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Left Panel of Triptych: A Prayer
- for eyes to see, made visible in bark and flame, fearing the loss of our democracy.

Stephen Parlato is an Artist/ Author/Educator and Activist whose unique collage-illustrated books have earned him a devoted following around the world. His books (The World That Loved Books, 2008; Dragons Love, 2009; and Dragons Love Art, 2019) have been carried in many Art Museum shops including The National Gallery Of Art in Washington D.C., The Walters Art Museum, and The Baltimore Museum of Art. His books have been chosen as finalists for 'Best Illustrated Book Of The Year' by 'Foreword Magazine' in both 2008 and 2009. Stephen's Activism is well documented at 'forwarddems.org'. He is a graduate of both The Cooper Union For the Advancement Of Science and Art, 1976 and The Maryland Institutes Hoffberger Graduate School of Painting, 1978.

Right Panel: Premonition
- of civil/tribal war, with liars fomenting hate, preaching to oblivious hordes, to secure their oblivious fate. Chaos in the night, set ablaze, as pointless recompense for past slights and mistakes.

Stephen Parlato is an Artist/ Author/Educator and Activist whose unique collage-illustrated books have earned him a devoted following around the world. His books (The World That Loved Books, 2008; Dragons Love, 2009; and Dragons Love Art, 2019) have been carried in many Art Museum shops including The National Gallery Of Art in Washington D.C., The Walters Art Museum, and The Baltimore Museum of Art. His books have been chosen as finalists for 'Best Illustrated Book Of The Year' by 'Foreword Magazine' in both 2008 and 2009. Stephen's Activism is well documented at 'forwarddems.org'. He is a graduate of both The Cooper Union For the Advancement Of Science and Art, 1976 and The Maryland Institutes Hoffberger Graduate School of Painting, 1978.

Center Panel: A Vison
Before a troubled vista of a vast and star-filled sky, a two-headed eagle fixes its gaze both left and right. Historically a symbol of empire – here he is a symbol of choice. Which side will be chosen as America’s national voice? This totem eagle - determined, imploring unity – spreads its wings above the sea, as two sirens in the rising tide cast their trance-inducing songs. One, mournful with the setting sun inside her upturned mouth, issues warning and lament. The other, vengeful and shrill, comes bearing a spectral king in robes and crown, sinking into the sea – his heart of golden lust luring us toward rock and reef. The Grand Experiment of America faces a fateful choice – a path of love and hope, or one of hate and grief.

Stephen Parlato is an Artist/ Author/Educator and Activist whose unique collage-illustrated books have earned him a devoted following around the world. His books (The World That Loved Books, 2008; Dragons Love, 2009; and Dragons Love Art, 2019) have been carried in many Art Museum shops including The National Gallery Of Art in Washington D.C., The Walters Art Museum, and The Baltimore Museum of Art. His books have been chosen as finalists for 'Best Illustrated Book Of The Year' by 'Foreword Magazine' in both 2008 and 2009. Stephen's Activism is well documented at 'forwarddems.org'. He is a graduate of both The Cooper Union For the Advancement Of Science and Art, 1976 and The Maryland Institutes Hoffberger Graduate School of Painting, 1978.

Through the Looking Glass compares the career of singer Yma Sumac to the story of Alice in Wonderland in order to illustrate the power we have to create our own destiny.

Claiming to be a descendant of Incan Kings and having learned to sing by imitating birds while wandering Peruvian jungles as a girl, Miss Sumac gained fame exploiting her colorful heritage in a full four octave range. However, rumors persisted that she was born in Brooklyn purely of European descent with the name Amy Camus, which spelled backwards becomes Yma Sumac. My painting depicts the rumored young Amy gazing at her reflection as the mature Yma in her bathroom mirror. Elements of the bathroom are transformed into the Peruvian jungle in the mirror and even her name Amy is reflected backwards as Yma, demonstrating since we can create our own reality thus we create too our own reflection. So unlike Alice, we do not have to go through the looking glass to find another world, all we must do is invent it. Therefore anyone can be an Incan Princess, or anything else that they strive to be.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

At benefit home concert I attended, the young promising contralto Makiko Narumi electrified the room when at one point she performed an animated, flirtatious vocal improvisation using only one vowel that shifted through the gamut of emotions. A curious and enchanted cat kept interrupting much to the amusement of Makiko. Makiko had flashing eyes, and a captivating star quality that was also had a strong visual component. It was a night I'd never forget and I knew right then I would have to paint her. I memorized her gesturing with one hand and occasionally leaning on the arm of the couch for support with the other. Little did anyone know then that her posture in her pose hinted at the illness in her foot that would soon take her life. The dress is similar to the lace collar and floral print she wore that magical night but with a nod to Ray Aghayan. In the background is the ever changing "ahhhh" of her playful vocalise.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

Both women in the portrait above share the same name: Louisa Fletcher. Toward the end of the dock the elder Louisa is dropping her "shabby old coat" - a metaphor of her journey moving forward in her most famous poem written during her divorce from Booth Tarkington:

"I wish that there were some wonderful place
Called the Land of Beginning Again,
Where all our mistakes, and all our heartaches,
And all of our poor selfish griefs
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door,
And never be put on again."

She is seeking a new beginning as is her runaway niece seen in the foreground. The younger Louisa has just been expelled from a second school. This Bohemian Louisa is committing the then daring and shocking act of chopping off her hair and disguising herself as a man. It is 1920, she is about to steal a boat and ride the river to cast off the legacy of her name and wealthy family to live under the alias of Willie Sullivan. The building clouds symbolize the change and turbulence everyone faces when choosing a new course for their life to follow.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

Most awestruck travelers do not know its sad history as the path on which the Jews were taken out of Italy to concentration camps and the meeting place of Hitler and Mussolini. The painting evokes the beauty with haunting echoes of the dark purpose the place had in our recent past. Simultaneous day and night reveal a collage of then and now. Transport trains departing the Ghetto of Venice are on the same tracks as the historic Brennerbahn and a modern Italian FS passenger train climbing the pass above golden fields that become a Nazi Swastika. Flags of Poland, Italy, Austria and contemporary Germany fly over the mountains of the far reaching landscape. The charming houses of Brennero morph into Auschwitz as they pass thru the chimney smoke. Faces representing a few of the transported Jewish people appear in the smoke of the Brennerbahn. Onion domes cap the churches as you journey northward and impressive highway bridges and tunnels dominate the valley but mimic in form the horrible ovens.

The legacy of the Holocaust still influences our world. It was a profound event full of countless stories. Knowing them, sad though they are, enriches my life in the same way that the arts and education do.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

My work as a painter began a few years ago. I have been working as an architect for over 30 years. Although architecture has real-world constraints, including and not least, the budget one has to work with and the programmatic parameters set by the client, it also is an important art form. It is in our architectural spaces where we display and interact with our paintings and sculptures. This connection between architecture and art drew me into wanting to begin painting.

Like in my architectural work, I ‘design’ the artwork on my computer and then ‘build’ it when I plot out the shapes on a canvas and then paint it. As an artist I can explore the visual world in a more expansive way using the contrast and counterpoint of: Flat vs 3 dimensional. Opaque vs degrees of transparency. Abstract forms vs figurative.

I think of my work as feeling ‘musical’ when it works best, whereby musical terms such as counterpoint, harmony, dissonance, melody, chords, etc. describe the feelings it engenders. And unlike programmatic music and songs which usually have a story that they are conveying, my paintings are non-programmatic and therefore abstract, which one can say about most chamber music pieces and symphonies.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

Annastagia whose voice once rang sweetly only in poet’s ears
As they searched for the forgotten lyrics to the Earth’s ancient songs - lost for all these years.
While the birds who tenderly attend her, under the ancient moon
Have no trouble at all humming those ancient tunes.

Stephen Parlato is an Artist/ Author/Educator and Activist whose unique collage-illustrated books have earned him a devoted following around the world. His books (The World That Loved Books, 2008; Dragons Love, 2009; and Dragons Love Art, 2019) have been carried in many Art Museum shops including The National Gallery Of Art in Washington D.C., The Walters Art Museum, and The Baltimore Museum of Art. His books have been chosen as finalists for 'Best Illustrated Book Of The Year' by 'Foreword Magazine' in both 2008 and 2009. Stephen's Activism is well documented at 'forwarddems.org'. He is a graduate of both The Cooper Union For the Advancement Of Science and Art, 1976 and The Maryland Institutes Hoffberger Graduate School of Painting, 1978.

In Haiti, drinking moonlight from a goblet the powerful fairy spirit Fonta speaks.
She whispers these powerful words in the children’s ears softly as they sleep.
“Love and Respect All Living Things
This One Lesson, whether born pauper of king,
Is
The one
We all
Must
Learn to
Keep."

Stephen Parlato is an Artist/ Author/Educator and Activist whose unique collage-illustrated books have earned him a devoted following around the world. His books (The World That Loved Books, 2008; Dragons Love, 2009; and Dragons Love Art, 2019) have been carried in many Art Museum shops including The National Gallery Of Art in Washington D.C., The Walters Art Museum, and The Baltimore Museum of Art. His books have been chosen as finalists for 'Best Illustrated Book Of The Year' by 'Foreword Magazine' in both 2008 and 2009. Stephen's Activism is well documented at 'forwarddems.org'. He is a graduate of both The Cooper Union For the Advancement Of Science and Art, 1976 and The Maryland Institutes Hoffberger Graduate School of Painting, 1978.

The collage images are derived from the fiber patterns found inside stripped tree roots that I photographed in the Tennessee Woods.

Stephen Parlato is an Artist/ Author/Educator and Activist whose unique collage-illustrated books have earned him a devoted following around the world. His books (The World That Loved Books, 2008; Dragons Love, 2009; and Dragons Love Art, 2019) have been carried in many Art Museum shops including The National Gallery Of Art in Washington D.C., The Walters Art Museum, and The Baltimore Museum of Art. His books have been chosen as finalists for 'Best Illustrated Book Of The Year' by 'Foreword Magazine' in both 2008 and 2009. Stephen's Activism is well documented at 'forwarddems.org'. He is a graduate of both The Cooper Union For the Advancement Of Science and Art, 1976 and The Maryland Institutes Hoffberger Graduate School of Painting, 1978.

An arc is a part of a circumference. But fold an arc, and you have devised a completely different aesthetic vocabulary. There are three “characters" in this triptych - the copper pieces, some of which are folded; the white branches, lines, and arcs that might suggest dancing figures; and the background, suggesting warmth and vapor. The juxtapositions and choreographed arrangements of these figures are the “language" of the triptych.

Born and raised in rural Mississippi, as a child I was always making things. But I didn’t really think of them as “art.” Nobody did, at that time and place. And that was probably a gift. My education was in various venues but graduate school at the Maryland Institute in Baltimore, Maryland was my saving grace. It was there that I met my kindred spirits, including my husband, Stephen Parlato (whose work is also in this gallery).

Just as the circular patterns seen in long exposure star trail photographs reveal the rotation of the Earth in the night sky, the day time sky is spinning too, as sensed perhaps by the rooted, stable trees. Jet trails crisscross in the rotating sky above whose spin is indicated by the circular pattern of brushstrokes. The center of rotation dictates that the view must be facing north.

The actual inspiration for this piece is taken from Art Nouveau peacock motifs but with a local Colorado twist. Pine needle clumps substitute for and replicate the pattern shimmering eyes of the gaudy tail feathers.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

This work was created under the influence of alchemical studies, which I was involved in at that time, during my Jung psychology seminars. I was so fascinated by alchemical images, medieval alchemists and their royal art! Besides being the founders of modern chemistry, the alchemists developed a symbolic kind of chemistry, aimed at producing gold of mystical illumination. This religious search resulted in a spiritual system for man’s salvation of his soul and ultimate reunion with his divine source.

In this work I wanted to pay tribute to their images which transform ordinary life into magical perception of reality, as one can experience by entering unconscious. Where the things are not as they appear, and where is no time and space, but all exists and interacts simultaneously.

Ones entered unconscious, the images become of major importance on symbolic level, as shown here - historical, mythical, ritualistic, and archetypal: Egyptian god Thoth, Oedipus and Sphinx, beautiful youth, the entrance into the cave, alchemical tree…

I was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia and moved to U.S. in my late 20th. Currently I live in Boulder, Colorado. I graduated from University of Arizona with degree in Optical Sciences and spent significant part of my life doing research in the field of optical design. However, I was always attracted to creative process of artistic expression, and at some point, I decided to devote my entire time to it. I do not have formal education in art, instead, I studied informally at Colorado Academy of Art, and also with various teachers in drawing, watercolors, pastel and oil. It is my goal as an artist to encourage people to see magic of beauty in ordinary life.

I love the intersection between my art and my life. Lately I’ve been thinking about bits and pieces of my past, my stories and experiences, what I’ve learned along the way. At the same time I’ve been pulling out unfinished projects and scraps of fabric, the left overs from older pieces of art.

Each process is characterized by sorting, organizing and making decisions about how to store what I want to keep.

My collection of fabric scraps is a rich source of memories for me. I open the box and immediately connect with an old project, the why and how I made it and what I learned from it.

Which project did this come from? When did I dye this piece? What did I learn from it? Was I with someone? What was happening in my life at the time? What patterns do I notice? What was unexpected? on and on.

I challenged myself to organize these leftovers in a fun and colorful way. I started by laying them out in two long strips. Then I painted layers of patterns to the base of scraps. These painted layers add complexity and interest, depth and richness.

I was so excited to be using up years of scraps and organizing into colors that I became more absorbed in the work as it grew and grew beyond anything I had imagined. I was so intrigued by what was happening that I kept going, not wanting to cut it up.

I am satisfied with this piece of art, it’s a completion, a bringing together of pieces into a whole. I hope you will enjoy it also.

Barbara has had a life time in fiber art by what she would call dabbling in fabric, thread, and yarns through sewing, quilting, and knitting. When she saw an art quilt in 1997, her passion for the art quilt form began.

She joined Front Range Contemporary Quilters and started taking art classes and participating in their juried member exhibits. Since then, she has been privileged to learn from many great national and international teachers. The techniques she learned include dyeing, painting, using resists, hand-piecing, free-motion machine embroidery, printing, silk screening, collaging, and book making.

Barbara has worked on a few series. One of those uses a dress shape to tell stories about healing. She painted or dyed the fabric, used a great deal of hand embroidery often incorporating beads. She hopes that by expressing her experiences those who look at her art will take something important away for themselves.

Ms. Olson belongs to Front Range Contemporary Quilters (FRCQ), North Boulder Arts District (NoBo), and Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA). She shows her work in these organizations’ exhibitions and in local galleries. She has participated in Open Studios of Boulder County and curates art exhibits at the Sanctuary Art Gallery, First United Methodist Church, Boulder.

Her work is in private and corporate collections.

