -Thai Pepper grills delicious Spicy Chicken Stir Fry and Thai Seasoned Wings. His Pad Thai can be vegetarian or have some chicken added. Spring Rolls make you order a complete meal. When you order the Monkey Balls, he’ll ring a bell. by Julia Wright, Festival Coordinator
FILL YOUR LABOR DAY WEEKEND WITH ORIGINAL LOCAL MUSIC, FINE ART AND CONTEMPORARY CRAFTS Come visit Manitou Springs to “Celebrate the Arts” in many styles and forms at Commonwheel Artists Labor Day Weekend Art Festival. This festival not only features exceptionally beautiful and affordable arts and crafts, it brings together some of the finest original local musicians the Pikes Peak region has to offer. A regional craft brewery rounds out the unique offerings to be found at the art festival this year. If you enjoy listening to original music, come listen and dance to a variety of talented local musicians on Labor Day Weekend. Sarah Hope, who plays in “Edith”, created another incredible line-up of talented musicians to perform original and uniquely styled music at Commonwheel’s Art Festival. Take a break from shopping and get motivated to dance to your favorite local band. Put on your dancing shoes to spend a day, or three, dancing and listening to innovative local musicians playing in Manitou Springs. All three days you can enjoy a variety of musical styles: Jazz, Celtic, Indie, Jazz, Vintage Pop, Rock & Roll, Folk Pop, Gypsy Tango, Classical and much more. Whatever style of music is your favorite, you are likely to find it here. Saturday starts with the mellow sounds of Alicia Archibald playing and singing musical renditions of pop and jazz standards. She is followed by High Mountain Duet who will be playing their original Folk and Bluegrass music. Then you can enjoy a bit of Gypsy music when Ryan Flores takes the stage. Ending Saturday’s musical line-up is local favorite, “Edith”, formerly known as “Edith Makes a Paper Chain”. Sunday begins with the First String Classical Trio playing beautiful classical music. Picking up the music pace a bit A Pick, A stick and a Chick plays Jazz standards for an hour then Skean Dubh takes the stage to play lively Celtic music in the afternoon. The Alt Country band, Beans and Wheels takes the stage at 4pm to get you swiging your partner until the festival ends for the day at 5pm. Ben Pratt starts Monday’s musical offerings by playing his original Aggressive Dinner Music that always fascinates his audience with his unusual, very entertaining style of music. Blue Grass fans of the The Kinnikinkiks know their music is always enjoyable and quite danceable. Mizmar Madness Tribal Belly Dancers will entertain young and old with their mesmerizing movements to traditional tribal music. They are followed by Blue Moll, for an hour of a classic rock with an amazing female lead singer. Mo Mungus plays with Reggae and Calypso music that will get you moving to the groove on Sunday afternoon as this band closes out the musical line-up for this year’s Art Festival. There are many reasons to spend Labor Day Weekend in Manitou Springs! Engage your imagination by chatting with the artists who created each piece of art displayed in their booths. Relax with fun food while you enjoy great music created by local entertainers. Stimulate your child’s creativity when they join in the fun at the free Kids’ Art Activities Station. So don’t miss it. Come and enjoy one, or all three days at the Commonwheel Artists Art Festival that fills historic Manitou Springs Memorial Park with beautiful art created by over 120 artisans and and original music. -Saturday, September 2- 2:00 pm-1:00 pm Alicia Archibald 1:20 pm-2:15 pm High Mountain Duet 2:30 pm-3:40 pm Ryan Flores 4:00 pm-5:00 pm Edith -Sunday, September 3- 12:00 pm-1:00 pm First String 1:20 pm-2:20 pm A Pick, A Stick & A Chick 2:40 pm-3:40 pm Skean Dubh 4:00 pm-5:00 pm Beans and Wheels -Monday, September 4- 12:00 pm-12:45 pm Ben Pratt 1:00 pm-1:45 pm The Kininkiniks 2:00 pm-2:20 pm Mizmar Madness 2:00 pm-3:20 pm Blue Moll 3:40 pm-5:00 pm Mo Mungus Entertainment Coordinator: Sarah Hope Sound System Provided by: KRCC Sound Managed by: Thos Lesser Line-up is subject to change. Find updates on the Website commonwheel.com/festival by Leti Wesolowski, contributor Celebrate with the artists at our opening reception this Friday, August 18th from 5 to 8 pm at the Creekside Gallery. Show runs from August 18th through September 11th, 2017. Julie Kirkland grew up in an artistic family in California, but it wasn’t until she relocated to Colorado that she started painting. She first worked with watercolors but most recently she has switched to oil paintings. She paints still life, landscapes, people and animals, but her true focus is the contrast created by light and shadows. The light, or the lack of it, is essential for her to tell a story with otherwise ordinary subjects. Many of her paintings capture whimsical subjects that entertains and delights her audience, and this is the case with her latest “About Face”, a show of 100 small portraits of the back of people’s heads, instead of the more traditional portraits of faces. Julie noticed that we recognize our family and friends from the back as easily as from the front, so why not feature local residents and artists that we know. Even if you don’t know them all personally, some of these portraits are bound to remind you of someone! Spoiler: Chris and Liese Chavez, Phil Lear, Deb Komitor and Sean O’ Meallie are local artists among them. Joining Julie are local potters Arlene Woods and Nancy Morse with face-related pottery. Arlene is one of the oldest Commonwheel members and she enjoys working with clay because it challenges to explore many possibilities. For this show she has created clay masks and vases with faces, and depending on her choice of glazes you’ll discover imaginative, humorous, meditative, childish and some just playful bold and colorful personalities. Nancy is also a Commonwheel member and a potter who loves the sculptural quality of clay. She has created whimsical coffee mugs with interesting and funny gestural faces that would remind you of old men. A little bit about Julie Kirkland and her inspiration for this show. Julie, how did you get interested in painting? My grandfather was a sculptor, and my grandmother and aunt were painters, so I’ve always been interested in art. I started painting 19 years ago and now can’t imagine life without it. What are your proudest achievements as an artist? “About Face” is my proudest achievement. The sheer number of portraits and the fact that it took 2 years to complete weren’t something I knew for certain that I could stick to without losing interest. Instead, each portrait made me more excited to do the next, and the next. In fact, I’m still painting them. What has inspired your artwork for this show? My inspiration for the show was the fact that we all recognize people we know just as easily from behind as by seeing their faces. I’m always looking for a slightly different take on things and