So Much Inspiration in Eight Days!

Two weeks ago I was at Autumn Art Workshop, in the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey, for a 3 day mixed-media workshop with Kathleen Conover.  It's always fun to spend time there with artist friends from around the state.  We learned about using "gesso juice" on watercolor paper for interesting textured backgrounds, and practiced creating good compositions with value studies.  This was an indictment of how stuck one can get in a certain way of doing things.  I struggled with the watercolor, and "cheated" a lot with acrylics, but came away with a lot of great backgrounds and inspiration for new art.  The photo shows all my wonderful gesso juice starts from camp.

Glenwood Hot Springs Pool

The aspen were at their peak in Aspen! So, new art had to wait.  After two days at home, I headed west to visit my daughter in her new home, driving over Independence Pass into Aspen. We spent a day in nearby Glenwood Springs, where Megan changed her identity with a Colorado driver's license, and we celebrated the beautiful afternoon in the world's largest hot springs pool.  Right next to the pool is the Glenwood Springs Center for the Arts, where Terry Muldoon teaches mixed media classes in a small room with lots of supplies.  The facility includes a gift shop, a ceramic studio, and space for dance classes.

classroom, Glenwood Springs Art Center

On the way back to Aspen, we stopped at the Ramada Inn where the Glenwood Springs Art Guild was having their annual Fall Art Festival.  Of course, a huge percentage of art in this area involves images of the local scenery--mountains, rivers, and Aspen trees.  But, there were some mixed media pieces...maybe an entry for next year's show would be good reason for another visit!

Earlier in September,  the Aspen Times, where Megan is a copy editor, had a job listing for director of the Wyly Art Center in Basalt. This led to checking the Wyly website and noticing a free class offered on the night Megan was working while I was in town.   Mary Morrison, a working artist for Golden Acrylics had been at the Halsey workshop a few years ago, and at the ANAC convention in Alliance last summer.  I was thrilled to have this time to catch up with her in Basalt,  get paint samples, learn some new tricks, and meet other artists.  When I told them how I'd discovered the class, they asked if I wanted a job!  Ha...if only I lived closer.

Maroon Bells, White River National Forest

On Saturday, we took the RFTA bus (Roaring Fork Transit Authority).  We have laughed in awe of the advertising meeting that thought up the logo/campaign, Veloci-RFTA with velociraptors painted on the buses.  Someone must have been watching Jurassic Park the night before!  So, we rode RFTA into the White River National Forest to see the Maroon Bells--two 14,000+ peaks about 12 miles southwest of Aspen.  Their reflection in Maroon Lake makes this area the most photographed site in Colorado.  Professional photographers, with tripods, lined the lakeshore.  One from California told me he'd been there in late September each of the last ten years and this was the best he'd ever seen it.  There was no wind, making the reflections mirror-like.  Snow the night before made for great contrasts with the shadows and changing aspen colors.

Constantine's World

I was back in Nebraska late Saturday night and left on Sunday for Lincoln, to work at Noyes Gallery for two days, and spend some time with my son.  It was my favorite time to work: end-of-month change day, and prep time for First Friday.  Nearly every piece of art gets moved to a new location and I get to connect with lots of artists who bring in new work during this time.  My new painting, Constantine's World, is on display for the month of October.

More of my eight days of inspiration will be in another post.  Blessings!