Maps are made up of grids, abstract shapes, straight and curved lines, all brought together as a recognizable pattern.

The main fabric in this piece was made by painting through a stencil of a map of London, repeating elements to create an overall pattern. Then that small scale fabric was cut up and expanded into the larger pattern derived from the same map stencil.

Barbara has had a life time in fiber art by what she would call dabbling in fabric, thread, and yarns through sewing, quilting, and knitting. When she saw an art quilt in 1997, her passion for the art quilt form began.

She joined Front Range Contemporary Quilters and started taking art classes and participating in their juried member exhibits. Since then, she has been privileged to learn from many great national and international teachers. The techniques she learned include dyeing, painting, using resists, hand-piecing, free-motion machine embroidery, printing, silk screening, collaging, and book making.

Barbara has worked on a few series. One of those uses a dress shape to tell stories about healing. She painted or dyed the fabric, used a great deal of hand embroidery often incorporating beads. She hopes that by expressing her experiences those who look at her art will take something important away for themselves.

Ms. Olson belongs to Front Range Contemporary Quilters (FRCQ), North Boulder Arts District (NoBo), and Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA). She shows her work in these organizations’ exhibitions and in local galleries. She has participated in Open Studios of Boulder County and curates art exhibits at the Sanctuary Art Gallery, First United Methodist Church, Boulder.

Her work is in private and corporate collections.

A Russian influenced painting of my Russian born Jewish grandparents in their adopted home of Pittsburgh. Their whole life and those of their generation of immigrants was based on act closing one door and opening another. This is their house at 6352 Crombie Street in Pittsburgh. Modeled after 3 Russian paintings, it is an exploration of my genetic and artistic roots.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

This was derived not in a desert but in a dried mud puddle here in Boulder, that I photographed and used in the collaging process.

Stephen Parlato is an Artist/ Author/Educator and Activist whose unique collage-illustrated books have earned him a devoted following around the world. His books (The World That Loved Books, 2008; Dragons Love, 2009; and Dragons Love Art, 2019) have been carried in many Art Museum shops including The National Gallery Of Art in Washington D.C., The Walters Art Museum, and The Baltimore Museum of Art. His books have been chosen as finalists for 'Best Illustrated Book Of The Year' by 'Foreword Magazine' in both 2008 and 2009. Stephen's Activism is well documented at 'forwarddems.org'. He is a graduate of both The Cooper Union For the Advancement Of Science and Art, 1976 and The Maryland Institutes Hoffberger Graduate School of Painting, 1978.

My work as a painter began a few years ago. I have been working as an architect for over 30 years. Although architecture has real-world constraints, including and not least, the budget one has to work with and the programmatic parameters set by the client, it also is an important art form. It is in our architectural spaces where we display and interact with our paintings and sculptures. This connection between architecture and art drew me into wanting to begin painting.

Like in my architectural work, I ‘design’ the artwork on my computer and then ‘build’ it when I plot out the shapes on a canvas and then paint it. As an artist I can explore the visual world in a more expansive way using the contrast and counterpoint of: Flat vs 3 dimensional. Opaque vs degrees of transparency. Abstract forms vs figurative.

I think of my work as feeling ‘musical’ when it works best, whereby musical terms such as counterpoint, harmony, dissonance, melody, chords, etc. describe the feelings it engenders. And unlike programmatic music and songs which usually have a story that they are conveying, my paintings are non-programmatic and therefore abstract, which one can say about most chamber music pieces and symphonies.

My love for calligraphic art nouveau patterns found its voice in this painting. Originally, there was a lively circus scene painted under this peacock blue Art Nouveau fantasy.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

I have been on a journey to define and visually present my personal vision of Still Life painting. I have experimented with composition, painterly technique, and color to modify space and form within my paintings. I came from a position of what I perceive as old school composition, and have been slowly progressing and becoming comfortable with a more contemporary view of this art form. I did not expect to enjoy the new variations of object and atmospheric composition in my paintings, but I do. I find the more contemporary compositions and painterly techniques can be whimsical in nature and reflective of my personal ideologies. My paintings explore my fascination with light, color, reflectivity in creating the form of objects and atmosphere in a still life. Discovering how to do this is an evolving and ongoing process.

My background is primarily as a teacher and educator in the visual arts. I have taught on the college and public school levels. I did not spend any dedicated time on the production of my own works of art until rather late in my working career. I have studied with different artists and have struggled to find my personal style within the various paintings I have created. I will continue to explore and challenge myself to continue to learn and grow through my painting until I can no longer hold a paint brush.

The path forward is never straight. A metaphor for all our dreams and ambitions for our country and planet.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

When I retired from my interior design business, I was thrilled to have time to paint. I realized that I was now able to do just what I wanted. This was a huge freedom that really opened up my life to color and a new process.

Very few of my clients liked a lot of color and were reluctant to explore something new. Many even had a fear, even though it is very easy to repaint a wall or add a piece of art.

This was my chance to break free and explore a new vibrant world. After my trips to Bali, this became so exciting and life changing. I jumped in with orange, bright yellow, purple and every color imaginable.

I have continued on this path and find it extremely rewarding and uplifting. The bright colors often lift my spirits and make me feel special as I walk into my studio everyday.

To all of you, I throw out a challenge—give color a try. It may change your perspective a bit and make your day a little brighter.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

Women are rare blooms - flowering under the attention of care, abiding in resiliency in times of drought, and stirring hope of the spring to come.

Alexandria (Alex) Hamm is an intuitive abstract fine artist and digital illustrator based outside Boulder, Colorado.

Alex creates artwork to inspire others to embrace, celebrate, and connect with themselves and one another, especially amid challenges. Her paintings often translate experiences of questioning identity and living with chronic illness while exploring themes of community, healing, and the joy of journeying.

Alex is the artist and owner behind paper goods company Majestik Magnolia, whose illustrated works have been featured in Uppercase Magazine.

Every time I visit the ocean I repeat the same activities of walking in the sand next to the waves, feeling the water and the wind, listening to the waves breaking, and collecting little bits of shell and rounded pebbles.

I gathered my collection into the tiny frames from my mother’s Ektachrome slides and sewed them into a grid. Then I added curved shapes and embroidered bubbles to represent constant motion, the back and forth of water on the sand or against rocks and cliffs. Always moving, back and forth, back and forth...

Barbara has had a life time in fiber art by what she would call dabbling in fabric, thread, and yarns through sewing, quilting, and knitting. When she saw an art quilt in 1997, her passion for the art quilt form began.

She joined Front Range Contemporary Quilters and started taking art classes and participating in their juried member exhibits. Since then, she has been privileged to learn from many great national and international teachers. The techniques she learned include dyeing, painting, using resists, hand-piecing, free-motion machine embroidery, printing, silk screening, collaging, and book making.

Barbara has worked on a few series. One of those uses a dress shape to tell stories about healing. She painted or dyed the fabric, used a great deal of hand embroidery often incorporating beads. She hopes that by expressing her experiences those who look at her art will take something important away for themselves.

Ms. Olson belongs to Front Range Contemporary Quilters (FRCQ), North Boulder Arts District (NoBo), and Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA). She shows her work in these organizations’ exhibitions and in local galleries. She has participated in Open Studios of Boulder County and curates art exhibits at the Sanctuary Art Gallery, First United Methodist Church, Boulder.

Her work is in private and corporate collections.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

Each moment there are doorways to choose from. Will we choose love or hate, expansion or contraction, growth or decline? "The Cleansing” represents that doorway and the current that we can have access to that will assist us in the journey.

LeRoy was born in 1966, raised in the deep south and currently lives at the door of the Rocky Mountains and edge of the great plains of Colorado. Both places influence, inform, and inspire her abstract landscape paintings. Her current work reveals the policies that are redolent of memories of nature throughout her life. The continued imaginings of southern landscape have an important influence on her work to this day. Over the last decade as an artist, LeRoy has come to recognize how much the simplicity of easy experiences taught her the way to see the world and eventually create on the canvas. Her paintings are about discovering place and crafting it.

LeRoy uses acrylic paint on stretched canvas, mostly palette knife with some brush, lard scrapers, water, and rags. She uses a lot of paint, using and pulling to form here texture and diffuse lines. LeRoy believes that art is integration of form and feeling, and that relying on too much one or the other can come across confusing and leave the viewer unsatisfied. But when a balance and harmony of the two emerges the viewer experiences a vibration that is palpable and moving. To do this, LeRoy believes rather than paint a painting or create art she must show up and work, not think, and incorporate many, many intervals of stepping back and staring at the work in progress.

Portals and Doorways are literal and symbolic transitions…beginnings and ending, twists and turns, even dead ends and resurrections - a metaphor for life’s journey.

This piece began as a collage and acrylic painting, an abstract deep dive in the subconscious. I let myself explore color, lie, marks and shapes. And came to a confused and unresolved place. Oh, lid some junctures in life!

With time and distance, I resumed exploring. I took a photograph of the painting and cropped and manipulated it into a grid of nine 8” squares, printed and glued to cradle board.

In the process I began to analyze the elements in the context of themes I had been thinking and dreaming about…water, life, both, the sacred feminine, the spiritual meaning of 9, and my own personal journey.

Color is a key element. Blue…symbolic of water…healing, purification, renewal, mystery and longing. Orange…associated with meditation and compassion happiness, creativity, and optimism.

I realized the shapes and forms unconsciously represent opening, pools, wombs and the mysteries of our sacred earth. Looking for unity and purpose, I overlaid rice paper collage elements from previous paintings, photographs and ephemera representing life events and emotions… joy, shame, body positivity, love, birth and aging. Finally, I added pigments and encaustic wax. Look closely at the layers and complexity that evolved in this 9 square piece.

Living on the front range of Colorado surrounded by open space, unique shapes and bold colors, inspires me. The poet Wallace Stevens wrote “The imagination is one of the forces of Nature.” And so too, nature is a powerful source for one’s imagination.

I have always been drawn to the abstract, and themes from nature, the spirit world and the divine feminine that well up from the subconscious in my paintings.

The expansive sky and mountains, saturated colors and mysteries of the sacred earth have all influenced my recent work. It incorporates acrylic painting, mixed media and collage, print making and encaustic wax.

After 35 years as a marketing and graphic design business owner in NYC, Boulder is now my home where I have the freedom and space to make art to my heart’s content.

“Equipoise” celebrates the grace, flexibility and beauty of women in dance as well as in concept. The piece is titled “Equipoise” as it reflects the perfect balance between opposing forces. Isn’t that what women often bring to the table-the ability to negotiate a path down the middle of the debate…

I restarted my painting career in 2000 after retiring from a 20 year run in the world of advertising and marketing. Managing my own agency equipped me well to deal with the business side of the art world. While celebrating color and form with various water media is my passion, I also enjoy the business and marketing of art. Over the years, I have managed a variety of galleries and exhibits, and shown my work in many venues around the country.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

A personal practice I have is to go on walks to observe nature. I love the first breath of fresh air when I leave the house, noticing colors, the weather, what’s growing in gardens, looking at trees, noticing native grasses and wildflowers, and always observing the changes throughout the seasons.

Barbara has had a life time in fiber art by what she would call dabbling in fabric, thread, and yarns through sewing, quilting, and knitting. When she saw an art quilt in 1997, her passion for the art quilt form began.

She joined Front Range Contemporary Quilters and started taking art classes and participating in their juried member exhibits. Since then, she has been privileged to learn from many great national and international teachers. The techniques she learned include dyeing, painting, using resists, hand-piecing, free-motion machine embroidery, printing, silk screening, collaging, and book making.

Barbara has worked on a few series. One of those uses a dress shape to tell stories about healing. She painted or dyed the fabric, used a great deal of hand embroidery often incorporating beads. She hopes that by expressing her experiences those who look at her art will take something important away for themselves.

Ms. Olson belongs to Front Range Contemporary Quilters (FRCQ), North Boulder Arts District (NoBo), and Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA). She shows her work in these organizations’ exhibitions and in local galleries. She has participated in Open Studios of Boulder County and curates art exhibits at the Sanctuary Art Gallery, First United Methodist Church, Boulder.

Her work is in private and corporate collections.

Linen, cotton, organa, acrylic paint, dyes. Direct application, marbling, wax resist, deconstructed screen printing; machine pieced and quilted.

I have been making fiber art for 35 years and have recently switched to oil painting. In dealing with the transition from one medium to another, I reviewed several different triptychs by laying them out, side-by-side and they began communicating with each other as if they were going down memory lane with me. I realized I could cut back certain pieces and add to others to create one long last salute to my time with fiber art.

Jo Fitsell has taught art and developed integrated art curriculum for all ages, from preschool to high school (and their teachers). Rewarding collaborations with young people have included installations in schools, offices, theatre performances, and hospitals.

She has worked for Think 360, Denver Public Schools, the Art Students League, Art Street, Denver Public Library’s Plaza Program, the Denver Art Museum and the Denver Women’s Correction Facility. Her art has been exhibited nationally and internationally and can be found in medical offices, public buildings and homes in Colorado.

She is one of the founders of the vital and exciting organization, Front Range Contemporary Quilters. Interweave Press has published her DVD on Surface Design. Jo contributed to The Denver Art Museum’s Thread Studio exhibit.

Her art leads her to ask questions of the workings of “Nature” as teacher and is interested in the profoundly beautiful and yet broken relationship humans have with the natural world. She works with fabric, paper and stitch creating art quilts, collage and paintings.

When I retired from my interior design business, I was thrilled to have time to paint. I realized that I was now able to do just what I wanted. This was a huge freedom that really opened up my life to color and a new process.

Very few of my clients liked a lot of color and were reluctant to explore something new. Many even had a fear, even though it is very easy to repaint a wall or add a piece of art.

This was my chance to break free and explore a new vibrant world. After my trips to Bali, this became so exciting and life changing. I jumped in with orange, bright yellow, purple and every color imaginable.

I have continued on this path and find it extremely rewarding and uplifting. The bright colors often lift my spirits and make me feel special as I walk into my studio everyday.

To all of you, I throw out a challenge—give color a try. It may change your perspective a bit and make your day a little brighter.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title: We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

The organic pattern of the wood grain suggested the reflection of the dimming light in the sky on the sparkling water. The image simply emerged from the pattern itself.

My formal education took me from Los Angeles to Rome, and back to Colorado to earn my MFA with life altering experiences in between. My portrait of Yma Sumac was featured on the cover of her biography. The bracelet she is seen wearing on the Peruvian stamp honoring the centenary of her birth now graces my own arm. I’ve authored some books and had numerous exhibitions of my paintings. The Library of Congress has preserved a digital archive of my work and career because of "its cultural and historic significance." My works and collaborations have been included in exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute and are in their permanent collection as well as belonging to the Museum of Boulder.