the whimsical concept of painting people from behind just tickled my fancy. What I didn’t think about as I began the series was that I was going to learn so much about painting skin tones, hair color and textures. I painted from photographs that I took of family, artist friends and strangers on the street. Approaching strangers turned out to be fun. After explaining to them who I was and what I was doing, I only had one person not allow me to photograph him. While a majority of people protest when you ask to take their pictures, people are completely comfortable with allowing you to photograph them from the back. That says a lot about how anonymous we feel we are from the back; only friends and family can recognize us, making these portraits of the back of heads somehow very intimate. What emotions/reactions/thoughts do you want to cause/explore/achieve on the public looking at your artwork? The portraits make me smile when I see them, and I’m hoping that they will bring smiles to the faces of others who view them and remind them of people that they know. After seeing “About Face”, perhaps they might even take a closer look of the back of their friends and family’s heads. What is your favorite piece of this show and why? Right now, I’d say that the portraits of my parents are dear to me. Two others would be the young man with blonde dreads and a young Southern girl I met in Garden of the Gods. I’ve also painted a few surprising portraits, and I include all of them amongst my favorites. Where else can we find your artwork?
My work can be found in The Hunter Wolff Gallery on W. Colorado Avenue in Old Colorado City, and also in my working space in The Second Floor Studios that’s just down the street. Online, you can visit me at http://juliekirkland.com and follow my latest works on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/KirkandFineArt/ Did you enjoy this post? Leave as a comment and let us know! We’d love to hear from you! Want more local art news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Commonwheel newsletter here. Additional information about Julie and this show can be found through RMPBS at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeeLpgA-f5E By Leti Wesolowski, contributor Claudia Dimidik is a Colorado artist and teacher (both high school art and studio classes) who believes that learning is a lifelong process. Trained and credentialed with a B. A. in Art Education, her desire to learn more than one style of art, led her to earn an M.A. in Fine Arts degree. She works with a variety of media including painting, sculpture, printmaking and photography. As an active member in the arts community, Claudia has earned numerous awards and recognition for her works. Her art revolves around childhood memories, her Slavic background, and her love for nature and the untouched landscape. Claudia is a member of the Front Range Open Studio Tour in Monument, and a Commonwheel member since 2016. What is your first memory of being introduced to art or creating something with your own hands? How did you get interested in art? One of my favorite memories was during an art class in elementary school. We were instructed to paint with watercolors and I proudly painted a yacht. I can picture that yacht to this day with the Blue-Ribbon award attached to it :) What does inspire you? I love to hike, bike and fish. In other words, I have always been drawn to the outdoors and nature. I kind of wonder if this is because we were always sent out to play. I can remember the cattails, crayfish, ice skating and so much more. This makes me want to be outside enjoying the beauty and the endless paths one can find. My scenes are idyllic as they take me back to those happy places. What is(are) your preferred medium(s) today? My current preferred medium is the ebb and flow of the alcohol inks. Anything water-based as I enjoy working with wet in wet techniques. It never ceases to surprise me what I see. I also enjoy working with photography and computer graphics. Tell us about your creative process. Walk us through the steps to create one of your alcohol ink trivets. Each alcohol ink tile begins with a good cleaning and then a base of color. Often working from top to bottom. Depending on the image being created the inks are applied with sponges, brushes, Q-tips, eye makeup brushes, toothbrushes and even just straight out of the bottle. At times, a mixing palette is required. What is the visual effect or emotion you look for capturing in your compositions? I look to depict idyllic scenes that are happy, safe and peaceful areas. Usually associated with a happy place whether it be streams that I have fished, mountains I have climbed, moons that I have seen, paths that I have walked or areas that I have bicycled through. All of these are adventures that are waiting to be discovered. What tool in your studio could you not live without? I would have to say that it isn't a tool but two areas. The workshop and the studio. My workshop is where the pours, cutting and dirty work occur in. The studio is the staging and painting area. Everything has a place and without these areas I would feel as if I were confined. Do you have a favorite artist that you admire or follow? Ever since visiting Giverny and Monet's garden I have been drawn to his series and his winter landscapes. What is your proudest achievement? Being a member of the Front Range Open Studio Tours. This will be my second year participating in this event to be held the weekend of September 9 and 10th from 10-5 pm http://www.frontrangeopenstudios.com/map.php The 16 artists selected open their homes and studios to help bring awareness of what it takes to be an artist and to gain support for art and the process. Also, being one of 52 photographers to take one analog camera, one week and shoot one roll of black and white film. The show and book depicts images from each photographer. “A Year in the Life of a Camera,” had been exhibited in Denver, Castle Rock and at Optical Reverb in Colorado Springs. What is your favorite piece you’ve ever made? I painted a large acrylic over the sofa size painting of some wild horses. The style was a mesh of shapes and colors depicting freedom. The piece was designed specifically to fit the room and decor and was one of the largest paintings I had completed at the time. I had titled it "Into the West". I tell this story to my students because it is important to take photographs of completed works for your portfolio. Well this is a prime sample of what happens when you least expect it to. I put the piece into the then BAC at a high price thinking I'll have it back at the end of the month. It sold and I had to try and remember how it looked to try and paint "Into the West II". What are you currently working on? Is there anything new in the shop that you are very excited about? More alcohol ink tiles. New pieces including very large triptychs and very small miniatures are in the works and will be in Commonwheel soon. What’s next for you?
