the best labor day weekend art festival in colorado! Aug 30 & 31

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Caryn is sixty-one and has been in the creative arena in some capacity since she was in her teens. As an artist, she believes that everything, even the mundane can be made interesting with the right contrast. Whether through color, highlights and shadows, composition or subject matter; contrast creates the drama that brings art to life.

www.instagram.com/carynwest_art

Doug Fountain embodies the spirit and the power of the Great American Indian.  A direct descendant of the legendary Chief Sitting Bull, Doug and his family are proud members of the Spirit Lake Dakota Sioux tribe.  This distinguished legacy uniquely enables this extraordinary artist to use the knowledge and wisdom of his heritage to create his original, one-of a kind, limited edition Art.  All of these elements come together to create the journeys and experiences of our lives. 

www.dougfountain.com

Through the technique of gestural abstraction, Jessica Wright invites  us into a world of enchantment: a world of forested landscapes that are  sometimes burning and bright and other times shrouded in mist.  Self-taught, Jess has been painting since the age 12. About four years  ago she abandoned the brush—after more than 25 years of work—and hit  upon a “throwing” technique that employs acrylics, chopsticks and, of  late, her own hands. Her paintings come to life with color and  texture—and an immediacy that produces an almost child-like state of  wonder and awe in the viewer.

www.jessicawrightpaintings.com

Gerard Maurier Merchant has worked in woodworking beginning at the age of 6. He also worked in custom cabinetry for 20 plus years. Creator, artist, and mentor. 

www.DuMaurierWoodworking.company.site

Ian Hazard-Bill grew up in Northern California and fell in love with ceramics in High School. He has been an Apprentice to Seth Cardew, completed a BA in Ceramics from Evergreen State College and participated in artist’s residencies at Cub Creek Foundation and Mendocino Art Center. He has shown work nationally in group, juried, and solo exhibitions and is currently represented by several galleries. He draws inspiration from the role that ceramics plays in peoples daily lives and how a well crafted and imaginative pot can enrich our lives. He enjoys being outdoors hiking, canoeing, and camping and is always inspired by the ways that wind and water can so dramatically alter the geology of a landscape. His work draws parallels between the forms in landscapes and the human body.

www.ihbceramics.com

Hand carved stone water features made of Travertine, Onyx and Petrified Wood. All pieces are unique. Artist fabricates all basins and infrastructure in house. rocksteadydesigns@gmail.com

A Colorado based landscape and wildlife photographer who has a passion for capturing the most beautiful images of the west. His work depicts incredible sunrises and sunsets at mountain lakes and desert landscapes, historic buildings plus unique wildlife shots of Bison and elk.

 www.davidrosspix.com

Frank paints acrylic art on canvas with a live edge. His art consists of landscapes and wildlife, in various sizes.

Brian has a created a unique new take on bas relief with Carved Canvas.  Through graphic design and virtual sculpting, he transforms a two dimensional image to 3D, then carves that image on a wood "canvas" with a CNC Router.  Each carving is then torch fired, hand painted, and distressed to create beautiful wall art.  More of his work can be found at www.carvedcanvas.com.

Augustus and David are both artist collaborating in various areas from sculptural furniture and bronze flat work. David specializing in wheel thrown ceramics and Augustus is a sculptor creating abstract forms in concrete and other materials.

Grizzly's Leather Company sources the highest quality leather hides from around the world and manually breaks down each hide piece by piece into high end and durable leather goods that are 100% handmade and hand-stitched here in Colorado.   William and Megan have been working in the ski industry and William worked on the Search and Rescue team in Montana before moving here to Colorado to officially start their leather business. They have been crafting with this medium for 6 years, enjoying all the challenges and satisfaction it comes with, knowing that the pieces they create will last a lifetime and accompany individuals on their travels.   

www.grizzlysleathergoods.etsy.com

Elevate your self-expression with our artisan-crafted wire-wrapped and beaded jewelry. Jennifer of Force of Nature Wild-Inspired Art specializes in creating unique pieces that beautifully display your personal style. Expertly made and designed to be a conversation starter, our jewelry is the perfect way to showcase your artistic side.

Mindy Craig, the creative force behind Green Spruce Creatives, is driven by the vision of creating modern, minimalist jewelry without sacrificing her humanitarian and environmental values. The beauty in her work stems not only from the aesthetic appeal but also the mindful choices made during its creation. She is committed to using Fairmined or recycled metals and ethically sourced stones. Her signature pieces feature genuine Colorado aquamarines mined and finished in Chaffee County! 

www.greensprucecreatives.com.