Sunlight refracted and reflected through rain and snow is one of the delights of Colorado landscapes. Quickly shifting weather patterns, bright sun, then clouds, gusts of wind are highlighted in my under collages of colored metallic paper. Over the surface of the oil paintings moisture in the air condenses and diffuses as a patterned dance. Just as the depth and complexity of others is often hidden, we have to look beneath the outer colors to glimpse the shape and flow of a life. Truth depends on the light. Take your time and look from all angles to see the whole picture.

I have been painting during my 80 years whenever life allows the time and inner space. I graduated from Sarah Lawrence College where I discovered the art museums of New York. I am a retired social worker from the Boulder Valley schools and LCSW therapist. In recent years I have been appointed to the Colorado Commission on Aging and the Boulder County Aging Advisory Council. I have been a social justice activist throughout my life and renew my spirit by becoming absorbed in the color and movement of painting. I am a member of Nobo and BCAA.

As an intuitive process painter, I work in layers: surrendering to the moment — each color, form, shape offering guidance on what should follow. I always say the painting knows what it’s meant to be, it’s just my job to pay attention and listen. The individual layers are so simple, really, and don’t seem to be significant on their own. It can be challenging to trust that they are leading somewhere meaningful. But like our own personal patterns and habits, these seemingly unimportant layers build together to become much more powerful than they were on their own.

Alexandria (Alex) Hamm is an intuitive abstract fine artist and digital illustrator based outside Boulder, Colorado.

Alex creates artwork to inspire others to embrace, celebrate, and connect with themselves and one another, especially amid challenges. Her paintings often translate experiences of questioning identity and living with chronic illness while exploring themes of community, healing, and the joy of journeying.

Alex is the artist and owner behind paper goods company Majestik Magnolia, whose illustrated works have been featured in Uppercase Magazine.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title: We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

My interpretation of patterns has been influenced by movement. In particular, the movement of Kung Fu, represented by 3D artist Tobias Gremmler. (https://vimeo.com/163153865 ) I have always been fascinated by movement as another way to interpret reality, in fact, Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 was an early inspiration, that lead me on a journey of curiosity and art.

Bil Chamberlin, originally from Princeton, NJ, works predominantly on painting in the mediums of acrylics, oils, mixed media and digital. He studied General Fine Arts at MICA, Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD. During his senior year, Bil interned at Walt Disney Feature Animation. Bill was then chosen by Bernarda Bryson Shaun (wife of Ben Shaun) to be in the Trenton, NJ State Museum Show, “Artists Pick Artists” in 1993. Bil spent the next couple years painting murals and selling paintings to independent collectors. While digital design has been the primary focus of Bil’s professional life he also pursuing his fine art career, currently in Colorado. Keeping up with traditional subject matter such as portraits, still life and landscapes, his main focus is abstract painting as a way to visualize and understand the nature of reality and its hidden dimensions.

Layers of ultramarine brighten this seemingly unperturbed spherule.

I am a Denver-based painter who is largely self taught. I always loved drawing and took art classes all through high school, but my interests branched out. After college I picked up a lot of graphic arts jobs (including design, printing, and framing) before I picked up a paintbrush again and fell in love with oil painting. I like to play in various mediums and push my own boundaries.

I often work at the confluence of information and imagery. I seek beauty in things people might ordinarily look away from. A common theme is the juxtaposition of the individual with others and their relationships with the changing world around them.

This painting turned art quilt was created to capture the frustration of inequality for women in the workplace. The silent screams as we endure sexual harassment, unequal pay, and lower ceilings preventing promotion. Inspired by Picasso's Weeping Women, this is another portrait of perseverance.

Keri is a Colorado native and activist artist. She is a mother, daughter, wife and adventurer. She is a survivor whom Jesus saved to use her voice since others are no longer able. Art and creativity has been therapeutic, and allowed her to confront issues difficult to discuss. She explores themes of perseverance and inner strength, the best kind of beautiful!

Bon voyage to Portugal! On one very special day in May of 2022, my sister-in-law signed me and my family up for a wine country tour of the D’ouro river valley wine country. Our tour guide took us to a beautiful small winery and then to a large winery in the afternoon. The smaller one was Miss Elizabeth’s winery, and it was astoundingly beautiful. Family-owned for 70 years! We viewed the sight of the winery from her balcony and, my gosh, it was lusciously green and breathtaking! The port and red wine reserve and tomato jam and cheese she served during her tasting with us was stellar. The agricultural patterns are so lovely to behold. Here, the rows are widely spaced to allow for irrigation and harvesting slopes traversed by a vineyard line. ‘Twas my little slice of paradise.

As an artist, the surrealists have been one of my greatest influences. Even the name of my band (I am a professional vocalist), "Paranoid Image", was inspired by Salvador Dali’s surrealist term “The Paranoiac Critical Method”.

I have expanded upon my work in a surrealist direction and aim to create a sense of wonderment and awe with my work. In a recent work, dancing bunny rabbits levitate in an abstract expressionist realm. “Dragon Pie” has a touch of the surreal as well with a small dragon landing on a pie.

I aim to create narrative pieces that tell a story. This is a motif imbued in both the poetry of the lyrics I write for Paranoid Image as well as my paintings. A landscape of a riverbed with years of weathering watershed carving out a groove through sheer rock were you can feel the movement in the very trees, for example. Or in my portraiture, such as my painting “Lauren” - a painting of a dance student dancing with flowers springing from her movement.

I grew up in Washington, DC until moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2001. My mother, Luci Geller, is Brazilian and I have always found inspiration in the vibrant colors of Brazil.

During college, I had the great fortune of curating a show for The Worcester Art Museum. This experience along with visiting my professor’s co-curation at the Boston Fine Arts Museum really sparked my love of curation. One of the highlights of my art career was working in art restoration where my specialty was restoring works of art on canvas and board (mostly paintings). Working so intimately with paintings using art conservation practices often informs my own painting methods.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

Sunlight refracted and reflected through rain and snow is one of the delights of Colorado landscapes. Quickly shifting weather patterns, bright sun, then clouds, gusts of wind are highlighted in my under collages of colored metallic paper. Over the surface of the oil paintings moisture in the air condenses and diffuses as a patterned dance. Just as the depth and complexity of others is often hidden, we have to look beneath the outer colors to glimpse the shape and flow of a life. Truth depends on the light. Take your time and look from all angles to see the whole picture.

I have been painting during my 80 years whenever life allows the time and inner space. I graduated from Sarah Lawrence College where I discovered the art museums of New York. I am a retired social worker from the Boulder Valley schools and LCSW therapist. In recent years I have been appointed to the Colorado Commission on Aging and the Boulder County Aging Advisory Council. I have been a social justice activist throughout my life and renew my spirit by becoming absorbed in the color and movement of painting. I am a member of Nobo and BCAA.

I never tire of observing the cycles of nature as represented in plant life. Seeds germinate, the small plant grows, then flowers, then forms pods or fruit in order to release its seeds once more. This repeats over and over again with reassuring familiarity.

Barbara has had a life time in fiber art by what she would call dabbling in fabric, thread, and yarns through sewing, quilting, and knitting. When she saw an art quilt in 1997, her passion for the art quilt form began.

She joined Front Range Contemporary Quilters and started taking art classes and participating in their juried member exhibits. Since then, she has been privileged to learn from many great national and international teachers. The techniques she learned include dyeing, painting, using resists, hand-piecing, free-motion machine embroidery, printing, silk screening, collaging, and book making.

Barbara has worked on a few series. One of those uses a dress shape to tell stories about healing. She painted or dyed the fabric, used a great deal of hand embroidery often incorporating beads. She hopes that by expressing her experiences those who look at her art will take something important away for themselves.

Ms. Olson belongs to Front Range Contemporary Quilters (FRCQ), North Boulder Arts District (NoBo), and Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA). She shows her work in these organizations’ exhibitions and in local galleries. She has participated in Open Studios of Boulder County and curates art exhibits at the Sanctuary Art Gallery, First United Methodist Church, Boulder.

Her work is in private and corporate collections.

Gardens are a place of beauty and peace, a dimension that sometimes feels separate from our everyday life. Enjoying a garden is an intentional act—it requires deliberate choice to remove yourself from the hustle of modern day and pass the threshold into the natural world. Using bold colors and mixed elements, I wanted to capture the surreal feeling of how gardens and intentional living can both offer a doorway to another dimension outside of the everyday.

Alexandria (Alex) Hamm is an intuitive abstract fine artist and digital illustrator based outside Boulder, Colorado.

Alex creates artwork to inspire others to embrace, celebrate, and connect with themselves and one another, especially amid challenges. Her paintings often translate experiences of questioning identity and living with chronic illness while exploring themes of community, healing, and the joy of journeying.

Alex is the artist and owner behind paper goods company Majestik Magnolia, whose illustrated works have been featured in Uppercase Magazine.

“I had this image burnt into my mind when I was leaving Portland very much on fire after living in my car for two weeks while painting a mural.” ~ Mick Burson

The city of Portland is portrayed here as a technicolor block and grids of urban structures. This graphic motif of repeated blocks pattern is interrupted by an uninvited guest: a raging wildfire. The blaze burned more than 1,000,000 acres (400,000 ha) of land and destroyed thousands of homes.
Statement written by Sara Geller Artist, Curator and BA Graduate in Art History from Clark University, with permission by Mick Burson

Mick Burson is an artist originally from Waco, Texas. Growing up in a train yard he developed a sense of non-permanence towards objects and paintings he made. He makes large paintings outdoors on the sides of buildings and smaller objects indoors derived from an impulsive need to touch surfaces and pick things up. The work contains joy, nostalgia, and overarching humanness. Lines are consistently crooked, surfaces rely on one another and objects are propped up as if they are a tired human. The work that is made is usually made in a transient state where the unpack and the pack become an art form in and of itself.

He is currently in the middle of a 33-year-old project where he consistently wanders around while appearing to have a destination. The return is always back to Albuquerque. He received his MFA from University of New Mexico where the decision to attend was decided by flipping a coin in a Texas kitchen.

“I made this image at the beginning of COVID when I was so lonely that my body was cold.” ~Mick Burson

COVID disrupted many of the common patterns of our life: seeing friends at coffee shops, art festivals, and for many of us, work. Figures of humanoid balloon-people hover about a once vibrant city. They look over in patient dissociation observing a ghost town. The days of COVID isolation dragged on in a repetitive manner. The pattern of solitary days progressed each heavier yet lighter than the next. Some individuals floated away, some popped and sunk to the ground, others hovered as fires erupted below which I interpret as the chaos of a world in emergency. They created a pattern of solitary yet vibrant people, all experiencing the same bizarre, yet familiar movement in history: a pandemic.
Statement written by Sara Geller Artist, Curator and BA Graduate in Art History from Clark University, with permission by Mick Burson

Mick Burson is an artist originally from Waco, Texas. Growing up in a train yard he developed a sense of non-permanence towards objects and paintings he made. He makes large paintings outdoors on the sides of buildings and smaller objects indoors derived from an impulsive need to touch surfaces and pick things up. The work contains joy, nostalgia, and overarching humanness. Lines are consistently crooked, surfaces rely on one another and objects are propped up as if they are a tired human. The work that is made is usually made in a transient state where the unpack and the pack become an art form in and of itself.

He is currently in the middle of a 33-year-old project where he consistently wanders around while appearing to have a destination. The return is always back to Albuquerque. He received his MFA from University of New Mexico where the decision to attend was decided by flipping a coin in a Texas kitchen.

Woman are often so busy with life's expectations that they don't get the time to do much self reflection. It would be wonderful if we were all able to find a moment of quiet on a daily basis to reflect on our strengths and marvel at how incredible we all are.

Jeanne Gray is a self taught artist living in Colorado for over thirty years. She dabbles in mixed media by exploring the combinations of fiber and cloth, paint and paste, threads and embellishments. Her work table faces nature which influences her on many levels to feed her creativity.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

"Three Corn Maidens" represents the glory of nature and the idea that we all live on "Mother Earth" - our home that is fragile and finite. Its degradation due to climate change denied by too many and perpetuated by corporations whose goal is to make the rich richer necessitates a different, more equitable, compassionate, and sustainable way of living by all of us.

I make two- and three-dimensional textile pieces incorporating surface design techniques that represent themes of emotional and physical healing. I stitch the surfaces of my pieces with patterns that suggest my history of disability and my grief related to the suffering of others. Each object represents moments of meditation on the safety of solitude and the joy of connection.

Springtime is one of my favorite times of year. The potency and pregnancy of the Great Mother Earth springing up from the long dormancy once nestled deeply in the ground in the call and celebration to the changing light.

I’ve been painting for over 50 years in many modalities and mediums. I have studied with a number of different teachers, Paul Chidlaw and Roland Huston in Cincinnati. At the Atelier au Grand Chaumier in Paris and at the Cincinnati Art Academy. In Colorado with Chuck Ceraso.

I feel the urgent need to visit all the glaciers I can possibly see. To stand in front on these magnificent gifts of nature is an incredible experience. To find the lines and patterns within connects me to their energy. What an opportunity I have had. I am so grateful.

Jeanne Gray is a self taught artist living in Colorado for over thirty years. She dabbles in mixed media by exploring the combinations of fiber and cloth, paint and paste, threads and embellishments. Her work table faces nature which influences her on many levels to feed her creativity.

Doorways are portals that can transport us and usher into new places, experiences, and chapters of our lives. This piece symbols different rooms and compartments of our lives that we are able to revisit through our memories.

Kylee is a mixed media assemblage artist primarily working with found objects, reclaimed materials, and encaustic. Inspired by the overlooked beauty created by the passing of time - erosion, patina, and rust, her artwork is filled with vintage found objects, salvaged cast-offs, and forgotten artifacts that tell a story of a life gone by. The weathered characteristics of these objects are the foundation for her assemblage art and echoes of these past histories are evident in her artwork. Kylee's art provides a unique commentary on the intended purpose of common, found, and discarded materials.

My paintings often represent the powerful feminine Spirit that brings strength, courage, love and healing to our troubled world. "Listen to the Lost Voices" is a plea to pay attention to the voices of women who stand for justice, equality, and freedom. These voices of dissent and difference are often silenced by the rich and powerful in an effort to protect their power. It takes courage to speak out for the marginalized and oppressed in our society who often have no voice of their own. It is our call to listen to lost voices. To listen to the voices of black Americans, immigrants, Indigenous people, the poor, the transgender, and women, straining to be heard above the bombast of dominant voices. "Healing Mother Earth" No matter what issues we face, time spent in nature can help us heal and renew. Earth offers us grounding and an opportunity to become one with forests, mountains, plains, oceans and all that gives us a firm footing to move forward into the world with a new sense of self. In "Healing Mother Earth" the Earth Goddess is seen with outstretched arms communicating with her beloved trees and both being blessed by and offering a blessing to the forests that protect and rejuvenate our earthly home. As we attune with nature, there is an opportunity to heal oneself as well as the precious planet that supports our physical existence. Because many of us “stayed at home” during much of Covid, we provided a much-deserved opportunity for Mother Earth to rest and heal. Perhaps that experience will lead to a greater exploration of ways to ease the global crisis facing us and secure the health of our planet for future generations.