Alcohol ink workshops and Batik on rice paper workshops will begin again in September. Sign up on http://www.pictureithome.com/workshops. The Front Range Open Studio Tours happen September 9th and 10th http://www.frontrangeopenstudios.com. I will be at the Palmer Lake Craft Fair in October. But first another bicycle trip. After returning from Spain it was decided we were not done cycling so this time we see Canada and the Kettle Valley Rail Trial. Visit our Commonwheel Artist Co-op store to receive 10% off all Claudia’s creations through the whole month of August (in-store sales only). You can find her art also at the following links: http://www.frontrangeopenstudios.com http://www.pictureithome.com http://www.academyframesco.com http://palmerlakeartgroup.com Did you enjoy this post? Leave as a comment and let us know! We’d love to hear from you! Want more local art news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Commonwheel newsletter here. Artist’s Reception, Friday, July 21, 5-8 pm July 21- August 14, 2017 Immersion by Leti Wesolowski, contributor Dan and Kathleen Krucoff, a husband and wife duo, are Commonwheel’s guest artists for the month of July. Dan is a photographer and Kathleen is a metalsmith and jeweler. They have longed to do a joint show featuring both their artwork. Dan came up with the idea for “Immersion” to allow them to relay their love of the water-infused sights in Colorado and other areas they have visited through their respective media. For this show Dan’s work consists of digital landscape photography with water as a central theme. From drops on leaves to ocean vistas, along with roaring waterfalls to still pools, he explores water in its natural forms. His goal is to leave the viewer with the feeling of being in these remarkable, inspiring places. He is focusing primarily on areas around the Pikes Peak region, but is also including subjects from other parts of the state and country. As Kathleen began to develop new works for this show, she sought and found stones that represent water to her. Some pieces incorporate lush green Ocean Jaspers with emerald and gold accents that remind her of ocean waves. Other stones such as Leland Blue or Larimar evoke images of ponds and tranquil lakes. Kathleen has employed a variety of metalsmithing techniques such as Chasing and Repoussé to create seashells, and texturing to create sandy backgrounds in her works. Celebrate with the artists at our opening reception on Friday July 21 at our Creekside Gallery from 5 to 8 pm, as part of the Manitou Springs ArtWalk. This show will be on display and for sale until August 14. When Kathleen and Dan were discussing the possibility of doing a joint show, the theme “Immersion” came from him. He thought that both of them could create art work representing water elements. For Dan, it was a great opportunity to share his digital photography and work in partnership with his wife. For Kathleen, an opportunity to incorporate to her work stones that signified water to her and enhance their natural beauty. Dan, How did you get interested in photography? I started in photography in my teens. I was inspired by my mother and her father, who both were interested in photography as well. In addition, my father’s love of the outdoors and wilderness helped push me towards landscapes. What does making art mean to you? Making art for me is about sharing a part of my life with others. Whether it is faraway places that I visit or just sharing the experience of something close by and familiar, it is always a small piece of myself that I have the benefit of showing. What has inspired your artwork for this show? As a landscape photographer inspiration is all around me. I always see it that God has done all the hard work and I get the privilege of getting to bring that to others. The water theme of this show ties into this, not only as a subject itself, but also as one of the primary forces that shape the landscapes around us. What intentions or emotions do you want to express in your artwork? The intent of “Immersion” for me is to both use water as a focal point of each image and to communicate the feeling of being there. The power and sound that come from a waterfall, or the sense of scale from looking out at the ocean, or the quiet solitude in a still reflective pool, all elicit different feelings to the viewer. What is your favorite piece at this show and why? My favorite piece is “Garden of the Gods Reflection”. It is my favorite because it shows how you can always find something new in locations you have been many times before. It was a bit off the beaten path and it was just so peaceful that morning with the refection of the rock formations in the pool of water from rain the night before. This image was done using the technique of High Dynamic Range (HDR). This is where multiple photos are taken at different exposures and combined to be able to show the darkest and lightest parts of the scene in all their detail. What is your proudest achievement as a photographer? I consider my proudest achievement as an artist to be anytime someone decides to make one of my photos a part of their home. Where else can we find your artwork? Currently you can see more of my work on my website: www.sufferingfomexposure.com and on my Facebook page: facebook.com/sufferingfromexposure Kathleen, tell us about yourself. I’ve always been involved creating art. I dabbled with oil painting and fell in love with doing stained glass. Then, in 2007, I started to experiment with fused glass. I would wire wrap the glass cabochons I made. Through those pieces, I met a metalsmith who said she could take my work to the next level. In 2008, I took lessons from her and things just sort of grew from that. It’s important to me to continue to learn and grow as an artist. Living where I do, I have had the good fortune to take a number of workshops from masters in their