Acrylic Impasto painting with a new twist! Dawn creates her art using palette knives and techniques she has acquired over the years from cake decorating. She also incorporates sculptural elements and airbrush techniques to create a unique collaboration on the canvas! 

www.dawnkaseoruart.com

Kate, aka The Mountain Woodchic, is a mixed media Artist that designs and builds Mountain-scapes out of Reclaimed materials.   Her favorite medium is old cedar fencing!  Other additions to her Art pieces include Rusted metal accents, rocks she finds along the hiking trail and a variety of other items she discovers in her day to day life!  Reuse, Reclaim and recycle!!

“Distinguished Excellence“ category award winner! "Elemental Materials"

Tina Hoffer is a unique woodworker by blending two of natures alluring elements; wood and stone. Tina  creates functional, culinary accessories with her Cutting Boards, Gathering  Boards, Serving Platters and Dipping Trays that will elevate your daily or  special occasions. 

Tina meticulously searches through  arborists’ wood lots looking for the perfectly flawed, cracked and knot  filled hardwoods that other woodworkers pass by because of these  deficits. She chooses smaller pieces of wood that will be enhanced with  Stone like turquoise, lapis, malachite or chrysocolla, and inlays these  into the cracks and voids. She follows the Kintsugi method of Japanese art , where broken and fractured pottery is mended with gold  or silver dust, there by restoring the fragments to a functional and more  beautiful piece.  

www.knotswoodandstone.com

“Mixed Media Outstanding Innovator“ award winner!

Marilyn's art is reverse painting on acrylics. Yep, she paints in reverse from the most forward elements of the piece to the furthest back. This unique approach garnered Marilyn our  winner from ColoradoArtWeekend.com

You have to see it in person to truly appreciate its magic. Her work is inspired by the natural beauty that surrounds her home at the base of the Mt. Evans wilderness area in Idaho Springs, Colorado. Painting in a modern impressionist style, Marilyn's art is infused with brilliant light and color. Her use of textured, bold brush strokes magnifies the vivid impressionist style.

www.marilynquigleyart.com

“Distinguished Excellence“ category award winner! - Painting

Mark  Jennison uses brush and palate knife work to create impressionistic and  expressionist landscape. Trees and mountains play an important in role  in most of Mark’s work. 

“I fell in love with Colorado on my first visit in 1980.”

The  Colorado landscape has had a profound personal impact on him and is a  dominant theme in his paintings. He aspires to capture light, texture  and patterns of nature and convey grandeur and depth in each painting.

Mark  has found a sense of tranquility in painting.  His works are a tribute  to the inspiration of nature and he hopes that others can find the same  peace and solitude through his artwork.  He has  sold his artwork throughout Colorado and the US, as well as in Europe

www.markjennisonart.com

Deidre Sappington is a progressive custom stained glass artist, specializing is stained glass pet portraits. 

 She  has been creating stained glass windows and panels since 2015. Her  inspiration comes from the transference of light and the emotion that it  evokes through Stained Glass.  Her love of animals led to specializing  in stained glass pet portraits and memorials, where she expertly  captures the essence of our adopted family members. Deidre also enjoys  creating custom works for her clients, including up-cycling old items  with stained glass to give them new life through art. 

 www.Brokenglass.design

Dark-River metal designs makes authentic hand crafted wall hanging metal art. The embodiment of art is natural and nature themed. Examples would be; mountains, animals and mandalas. All art is framed in wood and hand made with a plasma cutter torch, oxy-acetylene torch and more. 

www.darkrivermetaldesigns.com

Holly Olive is a Colorado-based painter.  She was born in North Dakota, but has lived in a wide range of landscapes from the Mojave Desert to New England.  This variety of landscapes is evident in the paintings she creates today.  Inspired by dreams of altered worlds, her paintings embody the movement and color of an altered universe.  Using acrylic and alcohol ink, she creates abstract landscapes of a world that is just outside her reach.  She casts out her brush as if it were a wizard’s wand in unpredictable strokes to inflict a visual experience that stimulates the mind to ask “What world is this?”  She uses a palette knife with an intentional splat to cleave into the fabric of time and space.  She works back and forth, layer to layer, until she verges on falling from the precipice to a new and precious universe.

For purchasing Holly's work, go to www.villainhatter.com