Pamela McKinnie is a painter and sculptor best known for her acrylic/mixed media paintings on canvas and multi-layered digital paintings printed on acrylic. She is a renowned artist, who has received multiple national and international awards for her mixed media paintings, which are multi-layered, brightly colored and intensely textured. She is an intuitive painter whose abstract, figurative style is influenced by the symbolic, dream-like quality of surrealism and the Fusionart movement, which makes subliminal images visible in unique ways. In describing her art she says, "My art is a reflection of what is felt rather than what is seen. I hope to create something that is alive with energy and invites each viewer to connect with life in new and meaningful ways."

I had a period of time where I loved to painting all the women of the market. The market symbolized for me the fullness of gathering, community, commerce, sharing and what women do best. It also shows the abundance of the earth and nourishment, gossip and the continuity of culture.

I’ve been painting for over 50 years in many modalities and mediums. I have studied with a number of different teachers, Paul Chidlaw and Roland Huston in Cincinnati. At the Atelier au Grand Chaumier in Paris and at the Cincinnati Art Academy. In Colorado with Chuck Ceraso.

A personal practice I have is to go on walks to observe nature. I love the first breath of fresh air when I leave the house, noticing colors, the weather, what’s growing in gardens, looking at trees, noticing native grasses and wildflowers, and always observing the changes throughout the seasons.

Barbara has had a life time in fiber art by what she would call dabbling in fabric, thread, and yarns through sewing, quilting, and knitting. When she saw an art quilt in 1997, her passion for the art quilt form began.

She joined Front Range Contemporary Quilters and started taking art classes and participating in their juried member exhibits. Since then, she has been privileged to learn from many great national and international teachers. The techniques she learned include dyeing, painting, using resists, hand-piecing, free-motion machine embroidery, printing, silk screening, collaging, and book making.

Barbara has worked on a few series. One of those uses a dress shape to tell stories about healing. She painted or dyed the fabric, used a great deal of hand embroidery often incorporating beads. She hopes that by expressing her experiences those who look at her art will take something important away for themselves.

Ms. Olson belongs to Front Range Contemporary Quilters (FRCQ), North Boulder Arts District (NoBo), and Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA). She shows her work in these organizations’ exhibitions and in local galleries. She has participated in Open Studios of Boulder County and curates art exhibits at the Sanctuary Art Gallery, First United Methodist Church, Boulder.

Her work is in private and corporate collections.

Using the smooth and bold pigmentation of Prisma colored pencils along with digital tools to create a mixed media experience, I draw to manifest goddess vibes, enjoy the beauty of vibrant flowers, celebrate the whimsy in fun creatures, and nerd out with fan art.

My art is a conduit to step into my power, to find my beauty, to celebrate my gifts, to embrace my whimsy, & to boldly take up space. I hope my art helps you find these things too.

For decades, I was afraid to take up space. I allowed others to define my value and worth. I could see everyone's hidden potential but failed to see the power inside of me. Not anymore.

My art exists to remind people that they are and always have been enough, even in their brokenness. There is beauty in the broken - it is how the light gets in.

My use of deep rich colors of Prisma color pencils combined with the unlimited creativity of digital and mixed media art reminds people of the graceful, beautiful, complicated power within.

I provide art for people who are looking to manifest their inner light, grow with purpose, and spark joy and playfulness in their lives.

Hi I'm Vicki Davis. I am an artist out of Boulder, CO. I am adorable, charming, and delightfully awkward. I am likely one of the most passionate and enthusiastic people you will ever meet. I have been drawing and painting for almost 15 years. I am now in the space to know and appreciate my value and worth. I am enough. Thank you for adding art and beauty to the world.

Using the smooth and bold pigmentation of Prisma colored pencils along with digital tools to create a mixed media experience, I draw to manifest goddess vibes, enjoy the beauty of vibrant flowers, celebrate the whimsy in fun creatures, and nerd out with fan art.

My art is a conduit to step into my power, to find my beauty, to celebrate my gifts, to embrace my whimsy, & to boldly take up space. I hope my art helps you find these things too.

For decades, I was afraid to take up space. I allowed others to define my value and worth. I could see everyone's hidden potential but failed to see the power inside of me. Not anymore.

My art exists to remind people that they are and always have been enough, even in their brokenness. There is beauty in the broken - it is how the light gets in.

My use of deep rich colors of Prisma color pencils combined with the unlimited creativity of digital and mixed media art reminds people of the graceful, beautiful, complicated power within.

I provide art for people who are looking to manifest their inner light, grow with purpose, and spark joy and playfulness in their lives.

Hi I'm Vicki Davis. I am an artist out of Boulder, CO. I am adorable, charming, and delightfully awkward. I am likely one of the most passionate and enthusiastic people you will ever meet. I have been drawing and painting for almost 15 years. I am now in the space to know and appreciate my value and worth. I am enough. Thank you for adding art and beauty to the world.

I do not have any formal training in art but when I experienced a sudden bereavement 8 years ago, I began to create. Time slowed and a profound intrapersonal transformation followed, sharpening my vision and influencing how I interacted with material objects. My art recognizes and highlights a tension in the disparate value our collective places on broken, mundane, and discarded objects. My art can be described as process art, as each piece speaks to a memory or an emotional experience. The fragmented objects make a whole, speak as a testament to healing, and offer an opportunity for the viewer to reflect on their own intrinsic wholeness.

I am a licensed clinical social worker and addiction counselor. I received my MSW from Boston College in 1995 and completed post graduate certificates in addiction counseling and clinical supervision. My clinical work has focused on the intersection of mental health struggles, addiction, and oppression and has been characterized by a commitment to advocacy and social justice.

I use natural objects because I find so much solace walking and I use what I see to tether me to the here and now. I invite you to the patterns within the patterns. Light illuminates my path, and natural objects leap into my field of awareness, the spiral of a snail’s shell or a pine cone, the whirl of a burl, the mirror of mica. If you love the world enough, it presents itself to you in resplendence. My love for the world deepens in response to every loss I have experienced.

I found my way, and I’ve called the widely scattered pieces of my soul back to me, and they’ve done as commanded, skittering and keening, rushing and leaping, to return my heart to me. I tuck them into these pieces of art.

I have always believed that it is an inherent fact that women are more connected to the earth. This is cause enough to celebrate women! Perhaps the deeper connection to nature that many women are in tune with will be pivotal for a more sustainable future for our planet!

I have painted for many years! I have been influenced by many wonderful and encouraging teachers including Robert Spellman, Jordan Wolfson, and more recently, Zoey Frank. Nature is my muse! My focus has been to be as "present" as I can when I paint. I enjoy working directly and deliberately while looking closely at my subject matter. My inquiry involves how my eye sees and what draws my attention. I thin my high quality paints with linseed oil and apply them to Arches cotton paper that has been sized for oils.

This painting turned art quilt was created as a portrait to remember Missing Murdered Indigenous Ancestors. A woman who is valued by her family, tribe and friends but seemingly unworthy of resources, media attention or a full investigation. Since 2016 over 5000 have gone missing, but the US Justice database has only recorded 116.

Keri is a Colorado native and activist artist. She is a mother, daughter, wife and adventurer. She is a survivor whom Jesus saved to use her voice since others are no longer able. Art and creativity has been therapeutic, and allowed her to confront issues difficult to discuss. She explores themes of perseverance and inner strength, the best kind of beautiful!

This quilt presents textiles representing the textures and colors of lichen and pods seen along the pathways I walk in my neighborhood. I am always looking for compositions formed in nature. Observing and recording the vast samplings seen on wood fences, sidewalks, front yards, trees and sometimes even mud puddles. Once at home, I review the images I have captured on my phone. Then begins the consideration of how best to interpret these samples in textiles, paint, and thread, as well as found objects: wire, feathers, paper, mica, twigs and clay. My intention is to connect with the viewer and draw them in for a closer look by presenting unusual imagery or materials.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabric, words and the beauty of nature. She incorporates a wide variety of textiles, including vintage kimono silk, upholstery, hand-dyed fabric, hand painted canvas, heat distressed Tyvek, and organza. She incorporates found objects, wire, paper, feathers, mica as well as linens and papers preserved by her family. The artist’s intention is to evoke a mood or elicit a memory and push the image to the abstract by transparent layering and intuitive composition and color. Sue uses both machine and hand stitching on hand dyed, painted or eco-dyed fabric to honor natural beauty. Fiber bowls, spirit dolls and greeting cards fill out her creative efforts.

Sue has exhibited work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery in Estes Park, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Art Gallery, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years. Please visit her blog at http://sustudioblog@wordpress.com and her website at www.sustudiotextiles.weebly.cim, to view more of her quilts, vases and inspirations.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabrics and nature. Sue has exhibited her textile work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Cultural Center, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years.

Her intention is to connect with the viewer and to draw them in for a closer look by presenting unusual imagery or materials. The “hand of the artist” is evident in the brushstrokes of paint or in the incorporation of hand stitches.

My paintings often represent the powerful feminine Spirit that brings strength, courage, love and healing to our troubled world. "Listen to the Lost Voices" is a plea to pay attention to the voices of women who stand for justice, equality, and freedom. These voices of dissent and difference are often silenced by the rich and powerful in an effort to protect their power. It takes courage to speak out for the marginalized and oppressed in our society who often have no voice of their own. It is our call to listen to lost voices. To listen to the voices of black Americans, immigrants, Indigenous people, the poor, the transgender, and women, straining to be heard above the bombast of dominant voices. "Healing Mother Earth" No matter what issues we face, time spent in nature can help us heal and renew. Earth offers us grounding and an opportunity to become one with forests, mountains, plains, oceans and all that gives us a firm footing to move forward into the world with a new sense of self. In "Healing Mother Earth" the Earth Goddess is seen with outstretched arms communicating with her beloved trees and both being blessed by and offering a blessing to the forests that protect and rejuvenate our earthly home. As we attune with nature, there is an opportunity to heal oneself as well as the precious planet that supports our physical existence. Because many of us “stayed at home” during much of Covid, we provided a much-deserved opportunity for Mother Earth to rest and heal. Perhaps that experience will lead to a greater exploration of ways to ease the global crisis facing us and secure the health of our planet for future generations.

Pamela McKinnie is a painter and sculptor best known for her acrylic/mixed media paintings on canvas and multi-layered digital paintings printed on acrylic. She is a renowned artist, who has received multiple national and international awards for her mixed media paintings, which are multi-layered, brightly colored and intensely textured. She is an intuitive painter whose abstract, figurative style is influenced by the symbolic, dream-like quality of surrealism and the Fusionart movement, which makes subliminal images visible in unique ways. In describing her art she says, "My art is a reflection of what is felt rather than what is seen. I hope to create something that is alive with energy and invites each viewer to connect with life in new and meaningful ways."

Using an iconic image of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a tea stained copy of The US Constitution for the Be Brave lettering, metal stars, “dream big” etching and mirrors, this piece both celebrates RBG as “hero” and challenges the viewer to step more into their own dreams and bravery. Dreams and bravery ever present in our daily lives, offer each of us an opportunity to become our best selves when we accept the challenges. In this piece, as RBG looks directly at the viewer, she serves as a reminder to participate however you can to create a more equal, just and thriving society for us all.

Millicent is a Boulder artist who works in mixed media. Using layers of acrylic paint with etching, paper, beads, collage and found objects, Millicent creates pieces that reflect her passion for encouraging others to step into the lives they want to live. Accepting that the only true constant in life is change, her pieces will evolve and shift over time until they resonate with a viewer and find a permanent new home.

Most days she is out hiking, skiing, enjoying small outdoor adventures and creating in her studio on Boulder Creek.

Doors, passageways, entries, gates, openings. I love the imagination, invitation and mystery involved in a door—the transition from one space to another, from one world to another. I spend a lot of time in Mexico and I delight in walking the streets of San Miguel and imagining what is behind the beautiful doors. Every once in a while, I get a peek at that---often a sight totally different than what the door might suggest in its aesthetic or not so aesthetic décor, a magical world of color, an extraordinary garden, an artisan’s workshop. Two of these paintings were painted in Mexico — Old San Miguel Door and El Pasillo.

I am also fond of the metaphor implied in painting a door or arch or passageway; the transition of time, space, movement; a journey of sorts, from outside to inside and vice-versa, from one sense of being to another. The painting “On The Other Side” was painted after the death of my husband Peter, envisioning his passage to a place beyond, via the archway my friends dedicated to him, graced with hops vines, which he loved to use in making beer.

I have been painting watercolors and teaching the painting of watercolors in Boulder for more than 20 years. I love teaching students how to “treasure their accidents/mistakes” and “let go of some control and become more slob like” with the paints. I fell in love with watercolor painting many years ago and have been trying to figure it out ever since; each painting is a new adventure involving lots of risk taking, leaping forward, reining in the flowing paint to create form. It involves dealing with fear and conjuring up lots of bravery. I’m enthralled with color and want to create a sense of energy and freshness in my paintings. I paint landscapes, still life, people, gardens, and flowers. I also take people on painting travel trips, to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Tuscany, Spain, Greece, and beyond.

In “Dive in” the collaged lettering “it’s your life” serves as the entry for the woman who is diving straight down with confidence and no way to turn back. In the space below three women float along indicating that others are on the journey too, supporting her along the way. The best we can do for one another is encourage “diving in” to whatever life and experiences you want and supporting each other on the journey. This is what women do for one another and how our lives become richer and more meaningful.

Millicent is a Boulder artist who works in mixed media. Using layers of acrylic paint with etching, paper, beads, collage and found objects, Millicent creates pieces that reflect her passion for encouraging others to step into the lives they want to live. Accepting that the only true constant in life is change, her pieces will evolve and shift over time until they resonate with a viewer and find a permanent new home.

Most days she is out hiking, skiing, enjoying small outdoor adventures and creating in her studio on Boulder Creek.

Change is constant, and though patterns in life may appear to be fixed and permanent, the possibility of change is inherent. The source of change may be imperceptible, but it's always there, waiting for a chance to sprout. As much as we may try to keep things the way they are, they are always on their way to becoming something else.

Lolly Gold discovered art quilts soon after she retired, and jumped into making them without knowing any of the "rules." Though presenting challenges along the way, the path of discovery has constantly opened up new possibilities of techniques, and best of all, expression. With each piece I've made I've learned more about my creative process and what matters to me deeply.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

One day several years ago I was strolling down the west bank of the Willamette River in Portland, killing some time, and I happened on dragonboats racing. Of course I took out my phone - when I was looking at the pictures later, I realized the two lead boats in one heat both reached their flags at the same time.

This study of movement and color tries to capture the event.