field, which has helped my work to improve. What does making art mean to you? Being an artist is an essential part of who I am. It is as important to my life as breathing is. I am able to express myself through my work. I have always loved working with my hands; metalwork provides some of the fulfillment I seek in my life. Where does your inspiration comes from? My work is very organic because I am heavily influenced by nature. My dad did landscape work so he would take me with him on some of his jobs. I learned an appreciation for plants and trees by observing his care of them. He would explain their importance and I think that instilled a lot of my love for the unique beauty I find in leaves, bark, anything organic. Are you exploring a new theme for this show? Yes, I definitely explored a new theme for this show. Initially I thought the bulk of my work would be in Chasing & Repoussé. However, I discovered that I could use stones like fossilized coral and sand dollars, among others to convey meaning. I decided to add little touches of gold and faceted gemstones to emphasize the beauty of the natural stones. I even created some new earrings that signify waves to me. They are lightweight and sort of shimmer like water in the light. What intentions or thoughts do you want to express in your jewelry? The goal with any of my pieces is to create something as unique as the wearer. Just as no two leaves are alike, neither are any two of my pieces. I strive to create one of a kind, wearable art. A little bit of me is embedded into each of my works. I tend to make each piece as if it was meant for me… I work to ‘listen’ to a stone so I am guided to create (what) is destined to become. What is your favorite piece at this show and why? It’s hard to pick just one. I have to say the turquoise pendant that I call “Ocean Blue” is my favorite. It blends all the elements that came together as I worked on the pieces for “Immersion.” Tranquil light blue in the turquoise, a flush set Sapphire and then gold accents. This one even has a gold bezel around that luscious turquoise. Rich, sand like texture reminds me of a day at the ocean. What’s next for you?
I have tentative plans to go to Florence, Italy next year and take another Chasing & Repoussé workshop from the Italian Master Fabrizio Acquafresca. That would be a dream come true. One of the many things my preparations for the exhibit taught me was to be prepared for change. I am so grateful to see the growth in my work and as an artist. It has been wonderful to collaborate with my husband Dan as he is one of my biggest fans and supporters. I feel very blessed. Where else can we find your artwork? My work is carried at Boulder Arts and Crafts in Boulder, CO and also at Luma at the Broadmoor here in Colorado Springs. My website: http://www.kathleenkrucoff.com My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KathleenKrucoffArtJewelry/ And my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenkrucoff/ Did you enjoy this post? Leave as a comment and let us know! We’d love to hear from you! Want more local art news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Commonwheel newsletter at the bottom of our home page. Juanita Canzoneri is our July Artist of the Month. By Leti Wesolowski, contributor You might have met Juanita from her mosaic classes at Bemis School of Arts or seen her murals at some local public schools. In fact, she has been making mosaics for the last 16 years and has been part of many exhibitions and gallery shows in the Pikes Peak region. A native of Pennsylvania, Juanita started working in fiber since she was a little girl, learning embroidery, crocheting, knitting and even sewing her own clothes. She got her BA in Communication Arts and Mass Media in Illinois and has explored numerous personal and career interests, from graphic art design, to voice studies, theater costume design and construction, marketing and editorial work, even sugar art creation. A home decorating project, the top of a coffee table she built, sparked her interest in mosaics and started a new chapter on her life. She opened her Colorado Springs home studio in 2001 and since then, she has been constantly learning on her own and experimenting glass, incorporating into some of her pieces her renewed fiber sensibilities. Her artwork is both visually pleasing and durable, ranging from florals, landscapes, abstract, and music inspired wall art, sculptures, and portraits. She has had the opportunity to create small to large scale installations and commissioned works for homes and public art. She has been a Commonwheel member for the last 13 years and is currently our Marketing Manager. What is your first memory of creating something with your own hands? How did you get interested in art? I've always been a "maker". I got involved in sewing and needle work as a child and have wandered through clothing design, costume design, directing theater, and a variety of hands-on craft media. I still do a good deal of fiber work in knitting and crochet. I think one of my earliest memories of "making" something was when I was around five. My mother and I picked cherries and we each made a pie. (My father tasted them both and told me my pie was better.) Where do you get inspiration? What inspires you? For me inspiration often comes from musing "what would happen if I combined this with that." It could be materials (alcohol inks and collage are my latest mash-up) or mixing visual imagery with non-visual concepts (how could I express music or an emotion?). I'm a how/why person in that I always want to know how something was made, or why it was made in a certain way. If I can't figure out how someone else did something, I will often find a way that works for me to get to a desired effect. What is your preferred medium today? And how often do you get to make art? My preferred medium is mosaic. I typically use glass, but a