I am a Denver-based painter who is largely self taught. I always loved drawing and took art classes all through high school, but my interests branched out. After college I picked up a lot of graphic arts jobs (including design, printing, and framing) before I picked up a paintbrush again and fell in love with oil painting. I like to play in various mediums and push my own boundaries.

I often work at the confluence of information and imagery. I seek beauty in things people might ordinarily look away from. A common theme is the juxtaposition of the individual with others and their relationships with the changing world around them.

This wall quilt is hand stitched and machine quilted. The woman portrayed here is my aunt, Dorothy. She raised 3 children and fostered 7 foreign exchange students over the years. She had a great sense of humor and did end up with Alzheimer’s disease. I created this quilt after taking a walk in the rain and thinking about the old photo I had found recently. I was wondering how I could use the image on a quilt and still have a sense of the rain falling. The photo was printed on organza and then fused on the fabric. I have added some gilt to give the surface a glint of golden rainfall.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabric, words and the beauty of nature. She incorporates a wide variety of textiles, including vintage kimono silk, upholstery, hand-dyed fabric, hand painted canvas, heat distressed Tyvek, and organza. She incorporates found objects, wire, paper, feathers, mica as well as linens and papers preserved by her family. The artist’s intention is to evoke a mood or elicit a memory and push the image to the abstract by transparent layering and intuitive composition and color. Sue uses both machine and hand stitching on hand dyed, painted or eco-dyed fabric to honor natural beauty. Fiber bowls, spirit dolls and greeting cards fill out her creative efforts.

Sue has exhibited work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery in Estes Park, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Art Gallery, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years. Please visit her blog at http://sustudioblog@wordpress.com and her website at www.sustudiotextiles.weebly.cim, to view more of her quilts, vases and inspirations.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabrics and nature. Sue has exhibited her textile work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Cultural Center, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years.

Her intention is to connect with the viewer and to draw them in for a closer look by presenting unusual imagery or materials. The “hand of the artist” is evident in the brushstrokes of paint or in the incorporation of hand stitches.

This textile artwork interprets the breakdown of leaves in the fall showing the imperfect openings caused by insect bites and weathering . The leaves are deteriorating and preparing to return to the soil beneath. Various surface design elements are used in this quilt including printing, stamping, painting, as well as machine quilting and hand stitching. Layering of organza highlights transparency and the rough edges promote the diminishing effects of a natural process.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabric, words and the beauty of nature. She incorporates a wide variety of textiles, including vintage kimono silk, upholstery, hand-dyed fabric, hand painted canvas, heat distressed Tyvek, and organza. She incorporates found objects, wire, paper, feathers, mica as well as linens and papers preserved by her family. The artist’s intention is to evoke a mood or elicit a memory and push the image to the abstract by transparent layering and intuitive composition and color. Sue uses both machine and hand stitching on hand dyed, painted or eco-dyed fabric to honor natural beauty. Fiber bowls, spirit dolls and greeting cards fill out her creative efforts.

Sue has exhibited work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery in Estes Park, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Art Gallery, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years. Please visit her blog at http://sustudioblog@wordpress.com and her website at www.sustudiotextiles.weebly.cim, to view more of her quilts, vases and inspirations.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabrics and nature. Sue has exhibited her textile work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Cultural Center, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years.

Her intention is to connect with the viewer and to draw them in for a closer look by presenting unusual imagery or materials. The “hand of the artist” is evident in the brushstrokes of paint or in the incorporation of hand stitches.

The door image is from an original photo of El Santuario de Chimayo in New Mexico. This appears as a very rustic door leading to old memories. The background was created using typewritten poems authored by my grandfather, stencils of a clock face, lace and vintage linens and an “apple” tree made of painted dryer sheets. This interpretation gives the viewer the illusion of looking back in time. The layered fabrics partially obscure the words and the raw edges represent memories that have frayed away.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabric, words and the beauty of nature. She incorporates a wide variety of textiles, including vintage kimono silk, upholstery, hand-dyed fabric, hand painted canvas, heat distressed Tyvek, and organza. She incorporates found objects, wire, paper, feathers, mica as well as linens and papers preserved by her family. The artist’s intention is to evoke a mood or elicit a memory and push the image to the abstract by transparent layering and intuitive composition and color. Sue uses both machine and hand stitching on hand dyed, painted or eco-dyed fabric to honor natural beauty. Fiber bowls, spirit dolls and greeting cards fill out her creative efforts.

Sue has exhibited work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery in Estes Park, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Art Gallery, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years. Please visit her blog at http://sustudioblog@wordpress.com and her website at www.sustudiotextiles.weebly.cim, to view more of her quilts, vases and inspirations.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabrics and nature. Sue has exhibited her textile work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Cultural Center, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years.

Her intention is to connect with the viewer and to draw them in for a closer look by presenting unusual imagery or materials. The “hand of the artist” is evident in the brushstrokes of paint or in the incorporation of hand stitches.

My paintings reflect my feelings of the moment. I select my colors as to how I feel and then let the paint flow onto the canvas. I do not have expectations and do not plan or judge. Thus I never know what is going to appear but accept it as that is what was to happen that particular day. Each person sees something different in an abstract painting. It is important to honor this. A title can lead the viewer to see a certain image in a certain way, and once seen it cannot be forgotten. By leaving a work of art “untitled,” it becomes possible for viewers to create their own titles and to see the painting uniquely, thus making a personal connection.

Why I don't title:
We live in a world of technology where we have learned to want answers immediately. In contrast to this instant gratification, it is possible for untitled art to be observed and contemplated at a slower pace and provide a greater and often multiple meanings.

(Betsy Cole was also featured in our “Journeys and Pathways” exhibit.) One of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve made as an artist is realizing just how much needed to be unlearned. To be sure, one must grapple with the history and techniques of art, but the real challenge for me has been undoing my rigid ways of seeing the world through fear and judgment and rediscovering long-lost joy.

That may sound rather cliché, for in art (as in life) each of us strives for a bit of originality, but for me, it has been a wonder, perhaps an epiphany, to discover at the innermost part of myself there wasn't emptiness or dread, but a genuine curiosity that soon had me eager to travel and explore. I began to take risks — and enjoy them.

It was in Bali where I began to understand what this meant for my art and life. I gained confidence and discovered that art is really play. Painting need not necessarily depict a “thing,” but can actually become a “dance of color” that expresses how I feel.

I once saw a de Kooning exhibit of his most famous paintings and was most drawn to the final simplistic pieces that he created after the onset of Alzheimer’s. I was completely mesmerized because these loose lines of bright color were joyous and free, as if released from all influences, expectations and judgments. I wanted to paint from this place.

Art heals, and it does so by bringing the inside out. It’s certainly no great insight to say that life isn’t always easy — but art can bring light and joy and color to the darkness, the pain, the fear. As I began to untangle my life and view it as a journey, I allowed my love of bright colors to be expressed and to acquire a new healing purpose.

This is my experimentation with mono type print. This image incorporates patterns with the repetitive nature of the ink roller blotting patterns across the paper. This abstract was part of a series simply exploring the medium and one I hope to revisit in my lifetime.

As an artist, the surrealists have been one of my greatest influences. Even the name of my band (I am a professional vocalist), "Paranoid Image", was inspired by Salvador Dali’s surrealist term “The Paranoiac Critical Method”.

I have expanded upon my work in a surrealist direction and aim to create a sense of wonderment and awe with my work. In a recent work, dancing bunny rabbits levitate in an abstract expressionist realm. “Dragon Pie” has a touch of the surreal as well with a small dragon landing on a pie.

I aim to create narrative pieces that tell a story. This is a motif imbued in both the poetry of the lyrics I write for Paranoid Image as well as my paintings. A landscape of a riverbed with years of weathering watershed carving out a groove through sheer rock were you can feel the movement in the very trees, for example. Or in my portraiture, such as my painting “Lauren” - a painting of a dance student dancing with flowers springing from her movement.

I grew up in Washington, DC until moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2001. My mother, Luci Geller, is Brazilian and I have always found inspiration in the vibrant colors of Brazil.

During college, I had the great fortune of curating a show for The Worcester Art Museum. This experience along with visiting my professor’s co-curation at the Boston Fine Arts Museum really sparked my love of curation. One of the highlights of my art career was working in art restoration where my specialty was restoring works of art on canvas and board (mostly paintings). Working so intimately with paintings using art conservation practices often informs my own painting methods.

I do not have any formal training in art but when I experienced a sudden bereavement 8 years ago, I began to create. Time slowed and a profound intrapersonal transformation followed, sharpening my vision and influencing how I interacted with material objects. My art recognizes and highlights a tension in the disparate value our collective places on broken, mundane, and discarded objects. My art can be described as process art, as each piece speaks to a memory or an emotional experience. The fragmented objects make a whole, speak as a testament to healing, and offer an opportunity for the viewer to reflect on their own intrinsic wholeness.

I am a licensed clinical social worker and addiction counselor. I received my MSW from Boston College in 1995 and completed post graduate certificates in addiction counseling and clinical supervision. My clinical work has focused on the intersection of mental health struggles, addiction, and oppression and has been characterized by a commitment to advocacy and social justice.

I use natural objects because I find so much solace walking and I use what I see to tether me to the here and now. I invite you to the patterns within the patterns. Light illuminates my path, and natural objects leap into my field of awareness, the spiral of a snail’s shell or a pine cone, the whirl of a burl, the mirror of mica. If you love the world enough, it presents itself to you in resplendence. My love for the world deepens in response to every loss I have experienced.

I found my way, and I’ve called the widely scattered pieces of my soul back to me, and they’ve done as commanded, skittering and keening, rushing and leaping, to return my heart to me. I tuck them into these pieces of art.

Grief has been the doorway through which I have learned about myself, about who I am and what I love and what those people experiences meant to me. After my most significant loss, a doorway to art opened up in my heart and mind. These pieces represent the gratitude, peace and serenity that, in time, has come to fill the sorrowful depths in my soul.

I do not have any formal training in art but when I experienced a sudden bereavement 8 years ago, I began to create. Time slowed and a profound intrapersonal transformation followed, sharpening my vision and influencing how I interacted with material objects. My art recognizes and highlights a tension in the disparate value our collective places on broken, mundane, and discarded objects. My art can be described as process art, as each piece speaks to a memory or an emotional experience. The fragmented objects make a whole, speak as a testament to healing, and offer an opportunity for the viewer to reflect on their own intrinsic wholeness.

I am a licensed clinical social worker and addiction counselor. I received my MSW from Boston College in 1995 and completed post graduate certificates in addiction counseling and clinical supervision. My clinical work has focused on the intersection of mental health struggles, addiction, and oppression and has been characterized by a commitment to advocacy and social justice.

I use natural objects because I find so much solace walking and I use what I see to tether me to the here and now. I invite you to the patterns within the patterns. Light illuminates my path, and natural objects leap into my field of awareness, the spiral of a snail’s shell or a pine cone, the whirl of a burl, the mirror of mica. If you love the world enough, it presents itself to you in resplendence. My love for the world deepens in response to every loss I have experienced.

I found my way, and I’ve called the widely scattered pieces of my soul back to me, and they’ve done as commanded, skittering and keening, rushing and leaping, to return my heart to me. I tuck them into these pieces of art.

I do not have any formal training in art but when I experienced a sudden bereavement 8 years ago, I began to create. Time slowed and a profound intrapersonal transformation followed, sharpening my vision and influencing how I interacted with material objects. My art recognizes and highlights a tension in the disparate value our collective places on broken, mundane, and discarded objects. My art can be described as process art, as each piece speaks to a memory or an emotional experience. The fragmented objects make a whole, speak as a testament to healing, and offer an opportunity for the viewer to reflect on their own intrinsic wholeness.

I am a licensed clinical social worker and addiction counselor. I received my MSW from Boston College in 1995 and completed post graduate certificates in addiction counseling and clinical supervision. My clinical work has focused on the intersection of mental health struggles, addiction, and oppression and has been characterized by a commitment to advocacy and social justice.

I use natural objects because I find so much solace walking and I use what I see to tether me to the here and now. I invite you to the patterns within the patterns. Light illuminates my path, and natural objects leap into my field of awareness, the spiral of a snail’s shell or a pine cone, the whirl of a burl, the mirror of mica. If you love the world enough, it presents itself to you in resplendence. My love for the world deepens in response to every loss I have experienced.

I found my way, and I’ve called the widely scattered pieces of my soul back to me, and they’ve done as commanded, skittering and keening, rushing and leaping, to return my heart to me. I tuck them into these pieces of art.

I have been on a journey to define and visually present my personal vision of Still Life painting. I have experimented with composition, painterly technique, and color to modify space and form within my paintings. I came from a position of what I perceive as old school composition, and have been slowly progressing and becoming comfortable with a more contemporary view of this art form. I did not expect to enjoy the new variations of object and atmospheric composition in my paintings, but I do. I find the more contemporary compositions and painterly techniques can be whimsical in nature and reflective of my personal ideologies. My paintings explore my fascination with light, color, reflectivity in creating the form of objects and atmosphere in a still life. Discovering how to do this is an evolving and ongoing process.

My background is primarily as a teacher and educator in the visual arts. I have taught on the college and public school levels. I did not spend any dedicated time on the production of my own works of art until rather late in my working career. I have studied with different artists and have struggled to find my personal style within the various paintings I have created. I will continue to explore and challenge myself to continue to learn and grow through my painting until I can no longer hold a paint brush.

Patterns, especially in nature, offer a map for reflection and contemplation. They are meditative by design, and even rhythmic, which can be soothing. The patterns in my work are enhanced to draw the viewer into the image, where the eyes can wander and find hidden, deeper connections. I hope this brings a sense of peace and calm, in an often times hectic and chaotic world.

I have always been drawn to storytelling as a means of exploring and illuminating the human condition. My artistic life began with writing fiction, but I found myself moving toward poetry as I strove to distill narratives to their bare and essential essence. It seems that photography was the next logical step in that process. I use composite photography to create meaning and visual narratives, and I have a particular fondness for the strange and stark beauty of landscapes.

My artistic focus has been to explore isolation. There are physical features, especially in landscapes, that are desolate. There can be grace and beauty, as well as tranquility, that comes with pause and reflection. I want to express this beauty, while also acknowledging the void that can come from isolation.

During the Pandemic I concentrated on portraits of historically forgotten figures and marginalized people who were harmed by law enforcement or the legal system. During March 2021, for Women's History Month, I attempted to draw a significant woman in history every weekday.

I am forever pulled to the simplicity and complexity of the human figure. I attempt to capture a pose quickly and fluently. The figure is so personal, so close and I am so very aware of its image. I, therefore, feel that I must work within the confines of the figure again and again. I strive to draw the ideal figure and the perfect mood of the pose while conscientiously trying to create a well-designed work of art. Lately I've been consumed with just the drawing: lecturing on figure drawing, drawing in 2-4 workshops a week, choosing the colors, catching the gesture or movement, and exploiting the mood.

During the Pandemic I concentrated on portraits of historically forgotten figures and marginalized people who were harmed by law enforcement or the legal system. During March 2021, for Women's History Month, I attempted to draw a significant woman in history every weekday.

I am forever pulled to the simplicity and complexity of the human figure. I attempt to capture a pose quickly and fluently. The figure is so personal, so close and I am so very aware of its image. I, therefore, feel that I must work within the confines of the figure again and again. I strive to draw the ideal figure and the perfect mood of the pose while conscientiously trying to create a well-designed work of art. Lately I've been consumed with just the drawing: lecturing on figure drawing, drawing in 2-4 workshops a week, choosing the colors, catching the gesture or movement, and exploiting the mood.

The power in our containers, the fluidity of our sails and the grace of our movement, the ashes in our eyes, the steadiness of our gaze and the sweetness of our souls — this changes the world.

LeRoy was born in 1966, raised in the deep south and currently lives at the door of the Rocky Mountains and edge of the great plains of Colorado. Both places influence, inform, and inspire her abstract landscape paintings. Her current work reveals the policies that are redolent of memories of nature throughout her life. The continued imaginings of southern landscape have an important influence on her work to this day. Over the last decade as an artist, LeRoy has come to recognize how much the simplicity of easy experiences taught her the way to see the world and eventually create on the canvas. Her paintings are about discovering place and crafting it.

LeRoy uses acrylic paint on stretched canvas, mostly palette knife with some brush, lard scrapers, water, and rags. She uses a lot of paint, using and pulling to form here texture and diffuse lines. LeRoy believes that art is integration of form and feeling, and that relying on too much one or the other can come across confusing and leave the viewer unsatisfied. But when a balance and harmony of the two emerges the viewer experiences a vibration that is palpable and moving. To do this, LeRoy believes rather than paint a painting or create art she must show up and work, not think, and incorporate many, many intervals of stepping back and staring at the work in progress.

Recently, my artist focus has been to explore isolation and seclusion, and its psychological effects on humanity. There are physical features, especially in landscapes, that depict isolation. There can be grace and beauty, as well as expansiveness and tranquility, that comes with pause and reflection. I want to express this beauty, while also acknowledging the bold that can come from isolation.

Doorways are liminal spaces that allow for the choice between expansive community and tranquil seclusion. Doorways allow for a flow between not just physical spaces, but states of being.

I have always been drawn to storytelling as a means of exploring and illuminating the human condition. My artistic life began with writing fiction, but I found myself moving toward poetry as I strove to distill narratives to their bare and essential essence. It seems that photography was the next logical step in that process. I use composite photography to create meaning and visual narratives, and I have a particular fondness for the strange and stark beauty of landscapes.

My artistic focus has been to explore isolation. There are physical features, especially in landscapes, that are desolate. There can be grace and beauty, as well as tranquility, that comes with pause and reflection. I want to express this beauty, while also acknowledging the void that can come from isolation.

Recently, my artist focus has been to explore isolation and seclusion, and its psychological effects on humanity. There are physical features, especially in landscapes, that depict isolation. There can be grace and beauty, as well as expansiveness and tranquility, that comes with pause and reflection. I want to express this beauty, while also acknowledging the bold that can come from isolation.

Doorways are liminal spaces that allow for the choice between expansive community and tranquil seclusion. Doorways allow for a flow between not just physical spaces, but states of being.

I have always been drawn to storytelling as a means of exploring and illuminating the human condition. My artistic life began with writing fiction, but I found myself moving toward poetry as I strove to distill narratives to their bare and essential essence. It seems that photography was the next logical step in that process. I use composite photography to create meaning and visual narratives, and I have a particular fondness for the strange and stark beauty of landscapes.

My artistic focus has been to explore isolation. There are physical features, especially in landscapes, that are desolate. There can be grace and beauty, as well as tranquility, that comes with pause and reflection. I want to express this beauty, while also acknowledging the void that can come from isolation.

Patterns, especially in nature, offer a map for reflection and contemplation. They are meditative by design, and even rhythmic, which can be soothing. The patterns in my work are enhanced to draw the viewer into the image, where the eyes can wander and find hidden, deeper connections. I hope this brings a sense of peace and calm, in an often times hectic and chaotic world.

I have always been drawn to storytelling as a means of exploring and illuminating the human condition. My artistic life began with writing fiction, but I found myself moving toward poetry as I strove to distill narratives to their bare and essential essence. It seems that photography was the next logical step in that process. I use composite photography to create meaning and visual narratives, and I have a particular fondness for the strange and stark beauty of landscapes.

My artistic focus has been to explore isolation. There are physical features, especially in landscapes, that are desolate. There can be grace and beauty, as well as tranquility, that comes with pause and reflection. I want to express this beauty, while also acknowledging the void that can come from isolation.

I have been a photographer as an amateur and professional for over 20 years. I have pursued a career in photography after I retired from the pharmacy profession 8 years ago. My camera has led me all over the world to places that provided stunning locations and endless memories. Besides travel photography, I enjoy all types of photography, including individual and family portraits, weddings, landscapes, and architectural photography. I have participated in most of the major photography shows in the Colorado Front Range region and have won numerous awards for my work. I’m also a member of the Louisville Art Association in Louisville, Colorado as well as the Gilpin County Arts Association located in Central City, Colorado.

Everywhere I look, I see patterns. This is particularly true as I explore the beauty in nature. As I wander, I observe with an artist’s eye. Whether it’s the spiral of a seashell, the vertical lines of the tree in the forest, the slanted zig zag of a mountain, the magnificence of each shape takes my breath away. When I pause to sit quietly, I sometimes glimpse shy nature spirits that fill me with wonder and speak to the vastness of Mother Earth’s creation. As I layer paint on a canvas, sometimes the nature spirits reappear, either consciously or unconsciously, making subliminal images visible in unique ways.

Pamela McKinnie is a painter and sculptor best known for her acrylic/mixed media paintings on canvas and multi-layered digital paintings printed on acrylic. She is a renowned artist, who has received multiple national and international awards for her mixed media paintings, which are multi-layered, brightly colored and intensely textured. She is an intuitive painter whose abstract, figurative style is influenced by the symbolic, dream-like quality of surrealism and the Fusionart movement, which makes subliminal images visible in unique ways. In describing her art she says, "My art is a reflection of what is felt rather than what is seen. I hope to create something that is alive with energy and invites each viewer to connect with life in new and meaningful ways."

Everywhere I look, I see patterns. This is particularly true as I explore the beauty in nature. As I wander, I observe with an artist’s eye. Whether it’s the spiral of a seashell, the vertical lines of the tree in the forest, the slanted zig zag of a mountain, the magnificence of each shape takes my breath away. When I pause to sit quietly, I sometimes glimpse shy nature spirits that fill me with wonder and speak to the vastness of Mother Earth’s creation. As I layer paint on a canvas, sometimes the nature spirits reappear, either consciously or unconsciously, making subliminal images visible in unique ways.

Pamela McKinnie is a painter and sculptor best known for her acrylic/mixed media paintings on canvas and multi-layered digital paintings printed on acrylic. She is a renowned artist, who has received multiple national and international awards for her mixed media paintings, which are multi-layered, brightly colored and intensely textured. She is an intuitive painter whose abstract, figurative style is influenced by the symbolic, dream-like quality of surrealism and the Fusionart movement, which makes subliminal images visible in unique ways. In describing her art she says, "My art is a reflection of what is felt rather than what is seen. I hope to create something that is alive with energy and invites each viewer to connect with life in new and meaningful ways."

Portals and Doorways are literal and symbolic transitions…beginnings and ending, twists and turns, even dead ends and resurrections - a metaphor for life’s journey.

This piece began as a collage and acrylic painting, an abstract deep dive in the subconscious. I let myself explore color, lie, marks and shapes. And came to a confused and unresolved place. Oh, lid some junctures in life!

With time and distance, I resumed exploring. I took a photograph of the painting and cropped and manipulated it into a grid of nine 8” squares, printed and glued to cradle board.

In the process I began to analyze the elements in the context of themes I had been thinking and dreaming about…water, life, both, the sacred feminine, the spiritual meaning of 9, and my own personal journey.

Color is a key element. Blue…symbolic of water…healing, purification, renewal, mystery and longing. Orange…associated with meditation and compassion happiness, creativity, and optimism.

I realized the shapes and forms unconsciously represent opening, pools, wombs and the mysteries of our sacred earth. Looking for unity and purpose, I overlaid rice paper collage elements from previous paintings, photographs and ephemera representing life events and emotions… joy, shame, body positivity, love, birth and aging. Finally, I added pigments and encaustic wax. Look closely at the layers and complexity that evolved in this 9 square piece.

Living on the front range of Colorado surrounded by open space, unique shapes and bold colors, inspires me. The poet Wallace Stevens wrote “The imagination is one of the forces of Nature.” And so too, nature is a powerful source for one’s imagination.

I have always been drawn to the abstract, and themes from nature, the spirit world and the divine feminine that well up from the subconscious in my paintings.

The expansive sky and mountains, saturated colors and mysteries of the sacred earth have all influenced my recent work. It incorporates acrylic painting, mixed media and collage, print making and encaustic wax.

After 35 years as a marketing and graphic design business owner in NYC, Boulder is now my home where I have the freedom and space to make art to my heart’s content.

Portals and Doorways are literal and symbolic transitions…beginnings and ending, twists and turns, even dead ends and resurrections - a metaphor for life’s journey.

This piece began as a collage and acrylic painting, an abstract deep dive in the subconscious. I let myself explore color, lie, marks and shapes. And came to a confused and unresolved place. Oh, lid some junctures in life!

With time and distance, I resumed exploring. I took a photograph of the painting and cropped and manipulated it into a grid of nine 8” squares, printed and glued to cradle board.

In the process I began to analyze the elements in the context of themes I had been thinking and dreaming about…water, life, both, the sacred feminine, the spiritual meaning of 9, and my own personal journey.

Color is a key element. Blue…symbolic of water…healing, purification, renewal, mystery and longing. Orange…associated with meditation and compassion happiness, creativity, and optimism.

I realized the shapes and forms unconsciously represent opening, pools, wombs and the mysteries of our sacred earth. Looking for unity and purpose, I overlaid rice paper collage elements from previous paintings, photographs and ephemera representing life events and emotions… joy, shame, body positivity, love, birth and aging. Finally, I added pigments and encaustic wax. Look closely at the layers and complexity that evolved in this 9 square piece.

Living on the front range of Colorado surrounded by open space, unique shapes and bold colors, inspires me. The poet Wallace Stevens wrote “The imagination is one of the forces of Nature.” And so too, nature is a powerful source for one’s imagination.

I have always been drawn to the abstract, and themes from nature, the spirit world and the divine feminine that well up from the subconscious in my paintings.

The expansive sky and mountains, saturated colors and mysteries of the sacred earth have all influenced my recent work. It incorporates acrylic painting, mixed media and collage, print making and encaustic wax.

After 35 years as a marketing and graphic design business owner in NYC, Boulder is now my home where I have the freedom and space to make art to my heart’s content.

I am celebrating older women, people who are often ignored. There is a beauty in older women that we don’t always stop to appreciate. I am fascinated by the geography of older faces. And there is so much going on beneath the surface: wisdom, contentment, looking back, looking forward.

Florence is having some quiet time with her elderly dog. I was drawn to the connection between the two of them, and imagine her contemplating what is next in their lives.

Nancy Sullo has been painting in watercolor for more than 20 years. She has been in numerous juried shows, received several awards, and is a signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society. Nancy teaches a variety of beginner through advanced watercolor classes.

"Although I paint many different subjects in watercolor, I keep coming back to people. It is the human connection that draws me in. I am interested in expressions, moods, and emotions. I try to capture a moment in time where the subject speaks to me and hopefully to my viewers.

"I work from spontaneous photos, many of which I took decades ago before I started painting. I often work from black and white photos, which can convey mood even more powerfully. In addition to finding an emotional connection in the photos I choose, I look for strong lighting and interesting composition.

"I start with a careful drawing. Then I am able to let go and paint loosely in the early stages, knowing I won’t lose the likeness. I like to create a sense of energy about the subject. I often do this by starting out with completely abstract strokes and shapes that create movement in the painting and integrate the subject and background.

I use abstract backgrounds to keep the emphasis on the subject. These are either totally abstract or merely suggest the locale. I start working on the background early. For a dark background I use fairly heavy paint, combining colors on the paper while the paint is still wet. I go into dark areas of the subject at the same time, creating some lost edges.

"My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to lift a little paint where the earlier shapes have impinged on a brightly lit area. At this point I am still mostly not thinking of the actual subject.

"Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what sometimes started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little developing the painting until it is finished. "

“Night Lights” leads us down a dark street through the patterns of receding street lights and their spread out, almost eerie, reflections on the wet street. There are also repetitive horizontal and vertical strokes on the sidewalk and fence that help lead us down the street.

Nancy Sullo has been painting in watercolor for more than 20 years. She has been in numerous juried shows, received several awards, and is a signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society. Nancy teaches a variety of beginner through advanced watercolor classes.

"Although I paint many different subjects in watercolor, I keep coming back to people. It is the human connection that draws me in. I am interested in expressions, moods, and emotions. I try to capture a moment in time where the subject speaks to me and hopefully to my viewers.

"I work from spontaneous photos, many of which I took decades ago before I started painting. I often work from black and white photos, which can convey mood even more powerfully. In addition to finding an emotional connection in the photos I choose, I look for strong lighting and interesting composition.

"I start with a careful drawing. Then I am able to let go and paint loosely in the early stages, knowing I won’t lose the likeness. I like to create a sense of energy about the subject. I often do this by starting out with completely abstract strokes and shapes that create movement in the painting and integrate the subject and background.

I use abstract backgrounds to keep the emphasis on the subject. These are either totally abstract or merely suggest the locale. I start working on the background early. For a dark background I use fairly heavy paint, combining colors on the paper while the paint is still wet. I go into dark areas of the subject at the same time, creating some lost edges.

"My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to lift a little paint where the earlier shapes have impinged on a brightly lit area. At this point I am still mostly not thinking of the actual subject.

"Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what sometimes started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little developing the painting until it is finished. "

Nancy Sullo has been painting in watercolor for more than 20 years. She has been in numerous juried shows, received several awards, and is a signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society. Nancy teaches a variety of beginner through advanced watercolor classes.

"Although I paint many different subjects in watercolor, I keep coming back to people. It is the human connection that draws me in. I am interested in expressions, moods, and emotions. I try to capture a moment in time where the subject speaks to me and hopefully to my viewers.

"I work from spontaneous photos, many of which I took decades ago before I started painting. I often work from black and white photos, which can convey mood even more powerfully. In addition to finding an emotional connection in the photos I choose, I look for strong lighting and interesting composition.