lot of pieces include collage and/or paint, alcohol ink, and colored pencil as well. I work at Commonwheel part-time so my studio time is not as frequent these days, but I get to spend at least 2 to 3 days a week on my artwork. Is there any other hobby that you love? I knit and crochet so I've always got something to occupy my hands and my imagination. And this summer I'm taking my first drawing class. I haven't focused on that skill since my college days so I'm looking forward to it. Tell us about your creative process. Walk us through the steps to create one of your mosaics. The most crucial part of the longevity of my artwork is in preparing the base. Mosaic is like skin in that it needs a sturdy structure to adhere to. The function of the artwork will determine what the base is made of and how it is prepared. For my wall art I typically work on wood—hardboard or medium density fiberboard (MDF)—which I prime with a water-based wood primer. The next step is determined by the design of the piece. I often incorporate collage, paint, beads, fiber or dimensional elements, such as air-dry clay or Plasticine clay. These additions have to be prepared and cured before they are affixed to the base. I use a water-based glue to adhere the glass and inclusions to the base. This goes on white and needs about a day to fully cure. Next, I finish the sides and back of the wood with acrylic paint and varnish the paint once it's dry. If the piece is to be grouted, that happens after the base is finished. I generally use sanded grout in my pieces. I just like the texture of sanded grout juxtaposed with the smooth texture of the glass. Then hanging hardware is affixed to the back of the work and it's ready to leave my studio. Watch the video at the end to see Juanita working on one of her “Night Music” wall mosaics. What tool in your studio could you not live without? Glue or adhesive (there is a difference), a dual-wheeled tile cutter, and paper plates to collect all the glass pieces. Is there an artist that you admire or follow? I’m part of a mosaic mentoring group on Facebook and I troll Pinterest almost daily. Ellen Blakely's work has directly affected the trend in my gallery art. She kind of pioneered the use of clear tempered glass over other materials. What is your favorite piece you’ve ever made? Why is it so special to you? My favorite piece is often the one I'm working on (however) some of my proudest achievements were a 12' by 38' mural that explains the history of everything at Discovery Canyon School, a 4' by 8' mural at Steele Elementary School, and a "portrait" I created earlier this year for a national men's group. I guess (they are special to me) because these were some of the projects that have stretched me the most as an artist. What are you currently working on? I'm currently working on a commissioned sculpture for the Red Wing Motel in Manitou Springs. I'm excited about this piece for several reasons—it will be my first piece of public art in Manitou and I haven't made a sculpture this big or this site-specific before. Follow Juanita’s progress of this project on her Facebook page (JCanzStudio) and on Instagram (JuanitaCanzoneri) or visit her website http://www.jcanz-studio.com/ to learn more about her public art pieces around Colorado Springs or to contact her about commissioning a mosaic. Visit Commonwheel and receive 10% off all Juanita’s creations through the whole month of July (in-store sales only). You can find her work online also at our online shop. Watch Juanita make a mosaic here. Did you enjoy this post? Leave as a comment and let us know! We’d love to hear from you! Want more local art news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Commonwheel newsletter here. by Leti Wesolowski, contributor Opening reception Friday June 16, 5-8pm Show ends July 17 “Women in Clay” is a show celebrating visual art created by women bonded over more than love for mud. Community through creative expression strengthens our world in the most challenging of times. The artists gathered for this gallery show include potters/ceramicists Madalyn Kae, Brenda Hadnagy, Deb Crowley, Linda Ross, Carroll D. Hightower, Robin Scappaticci, Harriet Lee and oil painter Jean Cuchiaro. Each one has created new works for this show. Some are inspired by nature, tropical places, textures, or new processes. Others are inspired by personal events like a new puppy or their flower garden. Join us for this much-anticipated Summer show. Opening reception is June 16th from 5pm to 8pm as part of the Manitou Springs 3rd Friday Art Walk. Harriet Lee has been a sculptor for 30 years working in many different mediums. During her extensive career, she did a number of large public art sculptures, but more recently she has found herself wanting to explore smaller and intimate pieces. “Clay is a wonderful material that can be used in a lot of different ways,” she explains. “This last year I have been playing around with pieces using a variety of processes and it's been fun.” For this exhibit, she has worked on two techniques for the love of graphic black/white patterns: carving lidded pots out of blocks of clay and the application of “naked” raku firing on hand-built pieces. Note: Naked raku is a type of raku firing in which a slip is applied to the pottery before firing, then it chips off revealing a black crackle pattern. About ten years ago, shortly after retirement, Linda Ross took a class at Bemis School of Arts and immediately she fell head over heels with clay. “I quickly discovered my pieces gave me a voice I'd never experienced before. Needless to say, I was inspired!!!” she says. For this show, she is exploring sculpting the human figure and the uses of glazes and non-traditional finishes. Inspired by tropical places and soft Summer breezes, her favorite piece and the one that “feels exotic” to her, is a stylized hand with a whimsical henna tattoo. Robin