"I start with a careful drawing. Then I am able to let go and paint loosely in the early stages, knowing I won’t lose the likeness. I like to create a sense of energy about the subject. I often do this by starting out with completely abstract strokes and shapes that create movement in the painting and integrate the subject and background.

I use abstract backgrounds to keep the emphasis on the subject. These are either totally abstract or merely suggest the locale. I start working on the background early. For a dark background I use fairly heavy paint, combining colors on the paper while the paint is still wet. I go into dark areas of the subject at the same time, creating some lost edges.

"My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to lift a little paint where the earlier shapes have impinged on a brightly lit area. At this point I am still mostly not thinking of the actual subject.

"Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what sometimes started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little developing the painting until it is finished. "

Nancy Sullo has been painting in watercolor for more than 20 years. She has been in numerous juried shows, received several awards, and is a signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society. Nancy teaches a variety of beginner through advanced watercolor classes.

"Although I paint many different subjects in watercolor, I keep coming back to people. It is the human connection that draws me in. I am interested in expressions, moods, and emotions. I try to capture a moment in time where the subject speaks to me and hopefully to my viewers.

"I work from spontaneous photos, many of which I took decades ago before I started painting. I often work from black and white photos, which can convey mood even more powerfully. In addition to finding an emotional connection in the photos I choose, I look for strong lighting and interesting composition.

"I start with a careful drawing. Then I am able to let go and paint loosely in the early stages, knowing I won’t lose the likeness. I like to create a sense of energy about the subject. I often do this by starting out with completely abstract strokes and shapes that create movement in the painting and integrate the subject and background.

I use abstract backgrounds to keep the emphasis on the subject. These are either totally abstract or merely suggest the locale. I start working on the background early. For a dark background I use fairly heavy paint, combining colors on the paper while the paint is still wet. I go into dark areas of the subject at the same time, creating some lost edges.

"My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to lift a little paint where the earlier shapes have impinged on a brightly lit area. At this point I am still mostly not thinking of the actual subject.

"Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what sometimes started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little developing the painting until it is finished. "

Nancy Sullo has been painting in watercolor for more than 20 years. She has been in numerous juried shows, received several awards, and is a signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society. Nancy teaches a variety of beginner through advanced watercolor classes.

"Although I paint many different subjects in watercolor, I keep coming back to people. It is the human connection that draws me in. I am interested in expressions, moods, and emotions. I try to capture a moment in time where the subject speaks to me and hopefully to my viewers.

"I work from spontaneous photos, many of which I took decades ago before I started painting. I often work from black and white photos, which can convey mood even more powerfully. In addition to finding an emotional connection in the photos I choose, I look for strong lighting and interesting composition.

"I start with a careful drawing. Then I am able to let go and paint loosely in the early stages, knowing I won’t lose the likeness. I like to create a sense of energy about the subject. I often do this by starting out with completely abstract strokes and shapes that create movement in the painting and integrate the subject and background.

I use abstract backgrounds to keep the emphasis on the subject. These are either totally abstract or merely suggest the locale. I start working on the background early. For a dark background I use fairly heavy paint, combining colors on the paper while the paint is still wet. I go into dark areas of the subject at the same time, creating some lost edges.

"My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to lift a little paint where the earlier shapes have impinged on a brightly lit area. At this point I am still mostly not thinking of the actual subject.

"Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what sometimes started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little developing the painting until it is finished. "

Nancy Sullo has been painting in watercolor for more than 20 years. She has been in numerous juried shows, received several awards, and is a signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society. Nancy teaches a variety of beginner through advanced watercolor classes.

"Although I paint many different subjects in watercolor, I keep coming back to people. It is the human connection that draws me in. I am interested in expressions, moods, and emotions. I try to capture a moment in time where the subject speaks to me and hopefully to my viewers.

"I work from spontaneous photos, many of which I took decades ago before I started painting. I often work from black and white photos, which can convey mood even more powerfully. In addition to finding an emotional connection in the photos I choose, I look for strong lighting and interesting composition.

"I start with a careful drawing. Then I am able to let go and paint loosely in the early stages, knowing I won’t lose the likeness. I like to create a sense of energy about the subject. I often do this by starting out with completely abstract strokes and shapes that create movement in the painting and integrate the subject and background.

I use abstract backgrounds to keep the emphasis on the subject. These are either totally abstract or merely suggest the locale. I start working on the background early. For a dark background I use fairly heavy paint, combining colors on the paper while the paint is still wet. I go into dark areas of the subject at the same time, creating some lost edges.

"My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to lift a little paint where the earlier shapes have impinged on a brightly lit area. At this point I am still mostly not thinking of the actual subject.

"Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what sometimes started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little developing the painting until it is finished. "

Nancy Sullo has been painting in watercolor for more than 20 years. She has been in numerous juried shows, received several awards, and is a signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society. Nancy teaches a variety of beginner through advanced watercolor classes.

"Although I paint many different subjects in watercolor, I keep coming back to people. It is the human connection that draws me in. I am interested in expressions, moods, and emotions. I try to capture a moment in time where the subject speaks to me and hopefully to my viewers.

"I work from spontaneous photos, many of which I took decades ago before I started painting. I often work from black and white photos, which can convey mood even more powerfully. In addition to finding an emotional connection in the photos I choose, I look for strong lighting and interesting composition.

"I start with a careful drawing. Then I am able to let go and paint loosely in the early stages, knowing I won’t lose the likeness. I like to create a sense of energy about the subject. I often do this by starting out with completely abstract strokes and shapes that create movement in the painting and integrate the subject and background.

I use abstract backgrounds to keep the emphasis on the subject. These are either totally abstract or merely suggest the locale. I start working on the background early. For a dark background I use fairly heavy paint, combining colors on the paper while the paint is still wet. I go into dark areas of the subject at the same time, creating some lost edges.

"My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to lift a little paint where the earlier shapes have impinged on a brightly lit area. At this point I am still mostly not thinking of the actual subject.

"Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what sometimes started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little developing the painting until it is finished. "

Nancy Sullo has been painting in watercolor for more than 20 years. She has been in numerous juried shows, received several awards, and is a signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society. Nancy teaches a variety of beginner through advanced watercolor classes.

"Although I paint many different subjects in watercolor, I keep coming back to people. It is the human connection that draws me in. I am interested in expressions, moods, and emotions. I try to capture a moment in time where the subject speaks to me and hopefully to my viewers.

"I work from spontaneous photos, many of which I took decades ago before I started painting. I often work from black and white photos, which can convey mood even more powerfully. In addition to finding an emotional connection in the photos I choose, I look for strong lighting and interesting composition.

"I start with a careful drawing. Then I am able to let go and paint loosely in the early stages, knowing I won’t lose the likeness. I like to create a sense of energy about the subject. I often do this by starting out with completely abstract strokes and shapes that create movement in the painting and integrate the subject and background.

I use abstract backgrounds to keep the emphasis on the subject. These are either totally abstract or merely suggest the locale. I start working on the background early. For a dark background I use fairly heavy paint, combining colors on the paper while the paint is still wet. I go into dark areas of the subject at the same time, creating some lost edges.

"My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to lift a little paint where the earlier shapes have impinged on a brightly lit area. At this point I am still mostly not thinking of the actual subject.

"Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what sometimes started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little developing the painting until it is finished. "

To me, the word “pattern” represents routines. I find my daily routines familiar and therefore soothing. But discovering new, intriguing ways of thinking, looking and doing in everyday life fills me with awe, excitement, and pleasure. I need both to feel fully human.

I make two- and three-dimensional textile pieces incorporating surface design techniques that represent themes of emotional and physical healing. I stitch the surfaces of my pieces with patterns that suggest my history of disability and my grief related to the suffering of others. Each object represents moments of meditation on the safety of solitude and the joy of connection.

12-piece installation.
Left to Right ->

Top Row
1. Laundry
2. Plowed fields
3. Baking
4. Moss

Middle Row
5. Crocheted doilies
6. Mother and infant
7. Gardening
8. Joy of Cooking

Bottom Row
9. Grandmother with grandson
10. Meditation stitching
11. Fancy embroidery
12. Home

Barbara has had a life time in fiber art by what she would call dabbling in fabric, thread, and yarns through sewing, quilting, and knitting. When she saw an art quilt in 1997, her passion for the art quilt form began.

She joined Front Range Contemporary Quilters and started taking art classes and participating in their juried member exhibits. Since then, she has been privileged to learn from many great national and international teachers. The techniques she learned include dyeing, painting, using resists, hand-piecing, free-motion machine embroidery, printing, silk screening, collaging, and book making.

Barbara has worked on a few series. One of those uses a dress shape to tell stories about healing. She painted or dyed the fabric, used a great deal of hand embroidery often incorporating beads. She hopes that by expressing her experiences those who look at her art will take something important away for themselves.

Ms. Olson belongs to Front Range Contemporary Quilters (FRCQ), North Boulder Arts District (NoBo), and Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA). She shows her work in these organizations’ exhibitions and in local galleries. She has participated in Open Studios of Boulder County and curates art exhibits at the Sanctuary Art Gallery, First United Methodist Church, Boulder.

Her work is in private and corporate collections.

A personal practice I have is to go on walks to observe nature. I love the first breath of fresh air when I leave the house, noticing colors, the weather, what’s growing in gardens, looking at trees, noticing native grasses and wildflowers, and always observing the changes throughout the seasons.

Barbara has had a life time in fiber art by what she would call dabbling in fabric, thread, and yarns through sewing, quilting, and knitting. When she saw an art quilt in 1997, her passion for the art quilt form began.

She joined Front Range Contemporary Quilters and started taking art classes and participating in their juried member exhibits. Since then, she has been privileged to learn from many great national and international teachers. The techniques she learned include dyeing, painting, using resists, hand-piecing, free-motion machine embroidery, printing, silk screening, collaging, and book making.

Barbara has worked on a few series. One of those uses a dress shape to tell stories about healing. She painted or dyed the fabric, used a great deal of hand embroidery often incorporating beads. She hopes that by expressing her experiences those who look at her art will take something important away for themselves.

Ms. Olson belongs to Front Range Contemporary Quilters (FRCQ), North Boulder Arts District (NoBo), and Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA). She shows her work in these organizations’ exhibitions and in local galleries. She has participated in Open Studios of Boulder County and curates art exhibits at the Sanctuary Art Gallery, First United Methodist Church, Boulder.

Her work is in private and corporate collections.

I have been on a journey to define and visually present my personal vision of Still Life painting. I have experimented with composition, painterly technique, and color to modify space and form within my paintings. I came from a position of what I perceive as old school composition, and have been slowly progressing and becoming comfortable with a more contemporary view of this art form. I did not expect to enjoy the new variations of object and atmospheric composition in my paintings, but I do. I find the more contemporary compositions and painterly techniques can be whimsical in nature and reflective of my personal ideologies. My paintings explore my fascination with light, color, reflectivity in creating the form of objects and atmosphere in a still life. Discovering how to do this is an evolving and ongoing process.

My background is primarily as a teacher and educator in the visual arts. I have taught on the college and public school levels. I did not spend any dedicated time on the production of my own works of art until rather late in my working career. I have studied with different artists and have struggled to find my personal style within the various paintings I have created. I will continue to explore and challenge myself to continue to learn and grow through my painting until I can no longer hold a paint brush.

The materials used include aluminum foil, acrylic paint, weather-distressed paper, mica, air-dried clay, washi tape, eco-dyed and other papers.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabric, words and the beauty of nature. She incorporates a wide variety of textiles, including vintage kimono silk, upholstery, hand-dyed fabric, hand painted canvas, heat distressed Tyvek, and organza. She incorporates found objects, wire, paper, feathers, mica as well as linens and papers preserved by her family. The artist’s intention is to evoke a mood or elicit a memory and push the image to the abstract by transparent layering and intuitive composition and color. Sue uses both machine and hand stitching on hand dyed, painted or eco-dyed fabric to honor natural beauty. Fiber bowls, spirit dolls and greeting cards fill out her creative efforts.

Sue has exhibited work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery in Estes Park, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Art Gallery, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years. Please visit her blog at http://sustudioblog@wordpress.com and her website at www.sustudiotextiles.weebly.cim, to view more of her quilts, vases and inspirations.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabrics and nature. Sue has exhibited her textile work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Cultural Center, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years.

Her intention is to connect with the viewer and to draw them in for a closer look by presenting unusual imagery or materials. The “hand of the artist” is evident in the brushstrokes of paint or in the incorporation of hand stitches.

This piece represents my feelings resulting from a diagnosis of osteoporosis. The words "brittle bones" made me feel fragile and weakened. I used the fragile Lunaria seed pods and twigs to symbolize these feelings in a visual way.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabric, words and the beauty of nature. She incorporates a wide variety of textiles, including vintage kimono silk, upholstery, hand-dyed fabric, hand painted canvas, heat distressed Tyvek, and organza. She incorporates found objects, wire, paper, feathers, mica as well as linens and papers preserved by her family. The artist’s intention is to evoke a mood or elicit a memory and push the image to the abstract by transparent layering and intuitive composition and color. Sue uses both machine and hand stitching on hand dyed, painted or eco-dyed fabric to honor natural beauty. Fiber bowls, spirit dolls and greeting cards fill out her creative efforts.

Sue has exhibited work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery in Estes Park, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Art Gallery, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years. Please visit her blog at http://sustudioblog@wordpress.com and her website at www.sustudiotextiles.weebly.cim, to view more of her quilts, vases and inspirations.

This award winning artist’s work is largely inspired by surface designed fabrics and nature. Sue has exhibited her textile work in Aspen and Evergreen Gallery, The Art Center of Estes Park, Lakewood Cultural Center, Foothills Art Center, R Gallery in Boulder, CO, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Red Rocks Community College and in AAR River Gallery. She has been juried into Front Range Contemporary Quilter’s (www.artquilters.org) “Best of” Portfolio online exhibit for the last several years.

Her intention is to connect with the viewer and to draw them in for a closer look by presenting unusual imagery or materials. The “hand of the artist” is evident in the brushstrokes of paint or in the incorporation of hand stitches.

These images are intended to express the power and confidence that comes with a woman believing in herself. My figure paintings grow out of experience with life drawing. Some use a photo as a starting point but more often the pose grows out of the process: an arm moves, a body twists. The underlying drawing shifts as I paint. It's important to me to capture movement with big strokes of the brush, and create mood through color choices.

I am a professional graphic designer and visual journalist, with a "side hustle" as a painter.

These images are intended to express the power and confidence that comes with a woman believing in herself. My figure paintings grow out of experience with life drawing. Some use a photo as a starting point but more often the pose grows out of the process: an arm moves, a body twists. The underlying drawing shifts as I paint. It's important to me to capture movement with big strokes of the brush, and create mood through color choices.

I am a professional graphic designer and visual journalist, with a "side hustle" as a painter.