Scappaticci started out in college as a computer science major but took an art elective and fell in love. She graduated with a BA in studio art with a focus in ceramics planning to be a production potter. However, after a few years working in a co-op studio in Lynn, MA, long hours, no money, and many other reasons, she lost her love for clay. About ten years ago, she was reintroduced to clay when a friend invited her to take a Summer class, taught by Rui Hagen. Today she is creating functional work, whether wheel-thrown or hand-built, and she is using lace to create texture. “Lace, with its delicate quality and the many different patterns, gives me (the texture that I always loved). I like the idea of taking something old and creating something new from it,” she explains. Robin’s favorite pieces on this show are her cups. Her true joy comes after they are finished, when “I am able to hold them, warmed with something inside,” she says. Find more of her artwork at 45degreegallery.com in Old Colorado City. Deb Crowley took a wheel throwing class about five years ago and has loved working with clay since then. Her primary inspiration are shapes and colors found in nature—an aqua summer sky, the green Spring foliage, the vibrant oranges of sunsets, the curves found on the creek behind her house. For this show, each work is unique with its own flaws and qualities, not perfectly symmetrical. “I love the way porcelain...finds its own shape and flow in the firings,” she says. Her pieces are glazed on the inside, making her work functional but raw on the outside, exposing the natural color and feel of the porcelain, a texture she calls “naked.” Her favorite pieces with this technique are the little wish cups, colorful and bright on the inside and nude on the outside. They are all unique and can be used as rice cups, espresso glass, toothpick holder, etc. Artist Brenda Hadnagy has been making art since she was a little girl. In third grade, she decided to be an Art teacher, so she did! She got her BFA from the University of Utah and taught Art for many years. She took her first pottery class at 16 and it was instant love. Ever since, she has worked in many formats from sculpture to everyday tableware, trying to bring an intimacy and emotional connection through her art to her viewers. She loves to experiment with different techniques and glazes. “I find carving into clay and creating a tactile third dimension to my work to be very satisfying. I like to tell a story about how I am feeling through my work,” she explains. Her work for this show includes a few functional pieces carved using scrafitto technique, creating a bold look in black and white, as well as a trio of sculptural pieces called the “Yoga” figures, where she experimented with playful poses to make you smile. Find more of Brenda’s work at commonwheel.com Note: Scraffito is a decorative pottery technique created by scratching through a surface to reveal a layer of contrasting color underneath. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Carroll Dorrell-Hightower moved to Colorado Springs 22 year ago. She learned pottery at the Senior Center and she has been enjoying pottery for the last eleven years. For this show, she has created hand-built functional small dishes and sushi plates with her glazes being the focal point of her work. “I see my pieces as lovable, beautiful, and pleasing to the eye,” she says. “Making…functional pottery pieces means a lot to me. I know that my pottery can be used just about every day,” she adds. You can find her artwork at Cottonwood Center for the Arts and at 45degreegallery.com Potter Madalyn Kae discovered her passion for clay over 40 years ago. Most of her work is sculptural but for this show she made an exception. “I love to do work that makes people smile, whimsical, sometimes fanciful,” she says. For this show she made functional pottery such as plates and bowls inspired by a puppy she rescued last year. “My new puppy is a tri-color border collie and she is a pistol, always making us laugh...This small ball of joy has grown into a 45-pound best friend,” she adds. She decided to express their friendship through her dog series. When the artists of “Women in Clay” approached Colorado oil painter Jean Cuchiaro to paint flowers as a colorful backdrop to their clay creations, she felt honored by their challenge. “I've always had a creative spirit, eager to come up with or try different methods of communicating my appreciation and wonder about all the colors, patterns and characters in my surroundings,” she explains. An avid gardener, Jean loves to paint flowers as well as landscapes, farm animals, birds and wildlife. Her paintings for this show represent all the wonder and delight to be found in and around a Summer garden in Colorado, with colors that vibrate in the sunlight through transparent petals and leaves, such as “Pink Dahlia” (Oil, 24”x36”) “Morning Glories” (Oil, 36”x24”) and “Pink Poppy” (Oil, 20”x30”). Her favorite work on this show is the “Tulip,” (Oil 24” x 30”) because “the striking composition and range of values makes it almost a beautiful abstraction of nature.” Along with it, she has included a large collection of “Posies” (Oil, 4”x4”) and four 12”x12” oil paintings depicting a poppy, a morning glory, a sunflower and a petunia. She also added succulents to the mix. This collection is called “Succulents for a Brown Thumb,” all deep floating frames measuring 4”x4”x2.5”. The reason, Jean explains, is that “I have become intrigued with all the diversity in colors and patterns… as a gardener, I really appreciate that they are drought tolerant and extremely easy to grow in the Colorado landscape...and because I want to add these to my garden now also!” she says. Find Jean’s artwork on her website Jeancuchiaro.com, at Commonwheel in Manitou Springs, on commonwheel.com, and at Squash Blossom gallery in Old Colorado City.
Did you enjoy this post? Leave as a comment and let us know! We’d love to hear from you! Want more local art news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Commonwheel newsletter here. By Leti Wesolowski, contributor Figurative sculptor, painter, and art therapist, Marica Hefti is a Swiss-born artist who fell in love with art at a very young age. She studied at the College of Fine Arts in Zurich, Switzerland where she was educated under constructivists Max Bill and Hans Fischli in the Bauhaus tradition of Kandinsky’s school of “Form und Farbe.” Her post graduate studies and teaching took her from Switzerland to Italy, Liechtenstein, the Bahamas and California, settling down in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1991. While she produced landscapes in many medias, her one true love and passion has been, and still is, creating art based on the human figure, exploring a variety of media such as Conté crayon, watercolor, bronze and terracotta sculptures. Her work has been shown in galleries and museums all over Europe and the United States and she has received numerous awards. Currently, the best place to purchase Marica’s hand-built terracotta sculptures and paintings is Commonwheel Artist's Co-op in Manitou Springs, CO. How did you get interested in art? Already at the age of five I considered myself to be a “serious artist.” At that time I did not accept critique willingly. Through the years I learned, however, that it was less important what people thought of my art but how it affected them. What does making art mean to you? Art is my life. Without it I would be just a hollow shell. Where do you get inspiration? Inspiration can come from anywhere: a word spoken, a song, a beautiful landscape or human being I see, something I read or experience. You are a figurative sculptor and also a painter. Which media do you enjoy the most? I enjoy all art forms equally. I will pick the medium according to which one would illustrate best what I want to express. When I feel playful I may paint one of my colorful “Western Romance” pictures. I would paint a landscape when I marvel at the beauty surrounding me, or I may turn to sculpture to express my spiritual needs or just to revel in the grace of the human form. Tell us about your creative process. Walk us through the steps to create one of your works. Throughout my long life as an artist I have used many medias. In my younger years I used more conventional ones, such as oil painting for landscapes and portraits or bronze for sculpture. For several years I was enthralled by stone lithography. To this day I use Conté crayon when working with live models or ink-pen for very quick sketches on the road. In my forties I discovered the immediacy and lightheartedness of watercolor, which lead to reverse glass painting and in turn to the liquid watercolors I now employ for my “Western Romance” pictures. I never liked using sticky modeling clay to model the originals for my bronzes. A modeling compound called DAS came to my rescue. It adheres marvelously to metal or any other support and once dried, it can be chiseled, carved and sanded. But…that was then. About twenty years ago and inspired by the work of Hungarian sculptor Kovacs Margit, the terracotta sculpture of the Toltecs, as well as the famous Chinese Warriors, I turned to terracotta and so far I haven’t looked back. I love the dry tactility of red sculpting clay, the challenge of sculpting the human figure without the crutch of metal supports, the mystery and anticipation of the firing as well as the fact that each piece is an original. What is the visual effect or emotion you look for capturing in your compositions? Visual effects are secondary to my creative process. I strive to recreate what moves me: express the love I feel for the subject; in other words, to share the wonder I feel. Is there an artist that you admire or follow? During my formative years I leaned heavily on the philosophies of Wassily Kandinsky, Pablo Picasso, Henry Matisse and Auguste Rodin. Now I pretty much choose my own way, my own challenges. What is your proudest achievement? I do count the 30 feet long by 8 feet tall “Three Sisters” steel and terracotta sculpture at the Saint Francis Medical Center as the most important piece of my life. Not only because of the sheer size of it or the fact that it may well be the only freestanding terracotta relief in existence; it means much more to me than that. The selfless love and charity of the Sisters of Saint Francis (founders of Saint Francis Hospital) and the Sisters of Charity (founders of Penrose) that it documents, opened up my eyes and heart to my own spiritual needs. It led me to the Benedictine Sisters of Benet Hill who are helping me to fill a void that I didn’t even know existed. Marica's larger-than-life outdoor terracotta and steel relief “Three Sisters” panels are displayed at the entrance of the new Saint Francis Medical Center in Colorado Springs. To learn more about each panel, her visions and concepts, visit her blog at http://earthandfire-marica.blogspot.com/2008 What is/are your favorite(s) piece(s) for sale at Commonwheel? And why? At Commonwheel I am primarily showing my figurative terracotta sculpture (and my Saint and Angels wall pieces). I hand-build those with outdoor-quality clay which is fired at high temperatures for maximum vitrification and durability. Each is a one-of-a-kind original piece of art. All pieces are signed and dated. As a secondary medium I also show some reverse-glass paintings. I love all my pieces. They all have stories and I hope that each will have special meaning to whoever acquires one. What’s next for you?