These images are intended to express the power and confidence that comes with a woman believing in herself. My figure paintings grow out of experience with life drawing. Some use a photo as a starting point but more often the pose grows out of the process: an arm moves, a body twists. The underlying drawing shifts as I paint. It's important to me to capture movement with big strokes of the brush, and create mood through color choices.

I am a professional graphic designer and visual journalist, with a "side hustle" as a painter.

I am so grateful for the many women who made sacrifices for women’s rights. Here are just three of the countless heroines who have helped fight for the fundamental rights of women in our country. Ruth Bader Ginsburg who sat in our Supreme Court for many years speaking up for sexual equality, Bella Abzug, who led the women’s movement in the 1970’s and Ida B. Wells who spoke up for women’s right to vote as well as brought to light the mistreatment of blacks in our country.

As a society, we have much to talk about concerning women’s rights and equality. As an artist, I believe my role is to make observations and reflect them back to the viewer. With this series of encaustic portraits, I aim to stimulate thought and begin conversations about how we can make an even better nation. My artwork focuses on my experience as a woman, both in society and within my own skin. My creative process is central to my artwork. It starts when I become curious about a concept. Then I reflect or investigate the idea, and finally I take a creative action. The concept of the artwork, and the discovery of its meaning, is often more important to me than the media itself. And thus, I feel free to switch media to better express my meaning.

Recently I have been painting with wax, both encaustic and cold wax with oil paint. I love the experience of working with wax, both the feel and smell of it. I have discovered many layers of meaning hidden within this media. Wax is sensual and fragile, yet still durable, like my own skin. Like the experience of me as a woman.

My process of curiosity to creative action is evident within my series of suffrage portraits. I became curious about my own history as a woman. Then, I began to investigate the individual leaders involved in woman’s suffrage. From this research I created a series of almost fifty portraits and twenty assemblage pieces telling the story of women’s suffrage. Sometimes my creative action manifests with the actual artwork, but other times it comes in the form of social activism such as registering voters.

Floating amongst a reservoir, one finds beautiful rocks highlighted by the water. Hidden below the waterline are lost sacred canyons of former rivers.

My inspiration comes from exploring and interpreting the beauty of our natural world in our daily surroundings.

I am celebrating older women, people who are often ignored. There is a beauty in older women that we don’t always stop to appreciate. I am fascinated by the geography of older faces. And there is so much going on beneath the surface: wisdom, contentment, looking back, looking forward.

Barbara was enjoying her birthday celebration among friends. Always a happy and upbeat woman, she portrays here a contentment with a life well lived.

Nancy Sullo has been painting in watercolor for more than 20 years. She has been in numerous juried shows, received several awards, and is a signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society. Nancy teaches a variety of beginner through advanced watercolor classes.

"Although I paint many different subjects in watercolor, I keep coming back to people. It is the human connection that draws me in. I am interested in expressions, moods, and emotions. I try to capture a moment in time where the subject speaks to me and hopefully to my viewers.

"I work from spontaneous photos, many of which I took decades ago before I started painting. I often work from black and white photos, which can convey mood even more powerfully. In addition to finding an emotional connection in the photos I choose, I look for strong lighting and interesting composition.

"I start with a careful drawing. Then I am able to let go and paint loosely in the early stages, knowing I won’t lose the likeness. I like to create a sense of energy about the subject. I often do this by starting out with completely abstract strokes and shapes that create movement in the painting and integrate the subject and background.

I use abstract backgrounds to keep the emphasis on the subject. These are either totally abstract or merely suggest the locale. I start working on the background early. For a dark background I use fairly heavy paint, combining colors on the paper while the paint is still wet. I go into dark areas of the subject at the same time, creating some lost edges.

"My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to lift a little paint where the earlier shapes have impinged on a brightly lit area. At this point I am still mostly not thinking of the actual subject.

"Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what sometimes started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little developing the painting until it is finished. "

In “Energy Reflected” we observe the horizontal bands created by the cloud formations, the distant hills, the line of trees at the horizon and the reflections of the clouds.

Nancy Sullo has been painting in watercolor for more than 20 years. She has been in numerous juried shows, received several awards, and is a signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society. Nancy teaches a variety of beginner through advanced watercolor classes.

"Although I paint many different subjects in watercolor, I keep coming back to people. It is the human connection that draws me in. I am interested in expressions, moods, and emotions. I try to capture a moment in time where the subject speaks to me and hopefully to my viewers.

"I work from spontaneous photos, many of which I took decades ago before I started painting. I often work from black and white photos, which can convey mood even more powerfully. In addition to finding an emotional connection in the photos I choose, I look for strong lighting and interesting composition.

"I start with a careful drawing. Then I am able to let go and paint loosely in the early stages, knowing I won’t lose the likeness. I like to create a sense of energy about the subject. I often do this by starting out with completely abstract strokes and shapes that create movement in the painting and integrate the subject and background.

I use abstract backgrounds to keep the emphasis on the subject. These are either totally abstract or merely suggest the locale. I start working on the background early. For a dark background I use fairly heavy paint, combining colors on the paper while the paint is still wet. I go into dark areas of the subject at the same time, creating some lost edges.

"My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to lift a little paint where the earlier shapes have impinged on a brightly lit area. At this point I am still mostly not thinking of the actual subject.

"Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what sometimes started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little developing the painting until it is finished. "

“Cloud Tower” takes advantage of the almost abstract patterns formed in a huge mass of clouds. Clouds are an infinite and varied source of patterns.

Nancy Sullo has been painting in watercolor for more than 20 years. She has been in numerous juried shows, received several awards, and is a signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society. Nancy teaches a variety of beginner through advanced watercolor classes.

"Although I paint many different subjects in watercolor, I keep coming back to people. It is the human connection that draws me in. I am interested in expressions, moods, and emotions. I try to capture a moment in time where the subject speaks to me and hopefully to my viewers.

"I work from spontaneous photos, many of which I took decades ago before I started painting. I often work from black and white photos, which can convey mood even more powerfully. In addition to finding an emotional connection in the photos I choose, I look for strong lighting and interesting composition.

"I start with a careful drawing. Then I am able to let go and paint loosely in the early stages, knowing I won’t lose the likeness. I like to create a sense of energy about the subject. I often do this by starting out with completely abstract strokes and shapes that create movement in the painting and integrate the subject and background.

I use abstract backgrounds to keep the emphasis on the subject. These are either totally abstract or merely suggest the locale. I start working on the background early. For a dark background I use fairly heavy paint, combining colors on the paper while the paint is still wet. I go into dark areas of the subject at the same time, creating some lost edges.

"My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to lift a little paint where the earlier shapes have impinged on a brightly lit area. At this point I am still mostly not thinking of the actual subject.

"Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what sometimes started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little developing the painting until it is finished. "

I have been a photographer as an amateur and professional for over 20 years. I have pursued a career in photography after I retired from the pharmacy profession 8 years ago. My camera has led me all over the world to places that provided stunning locations and endless memories. Besides travel photography, I enjoy all types of photography, including individual and family portraits, weddings, landscapes, and architectural photography. I have participated in most of the major photography shows in the Colorado Front Range region and have won numerous awards for my work. I’m also a member of the Louisville Art Association in Louisville, Colorado as well as the Gilpin County Arts Association located in Central City, Colorado.

This is a painting of a woman I knew, Mary Moon, who made her living as a professional cook. The focus and attention she paid to her work came out as as great nourishment, artistry, and love. Her steadiness in the face of so much that is demanded of preparing a meal for many people always amazed me.

I’ve been painting for over 50 years in many modalities and mediums. I have studied with a number of different teachers, Paul Chidlaw and Roland Huston in Cincinnati. At the Atelier au Grand Chaumier in Paris and at the Cincinnati Art Academy. In Colorado with Chuck Ceraso.

I do not have any formal training in art but when I experienced a sudden bereavement 8 years ago, I began to create. Time slowed and a profound intrapersonal transformation followed, sharpening my vision and influencing how I interacted with material objects. My art recognizes and highlights a tension in the disparate value our collective places on broken, mundane, and discarded objects. My art can be described as process art, as each piece speaks to a memory or an emotional experience. The fragmented objects make a whole, speak as a testament to healing, and offer an opportunity for the viewer to reflect on their own intrinsic wholeness.

I am a licensed clinical social worker and addiction counselor. I received my MSW from Boston College in 1995 and completed post graduate certificates in addiction counseling and clinical supervision. My clinical work has focused on the intersection of mental health struggles, addiction, and oppression and has been characterized by a commitment to advocacy and social justice.

I use natural objects because I find so much solace walking and I use what I see to tether me to the here and now. I invite you to the patterns within the patterns. Light illuminates my path, and natural objects leap into my field of awareness, the spiral of a snail’s shell or a pine cone, the whirl of a burl, the mirror of mica. If you love the world enough, it presents itself to you in resplendence. My love for the world deepens in response to every loss I have experienced.

I found my way, and I’ve called the widely scattered pieces of my soul back to me, and they’ve done as commanded, skittering and keening, rushing and leaping, to return my heart to me. I tuck them into these pieces of art.

I do not have any formal training in art but when I experienced a sudden bereavement 8 years ago, I began to create. Time slowed and a profound intrapersonal transformation followed, sharpening my vision and influencing how I interacted with material objects. My art recognizes and highlights a tension in the disparate value our collective places on broken, mundane, and discarded objects. My art can be described as process art, as each piece speaks to a memory or an emotional experience. The fragmented objects make a whole, speak as a testament to healing, and offer an opportunity for the viewer to reflect on their own intrinsic wholeness.

I am a licensed clinical social worker and addiction counselor. I received my MSW from Boston College in 1995 and completed post graduate certificates in addiction counseling and clinical supervision. My clinical work has focused on the intersection of mental health struggles, addiction, and oppression and has been characterized by a commitment to advocacy and social justice.

I use natural objects because I find so much solace walking and I use what I see to tether me to the here and now. I invite you to the patterns within the patterns. Light illuminates my path, and natural objects leap into my field of awareness, the spiral of a snail’s shell or a pine cone, the whirl of a burl, the mirror of mica. If you love the world enough, it presents itself to you in resplendence. My love for the world deepens in response to every loss I have experienced.

I found my way, and I’ve called the widely scattered pieces of my soul back to me, and they’ve done as commanded, skittering and keening, rushing and leaping, to return my heart to me. I tuck them into these pieces of art.

Women connected to the earth and sky as they rise to the heavens.

Lisa Michot is an artist who creates public art murals, paper mache sculpture, paintings, drawings, photographs, and videos. She has been teaching Art courses at Front Range Community College in Westminster for over twenty years. You can view her most recent mural on the Emerald mural fence at 4949 N. Broadway in the NoBo Art District in Boulder.

I have been fortunate to have a life surrounded and influenced by many amazing women. One group of women who have become a core of my community, wellbeing, and inspiration are my Belly Dance Troupe, The Tribal Misfits. I have had the pleasure and privilege of dancing with these amazing women, led by the endlessly creative Ashanti Crystal, for a decade. This series of shrines is dedicated to my troupe who have always been champions of my growth as an artist and a dancer. I am eternally grateful for their friendship and support.

For this collection of shrines I used stills from performances of myself and other troupe members for the focal dancing figures. These figures are painted in watercolor on rice paper, and then integrated into the composition of the shrine. I captured the richness and fulfillment of our dance, music, and costumes with layered ephemera and brilliant colors. Each shrine is an expression of my love of dance, and especially my celebration of dancing with this constellation of women.

Artwitch and Creatrix Khiri Lee creates mixed-media paintings, magick-filled zines, and immersive performance art. Khiri’s greatest inspiration is the rich texture of the natural world and she seeks to capture this textural quality in her work, layering paper and color, paint and symbolism, to create a feast for the eyes. Being an artist and witch is a sacred calling to activate people's imagination, to communicate new stories into the world that serve our shifting communities, and to invoke a brighter future for us all. Learn more about Khiri and her studio at www.khirilee.com or through social media @magick_socks. Khiri streams live studio sessions weekly on Twitch.tv/magick_socks.

I have been a photographer as an amateur and professional for over 20 years. I have pursued a career in photography after I retired from the pharmacy profession 8 years ago. My camera has led me all over the world to places that provided stunning locations and endless memories. Besides travel photography, I enjoy all types of photography, including individual and family portraits, weddings, landscapes, and architectural photography. I have participated in most of the major photography shows in the Colorado Front Range region and have won numerous awards for my work. I’m also a member of the Louisville Art Association in Louisville, Colorado as well as the Gilpin County Arts Association located in Central City, Colorado.

I have been a photographer as an amateur and professional for over 20 years. I have pursued a career in photography after I retired from the pharmacy profession 8 years ago. My camera has led me all over the world to places that provided stunning locations and endless memories. Besides travel photography, I enjoy all types of photography, including individual and family portraits, weddings, landscapes, and architectural photography. I have participated in most of the major photography shows in the Colorado Front Range region and have won numerous awards for my work. I’m also a member of the Louisville Art Association in Louisville, Colorado as well as the Gilpin County Arts Association located in Central City, Colorado.

I have been a photographer as an amateur and professional for over 20 years. I have pursued a career in photography after I retired from the pharmacy profession 8 years ago. My camera has led me all over the world to places that provided stunning locations and endless memories. Besides travel photography, I enjoy all types of photography, including individual and family portraits, weddings, landscapes, and architectural photography. I have participated in most of the major photography shows in the Colorado Front Range region and have won numerous awards for my work. I’m also a member of the Louisville Art Association in Louisville, Colorado as well as the Gilpin County Arts Association located in Central City, Colorado.

I do not have any formal training in art but when I experienced a sudden bereavement 8 years ago, I began to create. Time slowed and a profound intrapersonal transformation followed, sharpening my vision and influencing how I interacted with material objects. My art recognizes and highlights a tension in the disparate value our collective places on broken, mundane, and discarded objects. My art can be described as process art, as each piece speaks to a memory or an emotional experience. The fragmented objects make a whole, speak as a testament to healing, and offer an opportunity for the viewer to reflect on their own intrinsic wholeness.

I am a licensed clinical social worker and addiction counselor. I received my MSW from Boston College in 1995 and completed post graduate certificates in addiction counseling and clinical supervision. My clinical work has focused on the intersection of mental health struggles, addiction, and oppression and has been characterized by a commitment to advocacy and social justice.

I use natural objects because I find so much solace walking and I use what I see to tether me to the here and now. I invite you to the patterns within the patterns. Light illuminates my path, and natural objects leap into my field of awareness, the spiral of a snail’s shell or a pine cone, the whirl of a burl, the mirror of mica. If you love the world enough, it presents itself to you in resplendence. My love for the world deepens in response to every loss I have experienced.

I found my way, and I’ve called the widely scattered pieces of my soul back to me, and they’ve done as commanded, skittering and keening, rushing and leaping, to return my heart to me. I tuck them into these pieces of art.