The future’s not mine to see! I hope for many more years of the challenge, the exploration and the wonder of art. Visit the shop and receive 10% off all Marica’s creations through the whole month of June. You can find her work online also at our online shop. Follow her on Pinterest (pinterest.com/MaricaHefti) or Facebook (facebook.com/MaricaHefti). She also wrote a book available in Amazon (Marica-Hefti/e/B00JXRM5IQ) by Leti Wesolowski, contributor “The Artful Garden” is a joint art show between Caron O’Neil and Ace McCasland, two local artists passionate about creating art with the most unusual things. Their theme this time is: living plants. Discover beautiful artful ideas to decorate your home and garden and get ready to enjoy Spring! “The garden is a sacred place where you can lose yourself and find yourself at the same time,” says Ace McCasland. “Reconnect. Rediscover. Breathe. Plunge your hands into the soil, feel the earth... Listen closely, your garden has secrets to share.” Ace delves into many different forms of artistic expression, including being a well accomplished metalsmith (www.studiolunaverde.com), a mixed media artist, and an avid gardener. (Ace describes herself as a true cactus hugger who brakes for wildflowers!) When asked what ‘Art’ means to her, she replied: “Art is expression, exploration. Art can make loud, passionate, political statements, or gentle whispers from a quiet soul. The act of making art uses one's whole body: the hands manipulate, the head resolves, the heart gestures, the shoulders shrug, the soul sighs. Art keeps me constantly investigating, exploring, learning, striving, wondering, discovering, breathing, losing myself, then finding myself again... art is life is art.” After a promise of challenging herself and pushing her personal limits to create something out of her comfort zone (i.e.: not using fire and metal) she found concrete as the primary material to begin exploring, together with plants and patina. “I've often wanted to integrate living plants into my work, which isn't always practical, but with the increasing popularity and availability of tillandsias, or air plants, I saw a way to use them in small sculptures,” Ace says. “It also gave me an opportunity to explore the metaphor of plants emerging from cracks in concrete, thriving despite adverse conditions, always reaching for the light. Contrasting the hardness of concrete with the soft textures of the plants is quite satisfying.” She also experimented with different types of outdoor “wall” art that explore patina as a surface embellishment slowly changing over time as a result of exposure to the elements. “I created a few assemblage pieces from recycled cedar fence paneling and found objects, all tough enough to handle being outside, where certain parts may spin in the wind, bells will jangle, rust will develop and trickle, but you may be tempted to hang them inside as well.” Ace is particularly excited about her concrete and patina panels, a series of intriguing squares with inserted deeply oxidized metal bits and found objects that will continue to oxidize and drip and change over time. “I've always been drawn to how rust can drip and oxidize concrete, creating an abstract painting that may take years to develop.” For more explorations and fantastic designs, follow Ace on Facebook www.facebook.com/studiolunaverde and Instagram www.instagram.com/studiolunaverde Our second artist, Caron O’Neil, uses found objects and discarded materials to create fun art expressions with the hope to enhance one's garden naturally, and at the same time help protect the environment and improve our overall health. Her strongest interests and influence have always been Old World cultures, ethnic art and the connection to Earth and its protection. A Colorado native, Caron spent her teen years in Montana but returned to Colorado to become the first female park ranger in Colorado Springs for thirty years. Now retired, she focuses on her passion to create art and take care of her garden. “All my life I’ve loved playing in the dirt and growing things. Buying a house with a big open dirt backyard was a dream come true… Growing my own food is so gratifying and therapeutic to me,” she says. One of Caron’s favorite concepts explored for this show is the Kokedama balls. Kokedama is a Japanese word that translates from “koke” meaning moss and “dama” meaning ball. Sometimes called the “Poor Man’s Bonsai,” the art of binding plants into green moss balls dates back centuries to the Edo era in Japan between 1603 and 1868. Suspending these distinctive moss balls from strings and displaying them in large groups is called “String Gardens,” makes an adorable decoration for any home. Caron loves these moss orbs because very few people have ever seen them and “the concept of hanging a plant in a moss ball in the air fascinates me.” Another new idea Caron explored for this show is Bug boxes. These boxes are meant to attract and create suitable habitats for beneficial bugs such as bees, ladybugs and butterflies, to help contribute to the health of plants in the garden naturally. Worm towers are another form of Earth friendly art pieces, employing leftover food waste and composting worms (red wigglers) to sustainably improve the soil in the garden without artificial chemicals. Caron wanted to express peace and harmony with nature with her interpretation of indoor Zen Gardens for the home. She has collected a variety of found objects with a Buddhist theme and artfully rearranged them into different containers with small pebbles. These gardens come with dried decorative cuttings but they can be substituted with fresh stems or flowers by filling with water the slate stone container (hidden beneath the pebbles) that houses a metal ‘flower frog’ in it to keep the stems upright. Each Zen garden is assembled lightly so as to be rearranged into different ways and with different plants of your choice. Other pieces in the show are just fun assemblages made with salvaged objects meant to bring visual joy to any garden. “Being an artist is a way of life,” Caron says. “It’s in one’s DNA. I can’t imagine not being creative in some way that brings joy to yourself and others. Knowing that someone wants what you’ve created to bring happiness to their lives is so gratifying. What’s better than that?” Find more of Caron’s fun creations at Commonwheel Artist Co-op. Ace and Caron have created an amazing body of work for “The Artful Garden” to build awareness of easy garden improvement ideas and to spread joy and creativity to your garden and living spaces. Join us for the opening reception May 19th at our Creekside Gallery from 5 to 8pm. Come, meet the artists and enjoy their artistic offerings perfect for Spring time! “The Artful Garden” will be on display and for sale until June 12th.
Did you enjoy this post? Leave as a comment and let us know! We’d love to hear from you! Want more local art news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Commonwheel newsletter here. |
Juanita Canzoneri
|